Advice
PROTECT YOUR IDEAS and respect power levels at the company. Offer your ideas to superiors, but offer them in a way that includes them and when you offer them make sure to create explicit documentation of it being your idea. I gave a great idea and presentation to the President of Sales and marketing as well as a couple other directors of marketing. Two of them shot down the idea calling it "an anomaly", amongst other things. Two weeks later one of those superiors that shot down my idea implemented the exact strategies and ideas I had presented, and since then the company has had the best social media engagement in its history and the strategy proved to be a massive success. They did the strategy wrong as well and did not even ask me for ideas or inputs before they started implementation. The only form of recognition I received was "oh we did that strategy thing" from one of the directors who knows my connections. When she told me that I assumed there could be no way she meant the strategies I had presented because both directors had shot it down so hard. But when I checked, sure enough it was what I presented.
After two months it is beyond clear, the corporate world is cut throat, from now on I will always keep an email chain, CC or BCC the President of Sales and Marketing whenever I share any future ideas with anyone at Director level or below. People will not hesitate to use your ideas and claim them as your own. You need to protect yourself and make sure the people who need to know what you did, know.
I talked with the President of Sales and Marketing and I let her know what happened, she was in the meeting where I first presented my ideas in and acknowledged she remembered the two directors shooting my ideas down. I then showed her they had used it and said, " I was disappointed because, I thought this was a team effort.", and asked her, "Should I share any further ideas? Because what's the point if I'm not going to be involved in their implementation and construction." She then told me to go in and work with the directors that shot me down and present to them again with my other ideas. So I took her advice and now I am working as a team with the directors. However still no acknowledgement of taking my strategies, one doubled down and even tried to insinuate the idea had been hers after I commented on its success. I just went a long with it because it didn't matter, the people that needed to know, now knew. After I presented to her and another social team memeber, they were impressed with the ideas and extremely open to them, then she requested that I email her my presentations and documents...of course. So I did email her my ideas and presentation but this time I BCC'd the President on all.
At first after this experience I was extremely upset and just straight up disappointed and felt taken advantage of because of my new employment/young buck status. They entirely disregarded everything I had to say when I first presented. These BOOMERS think they know how to market on Instagram, when in reality they have absolutely no clue what they are doing. If you think a 50 year old has any shred of an ability to create marketable content that resonates with the majority of daily Instagram users you're probably braindead. These people legitimately think they are better than you because they have been at the company longer and they think your just some young naive kid trying to make an explosive entrance. Brah, I just want to help them out because I can, why would I give advice in bad faith? I'm not going to risk my credibility and future at the company if I didn't believe my ideas would work. Seems obvious to me but perhaps I'm being fictitious. Its a total ego battle out here. Your best bet is to try and work with them as a team, and butter them up, trying to be as nice as possible, all the while creating an email chain with the highest levels of the company. If you're young and throwing out ideas they will take them all from you, give you no input whatsoever, then blatantly deny you even gave them idea, and double down on it. I gaurentee if they idea and strategy had failed, the finger would have been pointed squarely at me. There are some sick people out in the world.
For me now I sit perfectly fine, the people who need to know, know, that's what matters, the President of Sales and Marketing as well as CEO and a couple others in the first meeting know who was behind the idea, and the funniest part is that the directors that dupped me have no idea the executive leaders and CEO know. So any time they try to claim credit for the idea and strategies implemented to any of those executives, they will be exposing themselves, and all the people that need to know, will know they are lying through their teeth and undermining the actual cause and person behind the marketing success. PROTECT YOURSELF, but be smart about it. Those Directors now think we have a great relationship because I made it seem so when I presented my additional ideas and ad-ons in our secondary meeting. Little do they know its all a sham to have them eventually expose themselves. Because they are so greedy and eager to take credit for any sort of minimal success, I know they will run their mouths to, at the very least, one of those executives, they probably already have. This is how you got to think, build relationships with those who matter, and make sure who needs to know, knows. I built a strong relationship instantly with the President of Sales and Marketing, the CEO and a couple other top leaders, that's what matters, anyone below VP will try and screw you. Always create an email chain and make sure when you present something, there is more than two people in the room, one of whom you know is on your side and will vouch for you. Hope this helps students like me. I wish I could present this to all USD students. People need to know
