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This email: to share the latest trends in marketing.
The goal: to make us all better marketers.
Last night I attended a parenting webinar with my wife, Ainslie.
The speaker posed the question: “what does your family stand for?”
Their point was each family stands for something. They value some things more than others.
Some families value achievement. Academic, sporting, career.
Some families value status. Friends, promotions, parties.
Some value leisure. Holidays, surfing, hobbies.
It’s impossible to stand for nothing. Ours values are shown in our actions.
There is no neutral family.
It’s the same for our teams and our companies.
Each one stands for something. To find out, keep an eye on who is recognised publicly each quarter and what the award is for.
If your peers are awarded for hitting revenue targets, then your company stands for revenue.
If your peers are awarded for helping others, then your company stands for teamwork.
If your peers are awarded for new product launches, then your company stands for progress.
As a marketer or leader or team member each action we take is a vote for what we stand for.
Each time we write an email, publish an ad or speak at conference, we’re saying “this is what we care about”.
At first, it might seem trivial. Like you are picking things to do at random.
Over time, we should remember that our habits and actions dictate a narrative. And a narrative is how people remember us.
What do you stand for?
Idea
🧠
Short, medium, long
What time period are you optimising for?
There are things we can do today that will make us look good but it may hurt us long term.
We can invest in long-term paybacks, and become frustrated with the lack of dopamine hits and eventually give up.
A smart word from Tom Wentworth below, which highlights the power of concurrently optimising for different time frames.
Undoubtedly we’re all playing the long game (or we should be).
Though without the short and medium term, we can’t see where we’re headed.
How do you break down time horizons?
Quote
🤔
“Those who context switch often experience a 40% decrease in productivity overall.”
-Karina Parikh (source)
Question
🚀
What story are you telling yourself?
If you looked at your customer-facing marketing, what narrative would they think you are telling?
What is your WHY?
Does your team know why you choose to work where you work?
Does your manager know how you make decisions?
Does your family know what you stand for?
Of course the answer is ‘yes, they know’. True, they have narrative in their minds about you.
But is it the one you want them to have?
If not, change it.
This is Marketing.
Cheers,
Sean Blake
P.S. today's meeting