Polly Pearson's Blog

CAREER: Preparing for "What's Next."

Readers of this blog know that I recently left my place of work -- after 20 years! 

How did that happen?

Why did that happen?

Is this a good thing?

The root of this change happened in 2006, four years ago, nearly to the day. I had just returned to work from a 6 month maternity leave.  

The company was still recovering from the recession of 2002/2003 and things inside were a bit weird.  New lines of business, new executives brought on board, and, for me, a new job.  The company had asked me to take on a new role, in HR, to help with "Strategy Engagement."  The new job was in response to all this change. 

CONTEXT: So much had changed in the market, and at the company, that the employees (and executives) themselves were often saying they didn't have a strong sense -- or connection with -- the direction of the company.  NOTE: we had just acquired 30+ companies, and half of the workforce -- including the executive staff -- was new to the company in the prior 18 months.

If I was suddenly put on the sidewalk, "I would be okay, but sad."

During the Fall of 2006, I remember thinking that if something out of my control happened to the company (we could be acquired, too), or to me (new executives inevitably come with 're-orgs'), and I found myself on the sidewalk ... I would be okay, but sad.  I realized that I had built my entire professional identity as part of EMC.  All my networks were either inside of EMC's walls, or were built based on my status as an executive with EMC.

What if there was no more EMC? What if?

I realized at that moment, that I needed to protect myself from that and start building a Plan B, or simply build more options so that I would be happy, rather than sad, if my time at EMC were to come to an end.

What did I do next?

I've long had a career goal to sit on a Board of Directors.  It is just about the only job at EMC that I did not have a clear view into, yet it involved every aspect of the company that I had been helping others analyze during all the years I spent in investor relations.

I began reading up on Boards, and when I saw a program happening at a reputable college titled something like "On becoming a Board Member,"  I signed up.  It was October of 2006.

After the program, I went up to the front of the room to introduce myself to the speaker.  I handed her my card and before I could even say what was on my mind, she said, "We should have lunch some day." (Think: The Attraction Factor, or The Secret)

We got together the following month for lunch. We shared our professional stories and discussed goals, and what it was like being among a very short list of women executives in male-dominated areas of business.  (Perspective for another post!). We connected.  She then said I might be interested in getting to know a group of successful women, from around the world, mostly in their 40's who share career perspectives, business goals, and drink a fair amount of wine when they get together.  ("Where do I sign up?!," I remember thinking.) 

Soon after, this speaker made a virtual introduction of me, to a member of the "group."

Thus began my journey to readiness. 

This ("by invitation only") group of women would become my "safe" sounding board, a fertile ground for collaboration, and a rich source of professional growth -- and professional opportunities.  The local group gets together for dinner every 6 weeks or so. The national organization gets together twice a year, generally in South America, and New York City.

Since I joined, I have done countless trust- and friend-based business with other members.  Examples: book collaboration, speaker at events, guest blog posts, media quotes, guest teacher to college classes. All of this has built both my brand, and EMC's brand.  It has been GREAT for ALL.

I Knew The Plan Was Working When ...

Over a year ago, the woman who introduced me to the group had a business snag with EMC.  When someone asked her, "Why didn't you connect with Polly?,"  she replied, "Oh! I forgot Polly worked for EMC!"

I was very proud of that moment. For me, it was when my brand had become separate or distinct  from my employer in the eyes of a professional community.

And last Thursday, at a long-scheduled get together with the local group, I was greeted with Champagne and Cheers for my next chapter.

My "What's Next" NET:

"How did that happen?":  I planned for it.

"Why did that happen?":  I was ready for it.

"Is this a Good Thing?":  Yes.

---------------- Talk Back ------------------

Do you plan for a "what could be next?" 

If so, how?

How long have you been thinking along those lines?

Are you leveraging networks outside your place of work? There are tons of great ones -- BNI, for example, or, for savvy women, TheDowntownWomen'sClub.com.

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter
pearsonpolly@gmail.com

------------- Talk Back ---------------

My Good-Bye To EMC

For my co-workers that I did not get around to sharing a personal farewell to, and anyone else interested ... following, below, is what I sent around EMC as my good-bye note about a week ago. 

I actually wrote the essence of this story as well here on my blog in 2007, as one of my first posts.  It is a good story, though, as it shares an unexpected route to one person's career path mojo:

(Stay tuned for posts with stories and tips you might want to steal on "planning for your future" and "managing your exit." After that, I'll continue to share thoughts on the Social/21st Century Transformation in the workplace -- and the building of my new venture.)

PS: I am not gone from EMC in all ways.  The EVP of HR has asked me to consult for the company, and I am able to help other organizations, inside and outside of EMC, in this regard as well.

------------------

Twenty years ago, on a hot day in August, I went to interview at an unknown company located in an ugly brown strip mall of a building, located in a little town I had never even driven through. I thought they made cardboard boxes for computers, but no matter, it was an opportunity for me to break into "PR!"

 
I asked the hiring manager, "Why are you looking to hire someone in PR?"
 
The reply, "We're about to miss the quarter. We have terrible quality problems in the marketplace. And, we're about to have a lay off, too.  When we saw you came from an ad agency, we figured you would work out.  We'll teach you the PR and tech stuff, and get you to be our in-house agency for any ads we need to place.  We figure that 10% agency placement savings will cover your twenty-five thousand dollar salary, and we could use the PR help, too, especially as we ramp up this new product we have called a Symmetrix."
 
On my first day of the job, as badge #573, I was escorted all around the HQ, at 171 South St. I met Dick. I met Frank. I met Fitz (all of them!). It seemed the entire company fit on South Street.
 
A week or so later, Dick Egan wrote his last news release for EMC. It contained just one sentence. Something like, "EMC will not make its third quarter, ending September 30, 1991."  There was no reason why. No estimates for what we might deliver.  Nothing.
 
Next thing I know, it was requested that I go see Dick in his office.  He sat behind a tin desk, and had a slab of wood sitting on top of two tin filing cabinets for his credenza.  His desk was bare (no PC), but for a pencil, a legal-sized yellow pad of paper, and a stack of pink message slips.
 
He gave me a devilishly large smile, slid the message slips across the desk and asked me to return the calls.  They were all from irate investors.  That is how the "official" investor relations function started at EMC.  That is how a 24 year-old young woman got the launch-pad of a lifetime.
 
I've had a tremendous ride at EMC in Advertising, PR, IR, Finance, Marketing, HR, and back to Marketing again.  It is also time for me to move on, and share the knowledge I've gained at EMC and elsewhere, with more of the world. 
 
I am honored to have made this journey with all of you. You always have a friend in Polly Pearson.
 
And now that I have no conflict of interest between EMC and "my other business,"  I encourage you all to go to the 1790 Restaurant and Tavern OFTEN. Buy the most expensive bottles of wine (CFO) David Goulden allows, and bring every customer that visits us in Massachusetts to the only restaurant in the area that genuinely cares for all of you like family.  :)
 
I'll be setting up shop "upstairs at the 1790" under my name.  I'll be writing, speaking, and consulting on The Networked Organization, Employment Branding, Social Media, and the Transformation of Work in the 21st Century.  I'll also be hanging out in my new "cabin" at Lake Sunapee, NH, feeling grateful for the time I have spent working with you, on behalf of EMC.  I couldn't have planned a better exit, at a better time for everyone.
 
All my love,
 
Polly
 
New Contact:
EMAIL: pearsonpolly@gmail.com
WORK:  208 Turnpike Road, Westborough, MA 01581
BLOG:  www.pollypearson.com
 

Polly Pearson

FREE AGENT

------------- TALK BACK ----------------------

Any thoughts on an ideal "good-bye note?"  I thought for a couple of seconds of what to write, and remembered that everyone likes a good story.  For my note, I decided to tell the story about the beginning.  For those that know EMC, or our gregarious motivator and Founder, Dick Egan, and the ultimately uber-successful company he brought to life, it should read rather humorous.  

Regarding "my other business,"  this is actually my husband's place of work. We own it. He runs it.

The restaurant is in a "gentleman's mansion," circa 1790. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the craftmanship found on its 7 fireplaces, also earned it a place in the Smithsonian archives.  My husband has been involved with this business since he came back from Vail in the early 1980's. When I was a teenager, I actually worked there as well on Saturday nights, "manning" the coat closet!  (You see, I never really LEAVE my place of work, only return to it in different ways!)

"Upstairs" there are offices. The front corner office is now mine.

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

A Dream Come True

About a month ago, my colleague, fellow EMC blogger, and frequent collaborator, Steve Todd, swung by my office. "Free for lunch?"  He said.

As we finished our salads, and talked about his next book, and my projects, I made a deep sigh and said, "Steve I have something to tell you. It is going to sound really weird."

"Oh, Oh," he said, "What?"

"I had a dream last night I was going to leave EMC.  It was going to happen in my 20th year.  Steve, that's coming up in a few weeks."

His long, lanky arms hit the table with a thud.

"You've got to be kidding me,"  he said.

"I know. I know.  It sounds crazy in every way. I've had a few of these dreams over the years though, and they've almost always come true."  I then gave him a few examples. 

FAST FORWARD to last Friday ....

I got an email from Steve around 5:30pm, about some work he is doing for EMC in Russia. I replied, saying, "Are you home from vacation yet? I have news."

"I just got home. What is it?" he wrote.

I told him I was heading to dinner at my husband's restaurant, the 1790, and to meet me there with Katy (his wife), if he wanted, and I could share the news then.

A New Venture

In the back tavern, over some nice red wine, with my husband Kurt sitting next to me, I told Steve & Katy the news. I was leaving EMC, and starting my own venture -- speaking, writing and consulting on The Networked Organization, Employment Branding, Employee Engagement, Workplace of the 21st Century, and the Social Media dynamic on Leadership and Organizations.

I smiled at Kurt and Katy and said, "Steve was the only one at EMC who knew this was coming.  We had lunch about a month ago and I told him it could happen."

"Your dream," said Steve.

"Huh?" I replied.

"Remember, you had a dream."

I had frankly forgotten all about the actual "dream" part. The memory jolted back. I then smiled a "woman vindicated" smile, and sat back. "Whoa," I said.

So there it is, a dream come true. 

... more to come ... stay tuned.

------------ Talk Back ------------

For many of my readers, that might be a bit to digest.

I'll fill in the pieces more in the days and weeks ahead, including how, exactly, it all went down.  There will be tips in there for how to make an exit your dream come true as well.

And let me be clear about one thing, this move is not about EMC.  EMC has never been a stronger or better company -- look at the blow out earnings we reported just yesterday.  This move is about me, and my being ready to take the next move, have a broader platform, help more organizations, and be able leverage the high-speed wired world where I can do my craft at a Lake House in New Hampshire, from my new office in Westborough, MA, or just about anywhere else.

CONTEXT: Jack Mollen, EMC's EVP of HR, shared with me his view (visionary, I think) for the workforce of the future a few years ago.  (I think I blogged about it here). I call his vision that of a "Fluid Workforce" -- one that could easily move inside and outside of organizations -- one that leveraged social networks, like LinkedIN, to build those paths that lead to fluidity -- one that enabled seamless shifts for the workers and didn't leave them, or the company, in shock, when the time had come to make a change.

That's it for now -- busy setting up the new office, computer, and all that.

Cheers!

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

pearsonpolly@gmail.com

Life Chapters

Kurt and I celebrated 23 years of marriage this month.

Generally on our anniversary, we're at the ocean and hunting art galleries for a painting to buy as an anniversary gift to each other.

This year we did all that, and a card arrived to. 

He said, "I know we usually don't do the card thing. But read this one."

It says,

"I love anticipating the days ahead of us, wondering what we'll find in each other, in ourselves, before another year has slipped away ...and, best of all, I love being with you where we are today, together writing the pages we'll remember tomorrow."

When I read this on July 11th, it had great meaning.  Kurt and I had finally made the leap and made an offer on a second home.  One dedicated to "making memories" with our kids -- ages 5, 8 and 15.  We close on the house on July 27th.

More than a few times in the process of looking for this property Kurt would say, "You know I'll be 54 this year, I'm looking for a place where I can ..."  While he never said the word "retire" straight out, it was clear he had the concepts of "relax more, enjoy my family more, breathe" on his mind. He's been working for the same company (his family's business, and now his own) essentially since he came of age. He's ready to change the pace, and start enjoying more of what life has to offer. And so am I!

In the weekends we took with the kids to look for this new house, a bonding began to happen among them that wasn't there before.  Sure, they had always played with each other, but this was different. They began to "intertwine."  They would wrap arms and legs around one another and cuddle on couches, in car seats, in hotel rooms, and back at our house. They would giggle more. Splash more. Hug more. 

 

We're giddy about this new chapter of life to come.

-------- Talk Back ----------

So you likely like/love our job, your profession, and your family. When is the right time to say,

"Time to rethink the balance of attention?"

"Time to rethink saving for some time in the future, and think 'life?'"

For Kurt & I, the time is now.  Sophie, while 15, still wants to be with us. Nothing high maintenance about her. Margo and Oscar, of course, love to be with the family more than anything.  They refer to the concept of "weekends" as "family days" and count down each week to when "family days" begin.

My mom keeps telling me that "the 40's" are the best years -- the time at the prime of your life when you have it all together.  I think she means confidence, health, and the centered knowing of why you are on this Earth.  She has insisted, for as long as I can remember, that I change gears by the time I'm 50, because, she says, "When you're over 50, you just won't have the energy you have in your 40's, and your kids need some of that too."

So here goes, the next life chapter begins ...

Polly Pearson
-- http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

My Month Without Mobile ... phone, email, calendar, photos, Twitter, Facebook ...

One month ago, or thereabouts, a surprise and torrential downpour killed the blackberry I had left out on a table on my backyard deck.  My daughter suggested I put it in a tupperware container with rice for the night. Feeling foolish, I did just that.

The next day, the water bubbles could still be seen under the glass of the phone, and the logo sticker wrapping the battery was still drippy to the touch. 

Alas, this began my journey without a mobile phone. It has been three and a half weeks of waiting and doing without, due to a few unrelated issues, and I hear I have another 7 - 14 days left.

What has the experience been like?

I suppose it has been like 1998, I think that is the year we all started getting blackberries, right? 

Remember, once you had the lovely little device, you no longer had to study and print out your work calendar the night before you left the office? 

A few of the other flash-back/time-warpy negatives I've noticed:

• I can't send an email when an idea strikes me.  I have to try to remember the thought, and remember to send the email later, at a time when I'm near a computer.
• I feel more backed up on email -- now, even more messages likely go unread.
• I can't text or email anyone to tell them the conference room has changed, or where, exactly, we're sitting in a large restaurant. 
• I have to be at my computer for every con-call/webcast -- because all the dial-in numbers are in the calendar.
• I can't check my calendar during a meeting to see if I am free for some inevitable future meeting.
• I can't call anyone from someone else's phone.  All the phone numbers are in my mobile device.  I don't even know my husband's mobile number.
• I can't check my detailed agenda for an external event while I'm at, or en route to the event, or send a quick message to the event's organizer. Thus, I need to print out the detailed agenda and make sure it includes a mobile phone number of the point person.
• I can't "just enter" an appointment on my calendar when leaving the dentist and such.  You have to walk out with those little white cards and hope you don't lose it, or forget to enter it into your computer later.
• I can't get on Twitter or Facebook when I'm out and about and my mind gets bored.
• I can't easily connect with my sister or my friends. The way I have been doing that (Facebook, texting, emailing, calling) is connected in some way to my mobile device -- and I tend to do those activities when I am away from work/my computer.
• I can't confirm that someone got a message when I'm not at work.
• I can't snap a photo and upload it anywhere.
• I can't look at the photos I've taken.

