Role 7 in 2011

Today, I formally resigned as Marketing Director for the Undergraduate School at Babson College.

This has been one of the most enjoyable roles I've had here at Babson. It's timing was perfect for me and has helped shape me as a marketing professional. I was lucky to acquire this position at a time when the program was able to make great strides due to a strong leadership team and unified effort. A LOT of marketing activities have been accomplished during these past 4 1/2 years. Even more importantly, I've worked with some amazing individuals to help positively impact the undergraduate student experience in a way that has led to great success...in external rankings, by internal standards, in admission gains, etc. Any marketing success that could be attributed to that was really just a small part of the enjoyment of this role. I've worked with amazing peers, a phenomenal centralized group of creative experts, and an epic staff in the most recent year and a half.

Working with undergraduate students - as my most important customers, as my best marketing strategy, as my word of mouth marketers, as students in my class, as friends - has been so dam fun. I've always said I was perfect for this role because I have the same maturity level and sense of humor as some of the younger audiences I'm marketing too. That doesn't give them enough credit. The students here are so dam smart. My connection to them has grown over my time in this role and it really impacts you positively. If you are in higher education and you have not worked with undergraduate students, find a way to do so. Volunteer. Teach. Transition into a new role. Whatever it takes. It's worth it. Not even just at Babson. I'm sure this is true at other institutions. But DEFINITELY here.

Where am I going? Drumroll...I'm going nowhere. I'm staying at Babson. For those of you that didn't know already, I hope you didn't just say letdown. If so, you'll probably not going to want to read the rest of this.

Prior to resigning, I formally accepted an offer to become the Digital Marketing Director for Babson. Living within the centralized College Marketing function, this role will have responsibility for creating, managing and promoting Babson's digital presence. Those of you close to me know this is where my heart is right now and has been for a while. And it brings me back to my roots! My excitement and ideas on taking on this challenge could fill up even more pages of a blog post. That will surely come in the weeks ahead after I formally begin the role on March 28. In the meantime, I really want to give my current position its full due and help transition the undergraduate program. It continues to have some unprecedented success and would do so without me, but I hope I can continue to be instrumental in its success going forward...only this time with a digital marketing focus.

I'm going on my 10th year at Babson and this new role will now be my seventh one. Unbelievable. I've been blessed with great bosses for every single one...a benefit I can say many peers who have come and gone have not been able to mirror that luck. I truly feel lucky being able to say that with all honesty.

And the Babson Community (capital c) is special to me. It's like family. And like every family, it can be challenging. It can be a whole lot of fun. It can also have its sad days and it certainly can be dysfunctional. It can also be there for you when you need it most and I have certainly seen many of those instances during my time here. So many that it could actually be a great, cheesy Lifetime movie. That's another movie I'll have to script now.

Anyways, the caring, intelligence and humor that I am surrounded with here every day in terms of faculty, staff and students is unique. And that doesn't even include the great relationships I've made with alumni and parents. I'm excited to be able to stay to connected to that - both with the undergraduate school and the campus and external community at large - in this new role.

My 20 Truths

I first saw this 20 truths post from Amber Naslund via Twitter. which not surprisingly was inspired by friend and former colleague, CC Chapman. I thought it was a great idea and figured I'd take a stab at what 20 truths were on my mind that day. Here we go:

1. I have historically not been a good listener, but I’m working on it.
2. Having kids really does change your life for the better. Whoever came up with all those cheesey sayings about it, they weren’t lying. 
3. Sometimes adults need babysitting too.
4. I wish old friends kept in touch better.
5. You grow fonder of your family as you grow older. I wish I knew that when I was younger.
6. People too often forget that marketing is all about the customer. If you're not listening to them, get off your high horse.
7. The world is full of great presenters and great thinkers. Unfortunately, the world has a very limited supply of great doers.
8. You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family...unless you’re a celebrity visiting an under-devoloped country. I’m still happy with mine.
9. I must really like both my job and my house because my commute really limits the amount of time spent with my daughter.
10. You grow much more comfortable with yourself the older you get.
11. If YOU are lucky, then YOU are involved in that luck. So i guess YOU actually do make your own luck.
12. Squirrels are an evil animal.This screaming squirrel has to scare you.
13. When I think about death, it scares me. That’s why I enjoy every day to the fullest and dont sweat the small stuff.
14. Everyone has secrets.
15. If you have been there a while and some people you work with don’t feel like family, there’s probably a better fit out there.
16. Not sure who or where I’d be without ever meeting my wife, but I’d definitely be worse off...and with a horrible wardrobe.
17. I really like making people laugh. When they don’t laugh, I don't like them.
18. I still think I had the talent that would have allowed me to play a sport professionally, if I truly had put in the effort and work ethic into the right one. That part is kind of important.
19. Life would be depressingly different if film and music were never created.
20. I don’t care if other blog posts inspire me to write a blog post. It’s called inspiration for a reason. 

