Overlooked Business Skills: The 30-second Commercial

There are a number of critical business skills that are all too often overlooked in school, training, and in practice. People know when others are good at their jobs, but often can not explain why. Each Monday I will tackle one of these skills. This week: The 30 Second Commercial.

You never know when you will run into a senior partner in the elevator or at a networking happy hour and be asked, "So, what are you working on?" I have worked at large companies (132,000 people) and small companies (150 people), and have each CEO of those companies ask me that very question. It is important that you not only have an answer, but a rehearsed one that shows you and your team in the best possible light. And that is where the 30-second commercial comes in. It should be a quick, informative, and above all, positive glimpse into the work you are doing.

Each 30-second commercial should include the following:

A summary of your project, including the client name and your role. Practice getting this down to one sentence. "I am on the requirements team for the new grant system at the Department of Obscure Government Functions."

Name a recent success and give credit. Be specific; don't say that things are going "pretty good" because that sounds like you are out of the loop. Instead say, "We just got signoff on the requirements for our second release." And follow it up with a key contribution of someone on the team. It is more important to leave a good impression than it is to get credit for everything that has gone right on the project since you joined it. "It was a team effort, but Susie Sayso did an amazing job with the workflow diagrams."

Ignore the bad. Yes, I know your client is a banshee who makes Khaddafi look logical, and your co-worker smells funny, and your boss micromanages every little thing you do. But the 30-second commercial is not a place for that. Gloss over it. If it is well known that your client is batshit insane, acknowledge vague "challenges", but don't get into details that make you look petty or whiny. After all, challenges are opportunities to shine.

Name drop. If you are being introduced to someone who has never heard your name before, work your way up your chain of command until a glimmer of recognition flashes in their eyes. "I work with Jane Smiley, on the effort headed up by Owen Yessir, on the Federal side under Mark Joyce." This will not only give your listener some context as to where you fit in the grand scheme of things, but also points of contact to follow up with since you made such a great impression.

There are endless variations on the 30-second commercial, including the job interview, where you replace a key contribution by someone else with one of your own. Also, the status report, where you are talking to a superior, but one that knows all the ins and outs of what you are working on so you can ignore the summary and the name drop.