A few of the neat things I've noticed:

• My attention is 100% at home.  I don't sneak peeks at the blackberry in the evening and hold up my finger to my kids excited commentary while I finish a "quick message."
• My attention is 100% at meetings. No sneak peeking there either.
• My attention is 100% while driving.  Okay, I said it.
• I don't have to bring the mobile phone with me everywhere I go, all day long -- and stress out when I realize I'm half way across the building and I've left it in my office.
• My husband can't call me and tell me to pick up some dinner or a bottle of wine (after a long day when I just want to get home!)
• My 8 year old can't call me 13 times during the course of an hour to ask me when I will be home, or ask me what I am doing.
• In fact, I get no unwanted calls at unwanted times.

One other thing that has happened -- which is more negative than neat -- is that I've been using my office phone.  I use it for out-going calls.  None of the speed dials work anymore (they were programmed SO LONG AGO), so it does slow me down as I now have to go into my contacts and look up the number before dialing.  I am also forced to use it for in-coming calls, which means I have to be absolutely in my office when the call is scheduled to come.  Each time I give my office number out, a little giggle goes off in my head.  Kind of like seeing someone from childhood. You have to reach way back in your mind to remember the number and how it all works.

The number one negative ...

I've experienced is Stress. Stress from fear of missing a meeting, not having certain information, not seeing certain emails in a timely manner. That type of stress.

The number one positive ...

I've experienced is time.  My time has been more mine.

Example:

• At the airport one evening flying home from a business trip, when I normally would have been doing email right until I boarded the plane, I instead had a nice appetizer and met some interesting people.  
• After work, I'm apt to talk to my kids while cooking dinner, rather than putting my head into my email between flipping the burgers.

Those are the stand outs at this point, nearly a month into the remotely unwired journey.

Oh, and the number one LUCKY ...

I'm so lucky this happened to me during the summer.  You know the time when people squeeze in vacations and email and meeting volume dip just a bit?

----------- Talk Back --------------------

Do you remember life pre-smart phone?  What is one thing about those "old fashioned times" that you miss?  What is one thing you rather liked?

How Do You Inspire, Win Hearts, and Dare we Say it, "Sell?"

The Untapped Business Opportunity of "Emotion."

I happened to have lunch yesterday with Barry Burke, an EMC Chief Technology Strategist, blogger, and overall communication/presentation pro, and we got on the subject of the role of emotions in decision making.   Think OPPORTUNITY. Think "information and technique" that they don't teach readily schools, or in most places of business.

(Personally, I became convinced of the power of emotion in decision making -- even multi-billion dollar decisions -- when I ran EMC's Investor Relations function in the 1990s.)

Barry lit up on the subject, and referenced a recent post he made on it with regard to using this knowledge for effective presentations.  To support his epiphany, he shared this TED video -- which I am now shamelessly ripping off.

Watch it. Then examine a recent connecting/inspiring/selling communication opportunity you had recently. 

Now ask yourself if there is anything you might change, by way of approach, to elevate the connection you could have with your audience?

PS:  I got invited to my first TED today, taking place in Boston.  Color me excited.

----------------------- Talk Back ---------------------------

What research or anecdotes do you have to prove, or disprove this "science" as the speaker, Simon Sinek, called it?

I was captivated when reading a book, a year or so ago, by Michael Lee Stallard called, "Fired Up or Burned Out," when Michael pointed to this same unbalanced-for-results, left brained/right brained behavior in business communication with employees. 

As Michael pointed out, most FORTUNE 500 execs are the data-driven type.  They talk to you in data terms. They tell you what to do.  BUT, most decision making is done on an emotional level.  When we share "why" we want to do things, and let our people help figure out "what" to do to meet the "why's" objective, everyone will be better for it.  When we show people we CARE (here we go with that "warm," soft-stuff-at-work I keep evangelizing), we work to build connection and trust ... which fuels "hard,"and wonderful business results.

Yes? No?

Thanks for engaging.

-- Polly
@pollypearson on Twitter
http://www.pollypearson.com

On Warmth, Being Open, and Friends at Work

Does business really have to be so Macho?  Or so proud?

Does that behavior drive business, or in fact, hurt business?

Two great posts came out this week on the subject. I highly encourage you to read them both.

"Why Friends Matter in Work and Life" by Peter Bregman on HBR.

"The Challenge of Opening Your Company"  by Chuck Hollis of EMC.

In Peter's post, he included a link to this YouTube clip, where the people competing in reality TV shows -- "to win" -- continue to boast what they think is the way to win.  Wow.

-------- Talk Back --------

Did these posts speak to you?  

What is your take away?

How would you answer my opening questions?

I'll close by sharing a line I use perhaps a bit too frequently on this subject,

"Customer satisfaction does not begin with the customer."

- Polly
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter.

Thanks for reading and engaging -- and for those in America, Happy 4th of July!

What is it Like to Work at EMC?

I'm proud to share with you the most up-to-date look at EMC as a place to work.

EMC: Innovation, Passion, Success

You can view/download this content -- which covers how we celebrate, develop, care, hire, inspire, communicate, compensate, and more in this document emblazoned with EMC's 3 cultural core traits: 

Innovation, Passion, Success.

(Hit the button on the bottom left "Full" to be able to read the document on your screen.View this, and more such documents from EMC Careers on SlideShare.)

What's this all about?

Actually, this is a major part of our submission to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For judges at the "Great Places to Work Institute."  They call this a "Culture Audit."

 

How Does the Submission/Selection Process Work?

The process for the FORTUNE 100 list is quite extensive.  It requires that companies provide essay answers, with supporting documentation to about 25 deep, yet specific questions. It also requires reams of facts & stats on policies and programs.  From this information, the judges work to grade each company in alignment with the framework, as illustrated below (Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, Camaraderie.)

All of that comprises 1/3 of the score which helps determine the Top 100 List.  The other 2/3rds weighting is associated with how employees themselves rate the company when answering about 60 questions, as sent to them by a 3rd party survey firm. The questions are posed in a way to show a long-term pattern of delivering against their model for greatness.

How hard is it to get on "The List?"

While I was initially surprised to learn that "only" about 400 companies in North America go through the full submission process each year, I have come to learn why.  Companies truly have to want to be GREAT, and be COMMITTED to being GREAT places to work, to take part in this crazy-exhaustive process. It requires sharing data that is very illustrative, if you're just going through the motions.  It also requires quite a bit of soul-searching and exploration within a given culture, which is more than most companies are willing to do. 

It is sort of like signing up to do a Ph.D. course load on YOU every year. Takes guts and tenacity to do that much exploration and development on a full-company-culture scale.

And, after you do all that work, the odds are against you when it comes to getting on the list.  3 of 4 companies who go through the process will be turned away with a sad sigh on that day in late January/early February when THE LIST comes out. 

The bar is high and the margin between the best and the rest could be considered a rounding error.

I just learned this week that the difference between the #1 company on the list and the #100 company on the list is generally only 3-5% points.

The other "process realization" I have had in this, my 3rd year working on the EMC submissions, is that very few slots open up every year. The companies on the list are generally highly determined and motivated to improve their ranking year to year.  (One company on the list confided in me that management teams can get so focused on the ranking, and getting higher on the list, that they exert more effort into the submission than they do on actually BEING great with the employees.)

PS:  You are correct in thinking EMC has never shared its submission with the world before.  I figure, "why not?"  Lots to share. Lots to be proud of.

--------- Talk Back -----------

If you're interested in, or curious about working at EMC, I'd love to know what stood out for you in this document.

If you've worked on a winning submission, I'd love to know what you think as well!  Include how we can improve. ;)

It is a journey. We learn more every day, and are better for it.

(Tech question:  We produced a DVD as well as a sister to the text document in this nomination. It has 11 video chapters which align with the essay content.  Any idea how I can share this in the public airwaves?  ie, too long for YouTube -- plus you need the DVD navigation. Do you know?)

In case I haven't thanked you recently, THANK YOU for taking the time to read my thoughts and engage with me on this important subject.

- Polly
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter.

The "Everything Has Changed. Have You?" Conversation

I'm in the middle of a lot of meetings and conversations lately that could be summed up as,

"Everything has changed.  Have you?"

It is getting kind of fun, actually. Seeing the light bulb go on.  A year ago, you could tell people just weren't there.  "All that stuff"  was fool-hearty and for kids, not for real businesses.

But now, mid-way through 2010, I'm seeing the lights go on.  People are ready to "bust a move" and start thinking a-new!

EXAMPLES:

I've seen some of the most senior executives in the world, including CEOs, HROs, and brand & marketing leaders, have their eyes go wide when they see the stats on the increasingly remote/global/virtual/networked nature of work, workplaces, workers, work tools, work norms, and (!) worker expectations. 

-- That "work" of course also includes our collective customers "at work" -- how they want to buy and engage in today's world order. --

I've heard the nervous laughter have a more positive lilt, when the concept of "allowing your people to have a voice in the public airwaves" comes up.

SURE ... the jokes are still there.

"Wise"cracks like, "If you have time to blog, then you don't have enough work to do."

or

"Hey -- are you going to Twitter that!"

Those come from the same folks who will proudly work hours on perfecting an email, or a PowerPoint presentation that relatively few people will see, and will mock those who craft content which could be found by millions in increments of time measured in minutes.

BUT THE TIDE IS CHANGING.

These are SMART people.  ACCOMPLISHED PROFESSIONALS.  I can tell that they kind of knew a lot of this information on the surface, but at the same time, they had no idea it had all gotten this big, or this widespread.

The light bulb, for the leaders, is going off like that Clicks & Bricks light bulb went off when they realized buying stuff on-line was more than a fad for the Silicon Valley types.

"Oh my, I need to start changing my thinking."

The inside-the-head talk track might include thoughts like these ...

C-Suite & HR: "No way.  Telling employees what to do, and issuing policies, so they don't mess it up, isn't a good way to be a leader anymore?"

Marketing: "Wow. This means our telephone calls, emails, brochures, direct mails, white papers, and static web sites might be dated? You mean I'm not spending my limited money as well as I might?  Really?"

-------------- Talk Track -----------

Are you feeling the tide changing as well?

I find it VERY EXCITING!

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Career Reach, Velocity, Impact: Today's Inventors

I had an impromptu and brain-tingling lunch today with two of my engineer friends here -- Rob Masson and Steve Todd.

I was telling them about this eBook I'm working on filled with quotes from IT professionals on their careers, and what they find to be exciting today.

One of the IT folk said, "As IT professionals, we don't have the legacy that a bridge builder or steel worker does. No one will ever walk up to a server and say, "My dad deployed VMWARE on this." He went on to say, "It took me a long time to realize that we are enablers of great things."

When I shared this comment with Rob, he started sharing, in the most articulate and inspiring manner how what is created today has the reach, velocity, impact and power that exceeds almost every invention before it.   Wow. Imagine that.  He brought up Mark Zuckerberg -- and even the guys who invented Farmville.  Their ideas -- whether you or I like them, or not -- could be met with total, utter, amazing velocity. It has never been easier to have an idea, get it to market, and have it reach zillions and zillions of humans. Tons of money, and lengthy approval cycles are no longer necessary to get an idea loved by half the world in a virtual nanosecond.

Made me think of that chart of the number of years it took for telephones to reach critical mass, then the number of years to do the same for PCs, Internet Access, Mobile phones, etc.  This little YouTube clip shares that momentum and excitement, covering the adoption timing of just his concept:

What an exciting time to be in business ... and in the case of inventors and idea generators everywhere -- what an exciting time to be able to make things happen in a BIG WAY!

---------- Talk Back -----------------

What are your thoughts on being an inventor in the 21st Century, vs. the pre-high bandwidth global reach days?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com

Career Tip to Get Ahead

Do you feel stuck, or under appreciated, in your job?

Have you ever been passed by for a promotion?
Ever wonder what it really takes to get ahead?

Then, read this post written by EMC's Chuck Hollis.

When you're done, come back. Let's talk about it.

---------------- Talk Back -----------------

Did some if it ring true for you?  How so?

When I address the new hires at EMC, some of my favorite tips for success here are:

1.  If you see an opportunity to do something, do it. 
Either ask permission (chances are they will say "yes,") or, be prepared to ask forgiveness later.

2.  Look for things to take off your boss's desk.
Do the job, and look for what else you could do to help your boss, and the Company exceed goals.

3.  Remember, that when you're in the lead, there are no rule books.
Leaders, and leading companies, are figuring it out, and moving fast, every day.  If you think something could be done better, don't assume there was a big decision to do it the way it is being done.  It could just be that a) no one has thought of your idea before, or b) no one took the time to advocate that it be done in a better way.  If you're passionate about a new idea -- work to make it happen. What you see as an opportunity likely aligns with your passions and strengths -- and could just lead you to the job of your dreams.

****

I couldn't help but think of these tips as I read Chuck's post today.  I loved his ending about holding up the mirror, as well.  Makes me think of a line that Joe Tucci once said in an off-handed way shortly after he became CEO of EMC. 

"Everyone keeps looking up [for the decision, or action], when they could just look in the mirror."

How to Talk "Social Network" to Old Line Business Leaders: "The Networked Organization"

"Business is all about the Network!"

Here's a line of logic I started toying with.  Thoughts?

***** The OLD NETWORK ******

THEN:  Two Men Talking Business, possibly over Drinks or Golf.
Tone: friendly
Scale: one to one
Reach: close proximity

Since the beginning of time, business gets done through the network.  Who you know.

Networks of "business friends" gave business to their trusted "business friends." The wealthy got wealthier.  If you weren't "in the club," you had a much tougher go.

Then, the Internet was added. People could surf the Internet, and find your business. Business traffic increased as a result. Riches went to early movers who were able to leverage this new network.  Those who didn't find a way to "get their business found" on this network, had/have a much tougher go.

***** THE NEW NETWORK *****

NOW: A Person Relating to Another Person, via a Networked Device.
Tone: friendly
Scale: many to many
Reach: far

Today, humans -- and human relationships -- the real basis of lasting business -- have found their way back into the network of business.  People like connecting with other people.  

****************** NET ***********************

What is a Social Network? 

Why Should I care?

How Can I gain from it?

What is it?

The social network (aka Web 2.0, aka social media, aka collaboration ... and yes, networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) represent the new Network.

Why Should I Care?

It is "Today's Business Network -- on Steroids."

How Can I Gain From it?

Ensure you have a "Networked Organization."

Do your people know how to engage on this modern network?  Once your people master the skills of putting genuine, thoughtful, human interaction into the network, expect...

• more people to want to do business with your business ... in a lasting way;  
• to gain the type of value that you have gained from your long-time business friends;
• to build more relationships that you actually enjoy having
• relevance

The value, therefore, of the Networked Organization is "more business" -- nice business, of the old-fashioned human type ... attached to the major scale and reach of the ilk that the Internet taught us about.  Only better.

--------- Talk Back ------------

Does the phrase, "Networked Organization" take out some of the "yuck, that Twitter thing?" response?

How would you flesh out this storyline better ... in a way that help more business people see the value  -- and realize the value -- of this new model?

(Inspiration for this post goes to Professor Kathy Curley of BU. She titled the BU session I spoke at this week, "The Networked Organization" and I found the simplicity of the phrase compelling, in its ability to suggest both the social networked organization, while also emphasizing that core powerful attribute in business, "networked.")

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Workplace Choices and Dating.

EMC once had a head of recruiting who described the talent/workplace match process like "dating."  It is a two-way street, she said.  The magic has to be there on both sides.  It isn't always a match -- as much as one side might like it to be so. 

Matchmaking: Workplace like Dating?

 

[Patriots QB Tom Brady with Gisele Bundchen when they got engaged. Source: hollywoodismyhood.com]

"Is EMC a Hard Place to Work?"

Someone asked me this question yesterday.

I had just finished speaking at a Boston University School of Management forum for business leaders working to tackle issues like innovation, globalization, and adoption of new tools and behaviors such as social networking in the workplace.

