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Is Your Work a Passion, a Love, Or Something Else? [The Weekly Wrap]

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And that’s a wrap of the week ending Jan. 17, 2020

This week I’m exploring the difference between passion and love when it comes to work. I share my take on an article describing how the workplace will change in 2020. I talk with CMI’s Cathy McPhillips about marketing to marketers, new lead-gen challenges, and where content marketing is going this year. And I share an article on how to make sure your content survives the committee process.

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Our theme this week is passion for work. Let’s wrap it up.

One deep thought: Love vs. passion at work (2:08)

Are you passionate about your job? Do you love your job? These might sound like the same question, but they’re not. It seems like we’re bombarded with messages about finding a job we’re passionate about or spinning our passion-driven side hustles into businesses that become our jobs.

Being passionate about your job and loving it are not the same thing, says @Robert_Rose via @cmicontent. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

But what if you’re passionate about a job that isn’t passionate about you? What if you hate a job that’s passionate about you? Passion is a “strong and barely controllable emotion” that usually comes early in a relationship. It’s always intense. It cannot persist. It burns us out.

I share the stories of content marketers who pursued passions at work but never deepened to love. I talk about how they ran into trouble – and how they eventually changed their relationship with work for the better.

A fresh take on the new workplace (11:28)

Since we’re talking about passion and love for work, this article from Digiday caught my eye: Not Working, Side Hustles and Crying: How the Workplace Will Change in 2020.

After speaking with workplace experts and advertising employees, writer Shareen Pathak identified trends that will characterize work this year. One of the most interesting is that “not working is the new working.” The article argues that more people are realizing there is more to life than work.

I’ve noticed this trend, too, as more teams push back against urgency and prioritize time for creativity. I share my take on this positive development – and the side effects of evolving toward more emotional, personal, and individualized workplaces.

More teams push back against urgency and prioritize time for #creativity, says @Robert_Rose via @cmicontent. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

This week’s person making a difference in content: Cathy McPhillips (17:10)

Cathy is truly someone making meaning out of content. She is the vice president of marketing for the Content Marketing Institute, where she oversees marketing efforts for all CMI properties. Before joining CMI in 2012, Cathy worked for more than 20 years in marketing, including in agency life, for B2C brands, in restaurant and nonprofit marketing, and for her own marketing consulting business. She is a board member for The Orange Effect Foundation.

Cathy and I talk about the career path that ultimately led her to the Content Marketing Institute, the positives and challenges of marketing to marketers, and what’s on her mind for 2020.

Here’s a sneak peek:

What can we offer people so valuable that they are willing to share their personal information with us? We’re kind of e-booked and white-papered out.

What can we offer people so valuable that they are willing to share their personal information with us? @cmcphillips via @cmicontent #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

Listen in to our conversation, then connect with Cathy:

One content marketing idea you can use (29:47)

You know what they say: The best committee should consist of no more than three people – two of whom are always absent. But that’s rarely the case in content marketing. I’d love for you to take a look at this article: How to Survive Content by Committee, by Rusty Weston. It offers a bunch of great advice to help you take back control of your content review process.

The best committee is no more than 3 people – 2 of whom are always absent, says @Robert_Rose via @cmicontent. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

Love for this week’s sponsor: ContentTECH Summit

We’re so thrilled to announce Alan Zweibel will be the closing keynote speaker at ContentTECH Summit in San Diego. The early days of Saturday Night Live were undoubtedly the funniest years of the show, also containing some of the best and most iconic comedy writing ever, thanks in part to Alan Zweibel. Roseanne Rosannadanna? Alan was part of that team. Emily Litella? Alan again. And who could forget John Belushi’s character Samurai? You guessed it, Alan. How does a creator come up with such amazing work time and time again, not only on SNL, but also in myriad other shows, books, plays, and more? We look forward to Alan Zweibel sharing his thoughts on storytelling and the creative process during his keynote presentation. You’ll get insights to help you provide a richer experience for your customers and build a more profitable, stronger business.

I hope to see you and your team in San Diego. Check out the agenda today.

The wrap-up

Tune in next week for another deep thought, my fresh take on the news, a conversation with someone making a difference in content marketing, and a pointer to a content marketing article that may change the way you work. And it’s all delivered in a little less time than it takes another British royal to leave the family.

If you have ideas for what you’d like to hear more of on our weekly play on words, let us know in the comments. And if you love the show, we’d sure love for you to review it or share it. Hashtag us up on Twitter: #WeeklyWrap.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute