A new chapter

To say I have been pretty lame on my blog is the understatement of the year (that’s 2009 and 2010!).  Friends and family have heard the stories about my sabbatical, a good few times over, but I failed to make time to blog my thoughts here.

Towards the end of last year, I decided to start a new chapter in my life and joined a great new software company called i2Q as Head of Marketing.  I enjoyed more than five years at Talis where I grew immensely, but I was ready for something new and something different.

My entire career so far has been based upon combining my passion for marketing, technology and the difference it can make to learning.   Born and bred in an underprivileged part of Liverpool, it was education that helped me find my way and achieve my own ambitions.   So for me, any role I could play in making education more enjoyable and accessible for more people is a rewarding one.

As the saying goes “do what you love” and I love what I do.  :-)

After nine years of promoting educational software to universities, I’ve made a step change and moved into the schools market.  Working with universities has been great, but what about those less fortunate or less able to secure a place at university?  When I heard about i2Q and some of the great things they were doing, such as OPENHIVE, it felt like a perfect opportunity for me to help make a difference earlier.  Anything that can inspire and engage kids to learn at a young age is a pretty cool journey to be on.

I’m six weeks into my new role now and I’m settling in nicely.  Last week I had the pleasure of being part of the launch of our new learning platform at BETT2010 – here are some pictures.

What makes you tick?  Have you found your niche?

My top 10 2008 moments…

2008 has probably been one of my best years yet. One of my colleagues dutifully considers her top 10 experiences of the previous year and it made me consider mine. Try it yourself, it isn’t as easy as it first seems.

I love reminiscing, but what I love most is the uncontrollable belly laughter it often provokes.  So what were my top 10 special moments for 2008?

1) My 6 month career sabbatical. What I’ve appreciated most is freedom and time.  I’ve loved learning without urgency, stretching myself in new ways, reflecting truthfully and widening my perspective.  My batteries are recharged and my confidence has grown.  I’d like to thank my company Talis for making this possible.

2) The Marketing Management Program at Stanford University. This was unequivocally the most energising experience of 2008.  It refreshed my knowledge, put my debating skills to the test and I built new friendships that may have been within my profession but were not limited to it.  My head is still buzzing with ideas from the course.

3) 12 day tour of California. My boyfriend (Manus) and I took Highway 101 to travel from Sonoma to San Diego. For 7 hours we listened to our favourite driving tunes with the rooftop down. Enjoying the sights along the way we were completely carefree.  Another 2 weeks in California still wouldn’t have been enough time.

4) Marriage proposal. Before flying out to meet me, Manus organised an entire day of events for August 21st. We visited the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, had a surprise picnic and took a short trip on a vernacular lift down to Shadowbrook Restaurant. It was a beautiful place beside Soquel Creek in Capitola where Manus made the stealthiest proposal ever.  I said yes BTW!

5) A family party in North Yorkshire. We got together to celebrate my Dad’s 50th birthday and my parents’ 31st anniversary. Glorious weather, BBQ’s, family games and laughing so much my stomach hurt.  Seeing my parents smile from ear to ear really brought home how proud I am of them.  This was a really special weekend.

6) Trying my hand at teaching. I wanted to give something back and try something new. My Sister is a teacher and I’ve always admired her work, so I volunteered for Young Enterprise.  It was an amazing experience. Getting the kids really engaged in class and inspiring them to think gave me a real spring in my step. It lasted for days.

7) San Francisco. What can I say – a great city. I went there alone but the warmth and friendliness of the people meant I didn’t stay that way for long. Four weeks of networking and socialising didn’t leave a moment to spare.

8 Social networking and me. I have loved and I do mean loved Facebook and LinkedIn. I’ve remained close with my distant friends, their thoughts, feelings and events and connected with strangers thousands of miles away.

9) Good news. My Mum received very good news on her medical condition. 

10) New Years Eve. A quiet night in was expected after our plans were scuppered due to our usual lack of planning. We cooked a meal, had fireworks and visited our local pub. Following a good few bottles of wine and some merry singing we decided to go to bed at about 3:45 a.m. I can’t remember why but we laughed ourselves to sleep. What a way to end a wonderful year and welcome 2009.  Happy New Year!

The brand that promised and delivered

Four weeks ago I packed my bags for California (bags being the operative word) and set up my blog to keep my friends, family and colleagues posted.  Early the next morning at Heathrow airport I started scribbling as tonnes of ideas and concepts came to mind that I wanted to blog about. As the eternal optimist, hyped with the excitement of my forthcoming trip, I thought I would have plenty of time to write.

My single blog post indicates otherwise. Some of you have even checked to see if my feed is actually working in your RSS reader. “My bad” as my new neighbours would say.

