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Are You Ready for Your Spotlight?
Nate Bennett
Jun 13, 2010 4:45 PM

Can BP CEO Tony Hayward help himself?  For that matter, can anyone on his top management team help themselves?  Since shortly after the April 20th accident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform it appears that BP executives have made headlines more for their unfortunate comments than for their decisive actions.  Hayward himself has sought pity for the ordeal he has been enduring since the spill by lamenting on just how badly he would like his "life back."  He has tried to frame the ongoing oil spill that weeks long ago became the world's worst natural disaster as a drop in the bucket, relative to the size of the ocean.  Randy Prescott, one of Hayward's lieutenants, helpfully pointed out to exasperated restaurant owners along the Gulf Coast that there were lots of other places, besides the waters off Louisiana and Mississippi, to get shrimp.

It might be the happiest executives as the result of all this are those at Toyota – whose communication challenges over product failures and model recalls have been forgotten by many and now seem minor by comparison to those few who do remember.

What is remarkable about all this is that these gaffes have taken in a period when one would reasonably conclude that media training is a de rigueur occurrence for executives long before they get to the c-suite.  

From a career game perspective, Hayward's series of mis-steps are a great example of the sort of move we call a blunder.  Disasters like this allow great leaders to shine – or they reveal mediocre leaders for what they are.  Calls for Hayward's dismissal are heard widely and one would have to imagine it will be difficult for him to recover his career in any meaningful way.  Fortunately for him, he had the foresight to sell a large stake in BP before the Deepwater Horizon Accident.

For the rest of us, a lesson to take away is that you never know when the spotlight will find you.  As a result, you have to work to always be ready with vigilance and discipline.  And when the spotlight finds you because the company you lead has become synonymous with the most damaging environmental disaster of our time perhaps it makes sense to be ready with comments that convey concern for others, a commitment to accepting personally the responsibility everyone rightly associates with your position, and a desire to restore everyone's faith in your company's ability to operate as a responsible part of the business community – rather than comments that attempt to deflect blame and ask for pity – makes sense.

Good or Bad News for Millenials?
Nate Bennett & Steve Miles
Apr 21, 2010 6:45 PM

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal recently. Reporter Jonnelle Marte described the fact that lean companies were increasingly leaning on younger, less experienced to do more, earlier in their careers. She rightly points out the benefits and risks these "opportunities" present.

Our view is consistent with hers – and with those of most of the experts she spoke to. But here are some additional thoughts that occur to us from the work we did in preparing "Your Career Game."

First, early in the career is a great time to take a big swing – there is plenty of time to recover if it goes wrong.

Second, there is no career accelerator like fixing something that is broken – particularly when it has proved difficult for others to correct.

Finally, many of the most successful executives we interviewed talked about the importance of taking on jobs for which they were "uniquely unqualified" – a phrase we have come to love. What it means is that the position is clearly a stretch for you – but there is also good reason to believe you can do it. You have the right background, the right support, and the right attitude. For us this is the key to leveraging the insights in Marte's article – savvy career game players understand better than weaker players when an opportunity truly is more than they can do.

As millenials experience these opportunities, we encourage them to use the career game framing we have developed so they can get at the real risk contained in each – and so they can find the one they are uniquely unqualified for – the one where, with the support of other players in their career game – they can find the kind of success that provides a reputational return throughout the remainder of their career.

 

Conan's Career Game
Nate Bennett & Stephen Miles
Wed, Apr 14, 2010 8:00 PM

The most talked about career move of the week belongs to late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien. TBS announced that O'Brien would debut his show on its network this fall, after its baseball post-season coverage concludes. Many were surprised by what they view as an odd move– as O'Brien himself noted: "In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly."

The blogosphere has been filled with commentary. There is some surprise that Fox wasn't able to close a deal with O'Brien. But due to problems with local affiliates Fox couldn't guarantee a national audience. The E! on-line blog proclaims that O'Brien has let America down because he has effectively given up competing with "The Tonight Show" show on NBC, and in doing so "has likely doomed his countrymen to who knows how many more years of late-night rule by the unfunny one himself: Jay Leno." The Boston Herald is among those reporting the move shows the growing power of cable television.

