Value Proposition

How many times have you heard this term? What does it mean?

Basically, it means how your product or service differentiates from the competition. But what if we apply it to people and preliminary work.

I am opposed to any service, as free. Specifically, interns' contributions and what we call advertising "spec" work. Everything has value or, as the axiom states, "you get what you pay for."

A warm energetic body is not your whipping person for drudgery work. They provide a function you probably don't care to do yourself. They deserve to be paid.

A campaign strategy or conceptual presentation has value. It should not be a requirement to obtaining a project. Remuneration should be expected.

This poor business model has existed for decades and is permeating other industries, such as architecture and broadcasting. I have also witness "spec" business or marketing plans, for various industries.

Stop this practice!

Anything of value deserves compensation or it has no value.

Another Clone Lesson

Reviewing an open position at Comcast, I was pleased to see them recognize the need for a competitive strategist. What seemed to me, to be a forward thinking organizational move. Then the shoe dropped. The process ended with a short five question "clone" test.

One of my previous posts, discussed GM's clone test, referring to their employment tests to ensure "like thinking" employees are hired. You can see how well that practice has worked for them. Finally, their new management team is coming from outside the auto industry.

Comcast needs to learn this lesson, too. How can you create a new strategy from old thinking? Watch out Comcast! Apple is hot on your trail, with a new entertainment subscription plan. Acquisitions probably will not save you.

Smart Hiring

This blog post is a partial addendum to my last post Organizational Structure and to offer some direction.

The job postings I recently viewed, have exacerbated the job blending phenomenon. They expanded the Operations/Creative/Sales singular position to include IT. I realize IT is a vital function in all agency or department efforts, but blend them with all the other functions? Where does one get this background?

The new MBA program will have to include, i.e. blend, all these functions to satisfy many companies' expectations. What I believe will suffer is leadership. MBA already eludes to "My Best Achievement", emphasizing the latest CEO's compensation greed.

Leadership is comprised of three main qualities:

• Experience
• Vision
• Risk

A leader can possess any singular or duplicity of the functional capacities, but it would be rare to possess anymore. Otherwise, the three main qualities become diluted. The agency or department head should have a "working" knowledge of all the functional areas, in order to best communicate with these leaders.

At the turn of the Millennium, a popular trend to flatten organizational structures took hold. I believe this is a good corporate posture. It allows strong functional leaders to specialize in their trade and it forms a forum for the diversity of ideas in a leadership meeting. With a strong meeting facilitation role, the agency or department head can create an effective problem solving environment. I have conducted and witnessed this successful meeting climate.

How do you implement this strategy?

• Take a hard look at your current structure and leader's skill sets. Do they align with my blog posts?
• Are you blending functions? Where? Does this make sense?
• Take a hard look at your leader(s) compensation. Is their parity? This is a critical step, especially with the current compensation scrutiny, driving economic correction. I will devote my next blog on the parity subject.

Building an effective team is still key to success.

Job blending is contrary to building an effective team, brainstorming, creativity and problem solving.

Defining the Team Leader's qualities, ensures this success.