WHAT is my value proposition?
Know thyself... If someone asked you this question, how would YOU answer?
Some years back a recruiter asked me 'what I thought my value was to a potential employer'. I thought it was a good question, so I composed a bit of an 'open letter' response. I'll share my evolving version of it with you here.
Here is what I think I bring to the table...
1. I’m smarter than the average bear. That is as much a value of how I think as what I know.
2. I’m academically trained with an undergraduate/postgraduate background in many disciplines related to the challenges we face in our industry: visual/verbal communication, art studio/theory/history, media/cultural theory, literature, linguistics/semiotics, philosophy, psychology, gender studies, [post]structuralism, deconstruction, logic, research methodology, analysis, rhetoric, etc. I tend to view these skills as the ‘deeper magic’ which underlies an interdisciplinary understanding/approach to many of the more conventional agency disciplines like strategy or planning or creative or UCD or analytics etc.
3. Professionally I’ve had the benefit of working with senior/executive clients at the intellectual core of some big complex integrated interactive and cross-channel initiatives in a variety of industries. In many cases I’ve worked with Brand/Marketing clients but I also have a fair amount of experience with eBusiness initiatives. I’ve often worked on things that ‘haven’t been done before’ (either by the client or in general) and I consider myself quite good at adapting my experience and raw skill set to new/unique client challenges.
4. I’m trained and experienced at guiding and articulating interdisciplinary thinking. I’m skilled at developing/facilitating ideation, meetings, and workshops. I’m skilled at the ad hoc development of materials to articulate and sell through my own ideas as well as those uncovered through methodological exploration. I make killer documents and I love public speaking. I tend to think that a lot of strategists fall short by thinking that their job is to come up with ‘the right thing to do’ whereas I believe that true strategy involves virally shepherding the evolution of complex ideas across agency/client cultures. Often, at its best, the art of strategy involves stating complex things simply and getting others to repeat them as if they were their own idea.
5. I understand the interconnectedness of objectives, solution, and analysis. In most cases I’ve worked with projects/initiatives across the lifecycle from defining need to developing a solution to justifying results. Strategy in the absence of analysis is simply creative and analysis in the absence of strategy is simply reporting. Guiding development to make sure that ideas stay on track to achieve objectives and anticipate analysis is simply the fun middle bit. I can lead you through a full lifecycle or step in at any stage.
contact KEN to start a conversation.