When I was done with the presentation, I could see "that look" on people's faces.  The look said, "Wow. I had no idea EMC was so far along in this realm of a "21st Century networked organization."  It also said, "I had no idea EMC was bringing in those type of results -- and that your people were so enabled to apply their ideas and passions to the job."  (Net: "I had no idea EMC was so HOT!")

After the presentation, a woman in the audience from a very well known company said to me, with a bit of sudden confusion in her voice, "I had heard EMC is a hard place to work, especially for women. Is that true?"

It took me a second to think how best to answer this question. I found myself saying, "Yes.  It is a hard place to work -- just like any perennial championship team would be a hard place to work.  You're surrounded by people playing their best games, and as a result it raises your game, your expectations of the team, and your desire to be even better.  There is no desire for a glide path. That environment is not for everyone, men or women," I said with a smile. "For some, it isn't a match.  For others, there is nothing like it. I've been here about twenty years. The level of play continues to elevate. For people who love to make things happen, be surrounded by others who feel the same, and who together deliver win after win ... well, to us, this is fun."

Of course, that's my opinion, and my experience. [your mileage may vary.]

[Patriots QB Tom Brady while dating Gisele Bundchen. Source: obsessedwithsports.com]

----- Talk Back -------

Thoughts?

It strikes me that Zappos might have this type of culture as well, and match making philosphy -- the people seem to have passion and connection and love engaging with the market every day.

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter

A Disgusting "EMC is Great" Post ... and the Tie to Brand Values

It has been a while since I've done a disgusting "EMC is great" post.  So many cool things happened this week I can't resist. I promise to keep it short. Each event reinforces who we are at our very core.

Best in Market Share. 

IDC came out with new data today. Gee, every way you seem to slice our market, EMC came up on top.  That's the way we like it!  It sounds odd to say being the best in the market is a core value around here.  But it is true. 

Our credo (below) starts with the word "leading," and adds, we "change to lead, and lead to change."

[Look at that!  EMC has twice the market share as the next guy in town!  ... and yet still so much room to grow!]

Best in Service.

This week the big industry forum in customer service gave EMC another Lifetime Achievement Award for best customer services practices. (Makes me think of the time, earlier this year, that Training Magazine gave us a Lifetime award for best training and development to essentially remove us from the top ranking list for a few years -- so that others can have a chance to win!) ... but back to values.  Our DNA is so hard-wired to "customers first," it is both a strength, and can sometimes be a weakness -- as our people have been known to sacrifice at a personal level to ensure our customers are whole in every way. Regardless, this metric makes us very, very, very, very proud. It is the absolute most important value to EMC that our customers are happy with their EMC experience.  And when we ask our customers why they do business with EMC, they play it right back to us with words like "trust, promise keeper, reliable, and 'I can count on you.'" 

See the Credo line (below) "We pride ourselves on doing what's right, and putting our customer's best interests first."

Best in IT.

Okay, one of the Best.  CIO Magazine featured 100 IT shops this week who are creating new business value through IT innovation.  EMC was one of just 3 IT companies featured.  I love, back to "best in customer service" that EMC's IT group was featured -- not for an internal project on something like HR or training -- but for a CUSTOMER RELEVANT project.  They got recognized for being living proof positive of the products we sell in hot, and sometimes edgy new areas like Virtualization and Cloud computing.  We put our money where our mouth is, in other words.  True to EMC form, we strive to take the risk out of the customer's hands. We do the hard work first, so that when it gets to their shop, they can depend on us with the trust they have come to expect. -- See the credo:  line one "We are a leading technology company ... devoted to advancing our industry."

------ Talk Back -------

Give it to me for such bragging.  I deserve it! 

On the other hand, sometimes we can't assume the world outside our internal walls knows this stuff. You know, like best product innovation, sales & marketing (market share), best customer service, and most-customer-centered G&A as well.

Someone once said, "You are a Mirror Image of that which you Project."  In this case, I'm thinking cultural brand values being mirrored back to us in results. 

That makes for a happy way to end the week, and start a joyful weekend!

-- Polly Pearson, http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on twitter

Brand Job Opening: The Coolest Job at the Company (after mine)

There are actually a couple of openings here in EMC's Employment Brand Office, one for a savvy assistant and another for an Employment Brand Leader. 

Who do you know? 

Following is the job description -- or at least an attempt at one. I'm sure I forgot major elements of the job -- but this will give you a feel for it ...

Title: Employment Brand Leader

Job Description: The Coolest Job at the Company.

Help build and brand careers, culture and cool at EMC.  This role is a combination of brand marketing; web 2.0 engagement; multi-media; relationship building; and elements of HR, including career management and 21st century leadership.  

Responsibilities: As part of the Employment Brand Office, you will build global connections, relationships, community, and brand identity for EMC as a place to work. At the same time, you will help at a "soul-level," guide EMC to being a better place to work.  As part of this process, you will listen and work with leaders at every level of the company, interface with external thought leaders, and be a change agent.  You will also community manage internal and external social networks, produce eBooks, videos, blogs, presentations, events, ads, and more.  You will encourage and assist others at EMC to build an environment that celebrates our brand values and furthers EMC as the ultimate place to work.

The Employment Brand Office is like a mini, nimble, full-service marketing operation inclusive of PR, web, advertising, research, messaging, events, social media, and overall branding. Organizationally, it sits in Marketing and works consistently with Human Resources, the executive office, and people of every organizational affiliation throughout this global company. Its “target audience” is both the internal talent market (employees) and the external talent market (potential future employees.) In all that we do, we work to build relationships which humanize EMC,in a genuine and positive way.

QUALIFICATIONS

•    Education and background

• You likely have a marketing or communications degree – and you may also have had a minor in international relations, sales, or human studies.
• You're a seasoned brand pro, and know how to do all of the elements in a modern marketing toolkit.
• You’ve led teams, and enjoy diving fully into the work yourself.
• You have held a fiercely demanding job in the past -- one which required you to use your strategic skills and amazing customer service abilities.

•    Excellent communication skills

• You love to write & enjoy sharing your ideas with others. Your writing skills are strong, and producing content on subjects you’re comfortable with comes easily.
• Speaking to a room of people is no big deal, and you have your fair share of PowerPoint tricks.
• You’re a connector who loves to share. You’re able to put people and information together in a way that builds relationships and benefits all.
• You have enthusiasm, passion, and curiosity … everyday there’s a story going on and an opportunity to share it.

•    Driver and Manager of projects and programs

• You are a driver and a solid project leader.
• You don’t have to be told what to do, in fact you rather like it when someone gives you an objective and lets you consider how to get it done.
• You can be counted on.

•    Business-Minded

• You get why we're in business, what we do for the world, and what is important to the customers, and the C-suite.

 •    Current:  2.0 savvy, Innovative, Modern-Minded

• You have a continual willingness to experiment and innovate. No fear.
• You’re comfortable engaging in-person, and with on-line audiences, both reactively and proactively --  ultimately empowering others to talk about the brand.
• You get "Workforce 2.0" and the 21st Century model for management.

---------------------- Talk Back ------------------

Feel free to send a link to your resume -- or attempt to connect with me in other creative ways  -- to pearson_polly@emc.com; @pollypearson; or Linkedin (PollyPearson).

Polly Pearson
EMC Corp
176 South Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

Diamonds on the Soles of Your Shoes ... and Social Media Activity

Feel free to hit "play" on this video below while you read this blog. It is cheerful and will get you smiling, and your head nodding.  :)

I was honored to keynote the Northeast Human Resources Association Spring Conference today. I spoke on the transition in play in the world and the opportunity that the social media behavior and tool phenomenon represents for business, and the careers of everyone in the room.  

The conference organization committee asked me to spend a few minutes up front explaining why social media was important, in tandem with the conference theme, "Connection, Collaboration, and Communication." I chose to use this video, "Did You Know?" as a way to convey that as much as many people would just like this entire social media thing to go away ... it won't.

My first slide after showing the video was to acknowledge the feelings of many people -- and many companies, today.  It read, "Do I have to?"  I then shared 3 brief "WIFFY's"  -- What's in it for you's.

1.  Career Relevance.

2. TTM Leadership Opportunity

3. Diamonds on the Soles of Your Shoes.

POINT 1-- Career Relevance

I referenced the dawn of websites.  Do you remember when your company did not have a website?  It was okay not to have one in 1996, 7, and maybe even 1998 when Amazon.com became a darling of the world -- but come on!  By 2,000, if you didn't have a website you didn't exist.

The same thing is happening today with social networks.  It is okay to ignore it for only so long. Soon ... really, really soon, at the rate this thing is changing the world, people will be talking to you like a grandmother if you don't "get it."

POINT 2-- Which brings me to "Time to Market Leadership Opportunity"

I believe we are at an awesome and rare time in the world where if you grasp this change we are in the midst of, you could immediately catapult perception of yourself (and your business) into that of a leader -- beyond whatever leader status you have today.  Someone once said a year or so ago that if you only know social media norms to the 1 percent mark, you can still look like a genius to others. Maybe today, you have to get it to the 25% mark -- but still. You get the point. Getting smarter in this space is fairly easy and fast to do.  Faster than any degree or certification program, I can assure you.  What is requires, mostly, is your deciding to do it.  The faster the better.  Today, if you have the courage and can take a few barbs, you can soon be seen as a leader.  A year or two from now, you will be like those companies who decided to put up a website around 2,000.  Can you say laggard?

POINT 3 -- Diamonds on the Soles of Your Shoes

Amazing things happen, from the air, and from right underneath your feet when you start to embrace social media.  I joke that it feels like Christmas every week.  Unexpected gifts simply arrive my way. People find your blog, they find your tweets ... they find someone who references or your work and includes a hyperlink -- they just seem to find you.  Who finds you?  People who can add more value to your work, your business objectives, your passions -- people who seem to "get you" and what you're doing.

I get a lot of "diamonds"/grand, delightful, sparkling gifts coming my way from my colleagues at work all the time.  The gifts are generally generosity, connection, ideas, or action.  They all come from a genuine place of wanting to share these things freely.  They come from people I don't pay, or manage. They come from passion.  Most of these gifts I never would have enjoyed if I had not ventured "out there" and met these folks on our internal social network.  Because of that, I discovered them, and they discovered me -- and more about EMC.

I also get "diamonds" from the outside. Yesterday, alone, I received two unexpected gifts.

1. New Book. An notable author and social media maven, Charlene Li of Groundswell, Forrester, and Altemeter fame, sent me a pre-press copy of her next book, "Open Leadership." Presumably, she thought I might like it, and that I might blog about it.  She's probably right.  It sure was nice to get this early and not have to make an effort to go get it or wonder what it was all about when I started to see the business coverage of it.
2. New Talent. Someone I've never met sent me an email. She said she was clicking around on Google and LinkedIn and found my blog and profile.  She said she loved what I do and found it aligned with her brand interests and experience.  She wondered on the off-chance if I had any openings in the future if I would contact her; she included her LinkedIn, email, and phone number.  Well, I do.  I did.  We met today, and I like her a lot.  Diamonds.

That's it for now.  I've been saying for some time that I feel as though diamonds fall out of the sky.  But then I remembered that catchy little song about the soles of your shoes -- maybe that's better.  I mean, who really pays attention to the sole of your shoe?  And yet, it is there all along, just ready to be noticed -- no extra money needed.  It is just there, waiting for you to leverage it.

----------------- Talk Back ---------------

What diamonds have come your way, or have you noticed of late?

All this diamond commentary reminds me of a great quote I read in TheWeek once.  Something like, "All diamonds started out as balls of coal."

Thanks for reading. Feel free to connect!

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com

@PollyPearson on Twitter

My Pampered Employee Asset

I visited another company* today to sit on a panel on the subject of Entre/Intrapreneurship. 

In addition to meeting fascinating people, I returned to the office with an unexpected take-away:  APPRECIATION.

Appreciation for where I work, and the things at my company that I don't even notice anymore.  Like:

An on-site cafeteria!

The company I visited had no such thing.  Vending machines is what they had, and on every second Wednesday, a free lunch was delivered.

"How do you get lunch, usually?" I asked. 

Answer:  "Someone takes orders and brings back food for 10 or 12 people."  ohhhhhhh.

Three of us from EMC went on the field trip to this company today.  On the way home, I shared my unexpected take-away of appreciation.  

[PHOTO: EMC's more casual coffee/meeting spot called "The Square." Slightly blurry photo taken today by my mobile phone about 3:50pm.]

"Imagine," I said, "No Dave making you Lattes every day." 

"Yeah," said Katie.  "And no on-site dry cleaner," either.  Just then Katie's mobile phone rang. It was her day care reporting her son just threw up, but he was okay. No need to pick him up. He likely ate too fast.  They just wanted her to know he threw up. Her day care, of course, is on-site at EMC.

--------------------- Talk Back ----------------------------

What is your favorite workplace perk?

Share something that might be grand (like on-site massage therapist, or fitness center!), or simple, like getting a made to order sandwich or salad without having to brave traffic, the outside elements, and providing change for 10 - 12 people.

*RE the company I visited today: It warmed our collective-visitors hearts to see the husband of an employee come in with an infant and a 3 year old, all of whom looked very at home there, and join the employees for lunch.  In my book, that type of freedom and welcoming climate is one amazing workplace perk -- and in my book, more important than flowing lattes. Thankfully, I feel as though my-pampered-employee-self has both. I have pencil marks (showing the growth of my kids on each of their visits) on the wall behind my office door to prove it!

-- http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Fear Mongering, Profiteering, Lawyers and "Social Media in the Workplace"

I just saw a PowerPoint crafted by a lawyer/law firm on the subject of social media in the workplace. 

They used every scare tactic and sensational headline (think Dominos video) -- and dropped the regulation name of every workplace consideration (for subjects like porn) to freak out the poor audience.

Question:  What sells more, pleasure or pain?

Answer:  Look at the headline of every major newspaper in the nation.

WARNING:  There will be more and more entities looking to make a living out of scaring you. There is money to be made amidst transitions.

Like what?  

Work-based Examples:

FROM:                                                     To:

Work is a place                                        An activity

Work is time-based                                  Results-based

Factory-centered                                      Knowledge-centered

Controlling                                               Inspiring 

Web/behavior 1.0                                    Web/behavior 2.0

As individuals with career aspirations, we can duck and hide  -- or we can see this as an opportunity to grasp a critical new skill and perspective and be a leader in this next world order.

The simple fact is that "Bad Things Happen." Trains crash. Airplanes Fall. Employees say stupid things.  They all happen sometimes, not all the time. Social media is no different. It just happens faster. 

The other simple fact is that "Good Things Happen." Trains get there on time. Airplanes stay in the sky. Employees do the right thing.  They all happen most of the time. Social media is no different. It just happens faster.

Risk. Reward.

We see Social Media in the Workplace ROI as "Risk of Ignoring" first and foremost, because the world isn't going back to the way it was.

Not sure?  Take out your mobile phone. Look at it. Imagine life without it. Place it in the trash can for a minute.  Imagine walking away and leaving it there.  No more mobile phone for you. 

That's not going to happen.

Same can be said for social media activity, on-line banking, on-line shopping, and at-home work activity, among other things.  Once people get a taste for such mobile based activity, there is no going back.

The trick for us is to take the first step forward. Learn as you go. Learn from others. Guidelines are good. Take comfort in knowing you won't be the first.  What you would be justified in fearing is: being the last.

------------------- Talk Back ---------------------

Thoughts?

(My thanks to @chuckhollis for some of the thoughts above -- like "bad things happen," and this exact quote, "make a living out of scaring the crap out of you.")

Of course, all lawyers/law firms aren't out to profit on this transition and truly mean well when they tell you everything that can go wrong.  Some could be so deeply entrenched in the last century's model centered on control, that this type of response is a reflex habit -- and they believe it is a best practice.

Other lawyers are more contemporary in their thinking and view the world through another type of lens. Take EMC's law group for example.  This organization, led by Paul Dacier, has always viewed themselves as business enablers for EMC.  They help deflect risk, advise, and defend, of course. And/But above all, they work to help make the company more successful.  xxxxoooo to EMC's lawyers.

