Black MBA - Summer 2008 - (Page 85)

LEADERSHIP Keith Wyche What to do when ‘Good is Not Enough’ NBMBAA Board Member Keith Wyche Reveals Secrets of Corporate Success By Isaac Causey WHAT HAPPENS WHEN you consistently produce beyond the call of duty for your company, but can’t seem to get into the upper echelon? What should you do when you have a sound education and excellent aptitude, but don’t get endorsements from bosses? The adages “Good work unseen is seldom rewarded” and “Who you know sometimes counts more than what you know” still ring true in today’s corporate world, according to Keith Wyche, one of America’s top Black executives. He says landing that top job involves numerous factors, ranging from crem ating your own brand to making aking sure the right people notice your good work. Wyche is president of U.S. operaperations for Pitney Bowes Inc. and in d his 25-year career he has worked ked at Ameritech, Convergys, AT&T &T and IBM. He directs 8,000 people ple at more than 1,100 sites across the he country for Pitney Bowes, a mannufacturer of packaging and maililing hardware and software headdquartered in Stamford, Conn. “There is no precise blueprint t or specific step that will guarantee success,” Wyche says. But for him, lesson No. 1 is, “It’s not all about performance.” “At the executive level, performance accounts for about 50 percent of what is required, while exposure and perception accounts for about 25 percent each,” he says. “Too often, we focus on performance without any regard to exposure [to the right people, information and business functions] and perception [of your brand or image within the company].” Wyche, who has a bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University and an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, combines academic depth with business experience to mentor minorities with practical advice and help them through the maze that confines them to middle management. “In my case, these were all lessons learned by trial and error, with more BlackMBA • Summer 2008 85

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Summer 2008

Black MBA- Summer 2008 Contents Mailbag Up Front From the President & CEO Politics of Change Catalyst for Change: Results of our 2008 Political Poll Know Whose Shoulders You Stand On: The Legacy of H. Naylor Fitzhugh Howard University: Changing With the Times Straight Talk: CEO to CEO Creating Your Own Sandbox Dual Threats Avoiding the Faux Pa Invest in Your MBA Everything You Need to Know About...Estate Planning On Campus Plan Ahead The Big Show What's in a Name? On the Move Market Forecast Jeff Friday Keith Wyche Life Lessons On the Ground Real Biz A Golden Opportunity Entrepreneurial Institute Tech Tools Read for Success Stacey Tisdale Advertiser Index

Black MBA - Summer 2008

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