The field of content strategy is progressing at light speed which requires the focus of a specialist and the experience and adaptability of a generalist. Both approaches require a passionate willingness to remain current on a full spectrum of subjects, disciplines, technologies and tactics.
Gone Digital
“Talent that is born digital versus those who go digital often pursue different roles and professional trajectories. Executives who are digital natives often hold roles that call for deep expertise and are more singularly focused (they dive deep into one project).”
Born digital executives tend to be motivated more by independence (working without imposed constraints) while going digital executives are more often motivated by challenges (learning, growing, and pushing themselves).
In contrast, going digital executives rank higher in people-oriented competencies, such as interpersonal savvy, collaboration, managing conflict, building teams, communication, persuasion, and inspiring and developing talent.These leaders tend to be strong in building relationships and influencing others— critical capabilities, given the scope of most digitization strategies. In comparing these groups, going-digital executives are 28% more likely to score high in building collaborative relationships than their born-digital counterparts; born-digital executives are 20% more likely to score high in being flexible and adaptable in comparison to their counterparts.”
Korn Ferry Institute
I see myself as a hybrid of both—Gone Digital!
Another article, “How Digital Transformation is Shifting Talent and Hiring”, highlights the broad scope of my experience.
“Business rapidly changes course with the advents of new technology. Virtually every type of industry worldwide has transformed their business practices in the face of new breakthroughs in connectivity and how people work. Hiring practices have changed drastically, and a new type of talent is in high-demand. I like to call them generalists.
While generalists may have had traditionally accepted roles in the workplace, there has been a huge shift in terms of what traits are desirable in the modern hiring process. Agile, adaptable, and quick-learning employees are crucial for businesses that want to adapt at the pace of the rest of the business world.
A good generalist will familiarize quickly with new tech and business models while knowing where to find the best information available today. Sifting through the mind-boggling amount of available information today may seem like an impossible task–impossible for the person who doesn’t know where to look, and that’s where generalists come in.Human resource professionals want talent who know where to find what they need to adapt at the breakneck pace of change.”
Daniel Newman CEO, Broadstreet Media Group
Kind Words
“Put simply, Brian McKinney is an extraordinary talent with a positive, infectious attitude. He was a top performer on my team; someone I came to count on every day.
As my direct report, Brian served as a thought leader aligning digital marketing technology, strategy and tactics with business goals and objectives.He built relationships and critical thinking partnerships with recognized internal and external leaders, leveraged his influence to drive optimal business results and helped business units define, align, embrace and nurture Aetna’s digital marketing transformation goals.
Tito M. Cantafio, Marketing Operations Manager, Enterprise Communications at Aetna
Brian played a key advisory role in client engagement, serving as a digital strategy advisor to both internal and external business partners. He identified business units exhibiting a potential for improvement using Agile and Lean driven methodologies organizing them into tangible projects that he managed from inception to successful completion.”