Thanks also to the forward-looking IT departments of the planet (like EMC's, led by Sanjay Mirchandani). They realize if employees can't get on a social network on the company PC, they simply take out their mobile phone and do what it was they wanted to do. If there is no company social network, the company loses the value of this human desire to connect and share knowledge, to other affinity groups. IT can either play a futile game of "wack-a-mole," or they can consider ways to enable this new, undeniable 2.0 behavior model, and help the company be more successful because of it.

http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter

Social Media at Work, For Work: The Journey

Some real-time updates and examples on our Workforce 2.0 Journey:  Net, no size fits all.

[Photo: Barb Robidoux]

"Yes, I see Work is an Activity, Not a Place -- But MY Group is Different."

Or is it? 

A Marketing VP here, Barb Robidoux, is seeking to answer this question.  She is going to give the remote worker experience a try on a major scale. She is sponsoring "an experiment," where more than 90 employees in her group will work remotely for 1-2 weeks, all during the same 1-2 weeks.  This will provide them with

• the experience of a "remote worker." 
• insight on how to manage a remote worker
• a first step to potentially becoming a remote worker themselves part- or full-time, if they so choose -- and as it makes sense for the business.  

Ahead of the go-live date, they'll hear about some tools and tips for working in this type of model. There is talk about showing folks how they can connect via our internal social network and share real-time workspace photos, stories and have discussions about their personal experiences as they unfold. The latter I think will add a bit of fun, and 2.0 working knowledge value, to the experience.

"Yes! WE Get It!"

A report came out a couple days ago which ranks the top 50 socially-savvy companies in the US, based on their employee activity across 9 of major social networks.  EMC cracked the top 20, ahead of some huge companies, with major brands, coming in at #16.  Glad to see so many of our folks "get it," and are "using it" to benefit the EMC brand.

"Quality of Engagement"

I was delighted and honored to see EMC's employment brand work kindly featured at a social recruiting conference this week.  The presentation by Susan Strayer featured "Engaging vs. Broadcasting" called out the fact that we're working to build relationships on the social-scape, not simply promote.  Her presentation, "Engaging vs. Broadcasting to Job Seekers Using Twitter" can be found on slideshare.

Thanks for the "mad props" Susan!!  And great work back at ya! (You know I'm a fan of your @DailyCareerTips on Twitter!)

----------- Talk Back ---------------

So there are three examples from our journey for you. 

The first indicates a starting gate of sort.

The second indicates wide-spread adoption.

The third indicates quality of adoption.

I'm guessing you have "micro-cultures" and various stages of adoption within your company as well, yes?

The Journey Continues.

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

(PS:  My editing function on the blog is in a poor mood today, if you notice lay out quirks.  So be it in the blog world.)

What "Good Social Media" at a Company Looks Like, IMHO

This interview was just released -- I love, love, love it.  If you're interested in topics such as

• Getting Social Media behavior/tools going at your company
• How to get bloggers blogging at your company
• What "good" looks like in internal and external social communities
• The relationship between social media strategy and company culture
• How many cups of free cappuccino and espresso can you expect to be consumed over 3 days in a popular blogger's lounge

... then you should see this video.  I RARELY watch 15 minute videos myself, but this one is worth it, and entertaining too boot. It features 3 key folks behind the platform and strategy in use at EMC.

Watch live video from The Cube LIVE from EMC World 2010 on Justin.tv

--------------- Talk Back ------------------

Thoughts? Impressions?

-- Polly Pearson
Http://www.pollypearson.com

@PollyPearson on Twitter

How Dusty is Your People Strategy?

My first real-real job of strategic merit included handling internal communications and public relations, and my office was right next to that of the Company's Founder.  An after-effect, now some twenty years later at the same company, is that I think of myself as a bit of a company culture maven.  The culture and the stories of this place are deep within in my cerebral muscle memory.

For the past few years I've gone more officially into this space of "culture," as we work on connecting the hearts and minds of the people of EMC to one another (community), and to the company strategy at a level one million times greater than the 'small company' approaches we used way back when.   I know what we're doing and how we're thinking at EMC today represents a major change, and could, in fact, be considered "transformative" ...

AND YET, it took an off-the-cuff remark by EMC's EVP of HR, Jack Mollen, the other day to shed a new light on the subject for me.   He said,

"Over the years, your product strategy changes, your go-to-market model changes; it only makes sense that your people strategy would need to change as well."

Simple sentence, yet profound.

At EMC, "our people strategy" and culture had never really been a big topic of discussion. (Barring one time in the late 1990s when business was so strong, our people got a bit cocky.  In this case, "attention" was like a big "Time Out" for many employees.)

Sure, HR has had its talent strategies, succession strategies and the like -- but until recently, I've never heard such constant chatter and focus on it from the executive and line business leaders.  AND THIS TIME, it isn't because anyone has been misbehaving. IT IS POSITIVE in focus, in intent ... and is being built on a position of strength.  There is no burning platform, just a burning desire to be great. And as a result, it is transforming our company as much, or more, than any product- or market-oriented strategy.

Just the other day, Joe Tucci, our CEO, was in an interview and discussed the natural evolution of culture. (See clip -- short, and even humorous). 

Funny enough, the very next day, he addressed about 6,000 EMC employees and after discussing the giant new company strategy (Private Cloud), he went right to being a great company for our people. 

There was no NEED to do that. No PRESSURE to do that. It comes from a clear desire.

His passion, role modeling, and endorsement of big new people-centric BEHAVIOR (think "open culture' as seen in widespread employee social media participation, major roll out of flexible working arrangements, record candor and regular communication throughout the downturn and now upturn, serious commitment to sustainability, and more) is having wide ripple effects.  

------------------------ TALK BACK --------------------------

How is your department, or your company doing on elevating this conversation on par with that of the customer strategy, the product strategy, and the financial strategy? 

Are you still treating and talking "to" your people like you did in the 80s or the 90s?

It was only three years ago at EMC that we stopped a "cultural classic" memo sent to all employees (for 2 decades) right around the first snowfall.  Its title, "Yes, Folks It Snows in New England."  The "on the surface" message was that we have customers all around the world who depend on us, and we need to be here -- snow or no snow in New England -- to tend to their needs. The "under the surface" message was, "Get your behind to work. Get up earlier to shovel if you have to, just get into the office."

It took some time for many who saw themselves "upholding the culture" to open their lens and realize, at this stage of remote connectivity and the like, that we can still be customer-centric while also being human ... and more considerate of our CURRENT workforce and workplace needs.  A more recent and still living example, is the embracing of open, collaborative, Web 2.0 behavior at work. The act of embracing this, involves releasing some of the old cultural, "command and control" norms.

In short, it was time for an UPDATED, people strategy that lived within the fabric of the culture itself -- a strategy that could sit alongside in importance with the customer strategy and the product strategy.

Maybe I'm sharing too many warts here.  Maybe your company has had a deep and caring people strategy ON THE SURFACE and OUT IN THE OPEN for decades. (Our people caring strategy has always been intense and generous, but was all too often behind closed doors. On the surface, we were the "tough-get-to-work; serve-the-customer" company.)

Why bother with "The People," given other loud business priorities? 

As I see it:

1. Engaged people engage customers, who engage your top and bottom line.
2. Business is conducted by people. Customer satisfaction begins with your people.
3. Healthy, passionate, and energized people breed a healthy, passionate and energized company.

How dusty is your people strategy?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter

The Courting of a CEO: Michael Capellas on Joining EMC and Cisco

An exclusive, video interview with one of the world's best known CEOs, Michael Capellas,  together with EMC EVP of HR, Jack Mollen; also joined by questions and comments from EMC Marketing CTO Chuck Hollis, EMC Storage Platforms CTO Barry Burke, and yours truly.

Included within:

• The video starts with Michael answering a question by Chuck Hollis on why he chose EMC (Michael laughs about the contrast of the question now, versus the time he got that question when he took over WorldCom!). 
• Barry Burke, a man who has long gone head-to-head competitively speaking on product strategies with companies Michael has presided over (Compaq, HP), shares his view on Michael on EMC's team.
• At about 2:20 (video time sequence), I asked Michael about his game plan for this joint venture, given the fact that such a model is brand new and there are, as such, no rule books.  His answer delivers, with the type of confidence you like to see from a leader.
• Starting about the 3:40 mark is my favorite.  Here, Michael and Jack share, in entertaining color how Michael was "courted" to run this venture. Watch to see how recruiting is done at the CEO level.

Thank you God, and thank you engineers, for inventing these mini video cameras -- so handy, fit in your purse or pocket!

------------ TALK BACK ----------------

Good fun for you too?  What did you like about this, in either the content or the model as a means of communicating the human side of business?

http://www.pollypearson.com

@PollyPearson on Twitter

"Varsity" Web 2.0 Exec Behavior from a Big Brand

Here is a video that has 3 contextual messages that I think are rather cool (see my prior post for how this video came about):

1. Some execs are so 2.0 savvy, ... they "so get" the concept of transparent, human (vs. "corporate") sharing, and the value of modern communication tools (vs., say, email) that they THEMSELVES are able to take on the role of " TV-ready Conversationalist/Host" to the world.  In the case of this clip, you see two such execs, a CMO and an HRO. The boomer-HRO is the "TV host!"

2. The message about a B2B company's size as an asset -- and the power of a focused message. In EMC's case, it wasn't too long ago that we were small ... and we're still small when it comes to comparisons against the likes of an IBM.  BUT, we are so MUCH larger than many of our competitors ... competitors who would die for an opportunity to have a customer event of this scale. Listen to EMC's new CMO discussing this concept of "Big" and having a "Focused" message.

3. Listen to Jack's last question.  It is something like, "How do we stay relevant to our customers?"  Did you get the nuance there? That is an HR GUY being grounded with being RELEVANT with CUSTOMERS.  Ahhh, how many FORTUNE 500 company G&A execs do you know who walk and talk the customer perspective?  THAT is a cultural fabric element. It isn't taught. It is lived every day.

Why Don't You Do the Interview?

In this video, Jack Mollen, EVP of HR, took the ball and ran with it when I grabbed my flipcam and said, "Jack, why don't you interview Jeremy?" 

"Okay," Jack said (with a wide smile).

Jeremy asked, "What's the subject?"

I said, "How about 'being big.'" "

That all took place in about 3 seconds. I hit the red button and signaled, "GO" with a finger point to Jack. 

-------------- Talk Back ------------------

At my company, we're far along in this journey toward the "open" 2.0 type culture, but there is still a far way to go.  Many employees I saw over these past few days suggested it might be time for a road trip of sorts of share the wisdom at an even more up-close-and-personal level; and share the examples to those who haven't witnessed the first-hand role modeling of 2.0 behavior and management styles.

Fair points. Good goal. Sign me (and you? and you?) up!

At EMCWorld this week, the theme is "Journey to the Private Cloud."  Journey. Powerful word.

Where are you on your journey?  What are you doing to help it along?  Can you apply any of Jeremy's marketing tactics?  Keeping the message focused, for example?

What about the "personal" tactics?  Are you face-to-face with (even more) people throughout your organization, understanding what they're working to achieve, and outlining how this new model could help?

Does your company know clearly what you are working to achieve ... and what is in it for the audience with which they are conversing?

-- http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter.

 

Business Equals Human Beings: Transformation 2.0, and Storytelling in Tech Land.

So I'm here in the bloggers lounge at EMCWorld, and in comes a bunch of EMC's top folks.  Joe Tucci, CEO; Jeff Nick, CTO; Jeremy Burton, CMO; Jack Mollen, EVP of HR.  Whatever. (smile, wink) I keep blogging;  keeping an ear out toward what was happening on the stage.

I see Jack come over to the bank of PCs sitting on top of a high-bar-type table, where I was trying to write.  "Show me the blogs?" he asked.  I pointed to the "blogs" hyperlink on the EMCWorld page, and then along came Len Devanna, who gleefully started to tell him where he could read the blogs being put out today.  Then, a funny role reversal moment:  Jack says, "Polly, do you have that flip camera thingy?" 

Ahhh, duh! It took Jack to remind me of the great video'ing opportunity we had right in front of my nose.

Len lit up.  "Yes," he said, smiling. I took out the camera and asked Len to interview Jack, himself. Topic: Talent, and the 2.0 Open, Collaboration Movement. (PS: In the  background -- that's Chuck Hollis of Chuck's Blog fame.)

Then, Jack agreed to interview Jeremy, our new CMO. Topic:  EMC brand opportunity and personal impressions at EMCWorld. (This and more will be posted later.)

Next, I put the camera on Joe Tucci and Michael Capellas (the famous career CEO who just joined EMC to run our Cloud business.) Topic: EMC culture change and how Joe factors competition into his behavior as a CEO.

Then ... some really good stuff.  An exchange between Michael and Jack on the courtship of a CEO and how he came to join EMC.  They lit up telling the story.  "At a Red Sox game," says Jack.  Joe called Jack while he was in Cambodia and said, "Talk to Michael!" 

"99.9 percent right," said Michael. It was a YANKEES game, and in the fourth inning Joe turned to me and said, "So, whatdaya think?"

---------------- Talk Back -------------------

Can you see the power of incorporating the human, and the color, into the business landscape? Everyone involved in the process had fun with it -- and now, I can't wait to upload the videos and share the emotion, the body language, and yes, the content with EMC's global force.

Which reminds me, an EMCer from Germany came up to me at the concert last night to thank me again for the "Leadership in Action" reality TV videos I've been doing.  He reminded me of the thank you note he send me after one of the editions.  "You have no idea how valuable they are," he said.  "We're so removed from Corporate. We don't get to see these execs, and hear them at that level. Thank you. It helps keep us connected."

--http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter :)

Brand Power: BIG in Beantown with EMC, in EMCWorld

EMC's annual customer/partner/IT industry fest is happening in Boston this week. 

A few shots.

 

PHOTO:  Opening night concert, Counting Crows. (#EMCWorld; Flickr by Len DeVanna)

The concert was cool.  Great music. Flowing beverages. Neon-purple-blinking-horned Viking hats.  (Not sure about why Neon-Blinking-Viking-Hats were there, but it added some good geek vibe.) Afterward, a bunch of bloggers in the IT/Storage/EMC universe got together. Those meet ups are always nice. It is kind of like hanging out with a group of friends who "see" each other enough that conversation is natural, not forced. The funny thing of course is that we rarely "see" each other in person. We live in different locations, and just as often work at different companies.

 

PHOTO: Opening Keynote, featuring EMC CEO Joe Tucci, #EMCWorld on Flickr by Len DeVanna 

As awesome as the concert was last night, the view when I arrived this morning took my breath away.   I still remember the day, some time around 1995, a toll taker on the Mass Turnpike noticed my employee badge on the dashboard while I passed through to hand him my 35 cents. He said, "Hey EMC. I know you guys."  I was like, "Wow.  This non-IT guy has heard of us!" 

--------------- Talk Back --------------------

Do you have an opportunity to hang out with your customers ... even if you're not a salesperson?  In-person .. and/or on-line ... keeps things real ... and for me, helps me appreciate SCALE.

http://www.pollypearson.com

@pollypearson on Twitter

Feeling LOVE ... and FORTUNE

For anyone who dedicates time to something "optional" like a blog, it sure is nice to know that you're noticed ... and even better, that you're missed.

Thank you to the many readers who have sent me a nudge in some sort or another wondering, "What is up? Why haven't you been blogging lately?"

The reason, on return from vacation, I've been slammed -- and one of the projects happens to have a lot of writing that goes along with it:  our 2011 FORTUNE Best Places to Work For submission.

FORTUNE FUN

I'm finding that editing these 20 or so essays is a bit like doing a massive performance evaluation.  You get to reflect on your current work -- and on your improvement over the past year.  And you get to laugh at how pedestrian your work was a year ago!

