5 Lessons Anyone in the C-Suite can Learn from Roger Sterling

Roger Sterling of Mad Men has 5 lessons to share with C-Suite

C-Suite, a slang which is used to address top ranked corporate executives such as Chief Manager, Chief operating officer, chief supervisor, chief marketing head and chief production manager, is deemed heart of any industry. Therefore, within a company, this C-Suite is one of the most powerful and commanding entity, C-stamped individuals are in charge to make decisions of varying degrees.

Roger Sterling of Mad Men has something for ‘C-Suite’ individuals so that any organization can perform with its utmost effectiveness and generate profit in leaps and bound.

So before starting with these five lessons, let’s have a brief introduction about Roger Sterling. Roger is the central character of an American exciting television series Mad men which was premiered in July 19, 2007 on the cable network AMC. However, the second half of the concluding season is planned to air on May 17, 2015. Roger Sterling is the protagonist of the drama and his life both commercial and personal was shown, along with others, in a most emotionally charged manner. While highlighting the professional life of Roger Sterling, his ability to work as a C-Suite is something like a real life case study for C-Suite of this generation. Roger Sterling was one of the senior partners of Sterling Cooper and Roger’s top five lessons is indisputably qualified to serve as a scripture to commercial industries, existing anywhere in this planet.

1. Give value to what your clients really want:

Apart from decent persona, dressing, correct behavior and gesture, Roger Sterling has perfect understanding of what his clients actually want from him. So before facing any challenge, he used to prepare himself and his team in such manner that meeting seemingly daunting tasks never become taxing neither to him nor his men. So it’s a good lesson for C-Suite, that evaluating clients and their needs can actually simplify the endeavor and develop soothing relationship between these two units. Clients without investing much word or time want to be understood and Roger did that not because he was good at it but because he tried to delve into the minds of his clients and patrons.

2. Think like your client:

That is right; think like your client, give their oddities little perk, and with that it becomes feasible for you to get close to your client. Roger had that rarest capability to make his clients happy and satisfied with him so what, once he had to dress up like Santa for convincing Lucky Strike. Even though it is not possible for all business executives to dress like Santa but at least, knowing the preferences of clients and complying the same with it can be tried out, it not only develops personal relationship but also generates profitable profession term. The more you get close to your client, the more you get close to success, dabbing off the limitation between good to great.

3. Think about the future:

An ordinary agency becomes great when it turns out successful in visualizing the future, reckon ideas with that respect. What is about to come, what is about to be popular and what is about to grab attention should be crawling in the head of C-Suite. Roger has that perception, he was literally resolved to know what was in store for him and his agency, and so Roger Sterling from his L.A office to Marketing division was like applying ideas which were having great prospect in near future. Now that’s what C-Suite needs to cultivate, devising ideas which are having great future significance and implication. It is not easy whatsoever, but repeated attempts can transmute impossible things into possible. Roger has shown that in the drama, as how he tried hard to keep Lucky Strike account but when he was given the charge to handles multiple accounts, he landed with establishing a big one with Chevrolet Motor Company.

4. Think out of box

Applying same idea everywhere is little bit risky and fatiguing as an innovative idea do not remain innovative all through. So devising original ideas can determine success and keep the employees involved and engaged. It is more like challenging one’s own ability to bring out something creative and off beam, as Roger did that, where he motivated his team to do something out of box every time, to step outside their comfort zone and shake up under bright sun. Don Draper in Mad Men broadly displayed how different ideas can bring about great success. So it is a great lesson for C-suite that employing typecast rules everywhere actually minimize chances of making gigantic progress and soon rivals get chance to overpower with their strong points. So up to some extent it is mandatory to think something different, something unusual and with right cultivation, great ideas are sure to born.

5. Finally it is the return that matters

Depending upon Don’s creativity Sterling shaped his steps in motivating his employees, so that they can make “every client pitch” and design presentation as commanding as possible. Clients look for new ideas, securities and creative flair to realize their dreams and expectations and in Mad Men Roger Sterling amply illustrated how the actual merit of his team can be utilized to tempt client to establish terms with their agency. So behind every idea, Roger tried to find what return it may bring, when his futuristic vision failed to see anything worth appreciation he rejected the idea without delay. Now every organization should learn to see through ideas, of course transparency should be there, if the idea, turns out to be seemingly impossible depending upon the present situation, one should not turn it down immediately. If the idea is having prospects to outshine other contemporary business units while augmenting success, it is better to stick to it.

So, today any agency can learn great facts from this fictional character Roger Sterling, as the great looking business persona with grey hair and stern face has a lot to dole out.  With all these ideas at disposal, if a corporate body starts conducting its business not only the clients will be happy with them but their employees will also have spur to remain positive all the while, giving little thought to change their vocation or show any sign of slackness or negligence.