The Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA championship this past week. While that is a story unto itself, and a satisfying victory for we fans who have waited more than two decades since the 16th championship, the bigger story is how their ownership put the team in position to win through savvy marketing.
The lesson here, after you read this article from CNNfn.com, is this: You can succeed as a team or as an individual if you can effectively market yourself. To do that, you need to know what skills and talents you have and who you want to reach out to so that they know you're there. Fan interest in the Celtics began to wane after Larry Bird retired in 1992. It jumped a bit a few years later after the previous ownership hired Rick Pitino to take over the team. But he failed to take them to the playoffs. And as the success of the Red Sox and New England Patriots pushed the Celtics into the background, new owners came in with a new strategy: Invest in marketing and boost name recognition.
The upshot, the CNN article pointed out, was that attendance rose in the two seasons before the just-completed campaign. So, before the team traded for veteran stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett last summer to complement long-suffering All-Star Paul Pierce, a key piece was in place for the success that the 2007-2008 season brought: better brand recognition.
Anyone can draw lessons from the Celtics' success in this challenging economy, in which you could be a star at work one moment, and out the door the next. You need to take charge of your own career, and it begins with personal brand management. So, to begin that process, ask yourself these questions (and answer honestly):
(1) Am I prepared to begin a job search in case I lose my current job? (In other words, can I easily put together a resume should I see a great job opportunity?)
(2) Do I have an online presence such as my own web site, or a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, or some other networking site?
(3) Do I know what kind of value and experience I can offer an employer? (Or, can I be successful working for myself, with all its potential risks?)
(4) Can I verbalize that experience in a well articulated statement lasting no more than 30 seconds?
If you answered "no" to any of these questions, start thinking about possible answers and get to work on your personal brand. If you approach it like the Celtics did, it just might pay off down the road in the form of greater career success.
What do you think of the role of "personal branding" in advancing your career? I welcome your thoughts.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Hire Job Hoppers? Sure, if You Believe
You Can Stop the Hopping
My post this week on The Pongo Blog tackled a question that perplexes many a hiring manager today: Would you hire a job hopper? The topic, when it was addressed last month on the BNET blog, garnered more than 100 responses, which is danged good for a business blog (Frankly, I'm more than a bit jealous, but hardly anyone in the blogosphere knows me through this blog).
My most recent Internet reading finds that the younger workers, aka Generation Y, is more prone to job hopping (roughly defined as working an average of one job a year), largely because they're not being challenged enough or they don't want to work for a company that expects complete and undying fealty to the corporate mission - even it means working 60-70 hours a week, and leisure and family time be damned. (Uh, no, I don't think so!)
The problem, as I see it, is not with the workers, but with the employers. Some are only now beginning to see the potential payback in investing in worker development and training as a means to prolong tenure and hang onto their most promising talent. I'm sure it's tough for many of these companies to do since they've been doing it the "Work comes first" and "Just do it no matter how long it takes" philosophies for so long. But if companies believe you can train and develop workers who would otherwise job hop, and value their off-work hours as much as they do, then you shouldn't have a problem. Right?
It's a changing world, and while the Baby Boomers have made their mark with long hours and hard work in the workplace, Generation Y is taking the workplace in another direction. And as its numbers grow, the attitudes in the workplace, as well as business practices, are bound to change.
What about you? Are things changing where you are? How does your company feel about job hoppers? I welcome your thoughts and observations.
My most recent Internet reading finds that the younger workers, aka Generation Y, is more prone to job hopping (roughly defined as working an average of one job a year), largely because they're not being challenged enough or they don't want to work for a company that expects complete and undying fealty to the corporate mission - even it means working 60-70 hours a week, and leisure and family time be damned. (Uh, no, I don't think so!)
The problem, as I see it, is not with the workers, but with the employers. Some are only now beginning to see the potential payback in investing in worker development and training as a means to prolong tenure and hang onto their most promising talent. I'm sure it's tough for many of these companies to do since they've been doing it the "Work comes first" and "Just do it no matter how long it takes" philosophies for so long. But if companies believe you can train and develop workers who would otherwise job hop, and value their off-work hours as much as they do, then you shouldn't have a problem. Right?
It's a changing world, and while the Baby Boomers have made their mark with long hours and hard work in the workplace, Generation Y is taking the workplace in another direction. And as its numbers grow, the attitudes in the workplace, as well as business practices, are bound to change.
What about you? Are things changing where you are? How does your company feel about job hoppers? I welcome your thoughts and observations.
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