Guest Blog: Adjust The Sails

It’s not uncommon to hear that most marketing departments across the globe run their daily operations at full capacity and in a typical mode of over-drive.  Under today’s “business unusual” conditions, these feelings are likely ringing true more than ever.

For those marketers who are relying on spreadsheets, email & shared drives to manage creative briefings, requests, workflows and approvals right now, they’re likely feeling encumbered by the zillion little things that need to get done in order to get valuable creative out the door.

In our latest guest blog, Stephen Mulholland – marketing technology consultant – sheds some light on how technology can empower marketing and creative departments to work better together, bring order to the chaos and alleviate pressures during these uncertain times:

Adjust the Sails by Stephen Mulholland

Change is scary. Not necessarily the change itself, but the uncertainty of what happens after something changes.  Take “the dark” as an example.  Why are some people afraid of the dark? On the most basic level, “it’s only” the change between day and night or the flick of a light switch. For most people, it is not the actual change from day to night or turning a light from on to off that is scary.  It is not knowing what may be waiting for us in the dark.

Let’s take this idea and think about it in a different way.  Across the globe, the way people work is changing.  Popping into our teammate’s cubicle isn’t an option for collaboration at this moment in time.  As such, collaboration between creative and marketing teams is changing and that should be exciting and a little scary.  Not scary because things are changing, but because there is an uncertainty to how the new normal for collaboration looks.

So what do you do when these changes are thrust upon you by no decision of your own?

“The pessimist complains about the winds. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails,” said William Arthur Ward.

As one of your organization’s change agents, it becomes your mission to “adjust the sails” and transform your organization to adapt to the new normal.  But how do you find the tools that you know your teams need to continue to collaborate and produce content now?  The first step is to know that you’re not alone.  This is a mission for collaborative teams all across the globe who are looking for tools from trusted partners to help them adjust the sails.

If you’re looking for a technology partner to help you manage your inputs and outputs plus keep up with the changes, here are few things to consider:

1. Change Must Be Easy
Choose a tool that is like “riding a bike”.  Find tools that are intuitive and provide you with the ability to work without having to think about how you are working.  Finding the right tool-set to simplify the new workflow and process will make changing to a new way to work easy.

2. Change Must Be Positive
The addition of a new tool must positively impact your ability to work collaboratively.  Using a new tool cannot only bolster your collaborative efforts, but it can also facilitate a new process that everyone can enjoy and continue to produce creative outcomes.

3. Small Successes Are Big Successes
Think of the first time you said it was ‘okay’ to turn off the nightlight at night. That small act was the first step towards overcoming the fear of the unknown in the dark.  Whenever change occurs and people are faced with the uncertainty of the unknown, it is important to understand that any success, no matter how big or small, is a big success.

Giving yourself permission to celebrate finding new ways to collaborate with your teams remotely is a great first step towards overcoming the uncertainty of the changing world around us and getting back to what you do best.

As a final thought, remember that change can lead your organization to realize new growth, new opportunities and perhaps most importantly, new ways to innovate and improve on existing processes.  By focusing on finding remote collaboration and communication tools that are easy, positively impact both teams and create small successes that will lead to big successes, you will become the champion of change for your organization and provide the light to the uncertainty of the dark.

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For those marketing teams who are not yet armed with an online marketing operational capability and grappling with the fallout of losing brand control by managing a remote workforce, we would be happy to stage a virtual demonstration. Please feel free to connect online or over the phone.