The amazing Sara Pion and Bridget Poetker include the following disclaimer on their podcast’s website:
Disclaimer: We’re not mentors. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a chat with someone who’s going through the exact same thing as you. That’s us. We’re Bridget and Sara and we’re kind of figuring it out as we go.
The podcast, Self Control & Cheese: Shit No One Talks About at Work, is a must-subscribe.
Listen to our full episode:
Here’s seven things we talk about on this episode:
1. We have to stand for something.
The greatest content from people and brands is great because it comes from a place of “I need to write this.” Pride? Anger? Frustration? Write it. When you cannot wait to get an idea into the world, you have to publish it.
You (marketers, brands) have to stand for something. See my post on Managing Editor, Should Content Marketers Think Like Journalists? The only thing you find in the middle of the road is roadkill.
2. LinkedIn is not the real world.
It’s a very strange bubble, one that can quickly make us feel inadequate. If you find yourself backed into a corner where it looks like “all anyone is talking about is hustle” or another topic that gives you anxiety, clean up your LinkedIn feed. Get out of that world. Social media feeds the ego and fuels those who are seeking nothing but ego stroking. Don’t let them ignite your inner saboteur (RuPaul). That unfollow button is a magical thing. Make your feed work for you!
3. The martech industry has created false idols.
Around minute 22, Bridget says:
“You’re the only person I’ve ever heard say that out loud - I’m one of them, and we did this.”
Here’s what I said, as someone who has marketed to marketers the majority of my career:
This industry built on teaching marketers about marketing in order to sell them whatever you provide - agency or tech - has done marketing a disservice because it made marketers think the tech leaders had all the answers, when we really just had something to sell. It created a world where we are monetizing uncertainty.
Every marketer has to stay up to speed on current tech and trends, but the pace of change has meant an unusual spike in insecurity over the past decade. Things are changing so fast that what’s rushed in to fill the gap in knowledge are, I believe, false idols.
Be careful whose advice you follow, including mine :)
4. The power of being seen and heard.
Sara did a bunch of research on me ahead of the episode, and shared it (below). I cannot tell you how validating it is to know people can hear what you’re saying, and that it’s resonating.
Here’s why this mattered to me.
Oprah, in her 2013 Harvard commencement address shares that after 35,000 interviews with people ranging from presidents to pop stars to every day people, there is one common need:
…They all want to know one thing: was that okay? Did you hear me? Do you see me? Did what I say mean anything to you?
There is power in making others feel seen and heard. Read her full address.
5. How to create an enemy.
Enemies are things we create through narrative and positioning, and things created for us by those seeking to align with us or against us. Watch my full INBOUND talk for a guide to how to create enemies in a productive way for your brand - and maybe for a wake up call when they’re being created FOR you.
6. Where true experience comes from.
Experience / growing up is just a series of f*cking up. It’s truly about the passage of time and your willingness to try new things. Whatever happens to you comes with two options: ignore the lesson, or choose to learn something from it. The only way to build resilience is to be resilient.
7. Woke-washed.
More brands than ever are “woke” now - signaling support for social movements like feminism, LGBTQ+ equality and Black Lives Matter through marketing and PR efforts. But, what is the risk of performative allyship? My forthcoming documentary and book, Woke-Washed, seeks to explain this strange new normal.
Thank you to Bridget and Sara for creating the kind of podcast I wish I had when navigating the world of marketing and my career in my 20’s. You can listen more here.