EXTERNAL LOVE

I also bit off a bit more than I likely should have when it came to external engagements.  I found myself in Atlanta doing a couple of presentations (full houses) at the Linkage Conference -- title "Leading Inclusively -- A case study of a 21st Century model."  The reaction from the audience blew me away, literally.  I actually used the word "exhausted" for the first time in print (Tweet) to express how I was feeling. Major-wager companies were lined up to hear more about EMC's 2.0 journey with its workforce, eager to give the model a go at their own companies, and at the same time apprehensive on how, and if, it could even happen "at a company like __(your company name goes here!)___."  

EMC was the big sponsor at the Simmons Women's Leadership Conference last week -- I felt compelled to be there, and was happy to be part of it. Nearly 500 women from EMC were there, looking to connect and gain insights.

CUSTOMER LOVE

Earlier this week, my colleague and I paid a visit to a large customer of EMC's -- a FORTUNE 100 company to cover the same 2.0 subject to a group doing a "mission, vision" imagineering-type off-site for the year 2020.  It went well. The company has invited us back to present to its Board of Directors.  WOW.

CONSULTING?

For EMC, there is no money -- "only" sharing and mentoring -- to be made from telling this story of this transformation in latitude and attitude we're blazing.  But, boy, is there a market for this story. So many companies want to see the path of the journey, and get help pulling it off.

COUNTING CROWS and POWERLUNCH!

Today, I am preparing for the  next round of external activity --  our big customer/partner/IT ecosystem who-ha, EMCWorld, starts this Sunday. It will kick off with a Counting Crows concert (happy Mother's Day IT fans!), and runs through Weds.  You'll be hearing from me via Tweets -- and on Tuesday they're broadcasting  a live women's PowerLunch, where I'll join EMC's Chief Sustainability powerhouse Kathrin Winkler and Social Media-meets-Education "Doctor" Gina Minks for an on-air interview.  There, we're also doing our own filming, of customers sharing their milestone moments ... that career aha moment when it hit them on what they wanted to do when they grew up.

HELP

Reminder to self and all:  I'm hiring!  I'm looking for a 2.0 savvy administrative right hand, as well as an Employment Brand Manager. I'm in that terrible pickle of needing help, and not having much time to find -- or even post about it!

--------------------------- Talk Back -------------------------

Is your May shaping up to be busy as well?  The people in the halls at EMC seem to have the look of a kid at that really scary part of a roller coaster ride.  There is so much to do, people's stomachs are sort of in their mouths. Sorry for the gross-out.  My pal Stu recently tweeted a YouTube clip that joked about the volume -- on a knob that stops at 10, people here are running at 11.

And oddly enough, that's what we love.  Having so much on the plate, so much on the mind ... you can't even write about the new new good stuff -- HELLO! like EMC hiring Michael Capellas .... whoa.  MAJOR talent. Career CEO ... joining EMC ... the sizzling spot in IT (?)!  [RE: Sizzing? Goldman Sachs published a new CIO buyers survey today. They said the "new world" companies are rising -- such as EMC and VMware!] 

PHOTO: Michael Capellas, EMC's newest Exec. (Former Compaq CEO, MCI CEO, First Data CEO)

I mean, think about it -- here is a guy who presumably can make any choice in life he wants, including golf and beach. And yet, he chooses to run a joint venture for EMC and Cisco. 

Remember this shot? The guy thinks big.

(Washington Post, on the merger between Compaq and HP.)

Day in the Life of Employment Branding

Lots of moving and shaking today in my world -- should be sleeping, in prep for my 4am wake up call for flight to family vacation tomorrow morning ... but thought a blog post might help digest the meetings and subjects which hit my plate today ... and help me wind down enough for bed.

Today's Top Ten

First meeting of the day:  Branding and messaging request for our to-be-launched major revamp of the on-boarding process for new hires -- inclusive of request for strategy and program management for elements inclusive of CEO Tucci participation, and division Presidents. 

Second meeting: Collaboration with CTO office member/MIT Fellow; Engineer/Video Documentary hobbyist; Director of Global Event Management; Marketing Thought Leadership Editor; and Distinguished Engineer on an idea to film customers at EMCWorld event discussing the milestone moment in their lives which led them into the field/career they're practicing today. Fascinating stories emerge. Deeper connections are forged on an emotional level ... more to come on that. Needed plan the location, communication, questions to be asked, and review overarching strategy, objective, and desired result.

Third meeting: Secret.

Fourth meeting: Review of planned and potential multi-media content for the 2011 FORTUNE Best Places to Work submission.  Includes videos, photos, etc. aligning to the 20 or so questions FORTUNE wants documented on topics such as how we care, listen, thank, celebrate, etc.  Discussed strategy and execution, and some surprise company celebrations in the works.

Fifth meeting: Request for branding strategy and creative input for vendor working on a new, global Rewards & Recognition system for EMC.  We covered the EMC culture, what makes us tick, how we need to participate/engage (not be talked at, or talked down to), and requirement to keep it real. Ended meeting brainstorming training strategies to ensure recognition goes deeper into the fabric of our company. Went back to office and created custom deck complete with employee photos and quotes discussing the culture as well as our brand message architecture for the vendor. Shared this deck with others who could have similar need for external audiences -- good for recruiters.  (Note to self: should upload it to SlideShare.)

Sixth meeting: Review of eBook strategy for the content's packaging and production.  This eBook features the voices and stories of our customers discussing careers in technology, mistakes made, success tips, and what they feel are the hottest areas today.  High stakes when collaborating with customers. Needs to be GOOD. Needs to be finished for EMCWorld (about 3 weeks away.) Need to absorb about 100 customer submissions and consider what content to feature and how. Need also to engage web publishing designer on format and execution.

MISSED event:  EMC's celebration of the EMC RUN as ONE marathon team -- employees and customers who will be running flew in from around the world to run in the most famous marathon on the planet this coming Monday: The Boston Marathon.  (Was sorry to miss this. The organizers scheduled a special meeting with me on it a couple weeks ago to get my ideas and support.) The marathon's starting line is in our company's home town of Hopkinton, Mass. For the rocket scientists out there -- that means we're 26 miles outside of Boston. Was delighted @Stu pulled me out of my office to meet a couple of the VIPs in town -- Michelle Flynn (star of eBook #1), and Matthew Bagwell (star of the 2.0 revolution for EMC consulting) -- both EMCers from the UK. Got to brainstorm with them on the eBook.

Seventh:  Had to create a presentation for a major, national Inclusion and Diversity conference in Atlanta on April 27th. EMC is a sponsor. I'm filling in for EVP Frank Hauck. It was due last week, and really truly due today. Finished! ... about 7pm tonight.

Eighth: Had to write a promo describing my coming keynote presentation at a New England HR Association conference happening in May. Due today. ... Today/Tonight -- close enough. Check!

Ninth: No time left to edit more FORTUNE Best Companies essays which were asked for, a few times, by today.  Eyes were stinging. Tummy hungry. Needed to get home and pack. There is always vacation for that!

Tenth:  Home. Eat. Watched teenager bake a cake, followed by three kids with spoons fighting to get into the bowl of remaining liquid, chocolate, cake batter. Pack. Blog to wind down.

------------ Talk Back -----------

In your day today, did you do what you hoped to be doing when you had that "milestone moment" as a kid?

I did.  My milestone moment happened about age 15 in my first (and oddly only) media class. I was in front of a camera and felt somehow at home -- liking the "reach" (aka "mass market the message"), liking the storytelling medium. I knew from then on the platform, or stage, I preferred was big, and far-reaching. With Good Morning America anchor on my mind, I also saw how every day could bring me fresh, and diverse content to digest, and bite-sized story telling opportunities.  (In my job, I get to do all that without DAILY 4am wake up calls!)

For anyone who thought this day was sort of cool and of interest to you, did I mention that I'm hiring?  Looking for an Employment Brand Manager to help.  I can use an operations-minded, 2.0-savvy Admin as well. Will post specs on return from vaca.

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

See also EMCCareers on Facebook.

FORTUNE 500 Findings: Brand Quiz

So the new FORTUNE 500 ranking of the top American companies in terms of revenue recently came out.

I thought it was a fun exercise to consider which companies were where on the list.

THE QUIZ

 

 

So here is the Quiz for you brand-curious types (answers below, aligned by #) --

EMC,  #166 on the list, is bigger or smaller than the following?

1. Viacom, OmniCom, CBS, Washington Post, Cablevision, McGraw Hill -- are BIGGER or SMALLER than EMC?
2. USAir, Continental, SouthWest Airlines -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
3. AMEX, Bank of America, GE, Goldman Sachs -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
4. Walt Disney, PepsiCo, McDonalds, Coca Cola -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
5. Starbucks, Hershey, Kellog, Sara Lee, Campbell Soup, Heinz -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
6. Wal-mart, Home Depot, Target, Staples, Nike, Gap, Amazon -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
7. e-Bay, Nordstrom, BJ's,Whole Foods, Limited Brands, Polo Ralph Lauren -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
8. Intel, AT&T, IBM, Dell, Apple, Oracle -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
9. Harley Davidson, Eastman Kodak, GameStop, Marriott -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?
10. Mastercard, ADP, State Street, Marsh & McLennan -- are BIGGER or SMALLER?

 

ANSWERS:

1. EMC is ... BIGGER than Viacom, OmniCom, CBS, Wash Post, Cablevision, McGraw Hill
2. BIGGER than USAir, Continental, SouthWest
3. SMALLER than AMEX, BofA, GE, Goldman
4. SMALLER than Walt Disney, Pepsi, McDonalds, Coca Cola
5. BIGGER than Starbucks, Hershey, Kellog, Sara Lee, Campbell's and Heinz
6. SMALLER than Wal-mart, Home Depot, Target, Staples, Nike, Gap, Amazon
7. BIGGER than e-Bay, Nordstrom, BJ's, Whole Foods, Limited, Polo Ralph Lauren
8. SMALLER than Intel, AT&T, IBM, Dell, Apple, Oracle
9. BIGGER than Harley, Eastman, GameStop, Marriott
10. BIGGER than Mastercard, ADP, State St, Marsh & McLennan

So there you have it, the brand world using EMC as the bountiful baseline of revenue success in America!

------------------- Talk Back ------------------

How did you do?!

Any surprises?  Any smiles?

For me, my eyebrows went up to see EMC was bigger than Mastercard and ADP, bigger than e-Bay and Marriott, Starbucks, USAir and Cablevision.

I was also surprised to see how relatively low Microsoft was on the list (36). Boy the gap between us is getting smaller every year!! Here we come Softie!!  (smile)

(PS: Thanks for allowing me a break from my Workplace 2.0 Timeline blog series.  Writing a series of posts always seems to exhaust my sensation seeking mind.)

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter

Workplace 2.0: Timeline, Year TWO

The prior two posts covered Year ONE.  Now, the following is a look at Year TWO, 2007.

 

TALK TRACK:

2007

RESEARCH -- TOOLS & CULTURE:

"Look with Honesty."

From the Employment Brand side of things, I was tasked by Jack Mollen, EVP of HR, to look "with honesty" at the culture, and on the perceptions of EMC as a place to work -- our strengths and our weaknesses. We had an eye to promote our strengths of course, and to improve our weaknesses.  I surveyed our recruiters and recall that they reported perceptions of EMC, in the negative column, as being "old school; old processes; bureaucratic." The positive column had attributes such as "Results-driven, Successful, Brand leader, Financially Strong."

I met with a half dozen agencies on the HR and Marketing side of things to learn what other companies were doing to enhance their employment brands.  In my opinion, there were not a lot of best practices to leverage -- for the EMC culture, at any rate. (posters, mugs, and/or expensive and deep process changes need not apply.)

INTERNAL ENTHUSIASTS

Meanwhile, there were several pockets of people and activity taking place internally with social networks. Examples: in our CTO office with an Innovation Network; in our Content Management Group with Developer Networks; and in HR (yes, HR!) with an internal Ning platform for internal collaboration, and with career fairs in the virtual world collaboration platform, Second Life. There were also a few people who were  blogging (I started around then), or who simply "got this world" and started to gravitate toward the conversation.

Major sides of the house were coming to the same essential conclusion -- and IT was bending over backwards to figure out ways to help, while keeping the IT infrastructure secure.

Momentum toward 2.0 was building -- but in an un-unified (schizophrenic?) manner.

MARKETING, HR and IT (and more Enthusiasts) CONNECT

The bloggers and project skunk works taking place in Marketing, HR, in the Field, and in the Tech groups started becoming aware of one another's activities, and began sharing their breakthroughs and tips. More and more social media light bulbs started to turn on in workgroups, and with leaders, around the company. We began bouncing ideas off one another and collaborating on projects -- a major one being our first, (internal) Global Innovation Idea Contest & Conference, where Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics, was our keynote speaker.

A "cease-exploration and experimentation" of sorts was called by Q3 of 2007, and we were all encouraged to focus on our efforts toward a singular internal social network and build from there. We called this platform EMC|ONE.  Everyone interested was encouraged to join an email distribution list where we posed questions, voiced concerns, debated answers, and made streamlined decisions on the experiment.  We discussed subjects such as "what communities should we launch on the network?"  

[Answer:  WE don't launch any. The people participating in the network decide what community groups to launch.]  

I can not recall even ONE physical meeting during these "incubation of the internal social network idea" days.  We had participants in the string from all over the world, and from multiple areas of the company. Titles made little or no difference in the debates. We were operating with the unsaid desire to do the right thing for the business, and in the process, stretched our individual resolve with "trust," over individual opinion and/or organizational constructs.  

[Example:  I recall the debate around having people learn 2.0 norms first "inside our firewall," vs. having it be cool for anyone and everyone to participate "externally" on behalf of EMC immediately as well.  I was in the "inside and outside" immediately camp. I listened to the views of others, got over what I thought was optimal, and trusted the conviction of others to go with/encourage the "inside first" behavior model. In retrospect, I believe the "inside first" decision was the right one. While building the 2.0 skills of our workforce, I see the biggest benefit was actually the side effect of encouraging the formation of deeper, trusting relationships between the people of the company, (aka the EMC family) -- which has served the company very well once the EMCers started engaging "outside" the firewall.]

Check out the white paper Chuck Hollis wrote which covers 2007 & 2008 key decisions and approaches rather well, including points on the business case (or not), and the tech decisions. Chuck was an early leader and an evangelist on our journey.

See also the recent blog post on EMC's 2007 journey by EMC's WebMaster, Len DeVanna for the platform story. Len was an early leader as well, and had the added responsibility of actually managing the tech platform, the user experience, and building community participation.

EMC|ONE SOFT LAUNCH & PURCHASE OF SOFTWARE SEATS

Three of my favorite elements from the Marketing/Chuck and Len side of the journey were,

1. "This is about social media proficiency within workforce as the key focus area."
2. "We should figure out this space before our competitors do."
3. "Funding for this is like a rounding error to our coffee budget." 

The marketing group handled the (un-budgeted) cost question by buying software seats in small lots, expanding the purchase as the network was discovered and used ... and along the way by building and exceeding expectations. The soft launch of this tool -- word of mouth only -- was brilliant.

... to be continued

------------------- Talk Back ------------------------

Is there anything here, so far, that catches you off-guard, or of particular interest to you and your journey?

For me, a person generally affiliated with the Marketing side of the business, but was actually part of the HR organization at the time, I couldn't believe that the employees/workforce side of things was actually an area of interest from Marketing people. Marketing folks are ALWAYS focused on the customer, the products, and the competition, right?

Why did customer-centric marketing people care about employees?

They realized that if our people did not have the skills to engage externally in this 2.0 manner, we would be out-flanked by our competitors.  They saw this as a skill that could and should be learned first inside (where it is better to make a mistake) ... so that when they're ready to go "outside" we'll know how to do it -- engage with customers and prospects -- well!  Along the way, it was realized that there was an even BIGGER benefit to engaging first on the inside: 

The hearts, minds and PASSION of engaged people are bigger than any sales & marketing budget on Earth.

