Why I’m Proud to Be a Pragmatic Implementator

Nancy Lublin, the founder of Dress for Success and the CEO of DoSomething, wrote a thought-provoking article, “Let’s Hear it for the Little Guys,” for the April issue of Fast Company.

In it she talks about why we should focus on the followers of visionary thought leaders.

“I think we’ve got it all wrong,” she writes. “We’ve overdone this whole leadership/founder/entrepreneur thing. And we’re not spending nearly enough time crediting the folks who turn all that visionary stuff into tangible reality: the chief operating officers, the mid-level managers, the staffers. If the word didn’t have a pejorative tinge to it, I guess you’d call them followers.

“The world needs people who can follow intelligently. Good followers ask questions. They probe their leaders. They crunch the numbers to ensure that their visionary boss’s gorgeous plan actually works.”

For over a year now I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m not hard-wired to “think different.” I’m definitely not a Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, or David Meerman Scott.

Once I read Lublin’s article, however, I realized that the world needs people like me — those of us who implement others’ vision.

Lublin calls us “followers.” I call us “pragmatic implementators.” We’re the ones in the marketing trenches.

When I give presentations on social media, SEO, and Web marketing to groups, I find myself answering very, very basic questions.

“What’s ‘viral marketing’?” a corporate communications manager once whispered in my ear. She was too embarrassed to ask the question openly.

“How do I open a Twitter account and post things?” people ask constantly.

“How do I use Facebook for business?”

“I heard meta tags are dead. Why do I need to optimize my site?”

“How do I leave a comment on a blog? And, do I even need a blog?”

Visionary thought-leaders are wonderful. But someone needs to teach people not only how to fish but how to string the pole and bait the hook.

Taking someone’s vision, breaking it down into bite-size chunks and action items people can actually implement takes real skill — and patience.

You have to show people how the “vision” works in language they understand so that they “get it” in about 10 seconds.

The best part of when I give presentations is when I hear a collective “ahhhh” from the group after I’ve demonstrated some how-to. “Oh my gosh!” someone will say. “You make this so easy! Thank you!”

I’m a real fan of visionary thought-leaders. We’d wouldn’t advance without them. They push the envelope and get us to stretch in ways we hadn’t thought about.

But after reading Lublin’s article, I realized I needed to take pride in being a pragmatic implementator — especially when I get an email like this from Marketing Coordinator Rochelle Otterstrom at Burnett + Company, LLP :

“I’ve implemented some of the web SEO strategies taught at the IGAF Marketing Conference by Dianna Huff. Our Google ranking has increased, we’ve received more calls citing our website as the referral, and our Hubspot website grade has improved! Even better, I received kudos from my firm’s Partners.”

Woot!

The world needs us pragmatic implementators, too. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?