Raul Ruiz is quite the accomplished marketer. He has worked on many iconic brands including Modelo Especial, Corona Extra, Sharpie, and Instant Pot. Now, Raul is Chief Marketing Officer for Lenox, the manufacturers of luxury retail goods.
When Raul and I met, he had just exited his position at Instant Brands and was looking for the next career adventure. He was looking for something to continue build upon his strengths, but challenge him in new ways.
We discuss Raul’s marketing career that has spanned many roles and industries. Raul reflects on finding his way into marketing from finance, the many faces of marketing from product to category to brand marketing, and his methodology for knowing when to switch jobs.
Analytics and creativity continue to push Raul regardless of the space. He leverages these talents to master marketing fundamentals and to continue to explore what consumers want regardless of the industry he is in.
Whether you like marketing or not, you’ll enjoy Raul’s story and his tips for success in forging your own way.
Listen to the full episode. You’re sure to pick up a nugget or three for your own career adventures.
Core Themes
Take note of these themes for your own career adventures.
Related Spaces
Things are far more related than you think. We must be aware of how the dots are all connected. It’s not easy. Being able to think analogously takes practice. It requires taking a step back to recognize similarities in things. The more you can do this the better you will be in your career.
Raul has worked in a variety of industries on many brands. On the surface, you might not think that Instant Pot, Sharpie, and Modelo Especial have anything in common. Raul connected the dots. They are similar because it’s all about sensory occassions.
“As I look back at my career and I look at the body of work the culinary in kitchen, the alcoholic beverages, the nicotine and beyond nicotine, all three categories having worked in deeply in those I find them to be very related. They're related in that they're sensory occasions with consumers.”
Improved Fundamentals
Practice makes perfect. The more at bats you take, the better you should become at something, right? Many experiences across many environments makes you better. You learn to wield tools in different ways. You learn to apply concepts in novel manners.
Raul’s vast experience in a variety of seemingly different brands has made him a better marketer. He has learned to be more agile. He knows how to adapt to a brands needs while using similar tried and true tools of the trade.
“ It has given me the ability to understand there are certain fundamentals in marketing that are similar of how you talk to a consumer, the research, the insights, the building an innovation roadmap. Those fundamentals you take across every single category, but the way that you market each product is distinct…
Having the flexibility to work across many different brands across distinct categories has given me the flexibility to know where I can flex more in marketing investment, and where I can flex less depending on the marketing budgets, at hand.”
Complimentary Strengths
Strengths are nothing more than talents that have been honed over time. We all have many strengths. I’d recommend that you take a Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment if you haven’t taken one. (As a trained CliftonStrengths coach, I’m happy to help administer one, if you desire.) Most of us have five core strengths that make us unique. What are yours?
Raul knows that he is strong analytically and creatively. First, knowing is half the battle. Second, this gives him a strong compliment of skills to help businesses connect with consumers and stay in business.
“The business side and the creative side allow me to bring my full potential of the skills that I like to bring to life in my day-to-day job.”
Planned Exit?
What’s one of the first things you do when you start a new job? Beyond figuring out where to get coffee, you may begin to plan your career there. You may think about what your next role could be. Have you ever planned your exit?
Raul shared a tip from a career coach: plan your exit. In the US, the average tenure of a job is now under 4 years! Not your Dad’s work world, is it? Given that tenure is so short, it’s probably a good idea for each of us to treat work more like completing a degree. We should ask ourselves what we want to learn and to accomplish instead of just tick the days away.
“I've attended a number of different career coaches and career panels and things like that. I remember this one individual, I believe he was a career coach. He said, before you go into a job, know what you want to get out of it, what you wanna learn and plan an exit.”
Public vs. Private
Sometimes the work environment is different simply because of the company structure. You may be in marketing, but if you are doing it with a publicly funded corporation vs. a private equity group, the work can be different. You might use the same tools, but find that getting things done is different.
Raul has lead marketing teams in both big corporations and with private equity backed companies. He said a big difference is the level of structure. For example, corporations tend to have many operating processes honed to operate efficiently. By contrast, private equity is typically focused on building a creating value in a more entrepreneurial manner.
“Private equity is a very entrepreneurial mindset. There's a little bit of ambiguity, a lot of gray, squishy space because it's a very dynamic type of environment. It's a, it's an ever-changing environment that feels very entrepreneurial. There's typically limited resources because you are either turning around the organization, trying to build and create value, or you are absorbing different verticals that were brought in. It's a very fast moving, squishy, entrepreneurial space that can be very uncomfortable if you're not used to working in that space.”
Hear More of Raul’s Career Navigation
Go beyond the themes. Listen to the full episode. Raul shares his keen insight on navigating a career in marketing across iconic brands, through categories, and with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Enjoy the episode! Thanks for you support!
Paul G. Fisher
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