TALENT - a quick one but the biggest one
By talent I am talking about you, your colleagues in your organisation, your partners, your clients. The HR-esque term aside, it's the HUMANS who are important here in delivering great marketing work!
Excuse the later-in-the-month-than-usual delivery for this monthly, I have been busy working on a couple of big client deadlines, as well as co-launching an initiative (kind of related to this) - more on that later. Also wanted to caveat that as I have had a few new subscribers since last month’s really popular Research one; so firstly, hello again, and secondly, just (over)sharing my explanation. Also to say this is a shorter one too (in comparison).
With the rise of what I have been thinking about a lot above, the obsession and adoption of AI along with much needed conversations and thoughts about inclusion, it’s all a stark and needed reminder that we are a HUMAN business.
I know am repeating myself with this line, a sentiment with which long time Front Of Mind subscribers will be familiar. But we really are a human business. We are invariably humans working with humans to talk about humans who buy things from other humans in the hope that we sell to more humans, a product or service to ultimately claim to have more human personal benefit.
OK, there are of course the none human enablers of our work that are critical. Things like tools, measurement, advertising formats, search engines, spreadsheets, computers, pictures, the things that this industry runs on, and of course, everyone’s new favourite dark overlord of artificial intelligence hoping to ensure that these things run better, and so well that the H word becomes a little more obsolete. But of course, we won’t let that happen and we want folk to embrace the tools to help us do the better work. As I always say, AI is an enabler, not an outcome.
But the differential - is talent, is HUMAN
So assuming for a moment that everyone is selling the same thing, working on the same platforms, tapping into the homogeny of platforms, stuck in a CPC or media war, utilising the likes of ChatGPT and have a formulaic website, then what is going to make someone work with your company, or agency, or buy your product. The answer is probably you, or the squad that you are a part of.
Humans are the one who connect the dots. Who get the intuitive sense of customer need. Who recall an anecdote from that meeting 3 years ago. Who created all those tools in the first place. Who get the irony and humour of an ad that no AI could muster. Who on the way home on their commute see the inspirational poster that sets a chain reaction of inspiration. Who help their team members feel valued (or opposite, which directly affects motivation and performance). Who are aware of resource and budget challenges so media plan accordingly. Who know how to respond to a tricky debate. Who know when to respond. Or not.
Embracing your talent is important, having a diverse marketing team is key.
You cannot market to all the people if you aren’t yourselves the people!
Therefore, look after the Talent
There are 2 main themes here, capability and wellbeing. The hard skills/benefits and the soft skills/benefits. Both benefit the individual first which in turn, you guessed it, benefits the company.
Encourage capability, growth, personal development and training. Having a culture of learning, curiosity and personal development is key. Invest in their training. Encourage learning sessions, across discipline, offsite. etc. I have shared before some resources, like the PD post from January here if you want some marketing inspiration.
But invest in wellbeing and mental health, because in a human focussed businesses, you need the vessels of these wonderful brains to be at their best.
Incidentally (quick plug), I co-launched something important to me (and we hope the media industry) last week;
, an initiative for the Media industry to encourage workplaces to support their 15-20% neurodivergent talent (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Tourette’s, etc) and to think about the 4S’ of Systems, Spaces, Safety & Support. Please do subscribe, check it out if you work in media, and read about why it was important to start it (a bit about my own experience)!But on the above and relevant to this talent thought overall, is a mantra that what is good for the hive is what is good for all the bees.
If you create an environment where people truly feel they can thrive, better work comes, and with it better business. Isn’t that the whole point of our marketing discipline too?
We are the sum of what each other have. Any business which does well, and has staff that enjoy their work, are often happy camps of people that feel valued. When people are happy, they do their best work. Let’s encourage learning about things and the market, but each other too!
Short(er) and sweet, but a more comprehensive November one coming next month. Meanwhile, look after each other.
SA
P.S. I really hope you are getting a semblance of value out of this. If so, and you think any other marketer or business owner would, feel free to share/forward this to them. Also, follow me on LinkedIn, The place formerly known as Twitter, or even my company page. If you want to discuss anything, you need some marketing advice, or you just want to discuss something I’ve said, drop me a line. Thanks and happy reading/marketing!
PPS. If you are Neurodivergent, and are keen to get involved in our project, contribute etc, subscribe over there and give me a shout.