Account Management
The key to success is… I know I have it written down somewhere
May 29th, 2009
Written by: Lera Germaine
As an account manager you might have suspected I would claim the key to success is the ability to pay attention to extreme detail and keep everything in perfect order. You might imagine the most accomplished account managers are the type of people who can keep everything together at all times. Organize, organize, organize! Is the rally cry as we march to tackle deadlines, budgets, coworkers, vendors and clients. We border on OCD with socks folded in rows and clothes separated with color-coded hangers. Two things I neither admit nor deny doing myself. Don’t judge. 
Being closer to the “über organized” side of the spectrum is definitely a preferred quality, as opposed to the “super sloppy” end of the world. Having the ability to juggle all types of situations and people on a daily basis is also a plus. The truth is all of these features in an account manager–in a person of the business world–are admirable, and in many ways necessary. However, I’ve found my key to success is none of these things. The way I keep my head firmly attached to my shoulders is by having the ability to Chill Out.
Work can be extremely stressful. Life can be stressful. The world in many ways right now is STRESSFUL. As an account manager it is your duty to coordinate the aforementioned parties – coworkers, vendors and clients, while keeping the peace, getting the job done and making the boss happy. There are daily fires to stifle, and just as you put them out others will spring up, threatening to burn everything you just built. Don’t be the person in the building running around screaming “FIRE! FIRE! We’re all going to die!” as you jump out the window in a panic. Be the person who takes a second to reflect, take a breath and calmly walk out of the building. Somewhere, there is always a fire escape.
Take time every few days to dig your way out of the pile of 2,034 things-to-do piled on your desk to laugh or chat with a coworker about something non-work related or to do something that really has no purpose at all, other than to Chill Out. Just a few moments can do wonders on a person’s perspective of a situation. They might not know it, but coworkers, clients and your boss will appreciate it, and you will be much happier. And so I leave you with two minutes and forty-four seconds of opportunity to Chill Out. Enjoy some synchronized sheep.
