Job / Career
A Brand Manager’s Perspective: Leadership
Let’s talk about being a brand manager…
A brand manager usually is a people manager of one or more junior marketers. In addition, a brand manager is a leader of the project team. A project team may include scientist who’d developing your product formula, a supply chain person who’s figuring out how to ship the products to the customers, a procurement person who’s figuring out where to buy everything that goes into the product, a sales team leader who’s trying to make sure the product sells, etc. Generally, the project team comprise of a mix of cross-functional partners who have no direct reporting relationship to you. In all honesty, this is where leadership skills becomes particularly important. You can’t threaten disciplinary actions to someone who doesn’t actually report to you.
Now, I must admit I’m still learning about being a good leader, but here are some lessons that I think I have learned so far. Some from my own lessons as I lead teams. Some from my managers. Some from people I’d never want to report to.
1) Not everything is an opportunity. Some managers like to call everything an opportunity. There is a hurdle, but it’s an opportunity for you to overcome the hurdle. If you succeed, you’d really shine. However, depending on the size of the hurdle, it may not be an opportunity to succeed but an opportunity to fail. Not too surprisingly, the underlings know the difference.
2) Know when to accept No. Some of the worst managers never accept no as an answer. Instead, they set unrealistic goals with unrealistic timelines. Then, they frame such situations as “opportunities”. See point #1. Coming into team meetings with a baseball bat, yelling and screaming to everyone that we just need to make this work, wouldn’t actually make things magically work. Accept reality.
3) Let your people shine. Some managers think that to continue to climb the ladder, they need to shine. However, as a manager, you need your people to shine. Through their light, you shine as well. So, go ahead, let your people shine. Give credit where credit is due. In doing so, you don’t only appear to be a good leader, you are also gaining allies. It’s really a win-win.
4) Champion your people. It’s been said that you don’t leave jobs, you leave managers. One stays at a job because they think that their manager is their champion. They think that they have a future in the organization. Find out what it is that your people want from the project, from the team, from the organization, and try to make that happen for them. Otherwise, you’ll soon find a desk full of resignation letters.
5) Communicate. People hate surprises. So, it’s best to keep an open line of communication at all time. A project may be at a turning point, and you don’t know exactly which way it’s going yet. But, let the team know that some changes may be coming, and when you expect to know definitively which way it’s going. Manage expectations.
Now, are these lessons new? Are these lessons particularly unique to today’s business environment? No. The basics don’t change. In bad economic times, it’s even more important for managers to remember that they are only as good as their team. And it’s the team that make or break a manager. We are all under a lot of stress to make the numbers, but we can’t do it without our people. It’s more important than ever to remember these important lessons now.
What lessons will you add to this list?
Job Search 101: A marketer’s approach to resumes
I started the Job Search 101 series because I hoped that the lessons I have learned along the way can help someone in this job market. Besides, job hunt is simply marketing yourself to hiring managers. So, basic marketing principles apply to the job search process.
Today, I’d like to focus on one of the most important job search tools: resume.
First of all, what is a resume? It is a direct mail marketing piece that asks for the interview. Note, the resume is not supposed to land you the job, it’s supposed to land you the interview. In this, it’s comparable to a 30 second tv commercial for a complex product. It’s not a commercial for a simple bag of M&Ms. You don’t want to compare yourself to a simple bag of candy. You are the best money can buy. You are full of experience, just like a complex pharmaceutical product that is full of lab-tested benefits. In such cases, the 30 second commercial would only give you a taste of the product. But you won’t find all the details about this product in this 30 second commercial. This product is worth more than 30 seconds. You may be referred to a website. You may be referred to a brochure. You may be referred to a magazine ad. You may even be referred to talk to your doctor. However, a commercial for a complex product is not meant to make the sale. It’s meant pique your interest. The same with a resume. A resume is supposed to pique the hiring manager’s interest, and invites you for a real conversation about you. Think about that commercial again. It’ll highlight perhaps the big clinical results. But it probably won’t go into the details of the clinical test. Your resume should highlight the big achievements, but not every detail about your every project. That’s what the interview is for. For some industries, there is the portfolio. There are also references. These are comparable to the product brochure or the commercial’s suggestion to talk to your doctor. So, the trick is to pick just enough and the right details to make you interesting to the hiring manager.
In which case, why would you ever start with the resume? I’ve seen so many people ask for feedback about their resumes. But, they don’t even know where they’re sending their resumes to. How can you develop a marketing piece without knowing your target audience? You cannot.
So, don’t start with the resume. Start with a job description. Make your resume match that job description. Well, better yet, your resume should make that job description come to life. If the job description says “responsible for building client base”, your resume should say “built client base by 20%”. Now, don’t lie. But, if you’re applying for the right jobs, you shouldn’t have too much problems finding past achievements that would speak directly to the job description.
Photo credit: Desi
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- New Year, New Resume (wisebread.com)
- 6 New Year’s Resolutions for Job Seekers (money.usnews.com)
Around the Blogsphere
As things at work have gotten more crazy, things over here have definitely suffered. I have many blog ideas floating in my head. So, the moment I find a moment to write…
However, in the mean time, I’d like to introduce to you two very neat blogs by a couple colleagues of mine.
- American Swagger: Bold Presentations for the Brave (americanswagger.us) – We all know that presentation skills is perhaps one of the most critical skills to have to advance one’s career. This blog highlights some real good tips toward building better presentations. Now, not all tips would work for all situations. If your PowerPoint decks are usually shown to internal audience who’s expect just financial statements on the page, this blog is probably not for you. You need to understand your audience. However, if you’re in sale, and you need your presentation to make an impact, I think this blog would be great. Even if you’re presenting internally, judge your company culture. They may be ready for these bold presentation techniques.
- Corporate Radical. Tough Situations. Unconventional Solutions (corporateradical.com) – This blog highlights a variety of challenges that we all face every day. It has some really interesting tips about how to deal with them all. For example, the latest post was about how it takes work to make work happy. Obvious principle, when someone points it out.
There you have it. Two blogs that I found recently that I thought everyone should check out. Of course, if you haven’t already, check out my personal favorite: Tom Fishburne: Marketoonist (tomfishburne.com)
Photo credit: Thom
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeanne lives in NYC. 
