My friend Mike Steib, former Googler, current CEO of XO Group, and a guy with a ridiculously full head of hair for a 40+ year old, recently published a great book entitled The Career Manifesto, based on a Jerry Maguire-esque mission statement he had written many years ago while working at Google. Writing a book is no small feat so I’m super-happy for Mike and his success. You can learn more about The Career Manifesto on Amazon.
Mike’s book really provides an excellent framework for managing your career. Most of us are so busy every day, that we forget to take the long view on our career. Reading Mike’s book was a good reminder that it’s important to define your goals and think about what it’s going to take to achieve them. I wish I had this book earlier in my career. I’d say it’s a must-read for young professionals starting their career journey.
I thought I’d add a few points of my own to Mike’s book. Here they are.
People who know me know that I listen to a lot of podcasts. That’s usually how I pass the time driving to and from work or on long road trips. It’s amazing to me how many good podcasts are out there and more seem to pop up every day. So, as we approach the end of 2017, I thought I’d list my favorite podcast episodes of the year. Read More
Well, my time at QASymphony has come to an end. This is bittersweet for me. I’ve had an amazing journey over the past three years and I leave some great memories and friends behind. As I’ve been wrapping up, I’ve thought a lot about how it all began. Over three years ago, I was having lunch with my friend Sangram Vajre. At the time, I was working at PGi, and starting to think about my next adventure. Sangram had just accepted the job as CMO of Terminus, after spending several years in marketing at Salesforce/Pardot.
I told Sangram I was interested in doing something more entrepreneurial. He mentioned a company called QASymphony that he had talked to during his job search. He said I should meet with Dave Keil, the CEO. Read More
In your career, you will have highs and lows. My all-time low came in 2003. I had just graduated from Emory’s Goizueta Business School with my MBA, but that didn’t translate into a great job at graduation.
I came out of school into a tough job market that was recovering after the “dotcom” bust. The traditional MBA-type companies were no longer doing “strategic hiring” and a high percentage of my classmates graduated without jobs.
Going to a top b-school in Atlanta, I thought I might be able to score a position at one of the big companies in town – Coke, Home Depot, Delta, Georgia Pacific, etc. No luck. Emory’s business school is actually named after former Coke CEO Roberto Goizueta, but that didn’t seem to help me or my classmates get a job there.
My friend and CMO peer Sangram Vajre just released his first book, Account-Based Marketing for Dummies. To celebrate, Sangram’s team at Terminus threw him a book launch party.
I was planning to attend and was asked by Lauren Patrick, one of Sangram’s team members, to do a “roast” of Sangram at the event.
I really like Sangram a lot. He actually helped me get my current gig at QASymphony. So I’d do anything for him. But, this was a tall order. You don’t just “do a roast”. You can’t just get up there and wing it. A good roast is very hard to write and deliver.
But, of course I’m a pretty agreeable person and I hate like telling people “no”. So I reluctantly agreed to do it. Read More
single-minded proposition 
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