Jean couldn't understand it. She had just been passed over for promotion at Hyacinth Associates. Sure, Tony—the company's marketing director and Jean's boss—had acknowledged her achievements during her latest performance review. "You've done a great job of managing this year's market-research projects, creating collateral sales materials, and scheduling media for advertising," he had noted.
But then Tony had said, "Despite your accomplishments, Jean, I don't feel comfortable promoting you to a more demanding position in the department. For one thing, you haven't demonstrated accountability for profitability—which requires attention to costs as well as revenues. And frankly, the 360-degree feedback assessment we did this quarter showed that you're not perceived as a leader—as someone who can set direction here."
As Jean discovered, marketing professionals don't get too far in their organizations unless they're perceived as true cash-flow leaders. Such leaders influence people in other parts of the organization to think in terms of how to generate cash flow. They're accountable for profitability. And they use their understanding of the market to set a strategic direction for growth that the rest of their firm follows. Cash-flow leaders thus contribute unique value to their organizations—and reap the rewards in the form of stimulating, satisfying careers.
How to become a cash-flow leader? The following guidelines can help.
1. Market yourself
Use your marketing skills to convince others that you offer unique value that your company can't get from anyone else. Segment your internal customers, just as you do your external customers. Ask yourself:
- Who among my internal constituencies am I most likely to form a productive partnership with?
- Whom do I need to partner with to maximize cash flow?
- Which of these individuals do I stand little or no chance of partnering with—given my company's culture and structure?
- Which of these powerful people need or like me?
Don't try to market yourself to everyone in your firm. Concentrate on those who are most likely to value what you bring to the table and who can shape others' perceptions of your leadership abilities.
2. Get a reputation
You're more likely to take on a cash-flow leadership role when you gain a reputation for having strong people skills. After all, who can resist working with and supporting someone who gets along well with others? People skills abound, but the basics include the following:
- Inviting others' opinions and ideas
- Respecting and valuing differences in opinion, work styles, and priorities
- Showing interest in others' lives
- Understanding and speaking others' professional language
- Appreciating the unique challenges each of your colleagues faces in his or her role
- Resolving differences productively rather than letting them sour professional relationships
In addition to demonstrating strong people skills, unleash your curiosity. Take an interest in all manner of things—how people make purchasing decisions, why consumers' preferences change, why one product is so much more successful than another, what competing companies are doing to capture more market share. Learn about aspects of life outside of marketing, too—other industries, professions, and skill sets. People with a broad range of knowledge are often viewed as particularly capable and experienced.
Finally, develop a reputation for taking initiative—for getting things done and making tough decisions. For many people, these qualities spell leadership.
3. Set priorities
If you're like most marketers, you're under increasing pressure to shoulder more responsibilities with fewer resources. Under such pressure, you can easily lose sight of what's really important in your job: generating cash for your firm. And when you lose sight of cash, you lose your opportunity to become a cash-flow leader.
To avoid this scenario, set priorities: Define the few key goals that, if achieved, will enable you to harvest cash or plant the seeds for future cash for your firm. Your list will differ depending on your organization's strategy and business model. For instance, if your company wants to expand market share through offering low-priced, mass-market consumer products, your goals will differ from objectives you would set if your firm sought to develop one-of-a-kind, expensive, and complex solutions for big businesses.
Use your list to allocate your time and energy. If someone suggests that you take on a project that doesn't relate to any of your goals, say no. With projects you say yes to, manage them wisely. Project-management software can help you maintain order, keep participants updated on initiatives' status, and document who's responsible for doing what and when. Workshops and books on the subject can also be useful.
4. Find a mentor
Further strengthen your reputation as a cash-flow leader by forging a relationship with a mentor who can help you build up your leadership muscles.
Find someone who works in another part of the company, outside of marketing, and who enjoys the respect and admiration of numerous people in the organization. He or she can give you a valuable perspective on how that other function operates, what its challenges and capabilities are, and what language its practitioners speak. Your view of the organization will broaden. And you'll be better able to link marketing activities to cross-functional strategic goals—thereby producing valuable and visible results for the company.
In establishing a mentoring relationship, you don't necessarily need to approach the process in a formal way. Depending on the person you're considering, the process could be as simple as regularly inviting the individual to grab some lunch and getting his or her thoughts on marketing initiatives you're considering.
You can also use your mentoring relationship to clarify your career path. For instance, your mentor may have valuable insights into what direction the company may be heading in terms of its competitive strategy and what opportunities a change in direction may present for you.
Also ensure that your encounters with your mentor are a two-way street: Be willing to share information you have that may be of interest to your mentor as well as asking questions to draw on your mentor's expertise.
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Becoming a cash-flow leader isn't easy. But the payoff is well worth it: You establish a virtuous cycle in which you gain others' appreciation and therefore win their support for your good ideas. And your good ideas in turn generate valuable cash for your company—further enhancing your reputation and garnering you even more collaboration from others. Everyone wins.
Note: This article is adapted from the book I wrote with Allen Weiss and David Stewart titled Marketing Champions: Practical Strategies to Increase Marketing's Power, Influence, and Business Impact (Wiley, 2006). For more information about the book, go to www.marketingchamps.com or order at Amazon.
