After my recent "product evangelist" post, in a comment I mentioned (because it just sprang to mind) Gilad Bracha, Sun Microsystems‘ Computational Theologist.
That started me thinking about job titles, and in particular what separates a Cool Interesting Job Title from a Stale Collection of Buzzwords. For every Product Evangelist and Computational Theologist we have a bunch of E-Commerce Solution Architects, Quality Assurance Technicians, and Mission Critical Support Consultants. I have no interest in a puffed up title, the only purpose of which is to make one feel more important.
Really cool titles, on the other hand, are kind of, uh, well… cool….
What’s the difference? Well, I guess it’s a matter of opinion, but I like stuff that sounds off-beat, weird, or interesting, rather than boring and stuffy.
Instead of a receptionist, maybe you want an Ambassador of First Impressions. Instead of a programmer, maybe you want a hacker, a code warrior, a perl monk, or an XML Guru. Maybe you’re another Computational Theologist; or a Networking Philosopher.
There’s a fine line between cool and silly; probably I just crossed it, but I guess I’d rather be silly than boring. Evangelist and Theologist (not even a real word!) are pretty silly too, but for some reason they appeal to me.
I recall Tom Peters talking about something similar, except that he was speaking of advanced degrees; he’d like to do away with the MBA (who, he says, really wants to be a Master of…. Administration?) — and replace it with:
MMM1 (Master of Metaphysical Management)
MMM2 (Master of Metabolic Management)
MGLF (Master of Great Leaps Forward)
MTD (Master of Talent Development)
W/Mw"GTD"w/oC (Woman/Man who "Gets Things Done" without Certificate)
DE (Doctor of Enthusiasm)
I like it! Tom’s original post is here. Some of Tom’s posts can be a little, um, colorful, but they never fail to be interesting.
