Blackberry

K.I.S. for CFO Branding

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When most of us think about Albert Einstein, we think about a man who was so incredibly intelligent that the average person could not hold a conversation with him, right? Well, apparently that’s not the case. He actually embraced the “KIS” philosophy – Keep It Simple. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it.”

Nick Tubach blogged about this philosophy as it relates to recruiting, but I think it is particularly important for a Chief Financial Officer’s personal / professional marketing message. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it.”

It’s easy to get lost in the details, particularly the “experience” details. After all, we own, with some amount of pride, everything that we’ve done. But there are a few important things to remember when crafting your executive resume and communication message.

— 3 is the new 30. The Internet has taken a 30-second TV ad and slashed that message to 3 seconds. Can you deliver your marketable value proposition (MVP) in 20 words or less?

— The Blackberry, iPhone, and Twitter have forever changed how we deliver and receive messages. The most high-value piece of resume real estate is the top half of the first page. Can yours stand alone? Is it powerful enough to motivate your target audience or a recruiter to take action?

— Clarity and brevity are king. If you don’t know your MVP, you can’t communicate it. And if you can’t articulate it briefly and powerfully, you can’t sell it. And if you don’t know who needs what you bring to the table, no transaction will take place. 

K.I.S. … it’s a powerful weapon in the world of finance executive branding and marketing. 

CFO Resumes … More than just pretty

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One of Matt Bud’s recent editorials in the FENG (Financial Executives Networking Group) newsletter was entitled, “Paint a Pretty Picture". He was primarily talking about resume aesthetics but he also said this, which is my point.

“… it breaks my heart at times when I review a resume and just know that the person behind the paper in front of me is so much better than how he/she appears.”

It is critical that who you are in person is the same person you appear to be on paper. If you meet someone at a networking event or you receive a warm lead, recommendation, and introduction to an opportunity and you follow up with an executive resume that falls short of who they believed you to be … in all likelihood, you just lost an opportunity.

Conversely, if you have a resume that is not written in your voice, with your words, and which accurately reflects who you are but instead creates a facade, meeting you in person will most certainly doom you to failure. 

Effective personal marketing documents (resume, leadership addendum, executive profile) for a Chief Financial Officer or Corporate Finance Executive are so much more than aesthetics. While I agree with Matt that “pretty” matters … no white space, grammatical and spelling errors, poor paper quality … the prettiest resume in the world won’t matter if it …

— positions you as a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none;

— is a responsibility-oriented historical novel;

— does not meet the Blackberry principle;

— doesn’t answer the question a company is asking … what do you bring to the table that makes it worth my while to pay you to join the executive team?

Pretty matters. But it is much, much more than just pretty. It’s very much about value. Yours. The clearer you are about your value, the stronger your positioning … on paper and in person!

20 is the New 2

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During a coaching call this morning, my CFO client was bemoaning the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to deliver his message. He said he targets 2 minutes as the time to deliver his responses to interview questions, but finds himself getting cut off after completing one sentence.

20 has become the new 2. 

20 words vs. 2 minutes. Welcome to the new world of messaging courtesy of Twitter, texting, Blackberry, and iPhone. 

I can hear you now. I can also see your eyes rolling. It was evident in my client’s response, too. How can you possibly deliver your message in 20 words? 

Realistically, you can’t afford not to. If your responses are getting cut off, your message isn’t resonating. Conversely, if you deliver a crystal-clear 20-word hook that invites a follow-up question … SCORE!

20 is the new 2. You have to know the new rules if you expect to compete and win!