all. This accomplishment was an enormous confidence booster, as it demonstrated that a
normal, healthy life was possible for me and that I could achieve anything if I set my mind to
it.
Eventually it was a logical step for me to progress into competition. I found myself running in
marathons and, finally, competing in triathlons. In 1983, in fact, I successfully competed in
the Hawaii Ironman triathlon, arguably the most arduous and certainly the most celebrated
single-day athletic endurance event.
I have assiduously pursued aerobic exercise for the past 11 years, ever since I discovered
that such endeavors were finally possible for me and were the means by which I could attain
physical strength and well-being. It was a long and arduous road--from huffing and puffing
(and wheezing) my way through tentative one-mile runs to involving myself in the rigors of
the triathlon--but I was determined to become fit and to stay fit.
It has made all the difference.
Qualifications Essay
As a Marketing Manager with ADP's corporate marketing department, I have been assigned
to lead various product-specific marketing initiatives supporting a diversified group of
business segments. Among these tasks, none was more important to the strategic direction
of the business than leading the development of ADP's web site adp.com.
ADP, a leading $5 billion technology company with over 425,000 clients worldwide, lacked a
consistent or aggressive Internet strategy. Instead, each business unit or division was driving
its own website strategy and execution. More often than not, the result was a fragmented
message: a cluttered, company-centric website that failed to effectively communicate our
broad range of products and services. Despite its market leadership, ADP was meeting
neither the expectations of users nor the needs of clients. The company was also missing a
tremendous marketing opportunity and risking losing market share because our competition
was operating at a far higher level than ours. Realizing that corporate marketing could add
value across the company's business segments, I initiated and led a plan to redesign the
website and fully leverage the Internet as a marketing channel to drive branding, product
awareness, and sales leads through an integrated and path-driven website.
My role was specific: develop a strategy to improve navigation, communicate the complete
range of ADP's products and services, optimize the flow of traffic to drive leads for the
business segments, persuade visitors to purchase ADP products and services online, and
create a platform for ADP's evolving E-business strategy. This initiative was highly
challenging because of the complexity of the service offerings, the diversity of the business,
and the overwhelming political bureaucracy within the organization.
With a limited budget, limited resources, and limited supervision, I designed a four-phase
strategy to re-evaluate the current website and replace it with an active, path-driven site. The
strategy included a review of the company's current navigation and content, a strategic
assessment mapping navigation and functionality against corporate and divisional objectives,
and the design and architecture of the site. Furthermore, we developed a plan to validate our