Note: This blog is the second in our ongoing series offering a glimpse at key insights found in Noetic Founder Nancie McDowell Ruder’s recently published book, Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill: How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights Through Art and Science.
October. The last three months of 2018.
This final turn of the year brings a wealth of good things, like holidays, colorful leaves, candy corn. But, it may also bring a rising sense of unease, as 12 weeks doesn’t feel like near enough time to accomplish all we hope.
Thankfully, as marketers, we are uniquely armed with a keen awareness of the power three months can hold. Through our work, we know 12 weeks is the ideal amount of time to drive an effective, impactful campaign or to even begin elevating our own career paths.
Given this, NOW is in fact the right time to ask yourself, “Is my career on track to take me where I want to be by the end of this year?” If the answer is no, then perhaps it is the perfect time to build your three-month career climbing strategy.
Or in other words, it’s time to get “Fierce.”
Putting Success Into Action
Our founder, Nancie, interviewed 50+ top marketing leaders in her book, Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill: How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights Through Art and Science. Based on these interviews she uncovered a consistent “Secret Sauce” powering the success of these leaders.
But what really struck Nancie during her interviews with these marketing “Jacks and Jills” were four specific actions they take to get and stay ahead in their careers with a tenacity best described as FIERCE. Nancie has termed these: “The Fierce Four.”
Introducing the Fierce Four
Simply put, the Fierce Four power leaders to rise to a position of professional excellence where they are considered essential and helpful to their companies, clients and teams.
The Fierce Four, highlighted through direct quotes from the book’s “Jacks and Jills,” are to:
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Displace fear with learning
I simply love learning, and I believe you shouldn’t worry so much about what you know and don’t know. If you get a job you could do in your sleep, it’s probably not the right job. Push your comfort level and your boundaries of experience. Force yourself into that new environment. You should never stagnate in your career, or in life, in order to grow with the world and the consumer. If you ever get to a point where you’re no longer learning, you will lose your curiosity and your motivation.
— Ken Dice, Vice President & Global General Manager, NikeiD, Nike
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Seek out and commit to creative avenues to learn
I always try to be as teachable and curious as possible. I tell myself, “I may not be the expert on this now, but I will be by the time this project is over.” I have yet to come up with a challenge that I have not been able to figure out, though I do have a lot of bruises and scars, so I know with this I also have to be comfortable that there will be failure. There is a saying, “If you have a knot, patience will untie it.” Meaning, if I can work on something long enough, I can figure it out. I just take it one step at a time, go get the resources I need, partner really well, garner a lot of trust, make sure everyone is in it to win it.
— Meg Goldthwaite, Chief Marketing Officer, NPR
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Strengthen both art and science sides of marketing
If you are more of a scientific MBA kind of marketer, you can rise up in the world of marketing to the CMO level and move outside marketing if you want. If you are more of a creative marketer, at some point you have to wrestle with the other side. As much as I pride myself on making this jump, it is hard to be as energetic about it; it requires a new context for your energy. This is the challenge in the world of marketing today: bringing together these equally powerful aspects of marketing, and doing it in a way that gets to the right people to grow the business, to get the right ROIs.
–Ken Dice, Vice President & Global General Manager, NikeiD, Nike
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Surround yourself with strong teams
I believe a leader cannot be successful on his or her own. You have to work together, give credit, be surrounded by great teams with different styles. I think there is a spectrum [of art and science], and a successful team is going to have this spectrum.
— Barbara Goose, SVEP & Chief Marketing Officer, John Hancock
Get Fierce!
Start by asking yourself:
- Which, if any, of The Fierce Four am I activating in my career?
- Which of The Fierce Four could I take action on immediately?
- What areas of learning should I target and why?
We all have room to grow in our careers, so don’t be anything other than excited by your answers. Be invigorated to set a few goals for the rest of the year. Give yourself the gift of rounding out the year strong – getting ready for a fierce 2019!