The idea for this blog took shape during a catch up chat with my friend last week in Perth. We were talking about a recent discussion of his where he’d asked “what are you best in the world at?”. The question has become somewhat of a business standard thanks to the...
Cruising through my LinkedIn feed last week, a post caught my eye asserting customers now have their own brands that need catering to. I shouldn’t be surprised. Everywhere I look ‘brand’ is tacked on to other words. I’ll just add customer brand to brand experience, brand values, brand purpose, brand...
During a conversation with a new acquaintance, our talk turned to values, actively using them in the organisation and why it’s time to free them from the musty constraints of employee guides and company offsite days. I’m always looking at whether organisations have the will to incur the (sometimes real) cost...
The things I read always feed my thinking. In turn, it produces different ways to approach the necessary work to achieve a brand result people will care about. This week I’m reading So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport. In the book, Cal delves into what he calls a “craftsman mindset”...
As more of our interactions become digital, the desire to translate them into a relationship is creating a faux familiarity that bugs me. Acknowledge me, yes, but too often it slips over the line into something less appropriate. Tone is a tricky thing, and the gap between formal and familiar can...
Identity is a foundation of a brand, and so the identities of the people who work at the organisation and who make the promises and deliver the experience have a significant role to play in the result. And organisations are finally waking up to that relationship. Enter a whole slew of...
It is amazing how such an intangible element such as trust can be nurtured by a thoroughly tangible means – all for the greater good of your business. How does information circulate through your organisation? If you are like most, the actual flow has very little in common with the hierarchy...
I’m a fan of businesses; they mostly do a good job. However, sometimes the stuff they do makes me sit back and say, “what are they thinking?”. I know customers are often maddening and capricious beings who also do stuff, but the reaction should not punish everyone. Yet that’s what happens....
What are some things you can do to encourage your employees to volunteer their engagement? Or if you’re an employee feeling a bit ho-hum about your days, what could urge you to sign up to the cause? An article from Jocelyn Glei offers some good advice: “Making progress in meaningful work is the key...
The research on engaged employees is clear. They are happier, more productive, stay with the organisation longer and perform better across a whole host of measures. So, it’s no surprise that like its cousin on the customer side, loyalty, engagement is getting a lion’s share of people and culture attention. And...