This I believe…

I love Avinash. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing him present at a WAA conference in Santa Barbara back in 2003 and I’ve been something of a cyber-groupie ever since. If you had told me back then that I’d serve on the WAA board with him and get to know him as a friend, I’d have shooed you out of the room. But there it is. And here I am.

Yesterday, on his blog, he posted a manifesto for web marketers and analysts based on NPR’s series “This I Believe.” It’s his professional manifesto for why he does what he does and what wakes him up in the morning. As always, it was insightful, well-written, and pretty funny at times.

He ended it with asking all of us to share what we believe. I am tempted to respond with silly personal beliefs, such as:
- I believe that cookies should be their own food group, and the backbone of a major national holiday.
- I believe that my pants are shrinking because I refuse to believe my butt is getting bigger. Of course, it could be all those cookies I’m eating. However, I’ll choose to blame my laundry skills instead.

Instead, I will respond in kind, with my professional manifesto (of sorts). So I raise my virtual glass to you, Avinash, and here goes:

1. If you don’t believe in what you are doing – if you don’t believe that what you are doing is making a huge difference in the lives you touch every single day – you are in the wrong job.

Otherwise, what’s the point? Why are you here? What makes you special?

I don’t believe in the ethos of “just collecting a paycheck” no matter how utterly fabulous my family is and the joy I experience at being able to provide a good home, good food, and some serious family fun because of that paycheck. I spend about 8 to 10 hours a day working because I believe in what I do and my power to make this industry surf the tsunami of change and come out better on the other side. If I’m spending that much time away from the people I care for and love, it had better be something I’m damn proud of. If it isn’t, I’m not leaving them much of a legacy. And I take my job as a mom just as seriously as I do as a Director at my company. They need to know their Mom feels great about her work.

If you don’t feel this way about your job, I mean it, get a new one. If you’re pissed off all the time because you COULD be great and people are holding you back, get another job. If you’re feeling stagnant because you’re doing the same thing over and over and aren’t learning anything new, get a new job. If you feel like everyone around you hates you and is keeping you down, get a new job. Don’t waste your time with anything other than something that takes you down the path to a Career Greatness.

The same goes with any outside professional activities. If I didn’t feel Great about being on the WAA board, I wouldn’t have served. I would never waste anyone’s time with just another line item to pad my impressive resume. And neither should you.

2. I believe it is the fear of being Great that holds most companies back – more so than the fear of failure.

I’ve worked – mostly – for very large corporations since I started this whole respectable business analytics career-thing. I’ve worked in places where everyone was clearly aligned to certain goals and measured success rigidly, and other companies where just agreeing on what to eat at a lunch meeting was the biggest accomplishment that quarter. I’ve sat on a lot of committees and task forces. I’ve been in secret planning meetings. I’ve sat next to executives at power lunches and given my advice, provided insight, and ordered dessert.

And here is what I learned: most of them will take risks. Some more than others. Most of them will try new things – granted, at smaller levels of commitment. What I have learned is that most executives aren’t afraid to fail – 9 times out of 10, it almost seems expected. What they’re afraid of, deep down, is the 1. The 1 time what we do turns out Great. An experiment gone very well forces change at all levels. It puts them in the spotlight. Media comes calling. The CEO wants more face time. OMG.

Yet we all secretly dream of Great. We should. We should chase it with as much sweat as we can, and we should leave it all out on the field so we never doubt if we gave it our all. But remember your HiPPO. Be ready to be a strong supporter and adviser. Think through your experiment: if it’s successful, how will you help them guide the change and the fame?

3. Data is the most valuable asset of any company. Analysts are the most valuable resources, for they can spin data into gold.

Running a business without a solid analytics team in place is like going on a diet without a scale. Are you really going to measure success by getting naked and looking in a mirror to see if you look thinner? Without objective measures, insights, experiments, and testing, you cannot move forward with any sense of clarity. Or Greatness.

4. You should argue passionately about what you believe in, with anyone at any level. And when you lose, let it go.

I believe I was hired to make my boss a rockstar, to make this company the leading media company, and to mentor all of those who report to me. Therefore, when discussing the implications of business decisions, I don’t hesitate to express my opinions on the matter – even when they are in direct conflict with someone above me in the org chart. Constructive argument is the backbone of being Great. (Even in my blogging – like when I argued with Eric T. Peterson - we didn’t agree, but that’s what being an analyst is about.)

However, just like in the military, I can give my intel and accept if my orders are to move forward in a different direction. I have to trust in my leadership. If I don’t, see #1 – I should get another job. Without trust, you can’t be Great.

5. Every Thursday should be drama-free Thursday. And cookies should be served.

OK, this last one’s a little silly. But it is important to remember that to be Great, sometimes you need to create moments outside the daily routine. Moments where maybe you don’t even turn the computer on and you go off to do some deep thinking. Or moments where you go to the bowling alley with the whole team and don’t talk about work at all. Instead, you talk about how your Director has trouble rolling the ball and you spend the whole hour trying to instruct her not to just HURL the ball at the pins.

One of the worst mistakes we can make in business is to take ourselves too seriously. Even if you work at CARE and you save lives, too much intensity erodes your ability to be flexible.

Now get out there and kick some butt.