Chapter Two. Rising above the crowd

So, passion, then, is massively important but so is being able to direct that passion into achieving stuff. Part of the challenge is getting yourself noticed—showing the wider business that you are a bit special and a person worth backing. I’m specifically talking here to those of you grafting inside a big retailer: If you work for, say, Tesco, you would be a single voice among 148,000 colleagues. If you are going to accelerate your career, or you just want to get good ideas heard, acted upon, and producing benefits for the whole business, then you have to raise your profile in the company. You have to become the one in 148,000 that everybody notices.

These are my top suggestions for raising your profile in a multiple-store environment.

Volunteer for things

Put your name forward for projects at all levels. You hear that your area manager wants someone to look after a roll-out? Stick your hand up for that one. Help open new stores, get onto special projects by volunteering for them every time. Getting involved will bring you into contact with senior members of the team, who value and appreciate the help. Such projects often turn out to be good fun and hard work but a nice break from the normal routine.

Introduce yourself to people at every meeting

Go up to the marketing director at the next annual conference and say “hello.” Tell him or her who you are and where you work. If you have a useful point to make about the business or the presentations you have seen at the conference, even better. Try not to corner them though—or you’ll get a reputation for being a bit scary.

Make good use of the ideas program if there is one

If there’s a proper ideas program in place, use it. Put clear sensible ideas into the program whenever you can. Make each submission separately—that way you increase your chance of the evaluation committee noticing you. Offer to help apply the idea too.

Give people your cell phone number

Whenever a senior person comes into your store, engage them. Give them your cell phone number and mention that you are always happy to have them bounce ideas off you. The best people at head office know the value of having people in stores they can turn to for “reality checks” on ideas and projects.

Form an opinion

If you have something interesting and cohesive to say, that will help you to appear more credible when you introduce yourself to senior people. Don’t be afraid to research and then to rehearse an opinion. Both those things help to make you worth talking to.

Specialize

Become an expert in a particular area, especially one in which you have experience. Read up on that subject, start to bring it into conversations, and let people know that you are an information source and that you are happy to share your knowledge.

Produce the goods

Success does your talking for you: In whatever role you occupy, make sure that you are delivering the very best possible performance. That’s what this book is for: to give you lots of ways in which to meet and exceed your targets.