Monday, April 9, 2012

stop beating around the bush

brite conference: brands, innovation, technology - Columbia Business School, Center on Global Brand Leadership


In March, I participated at the BRITE conference. 

"BRITE is a global series of conferences that focus on emerging trends in branding, innovation, technology, society, and culture. BRITE events bring together big thinkers from business, technology, media, and marketing to discuss how today's big ideas are reshaping the ways that organizations build and sustain great brands. BRITE provides attendees with engaging presentations that will stimulate their thinking when they return to the office to work on strengthening their own brands. Our speakers come equiped with inspiring stories, creative content, and universal insights that show how innovative strategies and tactics can help build all kinds of brands, whether they are people, places, products, services or ideas." - BRITE website

Yes, the conference focused on branding but I was interested in something Cathy Benko shared with the group. Cathy, Vice Chairman and Managing Principal, Brand Deloitte LLP spoke to attendees about her experience and personal position on how careers evolve. For quite some time, I have believed in this silent but unavoidable story that a person gets a job, does well, and moves up. I've felt this undercurrent of shared belief that a person should only move up in their career - bigger, better, new, next (first image below). I was surprised to see an info graph Cathy shared, which revealed that most careers today are built going in multiple directions (second image). I would love to know - is that your experience? When I draw my path it looks like a roller coaster at an amusement park. What does yours look like?

Cathy Benko Vice Chairman and Managing Principal, Brand Deloitte LLP


For more on the BRITE conference, check out this video:





Ok, this has no relevance to the blog but I have seen many power point presentations in my life but none have been as colorful as Bob Garfield's…  I heart projection profanity. 

Bob Garfield Host of NPR’s On the Media; editor for Ad Age;  Author of The Chaos Scenario