All in Careers

Learn The Script - Then Forget It

Learn The Script - Then Forget It

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Life, Marketing, Sales

In any pitch - whether it’s to make a sale, get a job, get a promotion, or fund an initiative - the story you tell is all-important. It has to inform, educate and (many times) entertain and inspire the audience, so that they ultimately say yes, and agree to whatever your “ask” is.

So how you craft that story is absolutely critical. From the key themes, to the overall flow/structure, to the specific messages/story points, to the facts and anecdotes that illustrate those messages, it’s essential to flesh out all of those elements.

Cater To Who Matters - Not To Everyone Else

Cater To Who Matters - Not To Everyone Else

Omer Abdullah
Strategy, Leadership, Personal Codes, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Communications, Creativity, Marketing, Aspirations, Life

I’m reading a book called “Coal Black Mornings” by Brett Anderson, the lead singer and founder of the British band, Suede, which had their heyday in the BritPop era of the 1990s through early 2000s.

(Suede is in my Top Five bands of all time, but while popular in Britain, they’ve been largely ignored in the US. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re absolutely worth checking out - start with the first two albums.)

There’s a passage in the book where he talks about his song writing process, and writes:

You Won't Change The World By Cutting Costs

You Won't Change The World By Cutting Costs

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Leadership, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Private Equity, Retail, Strategy, Sales

Strategy is an interesting topic.

You and I can be working in similar areas of management. We can have gone through the same set of experiences in our time at our organization. We can even have a similar view of what defines success in our chosen markets. Yet we can have markedly different perspectives as to what approach it will take to get there. And that’s perfectly normal - in fact, it’s almost always a good thing.

When It's Too Soon To Quit...

When It's Too Soon To Quit...

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Investment Banking, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Private Equity, Strategy, Sales

In my last post, I talked about the thought process we (should) go through when deciding if it’s time to quit what we’re doing.

While there were multiple idea threads that inspired that post, one of them was an article by Mariam Naficy, the Founder and CEO of Minted, an online design marketplace. In that article, Mariam talked about how she raised a small seed round from friends and family and then launched the business, originally intending it to be a lifestyle business. And then:

Everyone Has A Platform (Part 1)

Everyone Has A Platform (Part 1)

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Life, Marketing, Personal Codes

The best thing about technology today is that everyone has a platform.

It doesn’t matter whether our preferred medium is in written, audio or visual form, we have access to all the technology we need to create, publish, broadcast and market our message to anyone, whether they’re in our hometown or all the way across the other side of the globe.

There's Always Room For Value (Part 2 - Competition)

There's Always Room For Value (Part 2 - Competition)

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Sales, Strategy

In my last post, I talked about how there’s always room for value when deciding to enter a market and that the key is in defining that value in a way that matters to the customer, and is profitable for you.

In this post, I’ll discuss the idea of competition and how defining who you compete with, as well as how they go to market, can and should influence your decision to play within a specific space.

Now, our initial tendency as we evaluate a specific market will be to consider the most obvious competitor in that space. This is our direct competition, and they are always the ones with the biggest brand, revenues, mindshare.

There's Always Room For Value (Part 1 - Markets and Customers)

There's Always Room For Value (Part 1 - Markets and Customers)

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management Consulting, Marketing, Private Equity, Retail, Strategy

All too often, when we’re evaluating a new product or service idea, we get caught up in the notion of '“competitive dominance”. That there can only be one competitor who owns that space and, hence, competing in that market is a non-starter. Or, alternately, that there are so many players that that market has become commoditized. Either way, there’s no point playing in that space because the opportunity (for us) is gone.

When We Rush To Judgement

When We Rush To Judgement

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Entrepreneurship, Careers, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

The more time you spend on social media, the more you see examples of it.

Someone posts a video excerpt of an altercation, or footage of someone acting a way we don’t agree with, or an article about someone making statements that don’t resonate with what we believe in.

And our tendency, our natural instinct, is to react. To make our judgement. And then to share that judgement with someone else, and someone else, and someone else. Because the emotion of the moment is hard to get past, hard to get over.

