Introduce new branding from the inside out, part 2

When a company is introducing new branding, informing employees first before informing dealers, customers and the industry can go a long way toward strengthening employee trust. The first step in conveying any change is to ensure leadership is all on the same page, so they can communicate a consistent message to employees. Conflicting, varying messages to employees will do the opposite and reduce trust levels.

Once leadership is unified and understands how the new branding is being communicated, it’s time to begin engaging employees. Employees are a company’s brand ambassadors. How well they understand and convey a brand’s message and values directly influences the success of that brand. When they trust in a company and are informed and engaged with its branding, vision and business strategy, that trust and engagement are conveyed to customers and others in the industry.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Introduce new branding from the inside out

Have you ever worked for a company where you felt as though the employees were the last to hear about anything, whether it was new branding, a new logo, tagline, ad campaign, etc.? It’s difficult to get on board with a change after the fact and even more challenging to consistently represent the brand and its values to a customer or others outside the company when you don’t know the reason or thought process behind them. 

That’s why it’s so important to engage from the inside of a company out. It not only gets employees on the same page and gives them the knowledge they need to go out and communicate a brand and its values to others, it establishes trust, which is essential in any organization.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Is procrastination all bad?

We all procrastinate at one time or another, but is that always a bad thing? Not necessarily according to behavioral and organizational psychologists. In fact, it’s been found that procrastination can lead to greater creativity.

By definition, procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. During that inaction, ideas can incubate in the back of one’s mind. Even though physical action isn’t being taken to complete the task, subconsciously you may be thinking about the best way to tackle a project or coming up with different ideas that will make it great.

Procrastination gets negative connotations from those who really wait until the very last minute, leaving little time for creativity. A moderate level of procrastination, however, can give you the time you need to mull things over and unleash your creativity.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Leading like a marine

Sometimes it seems like there are more leadership techniques, books, and mantras than there are boxes of tissues in the world. But there’s one method used by the U.S. Marine Corps that does a good job of covering all the bases of great leadership.

Like many things in the military, the U.S. Marine Corps’ leadership traits can be remembered using an acronym. JJ-DIDTIEBUCKLE stands for: Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Endurance. To the Corps, these are the characteristics that define a good leader. They’re also traits that good business leaders exhibit and how they inspire those around them. These traits can earn you the respect of those you lead and help propel your business forward.  

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

What is collaboration?

I think collaboration is a misunderstood word. There are two definitions for the word. Here is the first:

1.  the action of working with someone to produce or create something.

The second definition is quite different:

2.  traitorous cooperation with an enemy.

How often do we avoid collaboration with a co-worker to do something great (definition #1) because we are concerned that we won’t get credit or don’t want someone else involved (definition #2)?

True collaboration has the goal of creating something great, period. To do that, we have to be vulnerable—to new ideas, to being proven wrong and to sharing the joy of that creation. The only “enemy” involved is us—our pride, selfishness or insecurity that stops us from doing it.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Measured fashion

It’s funny, when business is slow, it’s so tough to pick it up. It takes forever. Things just won’t progress in a measured way. You go for months with no progress. Then…

You have a great success and all of a sudden, you have to deal with a number of issues, because success didn’t come in a measured fashion, either.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Pace

Being an ancient person, I will sometimes remember a great movie from the past and watch it—for a while. Inevitably, I can’t stand watching anymore because it’s slow—the pace in movies decades ago was glacial compared to today. I just don’t have the patience to endure the good in the movie because it will take too long.

I make that same mistake in other areas of my life, expecting things to move at a certain pace and if they don’t, it’s painful. I’ve learned that things will not move or resolve themselves at my pace—and that’s my problem. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

The correct order

I want a raise. A new title. Then I’ll really step up and lead the department/company.

I look at that as being in the wrong order, just as this is:

I want to get married. Have children. Then we can learn if we can fall in love and have a great life.

I love ambitious people, people with dreams. But in business, if you want the new title and trappings, become the person you want to be first. Be the leader. Do the right things. See how it feels. See if it’s really you. If you’re energized, you will achieve what you are looking for, in greater abundance than you expected. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Anticipation

A new car is launched and it has autonomous driving and links with a number of your apps seamlessly.

