Careers are mysterious. We skip naively into them, assuming that our generally optimistic
assumptions about the company, our boss, and coworkers are true. Then wham, the gilt flies off the lily.
That’s okay, actually. Careers teach us to pay attention continuously.
A pulse exists below the surface of every business. It may be:
- Unseen or foreign to us
- Outside our understanding
- Separate from the work we perform daily
That pulse drives business all decision-making, actions which include both simple and wildly complex variables.
Directly or indirectly, that business pulse impacts us in ways we either like or don’t. When we “get” what’s going on, we’re better positioned to respond or react in ways that are good for us, building our savvy.
What you see v. what is
Marketing is the juice. The business markets its goods and services for profit; we market our capabilities for reward.
We are also marketing targets even when it’s not obvious that we are. When we feel the pulse of it, we’re likely on the verge of a “now-I-get-it” moment.
Consider this: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but several colleges have stepped out lately in some wild, new football uniform styles and designs—from helmets to jerseys to shoes.
Journalist Mo Rocca did a piece for the CBS Sunday Morning Program (January 8, 2012) featuring the gridiron wear of the Oregon Ducks who won the Rose Bowl. Rocca’s piece described the Oregon Ducks as looking “less like football players and more like comic book superheroes, sporting mirrored ‘special edition’ helmets that had never been worn before.”
In fact Rocca reports:
This regular season alone, the Ducks wore eight different jerseys, six pants, five helmets and four different shoe and sock colors . . . a staggering number of possible combinations.
The Oregon football team isn’t the only one sporting snazzy new unis: Notre Dame and the University of Maryland did too.
On the surface, you would think the change to more high-tech gear was strictly for on-field performance, safety, and durability. Well, as Coach Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!”
ESPN’s Paul Lukas explains to Rocca the story behind the new uniforms move:
…when you and I were kids, you couldn’t go and buy a jersey. That market didn’t exist…They hadn’t figured out that someone would drop $200 for a polyester shirt.
And…now that they know people will do that, ‘Well, you already bought this year’s jersey. Well, what if we change our jersey next year?’ You’d go and buy another one.
The “now-I-get-it” discovery is that this change was about merchandizing and not just great TV optics.
Savvy up
There’s a secondary story about most everything in business, that’s why you need to be savvy to the underlying pulse and needs of the company you work for.
Think of the last time you didn’t get hired or promoted. It’s likely the decision wasn’t all about you. The successful candidate may have been:
- Representative of an under-represented constituency
- Identified for a growth assignment
- Someone’s favorite
- Passed over once before and due a second chance
- A non-controversial choice
We all want to think hiring is purely about talent and capabilities, but that would deny the existence of the pulse.
Human beings create and lead businesses in service to other human beings who buy from them. The human element creates the pulse. To succeed ourselves, we need to keep our fingers on it!
Photo from Monica’s Dad via Flickr
Reality bites.
Ah yes, the human element. We will never know for sure, but no reason to bent out of shape if not getting the promotion.
Very thought provoking. From a recruiting perspective, I can’t tell you how many times I have told unsuccessful candidates that it really wasn’t about them. Most didn’t believe me and struggled to do things that they thought would make them “more marketable.”
Dawn,
I love the words ‘pulse’ and ‘juice’ in your new, stimulating post. Reading it, I feel compelled forward, ready for my next career and business discovery. I feel like getting in tune with the pulse will create a synergy unlike what could happen if you see business as purely a mathematical or mechanical transaction.
We are all human beings, influencing and responding to this pulse.
I love this line: “When we feel the pulse of it, we’re likely on the verge of a “now-I-get-it” moment.”
Let’s all tune into that pulse once in awhile; sometimes it’s a simple matter of observation of what’s happening in the market, as you illustrated with the Oregon Ducks’ uniforms story!
And yes, you are bringing up a most critical point about individuals marketing themselves to the NEEDS of the audience – to that pulse! … a careers propulsion MUST!
Love this post!
Jacqui
Jacqui,
Your comments area like poetry, full of integrated imagery and rhythm. No wonder the “pulse” word connected with you! So often we forget that businesses and careers are the organisms and we’re the cells. It’s our energy that gives them life but without them there is no body.
I so enjoy how your comments that celebrate the beauty and power of words as givers of information and sources of inspiration. Thanks for taking the time to write such beautiful responses and for all the layers of understanding that they add.
Love your comments!
Dawn
A taste of reality!
So, so true. We often think it’s all about us, the individual, when it’s usually not. Thanks for the reminder, Dawn!