By the way, I haven’t changed my background on twitter for some time now…is this still an issue with people?

But in any case, thanks for your input!

if there is a sharing option in your blog , it will be great..

Here’s to the next 29 days!

For instance his son was having problems in school so he sat him down and said it’s your job to do well in school – I’m not going to check up on you for one month, but in that same month you are essentially grounded. In one month I will check with your teacher. Nothing more was ever said – In one month’s time he checked with his teacher and his teacher said she had never seen such a dramatic turn-around.

I guess I resonate with the topic of being a specialist in some areas — and a generalist in others.

When it comes to several arenas within which I’ve played (CRM, Integrated Marketing, Operations, Business Strategy, Content Management) I might be considered a generalist. That is, I’ve had exposure to enough things to understand all the moving parts well and know when to extend outside of myself to get narrower (read: almost always more junior OR someone highly technical) focus to make the project a success.

However, within the digital media arena – I am truly a specialist. That casts a wider net than it used to…. as technology advancement, adoption and channel proliferation, this arena is growingly complex. I find that it’s impossible to keep up at a granular level with all the areas of expansion… so in certain areas of digital media, I may choose to use more GRANULAR SME’s (e.g. expert in video – and I have a degree in TV/film production) to ensure the best use of my time.

But I have to ask this: Isn’t that a normal part of being very senior in one’s field?

While for the most part, I can execute, and often do …. I find my time is often better spent managiung at a higher level and hiring people to handle detailed execution (depending on the project). I often face the hard fact taht I have to bring in someone CHEAPER to execute the work… because the project financials can’t afford that much of my time.

However, as an excellence junkie, I can’t – and won’t – take myself out of the execution camp… I find it keeps me SHARP… on my toes, and constantly learning. That is keeping in step with the fact that I love my work – I love this arena, and mostly — I love to create experiences for customers (and clients) that are outstanding… so I take a high level of ownership.

So – am I at risk of seeming unfocused? Perhaps to people who don’t understand why it’s necessary in this field to be pretty darned good at a LOT of different things…

However, I’m never sorry for it — because I’m not lying about my capabilities and my clients are usually more than happy to find a consultant that is agile, versatile and active in her field.