Lisa Gudding’s Post

Don’t forget to have fun along the way. We spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else. It shouldn’t be dull. For me, a dull workplace isn’t congruent with what I want in the rest of my life. We can take our work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously—or being dull about it. The dimension of fun we’ve built into our company is one of the things of which I’m most proud. I wish we had done even more (we’re still a long way from the edge). Fun can be part of almost anything, and it’s just… well, fun. I think we are meant to experience lots of joy in our lives. It’s when I feel the most whole, the most congruent, and the most alive. Jeff Pope, Ten Things I Think I've Learned, entry #7

The importance of networking. I was speaking with a client-side researcher the other day who was unexpectedly laid off. He noted that in recent years he had slacked off re: building his network, and that had been a mistake. When he found himself newly reaching out to people for help, he didn’t really have many warm connections. It can happen to any of us, these days more than ever. My advice—connect, be generous with any assistance you can provide to good people. If you’re invited to something, show up. Network. I’ll say it again: 1) every networking conversation that you have, ask “with whom else would you suggest that I speak?” and 2) if you really want to throw people off in a good way, thank the person you spoke with and ask, “Is there anything I can do to help you?” Our industry is small, let’s help each other. It's good for your employer (you might find a future employee), of course good for the person you connect with, and good for you to build your connections. Jerrod Seaton Michelle O'Neill Leabe Commisso Jola Burnett David Bilicic Rogerio Monteiro Rory Curran Shellie Yule Chris Junior Chandler Kuruvilla Melanie Jones (Rupple)

While you’re waiting for your dream job, do the best you can with whatever opportunities are right in front of you every day. The world’s demand for good people far exceeds the supply. Doing a great job at anything—whatever you’re given to work on—will help you be identified as one of the “good people” and opportunity will seek you out. It’s a world of abundance out there. Stay positive and believe in that fact. Jeff Pope, Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned, entry #6

What you believe will give you happiness and fulfillment in a career may change over time. I know it did for me. I didn’t give a lot of thought to my “long term career” when I started out. I guess I unconsciously believed I’d work for the same company all my career. (Ha!) I never really thought about starting my own business until much later. So stay loose. Keep your plans flexible. I remember hearing a successful businessperson say, “Nothing I planned has quite worked out; but what has worked out has been much better than anything I planned.” My career has been that way. Opportunities present themselves that you could never have anticipated. Jeff Pope, Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned, entry #4

I paused after reading this, the 3rd entry from Jeff Pope's “Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned.” I personally have spent most of my Insights career at large companies, and of course I started small (Jeff and Judy’s CRI). To me the leadership and culture—direct and at the top levels—is more important than the size of the company. I love the global reach, R&D power, breadth of offers, etc. that I find at large company Ipsos. But I see Jeff’s point, and am interested in how others see the topic. ************************* For me, it’s been easier to find what I wanted in small companies. I’ve worked for two of the largest organizations in the world (KPMG Peat Marwick and Pillsbury) and two small firms (CRI and Elrick & Lavidge, my first job). Experience in the big companies was valuable, but it wasn’t where I wanted to invest my life. I like life in a small company where you can… * Know everyone’s name * Understand the whole business * Know and see how your contribution makes a difference And working with large, well known clients give us the best of both worlds: we have impact on highly visible products and services, but we get to work within a small company environment.

“Do what you love; the money will follow. That’s a book title about job transition. I’ve never read the book, but I believe in the philosophy expressed by the title. If you love what you do, you’ll probably be pretty good at it. If you’re good at something, someone will likely pay you to do it. So the money does follow. But as I look back, in the end things were not about the money, they’re about the people. I remember the good people I worked with and for much more vividly than I remember the work that we did. And I now find myself getting more satisfaction from helping others do great work and achieve extraordinary things than I do from achieving those things for myself again. Also, I’ve always believed in the axiom: be ‘the,’ not ‘a.’ (Be ‘the best,’ not ‘a good’ company.) My favorite article about our company was in Kellogg World, the alumni magazine of Northwestern’s Graduate School of Management. ‘Not the Biggest, Just the Best.’ That’s what I’ve always wanted to be—and wanted our company to be. And the times, big and small, that we’ve accomplished that have been the most rewarding to me.” Jeff Pope, Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned, entry #2

I recently mentioned Jeff Pope as an influential leader from early in my career, at a company called CRI. When he retired he left a writing for us: “Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned.” After speaking with him the other day I dug through my files and found my copy in a folder. With his permission I thought I’d share, as the ten really resonate even all these years later. Here’s #1, (stay tuned for more)… **************** We’re all looking for something we can trust—ideas, people and things to which we can give loyalty and commitment. * Philosophy/Faith * People * Work/Career/Company We each need congruity among these things so that we feel we have integrity (“being whole or undivided.”) That’s why having the right culture at our company is so important. ****************

B2B sampling. It doesn’t sound like an exciting topic, but if you haven’t spoken to the right audience your work won’t have value (in fact could lead you down the wrong path). B2B sampling is crucial, an area where clients should pay keen attention. Ask your suppliers for details on their sampling approach, and as with everything least expensive may not provide the greatest value. If you’d like further learning on the topic feel free to ask Ipsos for our newly released viewpoint: The Right Blend: A Quick Guide To Ensuring High-Quality B2B Market Research Sample. We spend a lot of time talking about story-telling, activation, etc.—but we’re just putting lipstick on a pig if the sampling isn’t done well. Anne Hunter Shellie Yule Rory Curran David Bilicic Michelle O'Neill Jerrod Seaton Leabe Commisso Rogerio Monteiro Chris Junior