Humans of Martech

We’re not responsible enough to have unregulated internet usage. We need to be deliberate about our tool usage. We use the tool, not the other way around.One of the main points Cal Newport makes in his book DM is that the key to thriving in our high-tech world is to spend much less time using technology.A carpenter uses a hammer, the hammer doesn’t use them. Is the same true of digital marketers? We get sucked into our device and end up providing value to social media platforms, news site, content providers; not to ourselves, not to our employers.Digital minimalism could mean something different to different people. For some, it has nothing to do with the amount of tools you use but rather it's about how you make space to create and learn and be happy. But for some, and I think this is the case for you, it has everything to do with the amount of tools you use. It's getting rid of some of that clutter so you can focus on what's important.Think how much more productive you’d be if you had to go to a library to access the internet.I love the library analogy. It lends very well to the idea that it would force us to focus your online time on a small number of specific activities. And then happily miss out on everything else.As part of my digital declutter, I started a computer sign-in sheet to regular and filter my access. Here's how I set it up:* 4 columns; time, purpose, sites/apps, satisfaction* I fill in first 3 before every session. This forces me to really think about what I’m going to do during a work session; I plan my work and what tools I need to accomplish my job* After my work session, I rate my satisfaction. 10 is simple to get - I complete the task I set out to do and didn’t look at any other sites* Noticed my lower scores all came from session interrupted by Slack & Email; very interesting, when I scheduled that time on Slack & Email, I could still attain a 10; realized the problem wasn’t the tool, it was my relationship to it.I’m super productive and hitting all my deadlines; I only work 3 days a week and have rarely felt this type of sustained productivity, and I’d say I’m usually pretty productive and never miss deadlines.Biggest change for me was forcing me to spend time to plan out what to do in a work session. I'm good about planning my week, sometimes by days, but never tried work sessions.It’s really easy for me to tell when I need to think strategically about my priorities and refocus my to do list.Your computer is just a tool, and you should wield it with the same finesse and care as a carpenter; A carpenter always has a hammer in his or her belt but they’re don’t use it for anything other than pounding nails.What about those periods of time where you’re fucking around on reddit and you see something badass and it inspires you. You save it to your pocket, maybe you go back to it, maybe you don’t. But it’s it’s swipe file of shit that’s only there because of browsing. And you might be thinking cool but you can just schedule this reddit browsing time. But maybe the quality comes from the quantity of browsing. Maybe it’s just an excuse for using Reddit.Content is not king; your behaviour on the internet is; if your behaviour is different than your intentions when it comes to internet usage, it’s worth paying attention to.How can you be more intentional about your use of technology? Try a sign in sheet.--Intro music by Wowa via Unminus

How do you decide what type of company you want to work for? Figure out who your dream companies are in that size, space, industry by trying new things.In college, I worked for a startup sized agency, a public enterprise, a governement department. I knew I would be likely happier in smaller companies.The most important part of an interview is not to be prepared for what they will ask, but rather making sure you ask the right questions. One of my favs: Totally ask the company what the salary range is for this position. Usually it's just the candidate forced giving a range. Doesn't have to be the case.Questions to ask based on size of company (Startup) Data/technical support, is there a data warehouse (Scale up) What's the plan/reporting structure, ops report to marketing or revenue, examples of projects (Enterprise) Ask biggest problems right now, ask about tech stack, ask about change resistance, age of staff.Questions to ask regardless of company size: Ask people what they love the most about the job. What they think of manager. what are the big upcoming projects, make sure they match your KPIs. What sod you see as the biggest hurdle for this role.How to show your passion: pick a project you loved, and go deep into the details and why you loved it.Idea: Send a cover letter via video; play on the remote factor. If it's an email job, tell the manager you wrote an email series for them as an introduction to your experience and background. If it's a lifecycle role, send them your favorite workflow template.How to differentiate yourself: show how much you learn on your own, not just in your day to day, talk about mentors, courses, Slack groups, favorite authors and thought leaders.--Intro music by Wowa via Unminus

