Apocryphal Word-Of-Mouth Marketing "Case Study"
A good friend from my youth stopped by the house last night. He’s a Naval officer in the D.C. area. In the course of a long night of conversation, he shared this tale (probably apocryphal, but interesting nonetheless)…
The story goes that there were two bright British Navy officers, who became good friends in the British Naval Academy. On the eve of their graduation from school, they made a pact:
“Whenever possible and appropriate, when in the presence of a senior officer I will find a way to mention your name, and to call you out as the most able and brilliant officer I’ve ever met.”
Each man trusted the other implicitly to hold to their bargain. And indeed, according to the story, they were as good as their word. Throughout their respective careers, each man became known in the British Royal Navy for being quick to hand-out credit; for avoiding self-aggrandizement.
… And each man retired as a 3–star admiral.
It was only after their respective retirements that they told the tale of their Word-Of-Mouth Marketing success. Although each officer had many talents and may well have been high achievers without the boosterism, nonetheless, both were adamant that their mutually-beneficial efforts were a key part of their rise through the ranks.
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Comments
Actually, Todd - this (if true) would be a perfect example of the power of cooperation.
Short version (for those uninterested in game theory or the Prisoners' Dilemma) - over time, those who cooperate with others tend to succeed.
It sounds so common sense, but just know that the raw mathematics of cooperation as a strategy backs up the idea.
(Yes, I will do a Prisoner's Dilemma post in the near future...)
Posted by: Ike | July 24, 2007 09:45 AM
I've seen this work in a modern setting in the former professional services firm, PwC Consulting.
Five junior consultants made the pledge to recommend each other when given the chance - in front of partners, project mgrs and resource mgrs. In this manner they helped each other in getting on the great projects.
Larger professional services firms are like internal markets where talent is matched with projects/clients. Only by building your track record through your projects are you able to build you career.
Internal personal marketing and branding was openly and explicitly introduced as a key skill, when I entered PwCC.
Some firms might not accept this and try to build huge databases with skills, experiences, preferences, availability etc., but I have never seen them work very well. I'm a much stronger believer in the internal market model.
By the way, the five junior consultants all ended up having splendid careers - both within and after PwCC.
Posted by: Karsten Bjørk Rasmussen | July 26, 2007 09:33 AM
Great anecdote and insight, Karsten. Thank you!
I definitely agree that people are more keen to listen to what-others-say about personnel than pick talent for a project from out of a dbase!
Posted by: Todd Defren | July 26, 2007 11:11 AM