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Workplace 2.0: Timeline, Year ONE

My prior post kicking off the Timeline of one company's  2.0 journey prompted sharing of more perspective on what was happening at our company around the time we got motivated to move down this road.  See the following from Chuck Hollis:

Comments

Chuck Hollis said...

Great perspective, Polly.

If we're thinking about 2006, I'd add a bit more context to what was going on at the time.

-- we had about a dozen or so "skunkworks" social media things floating around the company, none being done particularly well.

-- as a result of rampant acquisition and globalization, it felt more like an army of fiefdoms, rather than one company; we couldn't connect ourselves internally for a variety of reasons.

-- and, as our external conversations were getting richer, we were increasingly frustrated by our inability to connect the inside and outside of our company using traditional 1.0 means.

-- frustration levels were rising exponentially across the business; we needed a new type of answer.

You're right -- the BOD meeting was in many ways the "tipping point" -- it gave us the license to look at this strategically vs. tactically.

But many of the underlying forces were well in play.

Thanks for writing this down!

-- Chuck

_______________________________________________

I'm happy Chuck shared this.  It prompted me to look for a one-page report I wrote for the EVP of HR, Jack Mollen -- dateline May, 2006.  Jack had recently tasked me with "Strategy Engagement" and his problem statement was, simply, 

"The company revenue is back on track, the strategy is getting high marks from the marketplace, but it doesn't feel "hot" in the hallways.  Why?"

Adding to the backdrop, our employee motivation and satisfaction scores were not improving in tandem with the business results, and scores were not good in areas relating to employee connection with the company strategy.

The report I wrote for Jack was a one-page situation analysis.  It contained the findings of a research project I did to better understand the state of disconnect we were looking at.  I figured we couldn't start to solve it, until we knew, in the most honest and genuine fashion, what was on the minds of our leaders.   So I set up one-on-ones with about 25 VPs who I believed would share their most candid thoughts.  The results were potent.

Following is the core of the report:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 10, 2006

Challenge: 

 

EMC complexity, many moving parts, and pace of the business is resulting in a sub-optimal level of information sharing and engagement with and between our VPs, and follow on information flow to their organizations. Select VP quote:

 

 “We have VPs here with millions and millions in budget who have no idea as to the ramifications of their actions on other organizations.”

 

On a score of 1-5 with 5 being superior, VP’s score their ability to be fully leveraged and engaged in the business based on the information they have at a 2-3.

 

VPs are requesting:

-          At least 2 face to face meetings per year

-          Webcasts/Webseminars, perhaps quarterly, on topics of significance.

-          Regular communication that identifies top business developments and puts it in context from an executive viewpoint.

-          Visibility and clarity as to the near-term and long-term strategies and goals of EMC and its major organizations/lines of business.

-          Arranged social interaction time with their peers.

 

As for content of the face to face meetings, one SVP outlined the following:

 

“Strategy development and deployment. -- Easy to develop it; hard to execute on it.”

o       Review challenges facing the business

o       Cover how do we collectively meet the requirements that we’ve signed ourselves up for? For example, if software missed its number, how can my organization’s business perhaps help it?

o       Where can we get synergies across the business?

o       How do we make it look like one EMC?

o       Where are the operational efficiencies?”

--------------------------------------------

Looking at the report I can't help but make a mental bookmark on our still very hierarchical thinking in terms of information sharing; and be VERY PROUD of how far we've come.

-------------------- TALK BACK --------------------

EMCers, do you remember this time?  We had put forth a singular EMC strategy to our customers, "Information Lifecycle Management," yet we were still acting like several distinct companies inside and outside of our company walls.  

It was very hard on all of us.  We are an engaged culture of passionate, innovative people who focus on successful results.  I think there was a funky mood in the hallways because we all knew we weren't operating as cohesively as we could. But how to solve it?

We're far from perfect today of course, but gosh are things so, so, so, so much better! We ended the year 2009, of course, with a quarter showing RECORD revenue and customer satisfaction, as well as RECORD employee engagement.

-- Polly Pearson
- http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Timeline: Workplace 2.0

How do you get started with a 21st Century approach to workplace culture and behavior norms?

I was part of an industry advisory type forum recently where I actually got a bit frustrated with how professional communicators were getting so caught up ("constipated" might be a better word) in the minutia, that I thought I would die.

It took the frustrated plea from a person representing a company that was likely 80 years old or more, and headquartered in the Midwest, for me to begin to see their key point of frustration.

The breakthrough concept:

"Every company (management team) is at a different point in the spectrum of readiness."

For high-tech companies, it could likely come faster and easier. For others, not necessarily the case.

It was suggested that a timeline, noting different stages of deployment, be put together.  Such a timeline may help people show their management teams, or visualize for themselves, where they could start the journey, and how systems could move forward, at whatever timeframe works best for that particular company or industry.

With that motivation in mind, I put together a slide to represent EMC's journey, from my vantage point, toward a state that has been referred to with terms such as:

• Web 2.0, or Social Media-Savvy
• Workplace 2.0
• Open Culture
• The "Connection and Collaboration" culture
• The 21st Century model for employee engagement (or organizational communication)
• Employment Branding, leveraging open/transparent behavior norms

As I started to write this post, I quickly realized that this will have to roll out in a series, as the discussion for each year, while only a snapshot, is long enough to be considered a full post.

Here is a look at just Year One of our journey -- that is, the first year in which heat got into the organizational system on the subject.  Don't be fooled for how it began. Key people were at the table and watch out -- YEAR TWO was a HUGE year of activity!

 
 

Disclaimer: The timeline reflects just my poor-memory look at the some of the steps we took from a vantage point of the Employment Brand Office. This slide is one we could and likely should build-out to show the the richness of approach, reflecting the priorities from many organizations at EMC.  If you're reading, Len Devanna, Chuck Hollis, Mark Twomey -- have at ... add to its bounty and truthful depiction!

Talk Track:

2006

"SOMETHING IN THE AIR:"

There was a now-famous Board of Directors meeting (which I did not attend) around November of 2006. At the meeting, there was a powerful sentiment that "there was something in the air" with social media for business.  Marketing was tasked with "looking into it."  Jack Egan, a member of our Board and an exec with deep roots in the IT industry and with VCs, was a key player that day.  Whether he knows it or not, he helped provide a type of encouragement, and likely air-cover for current and future storage industry bloggers.  How? With this simple sentence, "Chuck, I like your blog."

EMC had about three "mainstream bloggers" at that point -- bloggers like Mark Twomey (aka Storagezilla),field tech out of Ireland; Mark Lewis (Mark's blog) an EVP (now divisional President); and Chuck Hollis (Chuck's blog), Marketing VP & CTO, come to mind.

Where was I?

During 2006, I had just moved into HR and was at the starting gate of understanding what comprised a desirable place to work, and what EMC needed to work on.

By way of workplace collaboration tools, we had eRoom, and e-Mail. We had in-person meetings, web conferencing numbers, and Webcast ability -- and just as often, we forgot to Webcast our internal meetings, so that our colleagues on the West Coast or in Europe could see the presentation as well. Our tools and face-to-face behavior were an increasing source of frustration for many of our workers. (Examples: College students joining EMC expected more than we had to offer in terms of collaboration tools, web access, and telecommuting. Acquired companies and operations outside of Massachusetts had to remind us all too often to consider time zones, and the virtual sharing of content to be discussed.)

I had been reading the early blogs, and advocating for more social tools (ala IM) inside of EMC. I was love/hating the prodding we were getting from our recently acquired West Coast companies/divisions. It seemed, to me, that they were ahead of the game with regard to workplace collaboration. I was concerned EMC wasn't moving fast enough.

NEXT POST:  YEAR TWO

-------------------- Talk Back ----------------------

What do you recall about your workplace norms in 2006?  Where were you/your company?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson

Workplace Trend Spotting: "15 to 30 Minutes is the New Hour"

If you booked an internal meeting with someone a couple years ago, how long was it, usually?

An hour, right?

How long do you book meetings now? (in 2010)

I asked this question to an administrative assistant a few minutes ago.  Without hesitation she said,

"15 to 30 minutes. It is the new hour." 

Then she said, "Oh, and I schedule lots of 5-10's too.  They love those best!" She continued, "The new model seems to be, come by when something is on your mind. Life is moving too fast for long meetings. And if something is on your mind, you sure as heck better come by!"

-------------- Talk Back -----------------

I couldn't agree more, you? 

Are you still booking 1-hour internal meetings?  Especially for one-on-ones  -- is an hour really necessary?

I suspect that looking for 1-hour time slots for stuff that could take place in 30 minutes or less could be a new "dinosaur indicator."

Thoughts?

What about sales calls?  Any changes to those (yet)?

And to add another potential Trend Spot ... last night I said the word "Admin" in casual conversation with my teenage daughter.  She said, "Admin. What is that?"

On the note of my daughter's observation, Futurist Jim Carroll's prediction comes to mind. When I saw him speak this week, he said, "65% of preschoolers will work in a job that does not yet exist."

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter

Your People (employees) As Your Best Brand in Action

Today I had a pop-in visit to my office by Steve Todd (photo below).  We caught up on a few subjects and, like most of my visits with Steve, our time ended with new ideas and execution plans.

Some time after he left, I glanced at the Tweet stream about EMC today, and saw a post he wrote for Vault.com being promoted like crazy (by entities not affiliated with EMC.)

I wondered what it was all about and found this (excerpts pasted below the photo). It is filled with words people like me love to read.  And yet, funny enough, Steve never mentioned it to me. 

THAT, is how it works in the ideal world!!  "That," of course, being the notion that it becomes second nature for your people to comment favorably on their jobs and their workplace culture.  ... Nothing to write home about. Nothing special enough to call attention to the "Polly" at your company.  Just another day ... 

[Photo: EMC Distinguished Engineer Steve Todd. EMC's CTO Barry Burke in background.]

The following is an excerpt from a blog post by Steve Todd on career site Vault.com:

How to Find Engaging High-Tech Careers

One of the long-held stereotypes of high-tech engineering jobs is that of a cave troll typing away in a basement cubicle, sacrificing personal time in order to hit impossible deadlines. This image extends to the large corporations that value productivity, obedience, diligence, and intellect above all else.

Contrast this stereotype with the 21st century view of how to stimulate innovation in large corporations: passion, creativity, and initiative. According to Gary Hamel, these traits do not necessarily replace obedience, diligence, and intellect; they complement them.

When interviewing for a high-tech position, you would do well to uncover how far your potential employer has come in the practice of stimulating employee initiative. ... Corporations need productive employees to generate revenue. They also need creative employees that take the initiative to guide their teams into the future while simultaneously delivering upon their commitments. There are two lines of questioning that will help you assess the culture of your potential new team.  [Go to Vault to read these!]

... I work for a large, multi-national corporation (EMC) that is currently in the midst of a shift to a 21st century management style. My company sponsors global idea contests for all employees. I am also starting to see contests held within individual business units. Coding challenges are a part of the corporate experience. Knowledge transfer across geographies is emphasized. Employees and local universities are also encouraged to lecture on their area of expertise.

Beware the answer that rings of “we work hard, all day, all the time”, and/or “we don’t have time for that stuff”. If you have your mind set on the practice of innovation, this particular company may not be the one for you.

However, if you find ready answers to your questions, you have likely found a corporation that “gets it”. There’s a good chance that accepting a job offer will result in the opportunity to combine productivity and initiative.

-Posted by Steve Todd, EMC Distinguished Engineer. Read more of Steve’s posts on careers in the tech field on his Innovate with Influence blog on Vault.

----------------- Talk Back -----------------

I've blogged before that I think "employees are the new brand spend."  All we have to do is get out of the way a little. Stop attempting to control it all, approve it all, and let them speak.  They might just do a really great job.

(Your people are, after all, well educated adults who really don't want to be fired, or to say something you would absolutely hate. )

Yes?  No? Thoughts?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter.

A Business Vitality Cocktail for the 21st Century: Brand, Employees, Social Media, People Management

Sometimes it takes a 3rd party to prompt you to state your thesis of sorts.

This recently happened for me, with the results published today in an article titled, "People are the Best Brand."

HR Summit, a member organization for HR pros, put out the article. It does a great job:

• providing a view on this new-fangled job I hold, "Employment Branding and Strategy Engagement,"
• outlining my personal views that put branding, employees, people management norms, and social media into a blender for a 21st Century business vitality cocktail*, and
• the approach EMC is taking with regard to all of the above (kudos to EMC EVP of HR, Jack Mollen, for having the courage to take this approach -- and to EMC's Marketing, Products & Quality organization, under the leadership of EVP Frank Hauck, to see that this need does not fall on HR's shoulders alone).

A peek at the article follows.

*Note, the cocktail term will not be found in the article.  That analogy just came to me now -- I rather like it! A health drink with some Zing for today's businesses!

----------- Talk Back --------------

What do you think about this model or approach?  Did you see Jack's line about "leveraging the global genius?"  I love that one.

Or does it all sound a bit too liberal nicey-nice?  That potential argument has been nagging me a bit.

As luck would have it, a colleague and thought leader in this "Business 2.0" space, popped casually into my office the other day to discuss a meeting he and I are going to have with an EMC customer on the 2.0 subject. He threw out this line, in a matter of fact way:

"This is all about the right model at the right time. 2.0 is great in most cases -- such as for 'innovation,' and there are also instances where it won't be the right model, such as legal compliance.

Right-oooohhhhh.

The norms of the 20th Century were likely 75% plus  "tell the employees what to do, police them, and share business information on a 'need to know' basis."  Never 100%. The same "not necessarily 100%" formula could be used in this 21st Century, collaboration and connection model.   Yes?

Where do you, or your company stand?  Read the article. Can you see the vision?

--Polly Pearson

http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson

What do you think about Glassdoor.com?

Yesterday Glassdoor.com sent me a notice saying they are now showing relevant company awards for the companies on this "best place to work" site where employees share opinions about company strengths and weaknesses, and rate the CEO (among other things).

When I clicked through, I thought Glassdoor picked a couple cool awards to call out for EMC -- World Most Admired, by FORTUNE, among them.

I then noticed the latest CEO rating for our Joe Tucci -- 81%.  Pretty cool.  When typing in a few other companies to scan CEO ratings (such as IBM, and HP), I felt pretty psyched that our CEO was blowing their CEOs out of the water.  (Wink and a smile. Know the company I represent is competitive about just about everything.)

--------------- Talk Back --------------

What are your latest thoughts about Glassdoor.com?  

I've written about them a couple times on this blog.  The first time, I blasted them a bit for promoting ratings when the site was just few weeks old, and most companies only had a handful of ratings.  That said, I was favorable to the concept at scale.  I think it is a rather natural evolution of transparency.

I haven't thought that much about it since -- other than, of course, enjoying seeing EMC moving the up the Top 50 Best-Places-to-Work rankings, as well as feeling proud when they release the top CEO ratings.

What has been your experience?  Is it at the scale yet where the ratings have any merit?  

Or, do you think it is a profit-seeking, scam-type venture which adds little to no value and penalizes people and companies for no good reason?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson

Humor: Employee Engagement Gone Bad

Saw these photos today via @DailyCareerTips's link to this blog  post on JobMob, and thought I'd share the laugh:

 

Posted with full respect to the value of McDonald's employees --  the details posted on the sign is the indication of engagement gone bad.

The photo below has nothing to do with Employee Engagement gone bad, but was certainly funny in a Dilbert sort of way.  At EMC, we continue to pray to the cost leverage God, and are making our facilities more  efficient at all times.  On that note, I sent this photo to our CFO with a suggestion that he is perhaps, still a bit too easy on us:

This office must stink.

------------------ Talk Back -----------------

Any employee-engagement-gone-bad stories or photos to share?  

