All about Them by Bruce Turkel

Author:Bruce Turkel
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780738219219
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2016-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

PLAYING THE NAME GAME

A few hundred years ago it was easy to know what someone did for a living. Mr. Shoemaker made shoes. Goldsmith hammered precious metals. Tailor sewed. Farmer farmed. Baker baked.

But it’s not quite that simple today, is it? When was the last time you met someone named Dr. Radiologist? Mr. Hedge Fund Manager? Ms. Account Executive?

Does Jackson’s father necessarily fix flats? Must Ms. Webman work on the Internet?

Of course not. Today we are free to pick the profession we think we’re qualified for, regardless of the name we were born with.

So even though we can choose to be whatever we want, why is it we still use centuries’ old nomenclature when we describe ourselves to others? Why is our first answer about ourselves a description of what we do for a living? And yes, I know you have a friend who knows a dentist named Dr. Payne or a lawyer named Ms. Lawless. My point still stands.

Picture this: You’re at a party and meet someone new. You introduce yourselves, and the next thing out of your mouth is, “What do you do?”

If we still used the old system, being named for what we do, that question would be superfluous—last names such as Huntsman, Messenger, or Cook would tell our new friend exactly what we did for a living.

But the bigger question is why is our profession so important that “What do you do?” is the second thing we ask. Wouldn’t it be more interesting, and more instructive, to ask, “Who are you,” “What are you passionate about,” or “What’s important to you?”

Wouldn’t we know more about our new acquaintance if we knew that he was an ardent hospice volunteer, collected eighteenth-century pastoral oils, or had recently emigrated from Perth rather than that he was a lawyer or an accountant? Wouldn’t learning about this person’s political leanings, religion, or taste in music give us more insight than being told his occupation?

In the past few chapters we’ve already seen that function is cost-of-entry when we market products or services. Just like the ante that gets us into a poker game, product function is a critical factor that allows us to sit down at the table, but it does not guarantee a successful evening or even a winning hand. Instead, how the product or service makes consumers’ lives better—or makes consumers’ perception of their lives better—determines success.

Up until now we’ve been talking about how the new realities we’re all living in have conspired to change the way we need to think about presenting companies and products to the world. As we have seen, computerization, globalization, consolidation, and hyperfast communication have all changed the way we relate to one another and make decisions about the products and services we are going to buy and use.

But beyond products, services, companies, and organizations, these new realities also affect the way we need to think about ourselves and how we relate to others.

Just as no one will eat in a restaurant with sticky floors or bad food, if we’re not good at our jobs, no one will hire us.

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