Dodo Loves Marketing

Some children dream of becoming doctors and astronauts, and some adults dream of becoming CEO. Haven’t you often felt that you could do just as good a job—if not a better one—than some of the CEOs you’ve met?

Perhaps you do have the makings of a leader: People look up to you– and not just your subordinates. You’re a resource, a diplomat without portfolio, a consultant without the title. At meetings, you cut through irrelevancies to the heart of a problem. If you can’t solve it, you know what steps are necessary in finding a solution. You may, indeed, be destined for bigger things.

There are no guarantees that you’ll make it, but you stand a better chance if you can help matters along. Some pointers: ..more

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Mentoring isn’t new. What is new is that it’s more important as a career tool for senior managers than it was in the past.

The old theory about mentoring was that it was a stage you went through and eventually outgrew as your career advanced. This is no longer true. At the higher rungs of the corporate ladder, career paths are more complicated, pointing up the benefits of either having a mentor or acting as one.

Realizing the importance of mentoring, a number of prominent companies (Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Bell Labs, National Cash Register) have established formal mentoring programs. Bright managerial prospects are assigned a mentor rather than having them go through the accidental, often serendipitous, process of finding one on their own. ..more

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John Ahearn has been burned twice now by someone he had long considered—well, not a close friend, perhaps, but a close colleague who, in the past, could usually be counted on for counsel and support when Ahearn needed them.

The latest incident occurred this morning. At the project meeting, Alan Thomas had taken the floor and systematically demolished the main points in John’s proposal. A real hatchet job, although John had to admit that it came across as very polished and professional. And the executive vice president had bought it, leaving John alone, out on a rather shaky limb. ..more

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