Own The Message

Own The Message

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management Consulting, Life, Marketing, Sales

Back in my early consulting days, I was asked to give a presentation to a prospective client and was handed a deck to present. My instructions were to go through the material, get comfortable with the content and then do a run-through with the partner with whom I’d be doing the pitch.

The content was right in my sweet spot, so I was pretty comfortable with the key messages that we needed to get across. But some of the material in the deck didn’t sit well with me.

The Myth of Inbox Zero (Or, For That Matter, Perpetual Happiness)

The Myth of Inbox Zero (Or, For That Matter, Perpetual Happiness)

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Life, Personal Codes

I don’t believe there is any such thing as Inbox Zero.

I think it’s one of those Holy Grail type of scenarios - we all keep searching for it, but we will never find it, because, in all probability, it doesn’t actually exist. Just like there’s no Ark of Covenant, no Loch Ness Monster, and no better football team than the 2003-2004 Arsenal Invincibles. (Yes, I said it.)

But while it may not be practically possible to get to Inbox Zero, that doesn’t mean we should pursue it.

If You Have To Brag About How Busy You Are...

If You Have To Brag About How Busy You Are...

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Entrepreneurship, Investment Banking, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Private Equity, Teams

I’m so busy. I’ve got a ton going on. I don’t have the time. We hear (and say) these phrases regularly, and to little surprise, given all that we might have on our plate at any given time.

In most ways, of course, it’s good to be busy. To experience the buzz you get when things at work are humming along, when you’re in full flow and driving towards whatever goals you’re working towards.

The flip side, though, is when we feel as if we have to be this way all the time - and worse, to show it, and constantly say it.

The Experienced Entrepreneur: What The Data Says

The Experienced Entrepreneur: What The Data Says

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes

In my post on Monday (Are You Too Old?), I argued that, as an experienced professional, you had to lean into your age and experience instead of trying to downplay or avoid it. As such, you either look for those who value your experience and work with them, or take matters into your own hands, and do something for yourself. In other words, take it as a Call To Action and do what you want.

The interesting thing is that in trying to do what we want, many of us are hounded - constrained - by the same conventional wisdom that drove us to this point in the first place.

Are You Too Old?

Are You Too Old?

Omer Abdullah
Personal Codes, Life, Aspirations, Careers, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

I recently came across a survey of US Tech Start-Up Founders by the venture-capital firm, First Round Capital, that yielded an insight that I think most of us, explicitly or implicitly, know to be the case:

37% said age is the strongest investor bias against founders, while 28% cited gender and 26% cited race.

Age is the strongest investor bias. No surprise there. And while the survey was focused on Tech, I don’t think it would be a stretch to envision this to be the case across start ups in other sectors as well.

3 Reasons This Post Will Change Your Life (Disclaimer: It Won't)

3 Reasons This Post Will Change Your Life (Disclaimer: It Won't)

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Marketing, Personal Codes

Yes, that title is clickbait. (Partially anyway.)

A title that is designed to lure you in and make you read what I’ve written.

Because it promises you salvation (or resolution or clarity or closure) in some form. Because it suggests that that salvation will come from a few discrete steps. Because it suggests that salvation is going to be easy (implicitly anyway).

You're Not Perfect. That's OK.

You're Not Perfect. That's OK.

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

“We love seeing raw truth and openness in other people, but we’re afraid to let them see it in us.” (Brene Brown)

There’s an illusion in the business world that we cannot expose our flaws to anyone around us - not our colleagues, our clients and certainly not our bosses. The fear is, of course, that we will be judged, perceived as someone who is fundamentally flawed and, accordingly, cast off to career obscurity.

It’s an illusion that becomes all the more exacerbated at the management level. I can’t afford to show any weakness. I have to always impress that I know everything. I can never say ‘I don’t know’.

When You Need A Burning Platform

When You Need A Burning Platform

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Marketing, Sales, Strategy, Teams

Change doesn’t tend to come easily to most of us.

For the most part, we don’t typically choose to change. More often, change - or at the very least, the need for it - is thrust upon us due to some exterior event, shift or development. When profits are severely impacted, when a competitor introduces a revolutionary new product or when an external environmental shift occurs, shifting the steady state we’ve become so comfortable with.

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