Polly Pearson's Blog

Intern to Fast Lane: Are you a “Rule Maker?”

I first met Julie Regan in August of 2006 on a summer evening at the Capitol Grille in Boston.  She was an intern from Boston College working at EMC in inside sales.  I was the EMC executive appointed to host several EMC customer groups at the restaurant that evening.  I found out that night that Julie was a “rule maker.”  Do you want to learn how young “rule makers” at EMC can have an immediate impact on the highest levels of EMC management?  Read on.

Rule Maker Moment #1: Look for opportunities to expand your exposure.

Julie signed up for a volunteer assignment to ensure that logistics went smoothly during the evening for EMC customer groups and their hosting EMC executive.  It wasn’t a glamorous assignment and the interns had to give up a summer evening to be there. Nothing was offered in return but a free dinner once everyone was settled. 

Julie made an immediate impression on me.  I found that she was as enthusiastic about working at EMC as she was about helping that evening.   Her demeanor dulled only for a moment when she told me that her internship was about to end. 

“Would you like to stay on longer?” I asked.

With eyes and a smile that lit up the dark mahogany surroundings she said, “I’d love that!  My schedule at BC this year would even allow for it.”  I remember thinking that you don’t let someone with this amount of passion leave if you can help it.

“Have you asked if you can stay longer?” I asked.

“No … I mean, it’s a summer internship so of course I figured ….,” she said until I interrupted her. “Julie, this is EMC! Ask if you can do it and chances are they’ll say ‘yes.’ Remember, your boss can’t read your mind.”

Rule Maker Moment #2:  Ask for what you want.

The next week I got an email from Julie with these comments, “They said,’ yes!’ I get to stay.”  

Rule Maker Moment #3:  Build Relationships  

Included in her email was an “ask” for me. “Do you think we can have lunch one day? I’d love to learn more about what you do and how you’ve navigated your career.” 

The Goodness Continues

Julie’s extended internship resulted in a job offer to start with EMC once her studies at BC were complete.  Said Julie, “I had a totally stress free senior year knowing that I had the job at EMC. It was awesome!”

Rule Maker Moment #4:  Plant the Seed.

A couple of weeks ago Julie contacted me with news that she again used the advice to let her boss know what she wished for and was working toward.  In a manner that was respectful, kind and yet also evidenced a desire to excel, she shared with her boss that she would love to take on a new job off the typical career path should such a position open up.  There were no jobs posted and the usual protocol for any promotion is to wait for when the boss calls you, right?  Not if you’re smart.

When a successful track record, opportunity and courage meet:

The next day her boss called her into his office and said, “We’re ramping up a new group of inside sales that will launch our operating model and dedicate it to a specific market opportunity.  Would you be interested in helping to replicate this operation on the West Coast? You’d be based in Santa Clara.”

Julie accepted with pleasure.

For a high performer, simply putting an idea on the boss’ radar can make magic happen.

---- Talk Back:

What about your career? Have you used “rule maker” strategies to help you excel? Have you shown the courage to ask for something that wasn’t part of the official process? Have you seized opportunities to expand your exposure and network? Do you work to build strategic relationships with people you’ve met along the way?

EMC, a "Technology Household Name" - Can it be so?

   

As reported on by media such as CNN and the Wall St. Journal, Aberdeen Group -- "a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence" -- recently released its report on the "100 Most Influential Technology Vendors in 2008".  The report "showcases the results of five years of research and up to date insight from 4,645 snap-shot survey respondents."

There were a few notable elements in the report: 

• EMC is among the Top 10
• My competitive friends pointed out that EMC ranked ahead of Hitachi at #66, Symantec at #58, and Netapp at #57 (makes me think of Heinz 57 ketch-up!).
• Some really well-known tech brands that did not make the Top 10 cut include Google #11; Apple #16; Accenture #25; Sony #26; Intel at #29; and Yahoo #75.
• The average market cap of the members of the Top 10 as of Monday, May 19th was just over $100 Billion.
  (MSFT 276B; ORCL 116B; SAP 62B; IBM 175.5B; CSCO 159B; HPQ 118B; Dell 44B; CRM (salesforce.com) 8B; EMC 38B; JAVA (Sun) 10B). 
  
