Hit 'Em Where They Ain't

An old baseball manager said the key to hitting was to hit them where they ain't.  If you hit a line drive but it's right back to the pitcher you are out.  If you hit it over his head, you are on base.

The same goes for jobs.  As noted, there are sexy industries and they attract a lot of people.  Talented, smart, bright people all fighting over the same job.  And by fighting I mean fighting because office politics reign supreme in glamour industries.  If you need proof, rent The Devil Wears Prada over the weekend.  So you are competing against the A team every time you walk in the office.  Nothing wrong with that and competition is good but be open to opportunities elsewhere.

Which leads us to Pam.  Not sure her name was Pam but that doesn't matter.  And I may have used her story before but who cares because good stories bear repeating. 

Background--I was responsible for Risk Management, among other things, at a Fortune 300 company.  Risk Management for those not familiar with corporate speak is insurance.  Insurance is important but it is also boring.  And filled with jargon like long tails, TPA's and other words/phrases that escape me know.  My last words of advice to my Risk Managers before going into the CFO's office was always the same-Speak English.  They tried but never got very far.

But don't discard insurance completely because the insurance providers and consultants are always good for golf, football tickets and contributions.  Back to Pam.

My Risk Manager scheduled a meeting with Marsh MacClennan or something like that, known as Marsh Mac in the trade.  I dreaded the meetings but the Cowboys were doing pretty good and well...  So walk in to the meeting and there is Pam, a drop dead gorgeous blond in her late '20s.  I may be old but I'm not dead.  Plus, Pam was not stupid.  She may not have been in the same league with a 30 year actuary but she knew her stuff, had studied the company and knew our issues.  She was no nonsense and best of all, she spoke English. 

We got involved with a takeover and things got ugly and then uglier so there was not a lot of time for insurance, sorry, Risk Management.  But things settled down a bit and we finally had a meeting with Marsh Mac because, it turned out, one of the really big issues in the takeover involved insurance.  And this was insurance, not Risk Management.

Anyway, during a break (there is career advice in this post, just stay tuned) I was alone with Pam.  (Not that kind of alone.  The other participants got called in to a conference call so Pam and I were in my office.)  By then we were ok with each other since Pam figured I was not really interested in insurance and she probably wasn't either.

So I asked the question--How did somebody like Pam get into insurance and Why?  Pam was brutally honest.  She had gone to SMU, did the sorority thing, majored in marketing and upon graduation went to work for Miller Brewery, then part of Philip Morris which has since changed its name to something like Algae.  Pam was one of those perky, sexy blondes that went to events like Nascar, football games, baseball games, and rock concerts manning the Miller tent.  She also let it be known that she got hit on a lot by old guys.  I guess I passed the harmless test because she said it without smiling.

One day she was at an event, looked around and realized that everybody there looked just like her.  Young, bright, pretty, perky.  She was competing against herself. 

Pam quit on the spot.  Pam went to see her dad, a successful something, and asked for advice.  Hit 'em where they ain't.  With her experience at Miller, Pam knew exactly what her dad meant.  So Pam hit him up for some contacts and one was at Marsh Mac.  She showed up for the interview, summed up the competition and figured she was golden.  Quick training and she was out the door competing with people that were fat, balding and boring.  Her career and her salary took off.

The takeover went through and a lot of messy things happened.  I lost contact with Pam but if you read Forbes someday and Marsh Mac names a good looking new CEO, that would be Pam.

The bottom line is if you want to get ahead go for jobs where you can stand out.  Hit 'em where they ain't.

   

Comments

[Timothy Johnson]

Uncle Bill - awesome post! Linked to it from my own recent post about competition entitled Racing Phantoms. The whole dynamic of human competition is fascinating, isn't it?

[G]

This article is featured in this month's Carnival of Future Millionaires! http://howtomakeamilliondollars.blogspot.com/2006/10/carnival-of-future-millionaires-up.html#links

[Andrew]

Hey Uncle Bill, I've read your blog in the past and I enjoy your writing style. I'm considering a career change from IT into the financial services industry, and this article is one of favourites, for a few reasons. Great post!

[Dexter]

I love this post. In some ways it could be viewed as crass but I think it's quite true. Thanks for writing an interesting and helpful blog!

[Trish]

A while ago we sent you a post about possibly joining Zecco as a blogger. By now you hopefully have been hearing the buzz about Zecco.com on the net. We're due to open trading soon but between now and then we still need good bloggers to join us. If you're interested in more details, please email me and we can get you set up!