What are clients really buying?

Suzanne Mercier - Sunday, July 19, 2009

     With the benefit of hindsight, I realise I’ve been shortchanging myself in my career for the past 30 years.  Every time I got close to being successful, I would switch directions.  The most common reason for this was that other people were starting to work in the same area and I thought I had to be unique in my Intellectual Property for someone to want to work with me.  So, I moved from branding and positioning to marketing strategy to business strategy to personal development to employee engagement and to my current focus which is personal authenticity, Authentic Leadership and what gets in the way. 

     What motivated me was the belief that I needed to be unique for all the right reasons.  That hasn’t changed.  What has changed, though, is my realisation that very rarely do we have completely original thoughts.  They are usually extended from the great thinking of the giants who came before us.  And others will base their thinking on ours, if it’s good enough.  So, I can’t stop others from communicating on the same subject.  Indeed, why would I want to if I am truly dedicated to making a difference in the world. 

     The only way I can truly meet my need to be unique is to be me.  Others don’t do me as well as I do (assuming they would even want to) and vice versa.  

     So, what are our clients buying?  When there are 10 or 100 or more of us communicating on the same topic, how are they going to choose the right person to work with them?  The answer is that once the objective criteria is met, the decision will be based on who we are and how we make them feel.  The power of personal authenticity is that they get a true read on who we really are.

     What do you think of personal authenticity and what clients are buying?  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks.
Suzanne

Women and the Glass Ceiling

Suzanne Mercier - Sunday, July 19, 2009

     Following from the first blog, I started thinking about women, fear of success and the Glass Ceiling.  For years, it has been suggested that the glass ceiling is something a chauvinistic  corporate world has put upon women. 

     That may well be true.  And I wonder whether fear of success and what we'll have to pay for it are a large part of the equation?  What if getting involved in the politics, posturing and game playing that occur within most organisations is too high a price for many women to pay?  What if we just don’t want to deal with that BS?    What if we just want to get on with the job without all the extraneous stuff? 

     I certainly recall from my own corporate career that I just wanted all the silly politics to go away so I could do a great job.  I didn’t want to have to 2nd guess what someone was saying to me, or to look for hidden motives and try to interpret them, together with their possible impact on me and my job.

     I walked away from my high flying corporate career in advertising so I could do it on my terms.  Have any of you had a similar experience?  What do you think about the glass ceiling?  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks.
Suzanne

Men, Women and the Imposter Syndrome

Suzanne Mercier - Sunday, July 19, 2009

     We all know that men and women are different, right?  Apart from the obvious.  We think differently.  We have different drivers and we were raised or conditioned differently.

     In general, men have been brought up to think of themselves as the bread winner and head of the family.  Whether they can do it or not, they step up and work it out from there.

     Women, on the other hand, have been brought up to consider themselves the nurturers, the ones who hold the family together, the ones who have and primarily raise the children, who set up and maintain the home.  Now, I know that nothing is as black and white as this, and most of us have had conditioning along those lines.

     When it comes to the Imposter Syndrome - that condition of feeling like a fake or fraud and not good enough, even in the face of evidence to the contrary - men and women experience it in similar numbers although it manifests very differently.

     Men are reputed to fear failure.  Their concern is that they cannot provide for the family or fulfill their role as the head of the family.

     While they also fear failure, the main fear for women is the fear of success.  They are concerned that the price they have to pay for success will be too high.  It might cost them their partner, family, friends, social life or some other important area in a balanced nurturing life.

     With 2 divorces, no children and a totally unbalanced life in favour of work, I can certainly relate to this.  What about you?  What is your experience?  Do you agree or disagree?  I’d  love to hear from you.

Thanks.
Suzanne