FORTY YEARS AGO, I moved to Green Bay to take a job with a Data-Driven, Number-Obsessed, High-Stakes Insurance Company where there was NO one on staff like me.
First day on the job I bumped into the President in the Men’s Room. He was very nice and most welcoming. He toyed with me with small talk before he threw a giant haymaker at my nose: “Why do I need an COMM Guy when all we do is figure out when a customer will get sick – and how much we’ll have to pay? How do you help me with that?”
BOOM!
There was no concussion protocol back then, but I became a candidate. His totally-unexpected, well-positioned jab rang my bell; wobbled my brain. It was a perfectly logical question from a boss-type person, but I had never thought of it before! I DID, however, know that whatever counterpunch I came back with would either establish myself as a unique, value-added employee or just another pencil-neck, bean-counting, actuarial technocrat.
I squared up, looked him in the eye and took a wild swing: “You need me to help you sell your story.” Not a bad comeback for a rookie, but I wish I had seen THIS!
COMM MAJORS: Click here NOW! Be fully prepared when a future boss asks: Why do I need you?
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“I feel the earth, move, under my feet…”