Choosing between being an individual contributor or a managerIt’s a common dilemma across all fields: the top contributors are most likely to get promoted to a management position. The issue is that not all contributors make good managers, while almost all managers need to have some subject matter expertise acquired through being an individual contributor. In this episode, Jon and Phil break down the differences between each career track and make a case that most people would be happier as an individual contributor. Will you be happier as an individual contributor?Most people will be happier as an individual contributor. Everyone is different, but many individual contributors seek management roles because it’s perceived as the only path to promotion within an organization.This is a dilemma faced by many individuals across different types of roles: the top individual contributor is flagged as for promotion to management. But the skill of managing people is quite different from being a great contributor. The other question is will contributors be happy spending their time managing people?Think about it: if what you love about martech is figuring out how to set up automation, workflows, testing new tools, working with teams to solve problems, and getting your hands dirty, the shift to management is going to draw a stark contrast. Managers in martech, like Directors of Marketing Operations, are responsible for their team, the strategy, and overseeing all those moving parts. The skills required to be excellent at marketing operations are different from being great at management. One could make the argument that you could be excellent at management without actually being a great contributor. Just consider one skill all managers need: emotional intelligence. People issues arise all the time in management and require a thoughtful, considerate manager to resolve. Understanding team chemistry and paying close attention to the needs of individual team members is critical, but a skill many of us need to cultivate. Consider the quiet team member who struggles in silence with the team dynamics, maybe never feeling the opportunity or encouragement to bring their ideas up in team meetings. Then, one day, they leave the team because they found a better opportunity. Benefits of being an individual contributorBeing an individual contributor can be a fulfilling and rewarding career choice. Here’s why individual contributors love their work:Deep work and flow stateTime managementSpecialization and be true expertsAutonomy in daily tasksAligned with strength and interestsDeep work and flow stateFor individual contributors it’s possible to achieve that zen-like state of flow where time flies by as you just enjoy completing your work. For creators, this might be writing a blog post or designing an image; for marketing ops folks, it may be designing workflows, setting up automation, or auditing a system. Hitting this state as a manager is nearly impossible with a need for managing team members, triaging requests, and communicating across multiple channels. The dream of turning off Slack and checking out of email seems like a distant one when you’re in management. Managers face continuous waves of interruptions that drown any chances of deep work.But for individual contributors, this heightened state of focus isn’t the ideal, it’s the norm. Time managementAs a manager, your calendar is a wall of one-on-ones, team meetings, strategy meetings with leadership, and ad-hoc-have-to-meet-now meetings. If this sounds like hell, well, this is a taste of a manager’s life. Entire books have been written about making meetings less hellish, such as one of our favorites “Death by Meeting“.While it’s commendable to make the most of meetings and we’re not going to deny how important they are to business, the best way to avoid meeting hell is to not have any meetings. It’s not avoidance; it’s focus. Individual contributors need time to work on their projects and deliverables. Meetings where individual contributors are involved should be quick, painless, and to the point. A common complaint of managers is the desire to get back to doing what they love doing.Specialization and masteryTo get that first promotion to management, most marketers need to demonstrate some skills and chops. Being a Director of Marketing Operations, for example, would be a tough job if you’d never managed a marketing automation instance before. But over time, your skills as a marketing ops contributor are less important than enabling members on your team to flourish and become experts.Managers begin to lose that “edge” that made them so easy to promote in the first place. They spend less time in the tools and more time directing strategy. And, let’s be clear: this role is extremely important and valuable. That’s not what we’re saying.But for individual contributors considering management, they need to understand that the opportunities to become deep experts in their field diminish in proportion to their managerial responsibilities. If what motivates you in your career is to be an expert, then managing may not be the best option.Autonomy in daily tasksBeing an expert in your craft comes with respect from your team which allows you to operate with a higher degree of autonomy than a manager. An SEO with technical knowledge or a marketing operations pro with deep platform knowledge should be given the ability to do their thing. Managers, however, are responsible for a wide range of responsibilities, tasks, and other human beings.Autonomy is closely linked to job satisfaction and this is the operating model for most individual contributors, especially as you deepen your expertise in your chosen field. It’s not to say as an individual contributor you won’t be told what to do or have your priorities influenced by a manager; it’s the “how” you accomplish your work that gives autonomy.Aligned with strength and interestsDo what you love. It’s an ideal that sounds like advice from your mom… but it’s true. When you are passionate about your work (or at the least enjoy it), then it’s easier to show up. Part of enjoying your job is being good at it. This may seem obvious, but it’s quite possible to enjoy something you aren’t good at. At work, aligning your strengths with your interests is a recipe for success. It’s a positive feedback loop where you will take initiative to deepen your expertise, experience greater autonomy, and command a higher salary.People management is a challenging jobIt’s a neat little story: graduate university, do a tour of duty as a marketing specialist, and then move into a management role. From there, who knows? VP of Marketing? CMO? The narrative is attractive partly because it’s the path we’ve been conditioned to associate with career success. If you don’t manage other people, are you still successful? We’ll get to that in the next section, but for now, let’s think about the challenges of people managing.First, humans are dynamic, complex, and emotional. Every human is unique and will respond to your management style differently. Even the best managers will face challenges due to personality differences. This is where a practice like that outlined in Radical Candor is valuable: develop deep relationships with your team, and earn the right to be candid.Something that you might not hear about managing other people: it’s draining. Emotional labor is real, and its effect on the joy you take in your job is real – in fact, studies suggest this impacts women disproporti...

His name is Jon Taylor, my name is Phil Gamache. Our mission is to future-proof the humans behind the tech so you can have a successful career in marketing. Here's a quick preview of the show. I think we're both empathetic and compassionate leaders, we actually look to understand what's happening on the other side of eyes across from us. What I'm super excited about is getting into less just the tech and the strategies and the tactics, but also behind the scenes of what it's like to be a b2b marketer. When to quit your job. When to take a break.  What does it take to get promoted? How do you ask for raises?  I think our podcast is focused on the humans behind the tech. But there's a lot of tech out there I mean that we need to unpack that tech. What is the value of manual versus automated reporting? What does it mean to be a technical marketer? How to setup lifecycles. What is lead scoring all about?  We are going to be your guides on a journey across the Martech landscape of doom.  If you only listen to a minute of our podcast, I want you to feel like you could get a snippet of intelligence. Credits and notes:Intro music by Wowa via Unminus.