Social Cause Marketing - The Regis Group Inc

Can both take and give directions
in a professional, classy manner.
Can explain plans to a group in a
friendly, down-to-earth manner.
Willing to change approaches depending
on the makeup of the
group.
Step Two: Hone Your Transferable
Skills
Once you know the transferable
skills you bring to the party, the next
step is to make each of them better.
Just as Apple continually works to
improve each new iteration of its
iPhone and Disney/Pixar Animation
Studios works to improve each new
film it makes, you need to continually
sharpen your transferable skills.
Art worked very hard over a number
of years to improve his good listening
skills in order to become a fantastic
listener, his facilitating skills to become
the person everyone wanted to
facilitate meetings, and his publicspeaking
skills to be an even more polished
speaker that more people could
feel comfortable listening to.
Step Three: Showcase Your
Transferable Skills
Of course, having well-honed transferable
skills will not help your career if
no key decision-maker knows about
them. You have to put these skills into
motion where the right people can see
you in order for them to consider you
for new positions. Unfortunately,
most of these opportunities come disguised
in ìno or low payî options.
Who cares? Think of them as ìcareer
acceleratingî options. Just as a great
new product needs to be nurtured in
the marketplace until customers know
about it, your skills have to be demonstrated
over and over until the right
people notice them.
Make a list of every opportunity
you can think of to demonstrate your
skills, both inside and outside of your
current organization. The objective is
to get people talking about your skills.
Here are a dozen or so ways Iíve seen
people demonstrate their skills:
Join a local professional association
and volunteer to run a fund-raising
event. Demonstrate your organizational
and leadership skills.
Offer to emcee an important community
event. Do a killer job in
your opening and closing remarks
and in keeping the event moving
smoothly and on time.
Volunteer to mentor up-and-coming
employees in your organization.
This is what Art did. After
three of his protÈgÈs proved to be
highly successful employees, Art
was promoted into a far more senior
management position.
Offer to work with long-term difficult
clients. Demonstrate your
ability to solve problems and create
win-win scenarios for the company
and the customer.
Start a not-for-profit organization
on a volunteer basis and make an
enormous impact in your neighborhood.
I saw one person collect
hundreds of baseball gloves, bats,
and balls and then take them to
the poorest neighborhoods in the
Dominican Republic. A lot of
people sat up and took notice of
his organizational and inspirational
skills.
Join a local Toastmasters group
and/or take a Dale Carnegie Course
on public speaking. You will meet
a few dozen people from a variety
of organizations and they will hear
you speak on topics of your choice.
One really good speech can lead to
several really good conversations
that might lead to all kinds of
things.
Become a board member of an association
that you care deeply
about. Take your responsibility as
seriously as you do your own job.
Demonstrate that you can be on
time, prepared, and willing to
tackle touchy subjects.
Inside your organization take a lateral
assignment overseas to show
you can operate successfully in
multiple cultures.
Take a pay cut to move into a different
department in order to let
new people see your specific
skills.
Offer to do a breakout session at a
national trade conference to demonstrate
your skills in front of a variety
of decision-makers and
recommenders in other companies.
The Noble and Necessary Job of a Manager
Get involved in community
groups such as a religious organization,
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
of America, Optimists Club, Rotary
Clubs, and so on. In casual
conversations be willing to add
value to what the other person
wants to achieve.
Head up a high school or college
reunion. Demonstrate expertise in
social networking tools and other
technological ways of enhancing
the event.
Write articles for your in-house
publications and trade publications
both in your industry and
outside your industry. Articles are
a great way to deliver value to
other people.
Step Four: Charge for Your
Transferable Skills
In the end, your transferable skills are
of great value to a number of organizations.
Donít take them lightly. Youíve
spent years honing and showcasing
these skills. They quite literally are
your stock in trade. But donít toss
them around lightly. Just as a great
product deserves to demand a great
price, you definitely will have earned
the right to request a strong compensation
package. If you donít take the
value of what you bring to an organization
seriously, how can you expect
other people to do so?
You can deliver value at low prices
during the showcasing stage, but
when it comes down to the hiring
stage you need to ask for what you
honestly believe youíre worth. Donít
start low with the expectation your income
will rise dramatically. If your
new employer can get your transferable
skills on a full-time basis at a low
price, why will he or she double your
salary in a short time? Your new boss
knows the value he or she is receiving
because youíve already showcased it.
Now you need to request the value
you think you deserve in the form of
compensation.
There they are. Four steps to leverage
your transferable skills and accelerate
your career.
© 2009 Dan Coughlin. All Rights Reserved.
Reference # 03M-2009-09-04-01
SEPTEMBER 2009
26
EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE