The thing is...

Business maxim. The two most important words are "Thank you"

Simple message for this holiday to season.  Thank you to everyone who has been a friend, a colleague and a mentor this past year, and a special thanks to those of you who have kept me in mind during my job search and have posted recommendations of my work on LinkedIn.

The thing is...saying "thanks" is more than just an annual event.  It's a core human value, and a value that organizations should embrace.

For this Thanksgiving season, here's a reprise of a previous post

 

Short course in Human Relations

• The Six Most Important Words: “I admit I made a mistake”
• The Five Most Important Words: “You did a good job”
• The Four Most Important Words: “What is your opinion?”
• The Three Most Important Words: “If you please”
• The Two Most Important Words: “Thank you”
• The One Most Important Word: “We” 
• The Least Important Word:  "I" 

Business maxim: To get someone’s attention, ask for money in the budget

I learned this lesson while I was at Reader’s Digest many years ago.  We were building the Reader’s Digest web business called “Reader’s Digest World,” which included content from the book division, the magazine and the search engine LookSmart (remember that!). The site looks a lot different now.  

I was the lead editor responsible for bringing the US edition of the magazine online.  Jack Smith, now the CMO at Medco Health, was in charge of the newly created TV and New Media Department and had ultimate oversight over RDWorld.  

There were a lot of moving parts in this venture and most of us were just figuring it out as we went along.  But I was having a tough time getting Jack’s approval on some original content for the magazine, specifically a monthly column by the movie critic Michael Medved.  Days, weeks went by and I just couldn’t get on Jack’s calendar. 

So I went ahead and negotiated a rate with Medved, with the total proposal coming in at upwards of $75,000 per year.  I had a feeling that Jack wouldn’t go for it.

Nonetheless, I shot the details to him in an email.  Mere minutes later—and I mean maybe 5 minutes—Jack walked down to my office and asked, “David, do you have a few minutes?”  

The thing is...Asking for that money was my way of communicating that I was a serious person and I had serious ideas.  I meant business. 

During that meeting, Jack and I went over the content strategy for the magazine and how I planned to keep the site fresh over the course of the next year.  Medved was out, but a lot of other stuff was in.

Jack listened and treated me with respect.  He took my ideas and me seriously.

You can work in a place for a very long time before anyone notices.  Try to spend someone’s money, though, and your phone will ring.

Thanks for the lesson Jack.

Business maxim: You manage the way you hire

For obvious reasons, the topic of "hiring" is on my mind these days.  I learned a long time ago that the way an organization treats you during a job interview reveals how they will treat you once you are hired.

• If the interview process seems a little disorganzied--such as when the people who meet you say, "I'm not really sure why they asked ME to talk to you"--you can bet that the organization is a little disorganized.
• If you are met with a rigid process during the interview, it's probably a process oriented firm
• If you sit through a group interview, that could indictate a culture that is open, friendly and driven by consensus-based decision making
• If there is no HR person, or a part-time HR person, you're probably dealing with an entrepreneurial firm that expects it's people to wear many hats
• If the entire process is managed very professionally--offer letters, prompt responses from HR--then you can expect a professionally run business

The thing is...A company should have ONE value proposition and present it to everyone who it comes into contact with.  That's sure to come out during the interview process.  If the company does NOT have a solid value proposition, well, that'll come out too.

One bad call can change everything

No, not this bad call from the Steelers-Chargers game, but a telephone call.  In particular a business call with your partners and clients and colleagues.  How many of these do you have a year?  Hundreds?  Thousands?  TENS OF THOUSANDS?  The vast majority of these calls go well, don’t they?  

The thing is...sometimes one call, just one call goes bad.  Or at least not great.

And that’s the call that might change everything:

• It could tip the balance toward getting hired or fired
• It could cause someone to think, “You know, I guess she’s not as good as I thought she was”  
• It could make a client think, “That’s the last straw. Fire the agency”
• It could influence budgeting decisions
• And if it just happens to be the FIRST time someone on the call has heard your voice, well, you’ve just made a bad first impression

Here are two lessons that I will add to my growing list of “David Levy’s Business Maxims” (more to come):

• Lesson 1:    Perception in the organization is EVERYTHING. Make sure you control yours 
• Lesson 2:    Don’t have any bad calls

Still looking for work; Here’s how you can help.

Don't SPAM me just because I'm looking for work

One of the downsides of conducting an intensive job search through social media and online job resources such as The Ladders and Monster is you have to expose a lot of personal information to attract employers and recruiters.  There's an explicit and implicit value exchange I am making.  I give you some information about me, you let me know who you are and if you have a job for me.  I get it.  Such are the risks of living on grid. 

The things is...there are those who abuse the access they have been given to my email address, namely employers and recruiters who generate trigger emails based on certain keywords in my profile.  Whether it's my location, my education or some aspect of my experience, keyword search engine algorithms are filling up my inbox with very obviously impersonal messages to me asking me to take on careers that are not even close to a fit.

So to save everyone some time, let me articulate some things that I don't want to do (kind of like that questionnaire at the end of the Actor's Studio).  I do NOT want to be: 

• A Life Coach - No offense to the profession (my sister is a coach) but I want to do a spot more living before I coach others
• An insurance salesman - Plenty of people do it for a living.  Just not me.
• A "lazy Google" millionaire -  I have no real problems with this job description.  I'm a little skeptical to say the least
• A stay at home copywriter for a womens' website -  Is that it?  You've asked all the people out there who are actually qualified to do this job and they've all turned you down?  Really?

And, finally, any job that is clearly irrelevant to who I am. 

A brief profile of who I really am is here.

Here is my original job search post.

I'm looking for work; three ways you can help

So here’s the story.  My company went through a resource action a week or so ago and I got caught up in it.  I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to look for the next great challenge of my career, wherever that may be.  My preference is the East Coast, but I will pursue any opportunity, in any location.   

Here's how you can help:

1. Read the brief profile below as well as my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to get a deeper sense of who I am ("friend" me if you need to).  If you've worked with me please "endorse" me at LinkedIn.
2. Pass the link to this post on to recruiters, colleagues and friends you know that may be interested in talking to me
3. Cross your fingers and say a prayer, not just for me but for the growing throng of people out there who find themselves in the same situation 

I will keep checking the job board sites and getting out there to network.  I am available for in-person and telephone meetings on just about any day.

The thing is...I hope this experiment is social media works.   Thank you all so much.

My brief profile follows. 

I am a strategic marketer who builds departments, process and projects that are driven by data and insights. Those initiatives, either full-time or contract consulting, could include:

• Creating and building a marketing department for a start-up or other firm

• Creating and leading an interactive or direct marketing department
• Re-engineering agency or other marketing processes
• Leading business strategy
• Running a customer relationship management department
• Building and leading a data and analytics department

Providing experienced leadership to a firm that needs to establish processes and operations to maintain growth, reduce costs or increase profit margins

• Writing a P&L for a new product launch

The thing is...I will try to use my various social and professional network