Ekaterina Odarchenko is a political consultant, partner of Sic Group Ukraine, member of the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC), Director of the PolitA Institute for Democracy and Development, and President of the Ukrainian Association of GR Professionals and Lobbyists (UAGRPL).
About education, the need to attend certain courses and training, and how to build a career up to 30 years old – read in our interview.
- Ekaterina, how important is higher education in the modern world? Where is it better to get it – in Ukraine or abroad?
Today, the world is becoming more and more global. And if earlier people sought to gain knowledge, now a new trend is the desire to obtain a certain set of “skills”, certain skills that are often even more applicable in practice than just a theoretical basis.
Today, even the most prestigious universities in the world are quite open organizations in terms of access to knowledge. Access to the lectures of the best teachers can be obtained simply by going to the website of a particular university or by registering on such well-known educational platforms as Coursera, Prometheus, and others. If you know the language, they open up great prospects. However, the percentage of those involved in the online learning process in Ukraine is only about 3%! Even if you have access to the Internet and free time. Therefore, we can conclude that the main thing in the issue of higher education and the need to obtain it is the aspect of one’s own motivation and understanding of expediency.
In Ukraine, many people who go to universities to get higher education, in general, cannot formulate their goals in the long and short term, that is, why and how will they apply the acquired knowledge? A completely different mechanism is offered by both the Western model of education and progressive Asian countries, which involve the acquisition of skills starting from the university.
Personally, I received 3 higher educations in Ukraine in the specialties: genetics, public administration, and jurisprudence. In addition, I completed the George Washington University academic program in political management (which, in fact, I am currently working on). But in general, in our industry, knowledge is not static. And when they ask me at lectures what exactly is needed, I say that this is certainly a large complex – starting from behavioral economics and social psychology, ending with knowledge of neuromarketing and other, the most progressive methods of work.
- Now courses (both short and longer ones) are becoming more and more popular in Kyiv. What to look for when choosing them?
In general, these courses are, on the one hand, a great opportunity for self-development, but also a big problem for the market. Why? Because, in fact, it is obviously impossible to study for a political strategist in 3 days. Yes, such courses are an occasion to communicate with colleagues, and novice specialists, an occasion to learn some new trends, as in the framework of any conference, and then, as a result, to understand the right direction for yourself and delve into one or another topic.
I myself attend conferences as a listener. For example, in the United States of America, in Brussels, I participate in events on topics such as the growing phenomenon of populism, the use of Big Data, and neuromarketing technologies. And definitely for me, as a professional, it is useful. But this is useful only if you already have some fundamental knowledge, and understanding of the complex algorithms that you need to work on. Otherwise, when you come to such events without a strong foundation, rather chaotic knowledge appears in your mind, which does not lead to a comprehensive understanding of the processes. Another moment. Pay attention to the speakers within the course, and most importantly – determine for yourself: why you personally need it. And before attending the course, study the classics, books, and doctrines. Only with this baggage – go for the addition of the knowledge that is at your disposal.
About speakers. If a person wants to carry knowledge and share it with others, he must certainly have experience. He must be a professional practitioner, with his own developed point of view and real cases behind him. Therefore, once again I emphasize that it is worth paying special attention to the course speakers and content.
I myself teach some series of lectures – on topics that are necessarily related to my practical activities. After all, only those things in which I personally went through the path and opened my own horizons give me confidence in the effectiveness of some methods and algorithms while leveling others. Only in this way can I vouch for the knowledge that I can convey to others.
But even in this case, the theoretical base and the skills that I share become correct and effective only when they are “layered” on a certain knowledge base. And a person who comes to listen to lectures or speeches on a given topic should definitely have such a basis.
- How can a modern girl build a career before the age of 30 in order to have her own business and succeed?
It should be noted right away that today it is no longer worthwhile to draw a rigid parallel in the matter of a career in terms of whether you are a girl or a guy. This is no longer as important as it used to be. Definitely, some stereotypes and clichés persist in society. So, for example, in the case of politics, it is still more difficult for a woman presidential candidate to get to the “Olympus” of power than for a man. And this trend persists due to certain social patterns that have been created and “sealed” at the gene level in the mentality of our society from generation to generation.
So, today, speaking about my own professional experience, I can note that it is often much more difficult for a woman politician to choose a successful archetypal image that would hit the “point” and be easily read by the average Ukrainian voter than to create an image for a candidate, as they say in everything. famous cliché, “the representative of the stronger sex” 🙂 In fact, such a vision of gender aspects is too simplified, and therefore stereotypical. And in Ukraine, many women leaders live, create and do great deeds, who have something to offer, including in terms of politics, and in matters of business and entrepreneurship. Women feel the situation subtly, they are excellent diplomats and are often inclined to find a reasonable compromise. After all, in the end, in any business, the strategy is important – how you see the final goal.
Many of those who today received fairly good capital grew up and were brought up in the 90s, and there was no particular need to talk about the development of certain strategies, the correct systematic approach, and understanding of performance criteria in those days. And these aspects, for example, are critically important for the sphere of political consulting close to me. As a consequence of the holistic formation of a new generation, we have received frequent statements that “education is not important”, “research is a waste of time because everything is clear anyway” … But the final research largely depends on the stage of basic research. result. Hence we get problems with implementation in any industry, when a person tries something without knowledge, opportunities, and often even specific goals. That’s why it doesn’t work and so on.
Of course, there are problems in the issue of business development with lending, but, again, in our country, there are both many difficulties and many opportunities. My team and I, for example, are developing the market for political consulting and civilized lobbying. In developed countries, such markets have already been formed and, in general, it is hardly possible to do something new. And we have such an opportunity! Therefore, I am sure that here any difficulties should be perceived as a window of opportunity. And most importantly, don’t miss them!
- How to plan your day to do everything and a little more?
The answer lies in your question itself. Planning must be present. And, as I said, there must be expediency in all your actions. Otherwise, you simply risk coming to a state of emotional burnout.
From a more practical point of view, we all use the virtual planning system in the office, which allows us to cooperate more effectively with the team, no matter whether you are in the office or not physically present in it. It also allows you to set tasks very clearly and increases KPI indicators, which are a reflection of a specific result of the activity. That is, the main thing is tools such as a virtual office, a variety of calendars, and most importantly, understanding the purpose of each project that you want to implement. And, of course, a change of activity, because any work can become routine, and in order to avoid this, you need to be able to switch. It is very important.
5 tips for those who want to succeed in their business.
- The first law of success is unambiguous purposefulness. In everything and always.
- Understanding strategy. You must be aware of why you need IT and develop an algorithm that will help you get to IT.
- Competence. Become a real professional in one thing, rather than an amateur in everything and a little.
- Communication and communication skills are the keys to good networking. But the main thing here is communication in a substantive way and with an awareness of the necessary results.
- Global thinking and versatility are exactly what gives a more comprehensive understanding of life and a more formed professional position. Without such a characteristic as flexibility, success will be very difficult to achieve. Be flexible, look for reasonable compromises, and negotiate interests, not abstract visions.