  On revenue relative to clout, looks to me like Salesforce.com and EMC are standouts.
• But maybe most of all I couldn't help but notice how the report referred to EMC: a "technology household name."  Can it be?

Then I started to think about it.

• Our hot Mozy on-line back up has almost 1 million consumer customers at this point including the Wall St. Journal's influential Personal Technology reporter Walt Mossberg who has graciously pointed out his pleasure with the offering: http://mozy.com/news
• Our VMware overtook Google as the hottest IPO ever, is tracking to be the fastest growing software company in history -- and sports 100% of the FORTUNE 100 as customers.
• About 37,000 technology professionals left their families, booked flights, endured airports and uncomfortable airplane seats, paid a lot of money and sat/will sit in large conference centers to attend a conference this year put on by either EMC (EMC WORLD), an EMC Division (RSA Conference) or an EMC Company (VMworld).  A back-of-the-envelope calculation for what that cost these 37,000 professional in total is about $148 million!
• And then there is the daily experience with the master brand "EMC:"  ... to keep it simple, I tell my mom that she can't go through a single hour in a single day without EMC somehow having a role in what she is doing. The car she drives, the phone call she made, the stock she traded, the money she withdrew from her ATM, the package she sent, the bill she received, the show she watched, the stuff she bought with her credit card, the stuff she returned -- chances are EMC had a role in securing, accessing, managing, storing, or protecting the digital bits that make up her daily, personal digital world.

So I guess Aberdeen is on to something. Who am I to argue with 5 years of research and 4,645 survey respondents?

Talk Back -------

What does the data tell you? 

Olympics, Red Sox, Pee, Radio Show, Happy Hour, Dogs, Social Networks, Recognition, Boston Globe, HTML, Brand Messaging, Suit Drive, Parenting, Jewelry, iPODs, Hula Hoops, Culture, and Superman: My day of conversations: May 16, 2008

Today's verbal conversations (text doesn't count):

• 6:15 and 6:45 pm: Happy Hour. Neighbor Gail Galin calls to invite me to happy hour. Oddly, I opt to do this blog instead so I can avoid the guilt of not getting anything up since May 13.

• 6:00 pm: The Summer Olympics in Beijing and how a single EMCer named Feng figured out a way to get EMC some pretty major branding as a result. (more on Feng later.)

• 5:00 pm JIVE software ease of use as a brilliant engineer friend, Peter Quirk http://peterquirk.wordpress.com/, helped me load up the new “CULTURE TALK” community on our internal social network called EMC ONE … which runs on software created by JIVE.

• 3:30 pm Ideas to help crack the “reward and recognition” code.  I shared with Beth and Catherine, who came seeking advice, to throw away any “normal ideas” like posters and newsletters and then gave some tips to move the needle.

• 3:00 pm  Life for a peer, Abhrajit Bhattacharjee, who I had the pleasure of meeting today. Abhra is from India, joined EMC 5 years ago and now lives in Singapore. He’s in the States for EMC World where he will help to host the 89 journalists who are flying to Las Vegas to attend. Ends up Abhra also used to produce radio shows … which will help with VISUAL LIVE RADIO.  As a communications expert living in APJ, can also help with EMC & the Beijing Olympics.

• 2:00 pm Meeting with Drew Pion, producer of successful EMC customer communication program called EMC LIVE; Susan Shapiro, EMC ONE community manager; Monya Keane, editor of our award winning employee magazine EMC.Now; Steve Todd software developer and blogger http://stevetodd.typepad.com/; Barbara Massa EMC US recruiting honcho; and my employment brand partners Brandi Hamlin; Paula Cuddy; and Laura Burns to plan the “EMC Culture Talk VISUAL LIVE RADIO SHOW.” Somehow Bring your Dog to Work Day came up which later spurred a Steve Todd blog and some enthusiastic discussions on EMC ONE.

• 1:00 pm  Another hour with Peter Quirk helping me with HTML and other "fun" elements of social community building on EMC ONE.

• 12:00 noon Scheduling decisions for next week including confirming attending the Boston Globe Top 100 companies breakfast on Tuesday and a dinner/Red Sox game on Monday night with EMC customers at the EMC Club.

