Digital Strategist – by Silu Modi

Occasionally, I write a post that has nothing to do with digital strategy. This is one of those. I wish I knew where I found this list, but I can’t find the source. It ended up in my Evernote list of unfiled notes. I think it’s brilliant. I’ve tried to live by as many of these rules as I can (and knocked #1 out of the park!). I hope you find it as inspiring as I do

How to find Happiness and Success:

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

I work in the financial services industry. I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that’s forward thinking, yet the financial industry as a whole is tough place to be if you’re trying leading edge digital marketing. Not only is it (by nature) risk averse, the financial industry is also heavily regulated. Every marketing word and action has to comply with internal and external regulations.

It takes tenacity to succeed (or as one of my brilliant colleagues likes to say, “Consistent Persistence”). If you’re in charge of the digital direction of the firm, nobody is going to point you in the right direction to make the next leap for the firm. In a risk-averse culture, I’m the one constantly sticking my neck out, recommending a possible new solution to a problem that hasn’t even hit the radar.

Going back to one of my favourite authors, Seth Godin recently had a piece that explained it much better than I could above:

Achievers in traditional organizations often say, “I want more authority.” They mean that they want the power to make things happen, the mantle of authority that will allow them to get things done.

This is an industrial-era mindset. Management by authority is top-down, risk-averse, measurable and perfect for the org chart. It’s essential in organizations that are stable, asset-based and adverse to risk.

There’s a different approach, though, one that’s based on responsibility instead of authority. “Anyone who takes responsibility for getting something done is welcome to ask for the authority to do it.”

Ah, your bluff is called.

Asking for responsibility (or better yet, taking it) is very difficult. If it succeeds, there will be a team of people that helped you make it happen. If it fails (and it will sometimes), you have to *gulp* and take the hit for it, knowing you tried and learned something from it.