The Angry Birds of B2B

Until recently, I was proud not to be a ‘gamer.’ I regarded friends who never seemed to be able to put down their phones because they were searching for the best word to play next with a bit of disdain. Crops to water, cities to design, angry birds planning attacks, it all seemed ridiculous to me.

Then I started to notice something strange: really smart digital marketers who boldly identified themselves as ‘gamers.’ More surprising: these marketers not only liked playing games personally, but believed gaming presented very real commercial opportunities.

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And the ‘Student Hat’ becomes the ‘ECLP Hat’

One of my favorite things about being an MBA student at the University of Texas – McCombs School of Business in Austin was what I called “putting on my ‘student hat.’” This was how I referred to the special halo available exclusively to students conducting informational interviews. When I had my ‘student hat’ on, I wasn’t trying to buy or sell anything. As a result, I found professionals often opened up to me in ways they likely wouldn’t have if I were just another marketing or salesperson. I heard great war stories, ruled out certain career paths, and, most importantly, walked away with a role model and mentor who made the daunting seem doable.

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Going Digital at the July 2011 Conference

ECLPs have always strived to deliver on the larger goals set out by the Company. Our last few conferences have worked in healthymagination themed events to promote wellness and the sense of comraderie that can only come from a shared marathon experience or a friendly football match.

At the same time we’ve tried to work consistently to bring down our environmental impact. With intiatives like carbon offsets for flights, reduced use of plastics and disposables, and reducing paper and printing waste where practical, ECLPs are striving to “walk the talk” when it comes to conservation.

In that spirit, ECLPBlog.com is happy to provide access to digital copies of the conference meeting

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Work it Out or Put it in the Parking Lot!

A few weeks into my second rotation with GE Capital, I had the pleasure of participating in my first-ever GE Workout.

GE Workouts began under Jack Welch’s leadership in the 1980s and are focused on finding ways to drive speed, simplicity and clear accountability. The idea is to get a cross-functional group together to eliminate unnecessary processes and tasks. There are countless resources on the GE Workout available on Amazon and many companies use it to eliminate bureaucracy and silo mentalities.

As I associated GE Workouts with manufacturing and Six Sigma, it didn’t occur to me that I would ever get to be involved in this storied GE institution, especially as a marketer in a services industry. So, I was surprised to discover that, not only is the process just as applicable to services, but there are also great nuggets from the workout that can be incorporated into my everyday life, including two magical words: Parking Lot.

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CMO for the Day

Marcos Oliveira, a Healthcare ECLP, Class of 2010, recounts his experience as “CMO for the Day,” which was his reward for being named ECLP of the Year.

Last fall, I had the opportunity to spend a day shadowing Beth Comstock, GE’s CMO. Originally, the plan was to have me go to GE’s headquarters in Fairfield but, to my surprise, the plan changed. Beth and the global manager of ECLP had scheduled a trip to Brazil. So, I was going to spend my CMO day in my hometown!

My first thought was that my responsibility had grown tremendously – now I didn’t have to just be the “CMO for a Day” but would also need to be the “Host for a Day.” However, I soon realized how unique the experience would be, and how privileged I was to work in an emerging market that is such an area of focus for GE.

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Lights, Camera, Webcast!

It might sound surprising that a former stage actress would be nervous presenting to an auditorium of 100 people for an internal GE marketing forum. But when those 100 people just happen to include GE’s CMO, Beth Comstock, and other high-ranking commercial GE executives, and when the event is streaming live to hubs across the globe (not to mention colleagues watching from their desks), believe me: ‘nervous’ is an understatement.

A few mornings ago, I had the opportunity to serve as Moderator for the GE Global Marketing Webcast. Every six months, GE’s marketing and sales employees tune into this forum to get an update on all things marketing at GE.

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The Ducks are Doing It. Why Can’t We?

On the second morning of our ECLP Conference in Shanghai, back in the states, the U.S. College Football Championship was held between the #1 ranked Auburn Tigers and the #2 ranked Oregon Ducks. While the outcome, with the Ducks losing in the last few seconds of the game, was hard for Kathleen (a native Oregonian) and Franklin (an avid Ducks fan) to take, we remain huge believers in our speedy Ducks.

We kicked off ECLP Conference two nights before the big game and there was a lot of debate during our coffee breaks about which team, Auburn or Oregon, has the better offense. On one hand, Auburn’s offense has largely been recognized for the leadership of their dynamic quarterback who won the Heisman trophy (similar to player of the year). On the other hand, Oregon has been recognized for the extremely fast pace at which they play, and for their ability to adapt plays on the fly.

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“Innovation is in all of us” – Recap of the Case Competition Final Round

Impressive Night Prior

Though I wasn’t competing, I couldn’t help but feel nervous as the cab pulled into the Guest House at GE’s corporate headquarters in Fairfield, where the final round of the case competition would be held.

The Guest House is an impressive center with hotel rooms, conference areas and dining facilities – a place for employees and clients to stay when they’re working on big ideas with the company’s top leaders.

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Trojans host Irish and Longhorns for a chance at Fairfield

Thanks to ECLP, just as it started to turn cold in NYC, I got to head to sunny LA for the GE Case Competition hosted at the USC Marshall School of Business. I loved case competitions during business school, especially inter-MBA competitions where I met MBAs from other programs. In addition, I had read the case, which focused on GE’s healthymagination initiative and the issue of obesity, and I was excited to see what sorts of creative solutions the different teams had come up with.

As host school, USC did not disappoint. They were extremely gracious and had planned a fun calendar of events after Friday’s competition, including a keynote address by renowned professor Warren Bennis, a Halloween party in West LA, a Saturday tailgate and free tickets to the USC – Oregon game.

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What to Expect at the Interview Forum in Stamford

With the Interview Forum coming up on November 4^th and 5^th, we have been getting a lot of questions from invited candidates about what to expect. I personally remember all too well how nervous and excited I was. Before I went, I found this blog post very helpful.  Jared points out three key things to be thinking about during your time at Forum:

1. How do you fit in?  It’s always a good idea to

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