• 11:00 am Brand messaging meeting with Brandi and Paula. We’re working to get the right words to tie our external brand story with our employment brand story. The connections are brilliant. We just need to get it crisp. They also re-baked the phrases used to describe the EMC culture a bit. It all works (the before and after picture); I’m digesting.

• 10:00 am Relay a bunch of “great ideas” to Brandi. Ask her to contact Cisco as I hear they do an employee radio show of sorts. Cisco is a partner. 

• 9:00 am The giant box of suits to donate to the ‘back to work’ suit drive remains in the back seat of my car. Must get that to Joy Foster – that angel who volunteers her time to do this at the HQ building.

• 8:00 am Discuss parenting strategies with my friend Cathy who helps me keep my house sane and somewhat clean.

• 7:00 am Talk about what jewelry my newly 13 year old daughter Sophie would like to receive for her birthday; about the phone message the principal from Westborough High left on parents voicemails about a fight that broke out between two high school boys yesterday; about moves to help with a knee pain I have and about how I wasn’t enjoying those tricep dips my personal trainer Carol Thompson was making me do.

• 6:30 am  Listening to the excited rambling of 6 year old Margo as we hula hoop and watch each other’s latest tricks.

• 6:00 am Explaining to Sophie why I had to get a third iPOD.

• 5:45 am Telling Sophie that the towel in the middle of the hallway was from when her 3 year old brother peed through his new big boy Superman underwear right in that spot at 2am when he was trying to get to the bathroom on time.

 

PHOTO: My 3 year old son, Oscar.

Magic Happens: Culture and the Customer Brand Experience

On Friday, my day started off with a meeting with Craig Moodie, EMC Creative Director and six-time fiction book author, to discuss how we articulate the customer-facing EMC brand and the aspects of EMC’s brand as a place to work. (Note: Craig’s latest book is just hitting the market now – see it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Seaborn-CraigMoodie/dp/1596433906/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210628429&sr=1-2; http://moodiebooks.com/)

My day ended by reading a popular blog by EMCer Barry Burke, a.k.a., “The Storage Anarchist” on the power of strong brands and how they contribute to success in high tech. In it, Barry featured a business-school paper that Tom Broderick, fellow EMCer and product marketer, wrote in 2002 on “The Technology Brand.”

http://thestorageanarchist.typepad.com/weblog/2008/05/1003-maybe-it-r.html

The Customer Experience of a Brand

What I love about this paper: it brings to life the crazy world of survival in high tech. Last week I wrote about the importance of a company’s culture and of its leadership for your own career continuity. Tom’s paper puts this and more in the spotlight.  If you’re in high tech, your heart will race a bit while reading it and you’ll likely shake your head, smile and say, “Yeah. I can relate to that.”

Tom writes about the benefit of a strong brand and how it can help companies ride the inevitable misstep or missed timing on a new product roll out. It made me recall a brand study we did just off the tech wreck and a subsequent string of EMC acquisitions in 2003. EMC’s entire offering to the market place was being re-shuffled reflecting new market dynamics and our own maturation as a company. To help us understand how our customers were receiving these changes we asked them,

“What does EMC’s brand stand for to you?”

The customers’ reply? “EMC is a promise keeper.”

How do you become seen as a promise keeper?

In my view, the culture -- the people and their values -- are behind everything a company does for its customers.

In my meeting with Creative Director Craig we were discussing some of the special elements that make up the EMC culture. The people of EMC, we noted, are “motivated, energetic, passionate, smart and ‘real.’ They put customers first and always, always set the bar at the ‘best’ in everything they do.”

"You. Energized."

Craig used this phrase, “You. Energized.” to describe what happens to people when they become part of EMC. I rather liked that.

• Life at EMC is “Championship Play” as a friend of mine, EMC EVP Frank Hauck, recently said. When every member of the team brings an “A game” every day – everyone’s game gets elevated.
• A member of our EMC family, a 24 year-old who recently “graduated” from our inside sales group to the field and who last year delivered $5.9 million in revenue against a $2.5 million quota shared this comment with me,
• “When I look at myself and the success I have accomplished since college and compare it with my college buddies I think, “It is a little bit of me and a whole lot of EMC.”
  

