The Adaptive Marketer

FollowFriday & Who’s The Lebron In Your Strategy – Maybe It’s You

Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Robert Rose in Monthly WrapUp

So, what a week it’s been for personal branding eh?    The furor over Lebron reached such a pitch, that he had a televised special just to announce which team he was going to.  And, when he ultimately chose the Miami Heat – the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers wrote an open letter to the Cleveland fans trashing Lebron.

Can you imagine this happening with someone on your team?    Who is your marketing team’s Lebron James? Or, is it you?

Just a couple of things to think about this weekend.  If you’ve got a Lebron on your team – how can you make sure that you keep this person engaged?   And if you are the Lebron in your organization – how’s your career going?

Maybe the most important thing is to understand what your superstar employee’s needs are.    Sometimes we’re so afraid of losing a superstar that we focus on the wrong things.  We pay them too much (yes really) – or we give them more responsibilities – or the wrong responsibilities.  Sometimes it’s not about the money or the responsibilities.  Maybe a day off per week?  Maybe the chance to work on something different?

It’s amazing to me all of the Friday morning quarterbacking that’s going on about “why” Lebron left Cleveland.  Was it the management?   Was it a chance at a championship?  Was it the money?  Was it the allure of living in south Florida?

The obvious thing is that, whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to keep him.

That’s a question for you this weekend too?  What’s it going to take to keep you in your current position?    If you’re a marketing superstar – what do you want out of your career?   Maybe this weekend you can do some thinking about what YOU really want.

And, speaking of superstars.  Here’s my choices for #FF FollowFriday.  These are my Twitter Lebron’s this week:

@LisaPetrilli – one of my heroes.   Inspiring posts – and just deeply understands what real marketing is all about.

@CKBurgess – who not only understands community – but knows how to give great constructive feedback.

@TomPick– who helps me be a better marketer with his encouragement

@KevinBRandall – a great writer – and someone that truly understands branding challenges

@ESegar – not only because we’re now working on a really cool project together – but she understands the real philosophy behind inside sales

Have a wonderful weekend.