Great Brands Create Possibilities
I love leadership books.
Over the past year or two, I’ve read books from top leadership thought leaders. Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, Jim Collins, John Maxwell, Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, and Stephen Covey, to name a few. No matter the author or TedX speaker, all have strived for one thing, STANDARDS. Standards of quality. Standards of customer service and care for employees and the end-user.
Having a set of standards means something different for every person individually, and every business has its own set of criteria by which it operates. When you think about great brands, you think about how they make you feel, all of the warm and fuzzies. It’s not about the products or the services they are selling you; it’s the “WHY,” as Simon Sinek would say. Every brand has a purpose. Have you ever stopped and thought about your favorite brands and ask what their brand purpose is?
Many of my clients are industry veterans who have worked tirelessly over the years for corporations and decided they were ready for a change and created a business of their own. With any branding project, the first step is to ask clients to complete a discovery. For some clients, this is eye-opening. I ask questions to help drive out the why of their business and get to the heart of what they do. You don’t just sell widgets. What you are selling is “time, efficiency, prestige, and so on.” All great brands know this.
You don’t have to look far during this pandemic crisis to see what brands are selling.
Starbucks is giving away free coffee to frontline health care workers, to make them happy. To provide joy and a little extra jolt of caffeinated motivation during this challenging time.
AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are all offering free Wi-Fi to those in need, faster speeds, and upgrades, to generally make our lives easier and “more productive.”
Risk plays a critical and delicate role in business. It’s a necessary aspect of staying relevant. It breaks our comfort zones and encourages innovation.
In his book, The Ride of a Lifetime, Bob Iger, former CEO of the Walt Disney Company said,
“DON’T BE IN THE BUSINESS OF PLAYING IT SAFE. BE IN THE BUSINESS OF CREATING POSSIBILITIES FOR GREATNESS.”
Courage is at the foundation of risk-taking in business. Many brands and leaders lead from a place of fear; this drains resources, energy, and morale. Great brands seek the opportunity to learn, improve, and find to discover the greatness within their brand purpose. They try to create opportunities and possibilities for all of us to feel good, to think differently, and to create endlessly. They don’t play it safe; they create value.