Proust and Pergolino – an interview with Charlene Goodwin

by Maria Pergolino on March 17, 2009

This will be a new weekly posting asking the same questions of different marketers. Half the questions are taken from the Proust Questionnaire, the other half I created on my own. I think that together the answers really help give some great incites from some amazing marketers. A lot of these marketers’ talent comes from their industry and product knowledge, but much comes from their attitude and interest in their work. I tried to capture some of this in the interview below.

My first interview was with Charlene Goodwin, a marketing expert who works for a major risk management firm. These are her answers below.

Proust Questions:

Your most marked characteristic?

When I want something, I do what I need to do to get it – within reason. If it’s at too great a cost, I might decide I don’t want it anymore, but that is the exception. I’ve been known, on more than one occasion to say, “You know what, I want that.” An hour or a day later, there it is.

What do you value in your friends?

Honesty and loyalty. The two values at the crux of any good relationship.

What would you like to be?

Me, just times a thousand. More time to relax, more time to do work, more time to see family and friends.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

I wish I could draw. I think it’s absolutely amazing how people can draw and create things that they see in their mind, or even physically in front of them. My hangman doesn’t even look respectable on most days.

What is your present state of mind?

I’m feeling very positive. Life is good and things, on a personal level, are falling into place. Even in battle at work I’m okay with people not liking me – primarily because they are sitting at a desk across the country or outside the country. I don’t have awkward tense moments in the office. All I have to do is hang up the phone or close an email. It’s quite liberating. I’m just trying to get my job done and do what is for the greater good of the company.

What is your motto?

When our new head of corporate marketing (at our parent company) suddenly announced the entire organization must print all collateral on A4 paper, I almost lost my mind. My boss reminded me of a great scene from Meatballs, where Bill Murray instructs his team “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER”. This is my new motto. We can only do so much, so why beat ourselves up or get angry over it? In the end, it’s out of our control. We all have signs now in our offices saying “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER”. It makes me smile.

Pergolino Questions:

How many emails are in your inbox?

Personal – 256; Work – 255

Guess my threshold is around the same for my work and personal lives..

How much time do you spend learning about new marketing technologies? (Also, how and why?)

Sadly, not enough these days. I try and participate in webinars whenever possible and to keep up with “what’s going on” by reading my MediaPost, MarketingDaily, and Out to Launch emails. Have been so caught up in industry events and learning my current industry in general, that I haven’t had much time for anything else.

What key analytics do you need to do your job well and why?

In my current role, I’m heavily involved in events and communications. I’m worried most about response rates and ROI.

How has social media affected your life and/or business?

Social media has definitely kept me more “in touch” with people than I would otherwise be. I know what’s going on with those that I’d otherwise not talk to, save an email once a year. I was at my first industry conference in February where Twitter was used to keep everyone abreast of things and also to field questions for one of the discussions. I find the insurance industry tends to take a little longer to adopt newer technologies, but I’m looking forward to the continuous progress.

What technology(s) could you not live without?

Intenet, latptop, e-mail, iPhone, Blackberry. That pretty much sums up my every day.