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson

The Future and Today ... Where Excitement, Value Creation and Cool Lives?

This video from TED is a cool look at the future of our consumer lives and how we will interact with information.

Thank you to EMC Consulting's Matt Bagwell for bringing it to my attention (via his blog).

Viewing this was timely as I've recently engaged Mark, a college hire circulating through my group, to work with us on putting together a storyline geared to touch people's imaginations and make an emotional connection between the general public (a not-necessarily-technical audience), and EMC's opportunity.

Some elements of the storyline:

Add this digital calculator (shows us how many digital bits are growing in the world by the nanosecond today),

with

how we will depend on information tomorrow (see the above TED video as a starter); you might also want to read the recent special report from The Economist on this subject, or our ON Magazine on the web of the future

with

the need for 21st century information infrastructure -- like the railroads and even  seemingly simple elements at the turn of the 20th century,

and the story unfolds where we can all see ...

the potential for awesome value creation, contribution to every day lives, and the enabling and sustainable foundation of the most terrific breakthroughs of the day.

That is where the opportunity for being part of EMC -- the company Where Information Lives -- sits today, as I see it. 

--------------------- Talk Back ------------------

How would you paint the story of EMC's opportunity? A story that your neighbor could see and feel as well?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson on Twitter

New, New, and New! A Day at EMC.

A few highlights crossing my life and in-box at EMC:

• New 52-week stock price high.  Let's start with the money.  Ahhh. Up feels a lot better than down, now doesn't it?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• New  Vision.  While EMC's vision was announced on Friday, all the write ups are flooding the "in-box" today.  To know more, here's the must read blog, Go Big or Go Home, by EMC's Chuck Hollis. It is bold, and buzz-worthy. All in, pretty cool, too. Here's a recent view of the tweet stream -- comments or RTs coming in about every 30 seconds today:

• New CMO. Welcome Jeremy Burton! Jeremy is our first major-wager-C-level marketing hire ... ever.  Jeremy has has an EMC-like execution track record, a business-centric demeanor, an innovation and thought-leadership bent -- and the ability to build a brand such that it major-ly irks larger competitors.  (Trust me on that. First-hand experience.) I love that we did NOT hire a fancy-pants, color-centric marketing person who thinks that branding equals advertising. I love that we did NOT hire a marketing person who is on the early stage ramp of understanding web 2.0.  I love that we DID hire a marketing person whose most recent job was a CEO -- only a marketing person with a CEO-headset would thrive, I think, in our C-suite.

[PHOTO: Jeremy Burton, EMC's new CMO]

So What?

Here's my so what:

1. Such stock trends -- break-throughs on the upside -- indicate the market is in favor of your company's future. They understand where you are going, they believe you have a competitive lead that is likely to grow, and that you have an earnings profile likely to expand. Oh, and they believe they can make money by investing in your stock. All good!
2. When the market writes about your vision, this is good. When your vision is so bold they use the word "crazy" in the headline, this is even better.  It begets more buzz. And, let's face it, the tech market hasn't had enough "crazy" in the headlines for the past 10 years.  Things are getting exciting in tech!
3. Net new investments in marketing, in high-tech, in this market -- whoa, that's "let's secure this win!" confidence. Personally, I love that we have another in the C-suite who seems to share the beliefs of many of the 2.0 trailblazers at EMC.  Beliefs like:
   
   • leveraging -- not fearing -- 21st century business management models, inclusive of use of social media
   • leveraging -- not fearing or minimizing -- the strengths and passions of your people ("employees") as the genuine brand.
   
   

------------------ Talk Back ----------------------------

Have you ever considered joining the EMC community?

If so, there are many ways to be part of this story.  Some ideas: 

• Consider applying, or telling someone you care about, to apply.  (http://www.emc.com/careers.)
• Consider connecting with any of the many EMCers on Twitter, Facebook, and our Customer/Partner Network, ECN.
• Consider using our products (Mozy and VMware for the home rock! As do, of course, our big business powerhouse products.).
• Look to see if EMC is already in your investment portfolio. That could give you a reason to cheer (and to join us) as we execute our crazy good vision!

If not, please tell me that too.  

-- Polly Pearson
@PollyPearson on Twitter

 

Crazy or Cool -- You tell me. Bold posts.

Some fabulous finds for "brainfood" in the blog-world tonight on subjects circling  leadership, organizational dynamics, the future of education, truly living the brand, the knowledge era, and stuff like that.

This is more than notable, from Jeff Jarvis -- notes from his TEDxNYed presentation, titled, "This is bullshit."

Loved this one by David Meerman Scott: "Social Business Beyond Just the Marketing Department."  

(Be sure to click through to the Peter Kane post that David calls out.)

----------- Talk Back --------------

Crazy or Cool?

- Pollypearson

@pollypearson on Twitter.

Career Advice and the Job Interview: The Blue, Yellow and Red of Job Search Today.

 

[Words from Polly Pearson; Color block image from About.com]

Could these potentially be the new basics -- the Blue, Yellow, and Red -- of job search today?

Dice.com today ran an interview with me covering just three questions.  As I considered them in their most boiled down fashion, the image of three primary essentials -- Be Found; Be Relevant; Be Heard -- came to mind.

Here are the questions asked:

1. How can IT people build their brand?  ( 0:51)  BE FOUND.
2. What can set you apart during a job interview? (1:16)  BE RELEVANT.
3. How important are soft skills? (1:21) BE HEARD.

Thank you Sonia Lelii

for coming out to EMC to do the interview.

The tips  I mention in this interview, and more, can be found in the free eBook we published recently, containing real-time views from tech recruiters themselves. 

---------------- Talk Back ----------------

What are other key tips from your vantage point for the 21st Century seeker of productive connections (sales, marketing, job search, etc)?

-- Polly Pearson

http://www.pollypearson.com

@PollyPearson

Our next eBook, geared to helping the careers of professionals in IT

So last quarter we published a free eBook geared to help people find jobs in this market. We called it, "100 Job Search Tips from FORTUNE 500 Recruiters."   It continues to be forwarded around and well received.

What's next?

Serving the "other half" of the employment coin, those who have a job and who wish to further their careers.  We first envisioned,

"100 Career Tips from FORTUNE 500 Executives."

We still may do that -- but not this time around.  On discussing the idea with my colleague Chuck Hollis, Chuck made this suggestion, "Why not make it even more relevant to our key audience, and feature our customers in the book, thereby honoring them?"

Love it!

After talking it around a bit more, we're now looking to feature people who are working in some of the hottest areas of IT.  The notion being that the world of IT is forever changing. Let's share some relevant and current career stories and tips -- so that others in IT can consider these insights in relation to their own career paths.

Once again, "Why do this?"

The most common desire among workers is to make progress on the job, and further their careers (so says research I've seen).  I've noticed that any forum I attend which offers a session on career tips or mentoring is always packed. There is pull for this subject. 

Let's give these tips to people dear to us, professionally -- our customers, employees, and prospective customers and employees. For those on the IT career management journey currently, it should be a nice find.  For those who aren't interested in thinking about career growth or development today, it might be a nice feeling just knowing it is there and that EMC offered it.

------------------- Talk Back ---------------

If you're in tech, would you like to read one page profiles with tips and insights from IT pros who are working in hot areas such as Virtualization, Security, Cloud Computing, and HealthCare IT?  Would you like to read their views on key tips for success and career mis-steps they've observed?

What would you like to know?

We're currently thinking of these 10 questions:

(As a potential reader of this book -- do these hit the mark for you?)

1 Share 3-5 key positions you've held in IT:

2: How old were you when you decided you wanted to get into IT? What inspired this decision?

3. How did you break into your current specialty area?:

4. What do you see as exciting opportunities in IT today?:

5. What are your top 3 tips for how to be successful and/or remain valuable in your profession?:

6. What advice do you have for someone who feels stuck in their current IT position?

7. What resources (training, publications, networks, etc) do you find essential to stay current in your field?:

8: What is a common career mis-step you've seen others make in your profession?:

9: How would you define a great day on the job?:

10: What is your favorite business communication tool today (phone, email, social networks, IM, other)?

If anyone would like to test drive these questions, please do so! Share your answers or suggestions of any kind in the comments section, or email me at pearson_polly@emc.com.

THANKS!

-- http://www.pollypearson.com

Reality TV communication for Employee Engagement and Connection to Strategy

Today we issued the third "episode" of Reality TV-Meets Employee Communication -- Web 2.0 style.

[A screen shot, this of Frank Hauck, from one of the clips.]

Called "Leadership in Action," the intent is to better connect the people of the company with the culture, the strategy, the values, and the leadership of the company.  And by leadership, I mean "leadership at every level."  While most of the clips are of the C-suite type leaders, not all are.

The content is presented as Infotainment that can fit "inside a cup of Joe."  Meaning, the video clips can be consumed quickly and are short. All the content is housed on our internal "collaboration network" (aka social network), where employees can comment on the videos, ask questions and even rate the content with Amazon-type stars.  Every clip is indexed, tagged, and searchable.

[Pictured: Frank Hauck, EVP, and Joe Tucci, EMC CEO share a laugh while I interview them for this "Engaging," web 2.0, employee communication.]

In this edition, we included a casual, high energy exchange between CEO Joe Tucci and EVP Frank Hauck on the day we announced earnings. It was the end of the day, and they were casually leaning against the stage where our record results were just reviewed.  (You read that right. Record results. Recession year; Record results.) They talked about the vibe at the company, the position we were in for the year ahead, and what got them excited as we looked forward.  Best of all, I think, is what wasn't said in words. It is the body language, the laughter, and the clear comfort they had with each other.  In other words, the stuff people generally don't get to see when left to see just the business-as-boring type of corporate communication.

[Pictured: Famed blogger and EMC VP, "VirtualGeek" cracks a joke on stage in the reel made for our Board.]

Also in this edition was a 'fly on the wall' view of what happened at an 'exclusive' series of strategy meetings to frame the year 2010 execution plan. This video was actually created, on request of our Vice Chairman and head of global sales, for our Board of Directors.  The Vice Chair gave us the okay to share it with all 43,000 employees.  (What? You let your employees see content that was exclusively created for your Board of Directors?  Content from a company strategy meeting no less?  Yup.)  What did it contain, exactly?  A highlight reel of sorts from presentations and panels, and even cocktail parties  -- inclusive of friendly peer-to-peer joking. Only by including the Full Monte, could everyone be able to feel (and reinforce for those who were there) the energy and optimism that oozed from these sessions.

[Pictured: EMC Vice Chair/Head of Global Sales Bill Teuber discussing international go-to-market strategy with AsiaPac President, Steve Leonard.]

What else? Really cool clips of our "theater leads"  the people who own the revenue and profit plans for each major geography.  The Sales organization made changes this year to its market coverage methodology and it is important for everyone to know the what and whys of these changes, at least at the highest levels.  Each leader provided facts, figures, context and stories -- of the type you might get if you had a cup of coffee with them, and they knew you well. They were straight-talking business, yet of a personal and trusted nature.  Like-able candor was a take away for me.

Here is a screen shot of how the list of offerings looks, about 6 hours after being announced to the workforce:

You can see that one of the videos has over 400 views already -- and that the full "video collection" has almost 4,000 views.

Our model isn't perfect yet -- and the video clips never will be perfect.  But they are real, and that is our commitment to the people of EMC.  Nothing fake. Just real, the way you want want to get the information if you worked here.  That's the goal anyway.

Here's a link to a prior blog I wrote about our second edition, with more photos and color.

Here is a sample of one of the clips from our second edition, this of our newest President, Pat Gelsinger, discussing his first 45 days on the job. My peer, Chuck Hollis, called it out on one of his blogs as a way to introduce Pat, now the guy behind EMC products, to the tech readers who frequent Chuck's writings.

------------------ Talk Back ----------------------------

What do you think?

Thoughts to improve the model?

One idea came from an employee who viewed the videos. He pointed out that he was deaf, so he only "got" about half the content, and wondered if we could provide transcripts.  Humm. I never would have thought of that.  You?  (consider it done!)

http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson

Have you Ever Gone Night Hiking?

My family had a sleep over party at my best friend from childhood's house (Melissa Ruttle) over the weekend out in Princeton, Mass* (home of Wachusett Mountain.)

Before dinner, we toasted marshmallows in the cool 3-sided stone building they have on their property, complete with a big stone fireplace. While we were still filled with energy from a bright, sunny and snow-filled day, our host, Brian Ruttle, said something about possibly doing a night hike after dinner.

Fast forward ... amazing lasagna dinner, red wine, peanut-butter ice-cream cake (!), board games by the wood stove ... and someone (wait, was that me?!) said,

"What was that about a night hike?"

My 14 year-old Sophie perked right up, eyes bright, "Yea! Let's do it!!"

So at 10pm, we were all jumping into our snow clothes.  Sixth-grader Jake Ruttle said, "Better put your snow pants on. The snow will be deep out there." 

We all piled out of the house ... 4 year-old Oscar, included.

The Ruttles live on the edge of a mountain. It was a full moon. The white snow was glowing, even in the deep, deep woods.

In about 100 yards, the snow was over my kneecaps (and nearly over Oscar's head). We we took turns carrying him on our shoulders over the truly deep parts.

There were no trails. Only trust in our host -- hoping he knew where he was going!

At the top of one ledge, there was a very cool building made of stone and wood, with a porch. Inside, a grand fireplace and built-in benches along the other 3 walls. "They call this the music house," said Brian.  They used to keep a piano in here and the music would wash down the mountain to the Pond House below (yet another outbuilding, in front of a mountain-water pond.)

Gorgeous! Envisioning the perfect sunset spot, I said, "I want to spend my birthday here!"

From there, the Ruttle kids begged to go to the "stone table." 

"Don't know if I can find it," said Brian, as he headed Northeast, deeper into the woods.  I looked down at young Oscar and said, "Sure you want to head deeper into the woods?"  There was no going back! The troops were in motion.

Every tree looked the same. Everywhere there was DEEP snow.  A turn here, a turn there, a few more hikes up -- and they found it! The snow was suddenly a foot or so higher, popping up from the elevation made from a table the size of a VW bug. The table was a round sheet of stone, and was surrounded, conveniently by nicely crafted snow benches (or so it seemed. They were all crusted with a good foot or more of snow.) 

[Shown: Brian Ruttle, the Pearson kids (Oscar, Margo & Sophie), and Ruttle boys Jake and Wyatt standing on the "stone table".]

-- I had visions of people crafting these tables back around Roosevelt's day, when people had summer "cottages" (think Newport, RI "cottages") in these mountains for the quality air. --

After the stone table, we headed out to an old logging road for a bit. At some point, Brain pointed to a 4' snow bank and said, "behind there somewhere is the trail to the pond house."

Sophie took a turn carrying Oscar. Then Brian. We tromped through the mountain river to the pond, where we saw an old stone building with a Spanish-tile roof.

Then, the return home: back over the river, 7 year-old Margo now was suddenly sitting under the giant snow-covered trees -- saying "can't we take a rest?"  I looked at my watch. It was 11:06 pm.

We arrived back at the house around midnight. Oscar's cheeks were flushed. Everyone was buzzing with delight. 

"Gee, will we be able to get to sleep," I asked, (secretly envisioning a nightcap)?  "Yep," was the answer.

Fifteen minutes later the house was silent and the bright moon beamed into the guest room keeping me wide awake, for at least another minute or two!

* From the Town of Princeton's website: "In 1842, Thoreau and a friend walked from Concord to Mt. Wachusett, where he was stirred to write of the mountain, " who like me/standest alone without society."

--------------------------- Talk Back ----------------------

Have you ever gone on a night hike?

I imagine snow shoes would have made it easier on little legs. But it was GRAND fun, just the same.

There are lots of things I could be, should be blogging about today, but I'm still a bit tired you see. I was wondering why, when I recalled our little adventure and thought to share it here.

A Hot Job Category and a New LinkedIn Value Prop?

