Manager

What’s Wrong With Being an Intrapreneur?

August 11, 2019 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

I have started one business in my career. It was a writing, editing, and translation services company I started with my wife. So it wasn’t a tech product or anything fancy. We both did this while working full time. And I did enjoy it: trying to get new business, looking after customers, creating a business plan, drafting a sales plan, dealing with invoices and making sure we got paid – I learned a lot. It lasted about 4 years. I preface that because I am going to write about intrapreneurship.

But first let me say something. There is a certain sexiness about entrepreneurship, and it’s been happening for the last 30 years or so. And I get it: developing a product, working for yourself, driving change, working at one pace – fast. And everyone seems to want to be one today. And that’s fine. But I want to defend “the traditional” enterprise, the everyday company.

I am an intrapreneur. And I’m proud of it!

Definitions of Being an Intrapreneur

There are various definitions of what being an intrapreneur means. Any search for it brings up a number of variations, including:

A manager within a company who promotes innovative product development and marketing. (Note: I don’t believe you have to be a Manager, but you get the point.)
Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within an organization or company.
Intrapreneurship is known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship.

The main difference between entrepreneur and intrapreneur is that an Intrapreneur is an employee, and an entrepreneur is free and the leader of the operation. That’s a loose definition, but you get my point.

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Saying Good Morning: Small Effort, Huge Impact

April 10, 2019 by Johnny Russo 1 Comment

I am fascinated by people. More than that, especially since I started my career, I like to watch body language, how people carry themselves, how people dress, posture, how people communicate when things go well, how they communicate in tougher times, and so on.

There is one habit I dislike, a lot. A simple good morning or hello can make someone’s day, can make a team less defensive on a Monday morning, can send a jolt of serotonin into the blood stream, and yet, so many leaders, managers, and employees don’t say hello or good morning. I have an issue with that.

Now, I know that not everyone’s a morning person, and it’s hard to be happy every day of the week. And I’m not saying to strike up a full conversation before you’ve had your double mochaccino. But saying hello is not only common courtesy, it’s respectful and makes the other person feel good.

Is Saying Good Morning Really That Hard?

And I’m not even advocating to go out of your way to say good morning to every co-worker, every day. What I’m advocating for is to say good morning to your team, your boss, those near your office or desk, the receptionist, or those you run into on your office coffee run.

Still on the fence?

Here Are Some Reasons You Should Say Hello in the Morning:

Increases positive energy
Can help you make a friend, or at the very least, get to know someone, as it could spark a further conversation
You’ll be perceived as positive, and that is huge
We’re living in an altruistic society (you can challenge me on that, but I’ve never heard so many people talking about purpose and value as today’s generation does), so saying good morning to someone could make their day, and it will likely make them smile and feel welcomed and appreciated
Smiling is contagious – usually when you say hello, you will naturally smile, and they will likely smile right back at you. Try it.
Help them, help you: at one point, that person you’ve been saying hello to for the last 3 months, will help you on a project. And maybe she’ll work a little extra because you’re such a positive and nice person.

Does Your CEO Say Good Morning? When He Does, Does It Make Your Day?

Imagine working in an office and your CEO comes in, and doesn’t say hello to anyone, not even the receptionist? That would surely create a culture of negativity, standoffishness, and potentially selfishness. Now imagine a CEO who comes in, says quick hellos to everyone he runs into, asks someone how their weekend was, and then gets to work. Doesn’t that feel like a more welcoming environment?

We all have bad days. Heck, I know I can have them. And on those days, you just want to keep to yourself. And those may be the days you yourself need a good morning boost, a quick hello from someone else. Keep that in mind, and pay it forward. The effort and investment to say good morning is minimal, but the feelings of warmth, positivity, and comradery can last for hours on end.

So the next time you have the opportunity to make someone’s morning, will you?

The 5 Pillars of Digital Transformation Strategy at Mark’s

July 11, 2018 by Johnny Russo 1 Comment

Digital transformation is not the path of least resistance. It takes real grit to make change happen when stakeholders are accustomed to more traditional marketing. But digital champions are entering the workforce with more conventional brands and driving change at all levels of business.

Empowered by data, motivated by technological change, these early adopters know that digital transformation is inevitable. But the challenge of creating momentum in siloed organizations with deeply entrenched processes can be slow.

*This post was originally published on www.widerfunnel.com on May 1, 2018.* Link to original post:

The 5 pillars of digital transformation strategy at Mark’s: An interview with changemaker, Johnny Russo

A big thank you to Lindsay Kwan for interviewing me and making this piece come alive. And thank you to our partners, the incredible WiderFunnel team.

How do you bring a traditional brand up to speed in the digital era?

Johnny Russo is always up for a challenge. As the Associate Vice President of E-commerce and Digital Marketing at Canadian retail giant, Mark’s (formerly Mark’s Work Wearhouse), he set out to transform the business in any way possible when he joined the team in January 2016.

Mark’s, under the umbrella of powerhouse, Canadian Tire, is a retailer that has been traditionally focused on selling workwear apparel. And the brand has become a mainstay in the Canadian economy that is historically based in the resources industry.

But with a background in digital marketing and e-commerce, Johnny had early experience in how digital technology can drive smarter, more data-driven decisions.

He knew that digital transformation — and particularly, the experimentation mindset — can drive the customer experience across multiple channels by creating business agility and driving lifetime customer loyalty to the Mark’s brand.

