Brand Leadership Must Come From All

In 2009, I read, what remains one of my favorite business books, Built To Last. It talked about how leaders of great organizations build clocks rather than just tell time.  What this means, is great leaders, founders etc. not only tell time, aka innovate pushing their organization forward and driving demand, but they also focus on ensuring everyone in the organization is able to tell time just as well.  So that after those great leaders, founders, etc. leave, the organization will continue progressing forward and accomplishing its brand purpose - ensuring that it is truly built to last.

Recently, we've seen a couple examples, proving this out.

Unfortunately, Steven Jobs, Apple's co-founder, has taken a leave of absence due to poor health. And with this announcement came an immediate dip in its share price. No doubt because Jobs is seen as the quintessential ingredient to the company's success.

I mean when Jobs left Apple, back in the 80's, it completely lost focus on its brand purpose, to design technology for humans, which nearly destroyed the organization.  And it wasn't until the mid-90s, when he returned, that we saw Apple become the cultural phenomena it is today. So now the public think Apple is only successful when Jobs is running the show.

If Apple has been building a clock with proper succession planning and ensuring Jobs' vision is integrated into the corporate values and key KPIs, which the company's talent is measured against, then they could have done a better job featuring and drawing attention to the various team members who have contributed to the recent innovations that keep the brand in the spotlight. This would prove to the public that Apple's success isn't solely dependent on Jobs.

We saw a glimpse of this when Jobs took a leave of absence a year and a half ago for his liver transplant and Timothy Cook took on the daily operations of the company, which he has done again. In doing this, he established confidence with shareholders and employees that he could carry the organization forward, according to the New York Times.  Apple could have done more of this to prove to shareholders and consumers, alike, that Apple will remain the Apple we know and love today when Jobs inevitably steps down from leading the organization forward.

Unlike Apple, Google is making a big point of its recent management "shake up", where Eric Schmidt is handing the reins of the organization to its co-founder, Larry Page, in an effort to reinvigorate the corporate culture taking it back to its nimble entrepreneurial roots.

There are two things I like most about this:

1. Google is making sure its founding values and purpose remain instilled and perpetuated throughout the organization. This tells me that Google is equally devoted to building a clock as it is to telling time.
2. They are making it very public that they can transition leadership to better the organization, and that Google's success isn't dependent on one individual. This will prevent future market uncertainty, if successful, that Apple faces today.

It is examples like these that prove that it is not only essential for the operations of the organization to ensure the brand runs deep within its culture and values of its employees, but it also maintains trust and confidence in the brand from external parties like shareholders and consumers.

Everyone in an organization must be able to lead the brand, as it is not the sole responsibility of one or even a select few individuals.

Branding in 2011

Note: Image from flickr

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and are as excited for 2011 as I am!!

To kick-off the new year, I thought I would write about what I believe is going to be an important element to branding in 2011.

Last January, I wrote about the importance of being human, aka REAL. This year it's about REAL-TIME.

What I mean by real-time, is that brands need to be nimble. They need to be able to quickly adapt to both new and existing market changes, challenges and opportunities. Essentially, brands need to maintain relevance to be successful in 2011.

Relevancy is needed on a global and micro level. Meaning, on a global level, Western brands will need to begin to establish relevance in the Middle-East and  BRIC nations to take advantage of these emerging markets, while remaining competitive as those nations' local brands begin to grow into Western markets as well.  On the other, more micro side of things, brands need to maintain relevancy through dialogues and experiences that represent the brand's promise whenever, wherever and however the consumer wants.

According to the Landor 2011 trends forecast, consumers are ready to be surprised and delighted again, but not in a flashy and opulent way. Rather they want authentic brand stories and personal connections.  This tells me that for brands to establish relevancy in 2011 they must be:

1. Responsible
2. Authentic 
3. Always On

Responsible:

Having a strong and meaningful purpose, which is an idea that transcends products, categories and culture continues to grow as a crucial component of successful brands. Purpose allows brands to respond to market changes more efficiently and effectively, as they are not limited to one product, one category or one demographic segment.

However, a fundamental shift in consumer behavior has occurred, where they expect brands to have a meaningful purpose that is socially responsible. No longer is this a nice to have, which inspires employees and excites consumers. Rather, it's an expectation that impacts purchase decisions and the organization's bottom line.

Authenticity:

It's one thing to establish a meaningful purpose, but it's another to deliver on it.  A brand must be based on an internal capability. After all you can't talk your way out of something you behaved your way into. So, if you promise something, you better be able to deliver on it.  Also, to be authentic, there needs to be an inherent love and passion to deliver what the brand is promising.

An authentic brand often leads to a strong internal understanding of the brand, which makes it easy to spot various opportunities in new markets, innovations or even in responding and engaging with consumers online.  In essence, authentic brands enable adaptability, as they understand how the brand can become relevant in new environments and/or circumstances. 

Always On:

Another key element to maintaining a relevant brand in 2011 is timing, both in the literal sense of the word as well as location.

Consumers' desire for instant gratification is high, and their expectations for delivery are higher. Therefore, brands must be relevant to consumers in the moment. The best way to accomplish this is to provide utility (information and/or tools) when needed most, and when it makes sense for the brand.  This can be anything from providing useful mobile apps or geo-located experiences, to responding to tweets on Twitter or engaging consumers with meaningful offers on Facebook.

The important thing is that the brand is in the moment and engaging when it's most relevant to the consumer.

Thus in 2011, we're going to see more brands focus on being real-time; establishing relevancy through responsibility, authenticity and being in the moment.  By ensuring relevancy, you establish credibility which influences trust stimulating demand for the brand.

So how are you going to establish responsibility, ensure authenticity and remain always on to become a relevant brand in the increasingly changing marketplace for 2011?