The focus is all to often at the edges. Why are we here? What are we going to do, deliver, say and be? The “how” in the middle gets scant attention by comparison. Of course it doesn’t get totally missed or “what” would never happen. The “how” that gets missed is...
A lot of my articles intersect with Leadership for a simple reason. I quite simply have never seen an organisation with a strong and resilient brand result if it is not driven and supported by the leadership of the organisation. And when I say leadership, I mean literally the chief executive, general...
People grow and mature over time. But while some behaviours and personality attributes may modify, essential things about us seem to remain mostly unchanged. Author Susan Cain has become the voice of the introverted everywhere thanks to her book Quiet, and in a recent article she tackled the question: “Is it possible for my personality...
People grow and mature over time. But while some behaviours and personality attributes may modify, essential things about us seem to remain mostly unchanged. Author Susan Cain has become the voice of the introverted everywhere thanks to her book Quiet, and in a recent article she tackled the question: “Is it possible for my personality...
I’ve been thinking a lot about organisational identity these past few weeks. In particular, a couple of issues that constantly bedevil discussions of core values – how do you know what they are and what should they be? For many organisations, finding them is an experience that feels like a cross...
For years now I’ve been using the example of terms and conditions when I talk to organisations about customer experience issues. It’s a great illustration of how organisations somehow expect their customers to be a different kind of people than they are themselves. When was the last time you read a...
For a number of weeks now I’ve been recommending the book The Score Takes Care of Itself by the late Bill Walsh and Steve Jamison. While it’s predominantly a leadership book, I can’t think of one thing that has a bigger impact on building a strong, resilient brand than the leadership of...
What do an author, a highly decorated Navy Seal and building brands have in common? While listening to Four Hour Work Week author Tim Ferris’ long form podcast with retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink a point they were discussing jumped out at me – extreme ownership. (I won’t transcript the exchange here but if you go to...
A brand requires a steady balanced diet of thought and action, interaction and reaction, constantly feeding the result. What often happens instead, are hits of creative endeavor that get the organisation hooked on the idea that this is how the brand is built. Like the sugar or caffeine junkies who can’t...
“If you want to know what your brand stands for just ask someone what they think…” has to be one of the most useless pieces of advice I’ve ever heard given to an organisation (right up there with “if you’re not delighting your customers you’re wasting your time”). It is true...