CN Future 50 shines a little marketing light....

Leahy’s first job was as a Marketing Executive at Tesco – a graduate entry-level job from which he has progressed to be head of the World’s fifth largest retailer, and arguably Britain’s most respected businessman. But, let’s face it, while he hands out a lot of building work, he’s not really in the construction industry.

If you ignore the members of the Future 50 list who are not really in the business of building – cutting out the politicians, regulators and economists – you get down to a list of surveyors and engineers, high quality people who have progressed beyond their profession to head companies or bodies, and to be the people who will do the work in shaping construction’s future in response to the promptings of the MPs, bankers and civil servants.

Why no marketing people? Well, of course, marketing people have more choice – great marketers will probably be attracted by industries better known for being interested – retail, to use Leahy’s example. John Armitt – a capable and clear headed captain of construction – has had little choice about which sector he should operate in since his very early decision to train as a civil engineer. If you don’t have the option of getting out and into something else, you’re much more likely to fight your way to the top of wherever you are.

Then of course we all know that construction doesn’t really value marketing – the colouring in department organise a good golf day, and are handy for getting the glossy stuff printed, but you wouldn’t let them run anything important, would you?

Now we can all complain about construction bosses “not understanding” and not valuing marketing – but whose fault is it really? I mean, they’re not a stupid bunch. When mobile phones turned up, they were quick to spot the potential, and became enthusiastic early adopters of the new technology. If you can show them how to take a day off a 13-week project with improvements to materials logistics, they’re in. But when you try to persuade them your segmentation plan will add millions to the bottom line they come over all glazed and bored.

I think, sometimes, the problem is us. We try really hard, from our Cinderella position, to place marketing at the same table as operations and finance. We try so hard we invent words, and a whole new way of talking to make the things we do sound complicated and important, but all this does is switch the rest of the world off. We do all this to try to get our bosses to back our ideas.

In our Great Industry, the mantra has always been “don’t tell me, show me”. People get to do bigger and better things because they did something smaller really well. And there’s a simplicity about it – builders like short words, plain English, and straight talking.

So, you’ve got a job, just do it. Show people what a difference you can make. Find a way to do something with whatever resources you’ve got. If they’re meagre – look at concentrating them in to one activity – it may not be all that you want to do, but do something, and do it well.

Then when you tell people about it, do what The Sun journalists do and go through your sentences replacing  long words with shorter ones.  It’s not dumbing down, it’s just simplyfying for a non-specialist.

This isn’t a quick fix, we won’t change the Future 50 list overnight, but maybe, over time, with application and commitment, we’ll change things.

Or of course, you could just go get a job at a big grocery multiple retailer, rise to the top, then give all your old bosses a right kicking when you hand out the store construction work.