So what have I been up to? From August 10th-20th I was at Stanford University as a participant on the Strategic Marketing Management Executive Programme. This started with a workshop on financial accounting at 8:00 a.m on Sunday – deep dive, no easy warm-up.

300 candidates applied this summer. 38 were accepted from 18 different countries and 17 separate industries spanning biotechnology, financial services and petroleum through to leisure, retail and software. This has been one of my best experiences. Diverse cultures, languages, industries, life experiences, personalities and sense of humour made this programme extraordinary. I loved it.

The differences in government regulations and legislation, individual knowledge and preconceptions on how things ‘ought to be done’ inspired us all. Many of us stayed up late through the night talking about the dynamics of our respective industries, business challenges and discovering stark differences between multi-billion dollar public corporations and small start-ups.

The funniest point was when some people almost choked on their Californian wine when they heard of the profit margins secured by some companies. Or better still when representatives of smaller companies were asked whether they used conjoint analysis to identify cross selling opportunities… “I’m sorry say again?..”

The brand promise from Stanford Graduate School of Business is both grand and bold.
“Change Lives. Change Organizations. Change the World.” My expectations were incredibly high and I wanted my money’s worth. Would I be disappointed?

In 10 days we delved into strategies for market growth, competitive dynamics, creativity in branding and how best to build and measure brand equity. We revisited the customer value proposition, studied customer profitability analysis, pricing strategies and traced through cases of businesses transforming themselves into customer-focused organisations.

The professors combined the best elements of academia and empirical research with some of the smartest insights into industry practice. They delivered this content with passion, creativity and humour. I take my hat off to them for managing to engage us all despite occasional hangovers from nights out in Palo Alto . We had live role plays and open negotiation sessions with strategies being formulated and announced on the fly.

It’s fascinating to see how serious you suddenly become when you’re elected to take on the role of the Chief Executive of Dell or HP in a role play. Everybody was completely engaged. It was captivating, intellectually challenging and hilarious at the same time, especially with our increasingly desperate attempts to develop new “creative” strategies to outwit our opponents in the last round. Some of which threw our professors off course, often generating the response “OK so let me get this straight, you’re now announcing…”

Coming back to the brand promise of Stanford Graduate School of Business, was it delivered? I would say yes. Every touch point with Stanford and my cohort was a phenomenal experience. I felt confident that I had made the right choice and invested wisely. I look back at my experience fondly. The emotional connection I developed with Stanford University is probably illustrated most clearly through my avid consumption of the Stanford merchandise. A jumper, a t-shirt or two. Who cares it is Stanford. I’m such a geek I know, but I like what they represent and being from a working class background going to University is a major achievement, let alone learning at Stanford.

The article entitled the Power of Brand Delivery from McKinsey & Company made me think. Our cohort was described as “special” and “engaging” by staff at Stanford.  We co-created that brand experience. In this context I can understand why they are so selective about their applicants. We as participants each play a role in either reinforcing and thus delivering their brand promise, or diluting it. That’s the magic of their brand strategy. A great brand that attracts the best professionals builds an even greater brand experience.

New adventures

It’s funny how your perspective of what constitutes “success” changes over time. What personal success looks like or might feel like to me continues to change. Perhaps this can be attributed to my shift in focus. Success to me has previously been associated with tangible results, a new degree; a great return on investment. But that’s a destination. It becomes easy to forget to enjoy the journey.

I’ve worked for 7 years as a Marketing Manager in the software industry. I’ve experienced many highs and lows of establishing start-up companies on shoestring budgets to working with people to transform existing brands. On the whole I’ve loved every minute of it.

After working solidly at Talis for 3 years, my company has rewarded me with a career development sabbatical for 6 months. This is an incredible opportunity for me to stand back, reflect, discover more about what I don’t know and seek every opportunity to learn, engage and reconnect with the wider world. I want my journey to change, to become far wider and much deeper taking me to many unusual and obscure places.

I’ve every intention of making the most out of every second of my sabbatical. But in asking myself the question of what would make my sabbatical “successful”, it calls for a shift in my mentality. No clearly defined plans may be the most appropriate way. This is in complete contrast to the way I would normally operate.

I want my “success” to be broader than my professional life which is one of the reasons why this quote appealed to me

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

‘In Search of Success’ written by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Tomorrow morning I fly out to California for 8 weeks. I’ll be completing the Strategic Marketing Management executive program at Stanford University, attending different meetings and conferences and ideally shadowing key professionals in the software industry. I am both excited and a little apprehensive.

This quote by Bruce Barton sums up quite nicely what I’m thinking in advance of my adventure “Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand.”

Blogging is new to me, it was always something I would do ‘very soon’ but I never got round to it. Finally I have! J Not many people have the opportunity for a career sabbatical so I’m going to share as much of my experiences as possible through this blog. Starting with my learning at Stanford. My course begins on Sunday so there will be lots more to come.