This is Colin, the energy vampire from the show ‘What We Do in the Shadows’. Colin works in an office and drains energy from his coworkers (unlike the other traditional vampires he lives with in Long Island). We’ve all worked with a fair number of ‘Colins’, haven’t we? That’s why this character is so funny.
‘Hey, have you heard how many CEOs are asking their employees to return to the office?’ asked my marketing buddy, Jim. ‘They have no
research to show that this will make the workplace more productive.’
‘More research shows that it reduces productivity. But you
know why the CEOs say they want their employees back in? The real reason? It’s
because the CEOs think – this is making our employees happy! There’s got to be
something wrong with it if it makes our employees happy!’
A lot of my marketing friends are miserable right now. I want to understand why high-calibre professionals with lots of experience and talent are feeling so dejected about the state of their industry.
One complains about being micromanaged and treated like a child by a CMO who doesn’t understand his job.
Another who almost killed herself for her job – literally
gave up her social life – only to be dumped two years
into the job – and replaced by someone less experienced and cheaper. I’m sure it’ll backfire on the company.
However, someone in finance looked purely at the numbers and thought he was a genius for making this decision. I studied finance and worked as an analyst. It is tempting to boil everything down to dollars and cents in a role like that.
Some finance folks can be somewhat psycho – perhaps lacking compassion and empathy?
And you really do need those attributes to be a good employee – and a decent human being.
But sure, during downturns and low macroeconomic growth, CFOs come into their own.
Companies talk about loyalty, and that’s how they reward
their most conscientious and talented workers? It may look good on a spreadsheet or presentation – but a few years down the line, in terms of performance and company culture? It’ll be a failure.
What about my other friend, who confessed that he might consider switching from his career in marketing to becoming a train driver? (OK, perhaps a little over-dramatic!).
This brilliant and accomplished marketer has a strong track record and incredible talent. Yet he wants to leave his profession right now. What’s going on in the marketing
world?
Part of it is like that CEO who doesn’t want people
happy at work. He suspects his employees must not be working hard if they are happy. Have you ever been managed by someone intent on making
your job miserable? There seems to be a lot out there right now!
Yes, sales can be more stressful. Sure, we all know sales
revenue drives the business forward. But sales
get paid more. And marketing is notoriously unstable as a career (See
‘Why CMO’s never last’).
I actually love my job. I love marketing—everything about it. I would do it for free if I were a billionaire (is that hyperbole? Maybe, but then I’m a natural-born marketer).
But why does
management sometimes seem to want to drain that enjoyment out of it? I must say they try so hard to do it; at times, they’ve gotten close to succeeding with me, but they never will.
This is what my friend Elizabeth Lotardo wrote about – a fictional character called ‘Rudi, a senior marketing manager, who’s boss is always changing his mind‘
It is infuriating to be managed like this. I know many of my marketing colleagues can relate to Rudi’s story.
If marketing teams are miserable, have zero psychological safety, and no one respects them, or what they do, they will produce subpar work.
And I’m afraid that no matter how good the product is or how
eloquent the salespeople are, if the marketing is awful, then the company will
not thrive. There are countless examples of companies with worse products that beat
companies with better products because they had superior marketing.
Just because your marketing team is enjoying what they do –
that’s no reason to start cracking down on them. In fact, it should be the
reverse. You should be happy they are doing a good job and having fun!
Right now, everyone outside of marketing thinks AI can solve all marketing problems! I’ve heard much about how AI could create fantastic marketing content for virtually nothing.
However, I’ve seen no evidence that AI-created content delivers results (apart from being cheap, which is what every ‘anti-marketer’ seems to love).
Judging from what many of my friends say, they are not being managed very well right now. Maybe getting AI to help in management is a better use of this new technology, than in content creation?
Unlike some of my colleagues, I have no fear that I will
lose my passion for marketing. It simply won’t happen. And even in this challenging environment, I am still confident of the future.
I’ve found that if you are passionate about what you do and are good at your job, you will never lack rewarding work. At least, I never have.
But seriously, guys, why do you insist on trying to drain
the enjoyment from this marketing job? Are you Puritans or sadomasochists? What
is it all about? You may need to see a therapist about it.
As the genius advertising guru, David Ogilvy once said:
‘Where people aren’t having any fun, they seldom produce good work‘
That is double or triple true for marketing, which relies so much on creativity and ideas.
But I don’t want to end on a down note. I am immensely grateful for finding a career that I am passionate about and one that constantly interests and engages me.
And no, I certainly don’t want to change careers to becoming a train driver!
