Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Making a date with Destiny'

My Executive Assistant at ICM HQ, Tracy Carter, is also responsible for driving our social media strategy and activity. Last week she started a discussion on LinkedIn that has generated a riveting discussion. The question she posed was: "I had an interesting conversation with my 13 year old nephew about choosing a career, and he asked me if a career in credit management would be good and if it is important? How would you answer?"

There have been plenty of long-standing credit professionals like me saying what a brilliant career credit management is. They have highlighted positive aspects of the profession such as the variety it brings, the different skills it develops, the fact that it touches every part of the business, and delivers real value in many ways.

Some, including much younger contributors than me I'm pleased to say, have recognised that the role will become more strategic and less operational as technology continues to change the way we work. Others have stressed the need for personal and professional development as a way of building what is an interesting and satisfying job into a real career.

As with all discussion forums, the debate deviates from the original question and there is some disagreement, but the divergence of views adds to the vibrancy of the thread and I'm pleased to note that the underlying mood has remained positive. It should do so because many of the very senior people in credit I know could vouch for the career prospects as they have reached the top of their chosen profession and become key players within their own businesses.

As I write these words, I'm preparing for the latest quarterly meeting of the ICM Credit Industry Think Tank, the participants on which are all a testament to the opportunities afforded by credit management as a profession. Credit management is a dynamic and thriving profession and Tracy's nephew can be assured that it would be a good career choice. But let's not kid him. The reality is that it will be down to him to take hold of the opportunity with both hands and make the most of it. As one of the contributors to the LinkedIn discussion said: "....each individual is responsible for their own destiny."

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Celebrating success'

I'm writing these words ahead of the ICM British Credit awards which are taking place at the Hilton, Park Lane. A night of celebration, networking and fun with about 400 people, many of whom will be hoping that their entry to the Awards has done enough to earn them success. They should all however recognise the achievement of being short-listed - there may only be one trophy but they're all winners!

The success of the Awards has made me reflect on the power of social media. When we held our last Awards Dinner in February 2011, I think I'd just started Tweeting and I was certainly a novice. Since that time, Twitter has emerged as a powerful source and - in many respects - an effective tool. I'm an avid personal user (@philipkingicm) of Twitter but the ICM's corporate social media activity (@icmorg) is driven by my long-suffering Executive Assistant, Tracy Carter (@tracycarter) and she ensures that our activity is as effective as possible, constantly watching for new developments such as pinterest which we'll be using to post pictures from the Awards Dinner at the event and afterwards (http://pinterest.com/icmorg/icm-credit-awards-2013/).

Whether you're a user of social media or not, and whether you believe it has a place or not, there can be no doubt that it is having a major impact. I've just finished listening to Nick Robinson's book 'Live from Downing Street' and he makes the point that phenomena like Twitter mean that politicians and broadcasters are no longer able to control the timing of news being released in the way they were able to just a few years ago. 

The last few days has seen frenetic activity on Twitter and LinkedIn as we count down to our Awards evening, and hundreds of conversations and exchanges have taken place that would never have happened without Twitter. Real conversations are still the best form of communication but let's not knock anything that complements them and allows for networking and communication that otherwise wouldn't exist at all.

 

Guest blog by Tracy Carter, Executive Assistant to Philip King, Institute of Credit Management

I was happy to accept the invitation to be a guest blogger until I realised that my blog would be following Nigel Fields’, a member of the Institute of Credit Management whose blog included the line “I have the best job in the world in ‘the movie business’ at Twentieth Century Fox”!  How do I follow that?  Well, I also feel that I’m lucky in my role; I work as part of a vibrant, enthusiastic and driven senior management team, for an Institute whose staff and members are completely committed to the work of the Institute and the credit management profession.

 

In addition to my varied executive assistant role, I’m also responsible for driving the Institute’s social media strategy.  I am truly passionate about social media, and particularly the benefits of social media as a communication tool for the ICM; our LinkedIn Group (ICM Credit Community) and Twitter account (@ICMorg) are good examples of how we can share what we’re doing, enter into discussions, and listen to credit management professionals.

 

Over recent months I’ve had the opportunity to speak, share ideas and offer advice to organisations, ICM branches, ICM members, and other professional bodies who are driving social media – the common feeling I’ve encountered is nervousness.  My advice is to ignore the nerves – start as an observer – sign up to LinkedIn and Twitter and watch for a while - you’ll soon discover a new world that you may even want to converse with.

 

Social networking is here to stay, and just like the arrival of email, it’s a communication tool that everyone can utilise – it’s happening with or without you! 

  

If you’d like to read Philip King’s weekly blog and other guest blogs click here or visit our Twitter page http://twitter.com/ICMorg.  You can also follow me on Twitter @TracyCarter.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'A source for good'

A slightly unusual topic for me this week prompted by recent personal experience. I was involved with a police force at the weekend about a missing person. The details and circumstances aren't important but the police wanted to know everything I knew about the missing person who has gone AWOL many miles from home and may need help.

My wife and I shared all we knew (which wasn't much to be honest) and my wife referred the police to Facebook which included a number of friends in the area where they were looking, and had comments that might give clues as to their whereabouts. We were asked if we had a picture of the individual and we confirmed we had but pointed out that a more recent and clearer one was on Facebook.

Extraordinarily, a few minutes later we received a phone call asking if we could download the picture and email it, along with any other relevant information, because the police didn't have access to Facebook and so couldn't use that source of information! I don't know if this is common to all police forces and I don't know the detailed reasons why access is denied but - in today's age - I was incredulous that such a productive source of information couldn't be used!

I discussed the use of Facebook in tracing debtors following the release of the OFT's Debt Collection Guidance a few weeks ago and shared my view that the content of the guidance was being misrepresented by the media. We've also recently heard the ongoing debate about how social media was insufficiently monitored during the riots across the UK in the summer.

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used for good - as well as bad - but it strikes me that the potential 'dangers' of Facebook et al and sensitivities over privacy, while understandable, are getting in the way of progress. It certainly seems absurd that the police could not pursue what to me would have been a blindingly obvious line of enquiry.

Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay and we can't just ignore it. The ICM has heavily embraced Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook because we know a proportion of our members are using them and we see many benefits.

I fear, however, that in certain cases bureaucracy is winning and the loser is someone who could really need help!