Magic Happens.

As I see it, when you take a smart, passionate person and put him/her into a soup with thousands of other smart, passionate people who set the bar at “success,” magic happens.  By having a team that works in a no excuses fashion for this level of play (see Tom’s paper for further illustration) you inevitably get a pretty good track record with customers. And you get to stay in business a little longer than the rest.

2009 will mark our 30^th year in business.

Talk back -----------------------

Have you lived the “Technology Brand?” Do you have a view on the connection between “Culture” and the “Customers’ Experience” with the brand?

Career Choices and Company Leadership

eWeek recently published the Top 100 Most Influential People in IT.

EMC CEO Joe Tucci

Cheers most notably to Microsoft; EMC & VMware; IBM; and Google -- home to volumes of movers & shakers in IT.

At Microsoft -- an amazing 9 execs made the Top 100.

At EMC & VMware (VMware is “an EMC company”) – an impressive showing of 4 execs were among the Top 50. Notably,

• Joe Tucci, EMC CEO was ranked as the 7^th most influential person in IT
• Mark Lewis, EMC President of Content Management and Archiving and author of http://marksblog.emc.com was ranked as the 50^th most influential.

IBM and Google also graced the Top 100 with 4 spots each.

What does a list like this have to do with career choices?

Business is tough and tech is tougher than many other industries given the pace of change. If you’re going to attach your train to a company in a dynamic industry consider strongly the influence and the track record of its leaders and of its culture. Good leaders and powerful cultures will help make your career ride a continuously progressive one.

EMC has reinvented itself more than six times in its nearly 30-year tenure. This ability takes a culture that is agile, open to change and able to execute with speed and passion.

Our most recent transformation came at the hands and strategic vision of Joe Tucci, #7 on the list. Joe helped EMC grow revenues about 150% from 2002 through 2007. Business Week called the Tucci-led transformation the most stunning turnaround in the history of technology and Institutional Investor named Tucci the CEO of the year for two consecutive years.

Today, EMC is one of the fastest growing companies in high tech in terms of revenue and profit growth. The company is also one of the ten most valuable (market cap) major IT product companies in the world. Yet at “only $13+ billion”, EMC has plenty of headroom compared to its “Top 10” tech peers. In career terms, this amounts to the potential for great professional growth.

Net: it is not only cool to have your CEO be among the most influential people in your industry – it serves to help your career continuity and growth.

Talk Back------------------

Are you at a company with top industry influencers and a powerful culture? If so, what has it meant to your career?

The beginning of the best job in the world (for me)

When I joined EMC at age 25, sporting employee badge number 573 (the numbers today are as high as 87,000) we were small enough that on your first day you were walked around the halls to meet everyone.  Everyone, even the Founder and CEO.

I met Dick Egan, the man in charge, on that first day. A few days later he summoned me to his office.

I recall that his desk was made of metal. It had no PC on it. The credenza behind his desk was an old oak door lying on top of two inexpensive looking metal filing cabinets.  He held a yellow pencil in his hand and had a 2-3 inch pile of pink message slips on an otherwise clear surface.  He smiled widely (a bit too widely) in my direction.  He put his hands on top of the pile of message slips and cupped his fingers around them. He slid the message slips across his desk in my direction.  I remember him saying just one sentence. It was something like this, “Here … why don’t you do this?”

The message slips were loaded with, essentially, F bombs. They were from EMC investors. The investors were furious and wanted answers. They came as a result of the quarter EMC had just missed (in Q3, 1991).

It was a meeting that altered my professional career and set the stage for well over a decade of exhilarating work building and soon leading EMC's Global Investor Relations function.

As for Dick's humble desk and CEO office trappings, they are an important part of the EMC story, too.  Dick led by example. He always ensured that the money went to where customers could best appreciate it. To EMC, that is in the product and the people resources  whose job it is to serve the customers.  He was so passionate about the importance of providing our customers with the best product he had a sign behind his desk (a play on the words made famous in the Bill Clinton Presidential Campaign) which read, "It is the product, stupid."

To be continued …

---------------Talk Back -----------------------

How did the job of your life get started?