Commitment & Will Power

Commitment is a funny word.  For years as a single male, I feared that word. Or did I pretend to fear that word when in fact I wanted commitment all along? Being in a fun marriage with a beautiful wife and the cutest daugther I could imagine, commitment is certainly not a thing to be scared of.

But what about commitment to work? Or better yet, commitment to working hard? Is that something people fear or are they just not willing to put in the effort?

A recent blog post by Kathy Hanbury discussed content strategy and her steps in how to make the process less difficult. The steps she outlined are the right process and if you actually take out the word content, they can work for any marketing, communications or related initiative.  What really stood out to me though was this quote:

"It's not hard to figure out what needs to be done. The challenge is in mustering the commitment and will power to do it."

This is so right on so many levels. Personally, I think it always comes down to effort.  Whether it's being successful in digital marketing and social media, in sports, in content strategy, in relationships, in  your work or in anything in life. Not everyone puts in the effort and nearly everyone has a lapse in effort at some point. Many times, commitment - an actual, real concerted commitment to make something better - and effort is what puts some people ahead on the depth chart. Are you putting in the effort and commitment?

I Was Thinking About Quitting

Blogging. What were you thinking?

I just have not kept up with it like I had hoped and imagined. Yes, work life is busy. Yes, home life is busy, especially with our beautiful, 7-week baby girl. Despite all that, I had hoped to manage my time efficiently and be able to write...mainly for my own entertainment...but also hoping someone, maybe my mom, would go online and read this.

Then, I read a blog post recently, Mitch Joel's Blogging Still Matters...Now More than Ever, that motivated me to just continue to do what I'm doing...at my own pace. Some of the quotes from Seth Godin and Tom Peter really resonated with me on a personal blogging level. In the workplace, I've always been an advocate for how important blogging is to managing a truly effective online presence. For many organizations, blogs are THE source of content creation. But personal blogging? With the ability to share ideas and thoughts via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and comment sections of much better bloggers' blogs, I sometimes wonder how often I'll need this outlet for writing or sharing ideas.

Upon starting it, I really wasn't sure how long I'd be doing this or how frequently I'd want to do it. Even when the posts, like this one, happen infrequently and might not have the impact I intended. All I know is that, even during the few times I do it, I enjoy doing it...and that's all that matters.

Networking is Conversation

Networking.  At certain stages in one's life, it's a necessary means to progressing to that next stage in your life. Some enjoy it; others despise it.  Some excel at it; others do not.

Well, I'm not really into networking but I do like to talk.  I've learned to really love conversation lately; especially about things I truly enjoy - becoming a dad, sports, higher education, social media, pop culture, entertainment. I guess that brings me back to why I started this blog.  I like to converse and share..even if no one's listening :) - and continue the conversation if someone actually is.

I've been in some situations over the last couple months where a serial networker would have been ecstatic.  Traditionally, I would have hated these opportunities but they've actually been enjoyable! I think I historically have not enjoyed networking more so due to my negative reaction to the word. I've had the word and the necessity of the action drilled into me through my undergraduate and graduate business courses and through then working at a business school for ten years.

It's time to change any networking situations into opportunties for conversation.  It's much more enjoyable. With conversation and engagement, good times will follow.

Video (and Internet) Did Not Kill the Radio Star

A recent tweet by a friend that runs the barnerblog, a blog about his thoughts on music and more, motivated me to share my love for music.  All kinds of music. Even teen pop.

