Hey, if "community organizer" is a stepping stone to the presidency, why not as a qualification for Chief Marketing Officer? As more and more marketing tasks are shifted to the community (The latest? Get your community to design your logo.), a key issue has been drawn out in regard to hiring marketing talent: What skills are really needed?
In the past, a thorough understanding of traditional media planning was required. Who can we find who understands reach and frequency? Who knows solid direct marketing tactics that generate ROI?
These days, more companies are embracing the fact that they need community organizing skills within their marketing department. It's not enough to spread the "message" through Twitter and Facebook, which are just tools; you have to understand how to build true community through those tools.
Here's a list of a just some of the skills for a good community organizer, whether it's organizing on the streets or online:
- Building coalitions, including among those who may have felt powerless
- Mobilizing large numbers of people
- Training and empowering leaders
- Effective listening skills
- Effective questioning and messaging skills
The Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog and a resource for solutions nto community alcohol problems has developed their own community organizer self-assessment test to help determine whether this is a good career choice.
Perhaps we need to adopt these kinds of organizing skill assessments for hiring marketing professionals?
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