Vaughn Sigmon

Having been mentored and being a mentor I come from a place of experience. The old saying “You don’t know what you don’t know” can be defined in many ways. Mentoring gives you the opportunity to gain real world knowledge from those who have experienced the topic. That pool of collective knowledge brings perspectives that will often dispel perceptions. Marketing analytics is so complex and without a real world perspective from a mentor you run the risk of misinterpreting what the data is really telling you.

I was working with a particularly demanding client who required frequent support and constant updates. While I was committed to providing excellent service, I recognized that continually responding to every request immediately was neither sustainable nor beneficial for either of us in the long term. To address this, I initiated a conversation with the client, acknowledging their need for timely support and setting clear expectations. I proposed a structured approach that included scheduled check-ins where we could discuss ongoing concerns and any upcoming tasks. Additionally, I provided them with a set of resources and tools that they could use to troubleshoot minor issues on their own.

In our early days, we took pride in a process that, while slower, we believed offered long-term benefits for our customers. However, we were delivering based on our own expectations, not the customers'. It wasn't until we took a step back and truly assessed the impact on our business that we realized our customers didn’t value our process as much as we did. We had to set aside our opinions, listen, and adapt. The realization hit hard: what got us here wouldn’t get us there. By embracing change and investing in technology to improve delivery times, we grew by over $500 million in sales within a year.

Conflicts must be addressed and never ignored. Be open to others and hold your opinions loosely. You may be missing data or perspectives that they have, and you don't. This is best achieved with a collaborative approach. Schedule a meeting with whomever you are in conflict with. Ask questions, listen, and probe. Yes, this approach may be difficult, but you must weigh the impact on the planned outcome. Rowing in the same direction is crucial.

You're not expected to know everything about everything. Don't put that pressure on yourself. Your new team will respect you faster and at a deeper level if you show humility, vulnerability, and eagerness to collaborate with them to gain knowledge and earn respect. Be authentic by accepting that you don't know what you don't know. You may be very smart, but you will never be smarter than the collective team.

Hope is not a plan; without goals and metrics, you will only achieve your goals by accident. Including the visual element of a goal and how efforts and tactics are driving to that goal is crucial. One that I see so often in companies. Write them down, share them, and collaborate with the front line to determine actions to achieve them. Create a collective pool of knowledge and experience.