Selling yourself

This was the opening slide of a 200+ slide internal presentation. To some degree, it was about "defending" the work our team had done, especially with the persistent cloud of doubt that seemed omnipresent.

At the time, I thought, "Look at all we've accomplished; now let's get back to work."

But it highlighted a deeper issue: Why did it come to this? Why did it reach a point that I felt I needed to create a 200+ slide presentation to justify our work?

The reason is that I had been hesitant to showcase our team and our accomplishments. This reluctance was primarily because I'm an introvert and the idea of drawing attention, even if it's to celebrate achievements, made me uneasy.

I thought our hard work and product would speak for itself.

It didn’t and it won’t.

The book “To Sell Is Human” really hits home that in today’s world, no matter our job function or title, we are all in sales. We are all constantly trying to move, persuade, and influence others.

Don't shy away from promoting yourself, your team, or your ideas, because they won't sell themselves.