One hand for you, one hand for the ship

I have a friend who was complaining to me two weeks ago that he couldn’t understand why the press had stopped ringing him for a quote, after he had left his high profile business development role with a multinational business, to work with a small start-up organisation.

I had drinks earlier this week with a career diplomat who was looking at the end of his career and realised that when he stops being a diplomat (imminent), it will be difficult to determine what his value is to anyone.

I had coffee this morning with a policeman who was a bit grumpy because he had been removed from an extra duty that he liked, not because he wasn’t doing a good job, but because he wasn’t communicating the fact he was doing a good job.

There is an old nautical expression, probably the only one I know, which is “one hand for you, one hand for the ship”. I reckon this translates to don’t just be good at your job, manage your profile as well. All too often I meet people who get confused into thinking that the value and credibility that their role confers on them is theirs to keep. The surprise when they find out their mistake is almost tangible.

Remember nothing is forever, no job is secure and no one is indispensable. Every employment will end either via retirement, retrenchment, resignation or termination. Corporate memories are short, and your cachet for being the ex-whatever has a half-life of about six months.

So here’s some advice:

1. Choose when it’s you, and when it’s the job.

Make sure that when you do a favour for someone – it’s you personally who is doing it. Eg. I take people to lunch, not Flinders Pacific or the Churchill Club or Think London. The favour and the obligation is then connected with me, not my businesses. However, if I want to do something unpleasant (eg. terminating a supplier contract) you should communicate that it’s simply the role you have to play, and they shouldn’t shoot the messenger. You may well meet these people again when your circumstances have changed, and you will want their help, not scorn.

2. Self-promotion is a good thing.

Don’t just do a good job, make sure that others are aware that you are doing a good job. The quiet achiever being eventually recognised is pretty much a myth, in real life they get shafted by the person who takes credit for the work and promotes his talents to anyone within earshot. Of course, you must be culturally sensitive, because if you are constantly harping on about how good you are in Australia, no one will take you seriously. Simply inserting your name on the bottom of your work is a subtle start.

3. Go further than your job.

When you are riding the crest of a wave, expand yourself beyond your organisation. Being president of an industry association, on the board of a charity or simply even the guy who puts together a golf day, means that you can leverage your current role, to give you currency that survives your role.

4. Be careful constructing your personal brand.

You can be the partner at XYZ company who is an industry visionary, or an industry visionary who happens to be a partner at XYZ company. This is most obvious with TV personalities and senior journalists. I don’t know which channel that Burt Newton is with or which paper Michelle Grattan is at, however I do know their name and that they’re good at what they do. Which brand is bigger, Apple or Steve Jobs?

The problem with the nautical metaphor “one hand for you, one hand for the ship” is that it’s much quicker to learn on a yacht than in your career. A mistake on the boat and your’re overboard, wet, surprised then cross almost instantly.

To read more Brendan Lewis blogs, click here.

Brendan Lewis is a serial technology entrepreneur having founded: Ideas Lighting, Carradale Media, Edion, Verve IT, The Churchill Club, Flinders Pacific and L2i Technology Advisory. He has set up businesses for others in Romania, Indonesia and Vietnam. Qualified in IT and Accounting, he has also spent time running an Advertising agency and as a Cavalry Officer with the Australian Army Reserve.