The Many P's of Marketing: Personal Philosopher

Marketing has gotten more and more nuanced, as new technologies and strategies have opened up many options for marketers.  It is my contention that today, the marketing mix contains much more than the traditional four or five P's that are taught in school.  In this series I am exploring the Many P's of Marketing.

Personal Philosopher:  I think that there is value in having one or more people who act as your personal philosophers.  These people serve as touchstones or measuring sticks in your career.  They serve as philosophical sounding boards to help you work through decisions.

In my mind, personal philosophers are different than mentors.  Mentors help you out with the day to day navigation of your job.  If they are internal mentors, they tell you where the bathrooms are and where you can get the best coffee.  If they are external mentors, they give you examples of what others are doing in their companies and strategies for dealing with day to day issues.  They work with you on how to do your job.  A personal philosopher, on the other hand, is someone whom you use a guide as to why you do your job.  They provide the moral career compass.

The handful of people I use as my personal philosophers are people who work in the same or similar industries as I do.  I know them and their work well enough to be inspired (and somewhat awestruck) in what they have accomplished.  Two of my personal philosophers are people I talk to regularly.  One is someone I have never met personally.  All three are people who are transparent enough and open enough about how they approach their work and why they do it that I can learn from them.  None of them know that they serve this role for me.

I would equate the way I "use" these personal philosophers as being similar to the way some Christians use bracelets and posters emblazoned with WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) to help remind them to live a spiritually centered life.  I use my personal philosophers to help me rationalize how to approach certain marketing/PR/communication challenges and to help me set career goals and targets that are realistic and appropriate.

It is great to have a team to bounce ideas off of.  Maybe one day I will let them know they are on my team!