A one hour commute can lead to many things - catching up on phone calls, car karaoke, marketing ideas, and the horrible habit of texting/blackberrying at stops in traffic or lights (no more carexting is my newest New Year's Resolution as I'm not sure yet how I'm doing with the first one). With a commute an hour long, many have recommended I get satellite radio. 

No thanks, people.  Typically, people are critical of it, but I've always been a fan of good, old-fashioned FM radio. And with the variety of music that I'm interested in, I'm able to continously find what I want.  Mix in a couple sports talk radio stations and a little NPR if I'm really desperate and an hour of commute time goes by in no time. 

Maybe everyone else is just looking in the wrong places or listening to the wrong stations. More likely is the fact that you don't like the wide variety of music I do. When I say I like everything (but country), I mean it.  You hear that phrase all the time, but I'm serious.

Here's your proof. In my commute home one night, these songs were all played on the radio, different stations of course. This legendary commute set list was sung by none other than yours truly. 

• The Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
• Pearl Jam - Just Breathe
• Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
• Ke$ha - Tik Tok
• Matisyahu - One Day
• Taylor Swift - Fifteen
• Muse - Uprising
• Aerosmith - Dream On
• Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
• Pearl Jam- The Fixer

Now, that is some variety. It was quite a run of songs that I wanted to listen/sing awkwardly to. After the first three, I had to start keeping track. I even tweeted how shocked I was about the first and how this blog post would eventually be forthcoming (2 weeks later).

In my commutes, I've seen this string of "listenable" songs happen a lot. Now, I'm not saying I'd download all of these on iTunes, but I'm pretty sure at least six of them are on my iPod.  Call me out for singing horrible pop songs, but don't tell me that radio is dead.

Two Recent Car Commute Set Lists

I am always amazed by the vareity of songs from the radio that I tend to listen to.  The two set lists below were from some recent commutes, of which I have a long one. Many days I end up listening to sports talk radio, but there are others where I lean on the radio to pump out some good songs.  Both of these rides were at the end of the work day, when it is even more appreciative to wind down to some good music.

There were a couple songs in both, Blur's Song 2 and the G6 song. The first is a blast from the past and the second is just so damn catchy, but both were and will be overplayed, respectively. Otherwise, the sets had some great songs from the alternative 90s (Soundgarden, Jane's, Pumpkins, Melon, R.E.M. ,Sublime) and some great new music (Bells, Yeahs, Killers, Weane, Florence, Death Cab). A few randoms sprinkled in there and we have ourselves two sets of 10.

 Car Commute Set List #1

• Far East Movement, The Cataracs and DEV - Like a G6
• Taio Cruz - Dynamite
• REM - It's The End of the World As We Know It
• 
  Image via Wikipedia
  Blur - Song 2
• Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
• Jane’s Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
• Sublime - Santeria
• Blind Melon - No Rain
• The Killers - Mr. Brightside

Car Commute Set List #2

• Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body
• Blur - Song 2
• Keane - Somewhere Only We Know
• Soundgarden - Pretty Noose
• Taylor Swift - Mine
• Far East Movement, The Cataracs and DEV - Like a G6
• Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)
• The Fray - How to Save a Life
• Florence and The Machine - Dog Days Are Over
• Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock

Fulfilling 2009's Resolution

It took me all 365 days to fulfill last year's resolution.  And 8,758 of the total 8,760 hours in the year. 

Here it is.  My 2009 resolution.  Starting a personal blog.  I finally did it.  I admit it took a while.  And while close, I did beat the buzzer.

I've always had so many things that I feel like I've wanted to "write" down and never had the place or time to do it.  Well, now I have a place.  And now, I just need to make the time.

And that leads me to my 2010 resolution - managing my time more effectively. I'm decent at it already, but I need to be even more efficient with my time - in my personal life, at work, in my soon to be growing family life, and in my consulting work. As different sets of responsibilities grow in one's life, managing your time effectively is of utmost importance. I see concrete examples of its importance when teaching and working with first-year college students and I see it in all other facets of my work and my personal life. Yeah, this resolution is long-winded...and challenging...and a hard goal to measure...but I'm up for the challenge and will be honest with my assessment.

I hope everyone's 2009 resolutions came true and that you are soon on your way to a year of success in fulfilling your 2010 resolutions. 

Happy New Year!