Networking
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Mad Manners
July 28, 2010
At 10:00 p.m. on Sunday evening, like millions of others, I turned to AMC to see this year’s first Mad Men episode. It didn’t disappoint. As is so often the case with this award-winning series, the program contained more than a few take-aways.
Viewers learned, for example, that PR stunts rarely pay off, especially when they end with one stunt participant ending up in jail. They also learned something about the futility of attempting to prove that you’re something you’re simply not. (Why anyone at the firm would insist that Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce occupies two floors of the Time-Life Building when they only occupy one is beyond me.) And Don Draper learned the most important lesson: He constantly needs to sell himself.
The episode began with a reporter from Advertising Age asking the lead character, “Who is Don Draper?” Don fumbled his answer, failing to sell himself, the newly formed advertising firm and the firm’s clients. When the article appeared in print, his fellow partners went ballistic. Bertram Cooper reminded Don that his responsibilities extend beyond producing solid creative work. Don is now a partner in the firm, and as such, he is responsible for selling the firm every day and in every way. As far as the Advertising Age interview went, Don failed.
Don Draper would not be Don Draper if he didn’t learn from experience. At the end of the episode, he sat down with a Wall Street Journal reporter and told the story of the advertising firm’s creation in a way that will satisfy current clients and intrigue new ones.
Every person who seeks to enter or who already participates in today’s work world has a personal story to tell. Make sure you create a story that perfectly positions you in the minds of current and future clients.
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