Professional Marketing: Beyond Competence

“The candidate was competent. That’s why I decided not to
bring him on board.”This startling comment appeared in an article by James
Rogers in last week’s B-to-B Magazine. Competent people
have mastered certain routines and don’t do well in a
drastically changing environment, he explained.

These days, professional marketing requires passion, ingenuity and
fearlessness in the face of the unknown, he argued, and
while Rogers was talking about job candidates and employees,
his point applies equally to you if you work for clients as
your own boss.

Assess how well you go beyond competence:

* Can you predict which of last year’s techniques are likely
to work next year and why?

* If legal changes, natural disasters, technical upheavals
or unexpected competition made current routines inoperative,
could you readily switch gears?

* Do you have confidence in assessing which unknowns when
planning a project are worth the risk and which aren’t?

* Can you easily evaluate whether what you are excited about
fits your priorities?

And do you make sure those who hire you understand your
beyond-competence abilities?”

Sit with your team and evaluate the above.

Test, track and measure everything.

Feel free to ask me questions as they arise!