Our take on the news is a bit different from each of the above perspectives because of our interest in understanding how different career moves are instrumental to the way individuals accomplish their career goals. We wonder if O'Brien's plan might actually be– to use his words– working perfectly. In our book, "Your Career Game," we discuss how understanding the timing of career moves has a tremendous impact on their effectiveness. For example, we encourage people to think carefully about how early career moves are made. Just as a change of a few degrees in the trajectory of a rocket's launch has a great impact on its flight, so too does a great early move have impact across a career. We also talk about things that pose risks to career success and suggest that people typically are poor at assessing what truly is a risky move. As a result, they may actually make decisions that put them at greater risk. Pursuing a career that is popular may seem safe– after all, if so many are becoming doctors, lawyers, or investment bankers it must be because of the great opportunity there. In fact, we contend it is riskier to follow the crowd– people who do so are effectively investing only to become a commodity.

Thinking about the timing of the move to cable television with regard to where O'Brien is in his career game makes it clear the move is safe and sound. O'Brien is not early in his career game. He has considerable experience early in his career as a comedy writer (Harvard Lampoon, Saturday Night Live, etc.) to go with the past fifteen or so years on network television. His skill is not a commodity. Even those who don't like his comedy would admit he is unique– from his pompadour to his wit.

Where someone early in a career game might be properly characterized as "buried" on cable TV, O'Brien will flourish there. TBS provides him access to his established audience– no doubt they will easily find and follow him to cable. TBS itself seems bent on establishing its brand as "quirky" and late night talk show hosts don't get much quirkier than O'Brien. The programming that precedes his show (comedy re-runs) will likely bring some new viewers on board. These viewers– younger and male– are likely to be converts to O'Brien's style– and they are viewers sought after by advertisers.

A move to Fox would have been quite different. Of particular importance was the network's inability to get local affiliates to give up their current, lucrative programming for something they didn't entirely trust in O'Brien's show. Late night talk shows with limited distribution generally have not posed any threat to established franchises like "The Tonight Show."

Some are saying that because of the move to cable O'Brien has a built-in excuse should his show flounder. We don't think he'll need it. He knows where he is in his career game, he understands risk, and he has made a smart move.

 

Making the Most Out of Mentors
Nate Bennett & Stephen Miles
Mon, Apr 5, 2010 5:25 PM

People are quick to understand that mentors matter, but fewer understand how to really get the most out of one.  Our contention is that just as with any other strategic resource, a key predictor of what will make one executive more successful than the next is the ability to leverage a mentor.  It isn't enough to collect mentors – you must be purposeful in how you select and deploy them!  Your ability to do this will have a dramatic impact on the trajectory of your career.

The first step in becoming more strategic in your efforts to make the most out of your mentor is to understand how what you need from one varies in some predictable ways over the course of your career.  For example, early in your career the best mentor is someone who can play Yoda to your Luke Skywalker.  At this stage, what you need more than anything is a sage advisor – someone who has seen, and understands, it all.  This individual might not be very highly placed in a company – in fact it would be difficult for someone early in their career to get access to someone near the top of the organizational chart.  They do likely have long tenure in the company.  They understand the politics and the people - and they understand how the organization really works.

As you move along in your career and absorb the lessons this first mentor offers what you need changes.  The second mentor you need to seek is a rising star.  This individual needs to be several steps above you on the organizational chart – they need to be far enough above you so that you won’t become a threat to them; but if they are too many levels above you it will be difficult for you to have access in order to make a case for their investment in your success.  This mentor is in a great position to help you learn what it takes to accelerate your career in the company and if you prove you merit their time you may be pulled along with them.

Finally, as you begin to operate as a highly placed executive the most important thing for you to find in a mentor is someone who is both willing and able to be persuasive as a truth-teller.  You need to find a mentor who isn’t taken in by you, who will keep you honest, and who is so legitimate that you can’t trick yourself in to dismissing their opinions of your thoughts and actions.  Such a mentor might not be available inside your company.  Someone outside can certainly serve in this role, but it will be important that they really understand your company and its industry in order for them to be, as necessary, a strong devil’s advocate.

Consider where you are in your career now.  Are you starting out?  Are you in a position where your feet are firmly underneath you so you are ready to climb the organizational chart?  Are you a more senior level executive who has trouble finding someone willing to challenge your thinking?  Based on your answer, do you have the right mentor?  How do you plan to act as a result?

 

 

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