In this interview with changemaker, Johnny Russo, you’ll learn:

His own 5 pillars of digital transformation strategy, including People, Partners, Culture, Education, and Change Management.
Why your digital transformation strategy should focus on a strong foundation of data, while adapting your strategy to new insights and information.
The 4 core attributes of an agile marketing team, including continuous learning, positivity, adaptability and data literacy — necessities of an iterative, test-and-learn digital strategy.

Mark’s is undergoing a digital transformation, empowering every level of business to make data-driven decisions.

Question from Wider Funnel: When you were hired on with Mark’s, when you first got accustomed to the brand, did you have ideas of what you wanted to achieve?

Johnny Russo: I was hired to lead digital marketing and e-commerce, and when you are coming in new, you want to put your stamp on things, but you first have to understand the culture you’re entering.

What I liked about the Mark’s opportunity was one, they are part of Canadian Tire. They’re one of the largest retailers in Canada, which was one of the check marks for me. If you want to be the best, you might as well be with the biggest. So, Mark’s afforded me that opportunity.

The other thing is that Mark’s is a very traditional retailer. I remember picking up the flyer of Canadian Tire and other Canadian Tire-owned brands like Sport Chek or L’Equipeur and even hearing some of the radio ads and it struck me that they were very traditional in the ways they went about their advertising and marketing.

Mark’s is owned and operated by Canadian Tire, along with other notable brands like Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Sports Experts, Atmosphere, and more.

So I thought, what a great challenge to come to a traditional retailer and get them to think of digital. And maybe it wasn’t digital-first at that moment when I was hired on January 2016, but it really has become digital first in so many ways.

We’ve had to fight our way through, don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t just an open door.

It was really testing and learning and trying new things. Getting some quick wins, early. We’ve done a lot of experimentation and a lot of educating along the way.

But that’s what got me excited to come to Mark’s — it was an immense challenge.

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An Often Overlooked Aspect of Being a Great Manager

April 13, 2018 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

Most people start their careers, and after a year or two, they dream of being a boss. They want to be a Manager. They want to lead and mentor a team. And everyone believes they will be good at managing a team. And at the beginning of your career, you may even think it looks easy. After all, you communicate great with your friends and colleagues, how hard can leading people be?

This blog post won’t cover all the aspects that make a great (or bad) Manager, but it will cover one very important one. Be responsive.

Time Management Can Be a Key Driver in Being Responsive

See, here’s the thing. Usually, when you become a Manager, you have more responsibilities which means you have to manage your time better. If you don’t do a good job of managing your time, you will either: A. Always have to play catch up at night or on the weekends or B. Always leave your team looking for answers because you’re not being responsive to their questions and/or needs.

If you take on the responsibility of being a Manager – remember, this is a big step in your career – you’re being given employees whom leadership expects you to mentor, coach, mold, help, and maybe most importantly, they expect you to get them to get shit done. Meaning if you are a Manager, you cannot be a bottleneck. You cannot keep your team waiting for answers – unanswered emails, texts, or calls, and a lack of timely decision-making will surely not move the needle, and then you may lose respect amongst your team. You also need to make time for them. Even if you’re wrapped up in meetings all day, that’s no excuse. Take them for a coffee. Have breakfast with them. Stay late to talk with them. Make time for them.

And this does not go only for new Managers. This is even more crucial for senior Managers and senior leaders, as you have even more responsibility, pressure, and probably more issues to tackle.

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Why I Don’t Want To Be a Perfectionist Ever Again

April 5, 2018 by Johnny Russo 2 Comments

I used to be a perfectionist. Maybe it’s the fact I was in journalism, which is drenched in facts, solid sources, grammar, and trying to never make an error. But early on in my career, I would try and craft the perfect marketing communication, the perfect PR release, the perfect blog post, the immaculate About Us page, the spotless product description, and even the perfect internal email. I would fret over proper grammar (ok, I still do that sometimes), the use of a colon or semi colon, where to put a comma, how many spaces to put between words and paragraphs. I would re-read something and change the tiniest of things, and then wait another day or week to publish and push out work in case I wanted to make more changes. I would ensure each shadow of each product we photographed was 100% perfect. Editing would take a little extra with all the minute changes needed. When you get down to those details, the minutiae, it can all be subjective.

What’s Your Greatest Weakness?

You know when you interview you for a job and the interviewer asks you the question about “what’s your greatest weakness?” or “what do you most need to improve upon?” I would always give the “I tend to be a perfectionist, so some things take longer to complete” answer. I thought it was a decent “negative” response to give. But it’s one I can give no more.

Over the last few years or so, I’ve realized that I would rather get to 80% or 90% of really good, in everything I do, than wait for perfection. I think it makes my life easier, and I think those on my team, past and present, would agree (I can see them nodding as they read this).

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What’s Wrong With Being an Intrapreneur?

Definitions of Being an Intrapreneur

Saying Good Morning: Small Effort, Huge Impact

The 5 Pillars of Digital Transformation Strategy at Mark’s

How do you bring a traditional brand up to speed in the digital era?

Question from Wider Funnel: When you were hired on with Mark’s, when you first got accustomed to the brand, did you have ideas of what you wanted to achieve?

An Often Overlooked Aspect of Being a Great Manager

Time Management Can Be a Key Driver in Being Responsive

Why I Don’t Want To Be a Perfectionist Ever Again

What’s Your Greatest Weakness?

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