I was delighted to be greeted like a rock star at a conference in Miami earlier this week.

Moments after my presentation was over, a person came up to me and said excitedly, "You are Polly Pearson!" 

    Me: "Ah, yes."

Then she said, "Because of you I have my job!"

    Me, with quizzical look, "Really?"

Her:  "Yes! I found you on the Internet. I read your LinkedIn and said to myself, 'That's it! That's the job for me!  I modeled my ideal job description after yours and presented it to my company. They said 'Yes!'"

This person, btw, works at one of the largest and most reputable consumer brands in the world.

So Cool.

Way to go assertive career management skills, the Internet, LinkedIn ... and what the heck, the Smart Engineers of the world who figured out how to harness all the bits of digital information so that they may be stored, shared, accessed, and retrieved in such a way that they add value in the most remarkable and humanly impactful ways! 

 

... For the non-techies, that was a blatant plug for the abilities of the good and brainy engineers at EMC.

---------------- Talk Back ---------------

Are you having similar experiences thanks to LinkedIn, a cool job title or category, (brainy engineers,) or other? Please share!

Interestingly, when I asked the people at this national employee engagement and employment branding conference, how many were in their jobs less than 3 years,  90% of the people in the room raised their hands.

Innovation Mashups: 2.0 Customer and Employee Engagement

I saw this little brainchild floating around EMC today and thought it pretty cool -- see image below.

By now, most of us have heard about open source, mashups, and new avenues of innovation -- but have YOU brought them into your company yet?

A group of folks here are doing that in a new way. It is branded. It is fun. It offers nice prize money. It harnesses the global genius of external minds and internal minds. It builds community around EMC brands. It furthers innovation around EMC products -- positioning the company for greater customer satisfaction and revenue in quarters to come.

Check out the Monster Mash Contest in the EMC Community Network (ECN) if you're interested in seeing more.

---------------------- Talk Back -----------------------

Cool example of "leadership at every level?"  Why not?

I also like the fact that one of the people behind the program "marketed it" to other EMCers and asked their help to get the word out.  Again, why not?  Why not ask for help from your peers on things you know can help your company in so many ways?

Kudos to the team behind this.

The New Important Currency

I saw a futurist recently recap a conversation she had at Davos with a room full of CFOs.  She asked them, "What is the second most dominant currency in the world?"

Not one of them got it right.

Can you?

The answer might make you think about a lot of things -- such as marketing, product offers and pricing, and even employee incentives.

THE ANSWER: 

POINTS

 

------------- Talk Back --------------

Make sense?

Virtual Money.

Bartered money of a sort.

Consumer-centric, consumer-decision-friendly money.

Globally-friendly money.

Airlines and credit card companies have been using it for years.

Valentines Day Gifts for the Passionate, Tough, and Stylish Leader in your Life!

Photo:  London Wasp Rugby, Sponsored by EMC. Player in EMC- and Wasp-branded Canterbury Shirt.

VALENTINES DAY GIFTS!  For those in the extended EMC community wanting to give a loved one some cool branded material, check out the Wasp site. Lots of wearables that would amp the hottness of your hottie.

My husband has two Rugby shirts made by Canterbury (the maker of these Wasp shirts), and my fashionable 14 year old daughter wears one constantly as well. They ooze with cool you can't easily find in the US. Even guys comment each time my husband wears one -- ("Hey, where did you get that great shirt?").

Top the quality shirt with the brand attributes in the headline and I'm thinking these could be cool gifts. For guys, get ahead of the curve and pick one up for yourself (she'll be thrilled the pressure is off!). Give it to yourself for Valentines Day, or Father's Day, or just because. She'll just be happy you look hot and compliment-worthy!

------------------------ Really? --------------------

While in college at St. Louis University, I fell in love with Rugby. 

I was raised a football kid, my brothers were big players -- every Sunday we'd head to the field to see them play. I didn't know the first thing about Rubgy.

At my college, there was no football team. Rugby, I suppose was the closest thing to it. Oh, but in my book it is so much better!  Action, Speed, and Zero Padding-Tough!  And for the college club fans, kegs on the sidelines. 

So imagine my delight when I saw on EMC.com tonight two of my favorite things linked together:  EMC and Rugby.  I LOVE the team's name (Wasp ... nice brand affinity -- tough to compete against!), and I LOVE the brand that makes their gear (Canterbury; my sister-in-law used to work in marketing for them and as a result, we've been wearing the brand at home for years. Quality & Stylish), and of course, EMC's coolness as a brand leader which continues to win year-after-year sort of speaks for itself, doesn't it?

I'm only sorry I did not know about this Wasp/EMC relationship before.

Must find a way to take in a game! Must find a way to get them (the players! the shirts!) into the EMC HQ!

10 FREE RESOURCES for your Journey with Social Media in the Enterprise and Employee Engagement

My friend Allan Steinmetz of Inward Strategic Consulting and I just finished a Webcast featuring EMC's story on building an employment brand and engaging employees by leveraging web 2.0 and social media behaviors /tools.

I discussed how the body of work started, our strategic approach, how the brand was built out across multiple mediums and social properties, and how along the way organic brand ambassadors emerged and started making real magic happen.

This topic always draws a large audience and today was no exception. 

For those who want to start the social media/Web 2.0 behavior and tool movement at your company, I thought I'd share a few resources which could help:

• 1st:  This white paper, "A Journey in Social Media," by EMC VP and Marketing CTO Chuck Hollis.  Chuck was instrumental in this movement at EMC and kindly dedicated his personal cycles to pulling some of our strategic inflection points, key learnings, and approaches together in this white paper.  The white paper is marked "draft" and his promises likely typos within it -- no matter, this is GOLD for anyone about to start the journey. It is a superb documentation which should save you a ton of headaches and unnecessary consultant fees. It is also filled with the type of frankness you just don't seen enough in business.  Like this, which addresses the likely request for a business case,  an ROI justification, or another means to counter the concerns of your Chief-Apprehensive-Executive.

One of our most effective justification techniques tended to be slightly manipulative given our corporate culture.  We frequently pointed out to people that -- due to the extremely competitive nature of EMC and our business -- we would not want to be in a situation where our competitors had a significant competitive advantage through social media proficiency that we did not have. People tended to understand that concept in a very visceral manner.   ---->  I love that explanation! It is very "real world."

• 2nd: The blog, "Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang." Jeremiah is the top rated analyst in the social media and the enterprise space.  He has the top blog on the subject, has been named the top (and most trusted) analyst on Twitter ... and puts out non-stop gems via his Twitter feed and blog.
• 3rd:  The blog, a Journey in Social Media.  Chuck Hollis documented EMC's journey over the first year or so on this blog.  He doesn't post any longer, but the content is awesome and could answer lots of questions for those companies of this FORTUNE 500-size.
• 4th: The blog, "Confessions of an eBiz Junkie."  It is written by EMC's Web Master -- the guy behind those .com, and Knowledge Management Platforms of the '90s ... which are morphing into the social platforms of the 21st Century. Len has been the guy getting his hands dirty in this technical stuff from the beginning -- and today serves as our head Social Media Strategist as well. Check out his tag cloud on this blog -- that will give you a feel for what he writes about all the time. I think you'll enjoy following his work.
• 5th: The blog, "Social Media Musings."  It is written by EMC's Jamie Pappas, Len's parter in social media strategy and the woman who was chief community manager and chief Road Show Pitch Person at every staff meeting at EMCin the early 2.0 days doing show & tell on how this social network thing worked. Jamie is in the top professional organizations and can give you the inside scoop on worthy and waste-of-time things to consider as you move forward.
• 6th:  My blog, "Building and Branding Careers, Culture and Cool."  Hardly  a post goes by here where I don't reference the positive transformation evidence at play in cultures, careers, brands, and business strategy as a result of the behavior models and tools in our 2.0 world.  This blog provides case studies and stories, along with strategy and reports on our latest thinking with regard to engaging people and building brands.

And for those individuals who are still on the journey of understanding how this all works and getting personally comfortable with the tools and the career benefits, I recommend these resources:

• 7th:  The blog, "Community and Social Media," by Chris Brogan. Chris offers a ton of free eBooks, a free newsletter and a very friendly blogging style which taught me a lot. Now he's a top consultant, and author in this area as well.
• 8th:  The "blog roll" of every one of the above blogs.  This is generally a list, listed on the right or left rail of the blog, of the favorite blogs these authors read. Poke around in there. See who these people are following.
• 9th:  Twitter. Sign up and then leverage Twitter Lists or Twitter Search and type in words like "Social Media."  Follow the pre-populated lists of people who write about that subject.  Save Twitter, or a more robust version like "Tweet Deck" on your desktop.  Visit it a couple times a day -- like when you need a stretch from email.  See what content the gurus in this space are attaching, forwarding, and talking about.  You'll be up-to-the minute in no time!  
• 10th:  Google Reader. This is your new daily newspaper and on-line mentor for how this world works. You pop all these blogs onto this one space, set it as your home page, and experience the learning start to happen!  If you have an internet-enabled mobile device, be sure to bookmark your Google reader so you can have your "newspaper" with you where ever you go!

Okay, that's 10 Free Resources that will get you smart in no time. I'm talking about 30-60 days if you dedicate just a little bit of time each day on your Google Reader (it will also suggest blogs to you as well, based on who and what you show an interest in!), and on your Tweet Deck. You'll learn even faster if you join the discussions, post a comment and -- horrors -- start a blog.

For those who have a decent Gen Y dynamic at play in your company, here's a bonus:

• #11:  Personal Branding Blog.  Get in the head of the 2.0 movement via this blog's 20-something leader, author, speaker, and career counselor, Dan Schawbel. Dan has been my reverse mentor and chief cheerleader in gaining a hands-on experience in this space.  I encourage you to get a reverse mentor of your own (someone of any age or rank who gets excited about this subject and clearly seems to 'get it.') Until you get that person, subscribe to Dan's blog. It is loaded with fresh research and insights and shows you how this 2.0 world can put a brand, including a personal brand, on steroids.

-------------------- Talk Back -------------------------

What are your favorite free resources?

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson.com

The White House and EMC -- Cool Brand Affinity

The White House Likes Us! The White House Likes Us!

When I was the PR manager at EMC (long ago), we liked to find customers who were happy about our products and willing to be featured in News Releases.  To my knowledge, 99 out of 100 times, it was us, rather than the customer, who would be issuing the new release and discussing how EMC's technology benefited their operation or business.* 

So it was with delight when I opened my news feed on EMC this morning to see the headline generated by The White House declaring that they were using EMC technology -- and had been using it ever since Obama's first day in the office.  They highlighted this, granted in response to legal inquiries, to show how they have elevated their game. They also detailed why they chose EMC technology. 

In my book, that's pretty cool!  Here is an excerpt from InformationWeek:

In December, the White House agreed to catalog the White House's current e-mail archiving and backup systems, and provide a detailed description of controls that prevent unauthorized deletion of e-mail records.

... [following a suit] in 2007 after reports that millions of White House e-mail records had gone missing after the Bush Administration abandoned an e-mail records management system that had been installed during the Clinton Administration.

According to the letter, the White House has been using EMC's EmailXtender e-mail management software since Obama's first day in office. The letter says the White House chose EMC's product because of its security, central management, ability to automatically and in near-real time capture messages sent even from Blackberries. It also cited the EMC system's ability to archive messages in their original formats and convert them to another format for transfer to NARA's e-records system, and its ability to provide a searchable online archive and audit reports, among other features.

The White House now fully and automatically backs up its e-mails to a secure off-site data center on the second Tuesday of each month, with incremental backups several times each week and "frequent" tape back-ups. Audits verify that only authorized individuals access the repositories and the EMC system alerts the White House if anyone tries to delete an e-mail without permission, the letter says.

So my mother may not yet fully get who EMC is, and what the company does for the world -- but THE WHITE HOUSE does! I'm good with that.

*I remember our first news release with Delta, back around 1992.  They said they could get the airplanes off the ground faster -- less wait time on the runway for the passengers; more "on-time" status for Delta flights -- because of the EMC information management technology in our Symmetrix products. I still think that's pretty cool.

-------------------- Talk Back ---------------------

Good brand affinity, yes?

I see the White House brand as enduring and quality -- which manages to rise above the popularity ratings or scandals at any given time in the Executive Office.

- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@pollypearson

How Significant is Social Media for Job Search?

This week DICE.com came to visit me for a video interview on job search for technical talent in today's market. A big take away for the interviewer was that job seekers needed to break out of comfort zones and "get out there; be found on the Internet."  Recruiters operate on-line today.  If they can't find you on-line, you are at a competitive disadvantage.  And the disadvantage is GROWING by the day.

Check out this just-issued chart by JCSI.  They state that more than 50% of recruiters will use social media to find candidates, get referrals and post open positions in 2010.  If there was a chart that showed what recruiters were doing in the tech space alone, I'd guarantee the numbers would even be HIGHER!

There were Smart Dinosaurs, Too

I was at a cocktail party over the holiday and happened into a group of engineers. One of them had been looking for a job for some time.  We got to talking, and I saw some classic brainy-engineer patterns start to emerge. To him, being "excellent" at what he did was the way to get a job. Doing anything that might look like he put an ego-centric spotlight on himself was fully distasteful. Never would he get on "LinkedIn," or other such network.

That way of thinking is dated, and in my book, dumb. That is, if you want to get a great job, as fast as possible.

It can be very cool to be found and engage with other engineers and thought leaders in your field today. Check out the string on Twitter dedicated to just about any subject of substance, and you will see substance in the discussion. There will be hyper-links to the freshest content and research on that subject.  There will be opinions, debates, and cult-like passion too.  

What is a modern approach for a Smart Job Seeker?

1. Be found on-line.  Being on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter will elevate your name (SEO) in a Google search by simply just being signed up on those networks. You don't have to play the stupid games or tell everyone when you opened the refrigerator. Just get on these networks with a name that is close to your exact name as possible.  On LinkedIn, have an up-to-date profile ... this is your modern resume. (Advanced job seekers should also get recommendations up there and be "connected" to past colleagues and anyone else who may know of a job opening perfect for you!)
2. Don't go it alone.  Enlist an army. Tell everyone you know what type of position you're looking for. If they don't know, they can't help.
3. After you master knowing with confidence what your value proposition is, and being able to tell others what it is (A quick definition of "value proposition" is "Benefit exceeds the cost."  What is the benefit you would bring to a company or a position?) SPEND EVERY MINUTE RESEARCHING AND THINKING ABOUT THE COMPANY(IES) YOU WANT TO WORK AT.  When interviewing, make it about THEM.  Show that you understand, passionately, what business they are in, who are their competitors, what are their opportunities and challenges, and what it takes to be successful there.   The social networks make that type of research today fun and easy.  Turn the tables and be the master of the networks. Put them to work for you.  Use them to find people who work at the company you are interested in. Watch, and engage with what they are saying -- start a dialog with them on-line. Use these networks to "eavesdrop" (ie Twitter Search Column) on the conversations your ideal company's customers, competitors and employees are having about the company. 

By using social networks to your favor, you should be able to be found, and found faster. You should also be able to blow the interviewer away with what you know about their company.  Recruiters consistently report that top mistakes job seekers make is 1) not researching the company enough and 2) not being passionate enough.

For added points, read the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People."  I know, the title makes me want to barf as well.  But especially for the soft-skill/interpersonally challenged set, it is a SUPERB guide to making connections with people and selling (in this case, you will be selling yourself.)  It tells you tricks that can help you greatly, like being sure to remember people's names, and to say their names when talking to them.  (The sound of one's name is music to people's ears.) 

Get Smart.

------------------ Talk Back ------------------

Engineers -- what have you done to get a new job, or a better job, in this modern job market? What do you think of these tips?

To those who find these tips as basic, I hear you!  It never fails to shock me, however, to see the look on people's faces who haven't been thinking in these terms.

-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson