Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy

In the Economy section of the New York Times on-line, Catherine Rampell quoted Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at IHS Global Insight, as saying “There really isn’t any hiding place for companies anymore. The recent numbers coming in from the rest of the world are disastrous.”

The Comfort Zone with regard to careers, if ever there was one, is gone. When an announced seventy thousand jobs disappear in one day (knowing full well that the reality in these cases usually exceeds the announced numbers) on top of the jobs that have already slid into the ocean like so many melting glaciers, one cannot contemplate one's resume and feel reassured that what attracted offers a few years ago will have any allure for CEOs making hiring decisions in a time when the battle cry is "Abandon ship!"

It is a sad, but unavoidable, fact that many management-level executives aren't going to make it through their next job transition. No reflection on the quality of their skills and abilities, they've merely chosen to remain anonymous to their market--the CEOs in their sector--because it's easier to send out resumes and deal with hiring managers and head hunters rather than to confront the top brass. For many, it is uncomfortable to become known at that level of play.

If one isn't better known in the sector than the CEO who might tender an offer, the offer is likely never to come.

What is the difference between managing "Hollywood" talent and business executives?

Having managed actors, writers and directors for the better part of thirty years, I've been asked what is the difference between managing "Hollywood" talent and business executives. For me, there is no difference since the objectives are the same: Increase the client's visibility in the public media so as to attract enhanced offers and to proliferate sources of cash flow to the client.

The only difference I have to deal with is that, while every actor, writer and director I ever dealt with understood the need for strategic management and actively sought it out, business executives rarely understand the subject and believe that mailing out résumés and phoning their network contacts constitutes marketing. What this actually does is to advertise your misfortune rather than to create a demand for your services.

A presence in the media is the fastest way to double or triple an executive's earnings and television is the optimum outlet. It is a tool I've been using since 1980, so I speak from experience.

The question is: What does it take for an executive to see that television will do things a résumé could never hope to accomplish? The answer to this question could mean the difference between comedy and tragedy.

Manage Smarter

Excerpts from:
Ready for Your Close-Up, Mr. CEO?
Brand like a celebrity

By Stacy Straczynski

As a filmmaker and the founder of Hollywood-based talent management company Cine Paris, Stephen Mitchell is particularly intrigued by the enterprise of branding executives. During his 20-plus years in the entertainment industry, Mitchell knows first-hand the power that personal branding gives to an individual.

"I started as a filmmaker," Mitchell says. "My experience is that writers, directors and actors all need to brand themselves in order to break into the industry." He says he believes the same goes for executives' careers, and to that end recently expanded his company to offer an executive management consulting service.

"Executives have a need for visibility," he says. "No producer wants to cast an 'unknown.' The same goes for corporations." Companies are looking for a star to act as a business magnet and therefore want to hire an executive who has an established relationship with the public. They want their own industry celebrity who never fails to draw positive and profitable attention. But the problem is many executives don't know how to market themselves, and without correct self-positioning, companies will overlook them. "What actors have and CEOs don't is someone to help manage an executive's trajectory and career or even market them," Mitchell says. Executives often need help.

To begin building your personal brand, Mitchell says you need to start with the most important part—you. "When executives begin to find their interests and focus on areas in which they have a lot to say, they can begin to get a sense of who they are—and bring attention to themselves. It's a way to make a career out of being you that is separate from any corporate climate and affiliation," Mitchell says.

http://www.managesmarter.com/msg/content_display/marketing/e3if98651d51568f53a97b93b73dfad7696

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvWWoYK9hXw