My Year-End Realizations

Before I get to my New Year’s resolutions, here are a few of my realizations for 2010.

1. I need to take an even more active role in managing my personal brand. This year, social media moved (at least in my mind) from a novel and useful side project to a front-and-center professional necessity. I think most of my company had the same realization. This means I now am consciously allocating more time and resources to managing both brands in the social realm.
2. Embrace new devices. Tablets and mobile devices are revolutionizing how we share information, and we need to be aware of the impact they are having on other aspects of our work.  For example, as a number of folks have observed, app design is beginning to shape how many companies are designing their user interface for web sites. While two platforms may be influencing each other, the underlying code is different, meaning corporate marketing teams will need to understand a range of different development environments. 
3. Adaptability is key to survival. While I’ve always known this to be true, the challenging economic conditions that persisted throughout 2010 really drove home the importance of being able to adjust quickly to changing circumstances. Professionally, this meant taking on new challenges without immediately knowing how I’d find the talent and resources to pull them off. As a manager, it also meant asking folks to stretch and take on new roles so the team could adapt to new requirements.
4. Corporate identity is a multi-platform game. With Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (and others) tweaking their sites to appeal more to corporate brands, it’s very apparent  that we’ll be maintaining and sharing branded content across multiple venues. In a period of scarce resources, the big question is: What will we need to give up or do differently in order to fully staff these campaigns?
5. Test assumptions. So much has changed as a result of the recession that I’ve found it valuable throughout the year to ask whether the way I or my company have done things is still the right way. More often than not, I’ve realized that  simplifying my projects, procedures, assignments, etc. and finding more creative approaches was the right thing to do.  If there is a silver lining to the recession, this may be it.