The art of blogging isn’t one that comes naturally, at least to me – but as i look forward and focus on my future career here at Deloitte, it becomes a critical aspect of eminence creation, professional awareness, and personal brand development. I continue to struggle to find balance between client delivery excellence and firm activity participation. At BearingPoint, the focus for me had always been completely on the client (since utilization was king, and the firm was trying to get acquired – which was unknown at the time). At Deloitte, the client remains important, but not a kingmaker alone. Rather there are multiple axes, and the story becomes the area under a radar chart rather than the demonstrated excellence at client delivery.
Like muscles unused to being flexed, skills at networking, internal communications, personal brand management, and managing your own career are atrophied, and their first use is painful. The initial meeting is very much like that first workout – painful, but in a good way. I prefer the focus on multiple characteristics, the challenge of growth along multiple axes. Some axes i value less than others, but on the whole, i like the idea of actively managing my value proposition, and the responsibility to ensure that my career is progressing against my goals, rather than the arbitrary goals of my most senior managers.
This still leaves a great deal of catch-up work that needs to be done. Do you know what your brand is? Have you mapped out your career? Are you sure you are in the right career model? These aren’t simple questions anymore – in fact, they require a great deal of introspection and serious conversation with colleagues to be answered truthfully and accurately. I have only recently begun the analysis and discovery of what my value and brand are, and have planned with a peer group a weekend long introspective getaway to think seriously about these topics.
I’ll keep a log of these activities, and update My Brand with my progress, statements, and documents. Please let me know your thoughts on my brand, and solicit my input if you like. I believe this type of exercise to be critical to personal success generally, and here at Deloitte.