It just dawned on me...

Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit...

I'm often accused of being a geek - getting excited about finding a new function in excel or finding a new way to draw things in visio probably helps - but should "geek" still be seen as a derogatory term?

Could any of us truly function to the best of our ability in today's digital age without at least a basic understanding of the miriad of IT applications we use? And doesn't having mastery of those applications just make life easier, quicker and more rewarding? How often have you not done something because it's too hard or you just don't know how?

But knowing the applications themselves just isn't enough. It's the same as knowing all the marketing principles - it doesn't work or come to life without some insight, imagination and pure creative thinking. It's how you use the tools that counts - and it's often using a tool or technique in a completely new way that will get you results.

So, if you're the kind of person who only has a hammer in your toolbox, then your answer will probably be to hit everything. Add a few more tools and you open up your options. But don't be afraid to try hitting things with a spanner! And if learning new tools brands you as a geek, then take solace in the evolution of the species, and the fact that "blessed are the geeks, for the geeks shall inherit the earth!"

Knowledge is Power

It's been said before, many times, but knowledge IS power. However, the kind of knowledge that gives you stregnth and the kind of power you get is changing rapidly. It's no longer sordid secrets about your peers and superiors that will win you favour, but data on your business that provides the power of insight.

Understanding your business - customers, channels, processes, costings - will give you the power to change them for the better, and to make the right decisions quickly.

I remember the mantra taught to me when doing my MBA - "that's all very well, but what do the numbers say?". Without running the numbers, schemes are just schemes. Without running the numbers, you might be able to forecast a profit, but will you go bust due to cashflow first? You might see a market opportunity, but how do you know that it's worth the investment?

Marketers are often seen as creative types, imaginative, flamboyant extroverts - but it's time for us to prove that we can run the numbers too, we can back up what we say or what we predict with cold, hard facts (not just warm and fuzzy feelings). And if we can't? Then we better stay quite until we can work it out.

Striving for excellence

I recently signed up to become an EFQM Assessor for North of England Excellence. We are using the EFQM framework at work, and I wanted to see how we are faring against other companies, and to see what we can learn from how others implement it.

I won't know all of this until we've completed the training and done a site visit, but I'm already learning lots. Probably the most important thing is that for it to be effective, excellence has to run throughout an organisation - it's no good just doing one bit. The real benefits come from structured, joined up thinking.

For marketers, this is a powerful tool - having the whole organisation aligned behind a common set of objectives can make you pretty hard to beat.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to find out more about how excellence can benefit marketers, so watch this space!