A new motorcycle is introduced—it runs on electricity.

An online retailer now offers same-day delivery.

None of the above were things I asked for. But I do think they sound like great ideas and very likely, I will join thousands of others and buy-in.

This is the new expectation of the consumer. We expect more than just an order-taker. We expect our suppliers and manufacturers to anticipate and out-think us. We want them to give us great stuff we haven’t thought of.

Whether you are a large or small company, isn’t that what we should do with our clients every day?

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

The game

I love games—baseball and golf are my personal favorites. But I don’t look at what I do for a living or how I get along with the people I work with as a game. I look at what I do as a privilege and a responsibility, similar to that of being a parent.

In a game, you can take the outcome lightly. You play for a while and then you can move on with no strings attached. You don’t take your performance seriously if you’re just playing for fun. You probably don’t try to improve. You just do what you can in the moment. Your score has no real weight on who you are and you can quickly brush it off.

In what we do for a living, we make a statement as to who we are in every transaction, every movement, whether or not anyone sees it. We have people paying us, depending on us and believing in us. It is easy to say that it’s all a game, but I believe the stakes are far higher than that. And, the results of the relationships you grow make it not only meaningful, but also fun. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Different types of customers

In the years we’ve worked with clients, I’ve found two types stand out: 1) the “dance for me” client and 2) the “let’s roll up our sleeves” client.

Dance for me. This client firmly wants you to know that you work for them. They feel their job is primarily to judge your work. If it is successful, they will take great credit because they chose you. It the project falls short, they will lay the blame squarely on you. This client is not a bad person; their product may be excellent, but they draw a clear line between you and them.

Let’s roll up our sleeves. This client is appreciative that you are working with them. They want to make sure everything is done to ensure success, including them playing an active role. If there is success, they share it. If something falls short, they will take more than their share of accountability for it.

Sadly, the Dance for me client will lose out on one thing that the Let’s roll up our sleeves client gets—heart and soul. Sometimes that’s the difference between success and failure. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Have people earn your distrust

The unhappy people I know are the ones talking of conspiracy theories and how someone had an ulterior motive, etc.  They are afraid they will be taken advantage of or they won’t get what they deserve. Some of that may be true, but I find it exhausting.

I have been told I am too gracious—I am not bragging, in fact it may be true. My wife and I have been taken advantage of, like the time a house guest took our car on a joy ride without us knowing—that was cause for concern, but so what?

I prefer to think a person needs to earn my distrust, rather than my trust. It’s an easier life to lead, you have a few disappointments, but they are far outnumbered by the good.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Fun and inspiring

We were in the middle of a presentation sharing our ideas and strategy and were interrupted by one of the dozen or so clients who asked what it would be like to work with us. Great question. We discussed a number of nuances and finished by stating, it should be fun and inspiring, after all.

The clients were stunned and we saw their eyes dart back and forth at each other. We evidently struck a chord:

The client had been looking at the project as a challenge, perhaps a burden and then all of a sudden it occurred to them: Maybe this could be fun and exciting after all.

Sure, most of what we all do is work—that’s why they call it work. But why can’t most of it be fun and inspiring as well?

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Focal point

One thing I’m really working on at our company is focusing on one idea or project at a time. Sounds easy, but it’s the opposite. Seldom does anyone totally immerse themselves into one thing. With all our technology, we are programmed to jump from topic to topic and situation to situation all day long, leaving us exhausted at the end of the day. Only to wake up the next day and start over, rinse and repeat.

I firmly believe if we could shut the world down and focus 100% on the challenge at hand, we would do great work, have more fun and yes, save time.

It is an unachievable dream because yes, things happen—emergencies crop up, kids get sick (and you have to leave for home), etc. But I believe it’s a noble war to wage.

We have little more to show for ourselves other than our relationships and our “work” or results—focusing the best we can will only help.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Dumbed into success

When I hear someone say they “dumbed into” a good situation, I think it’s disappointing. 

While that person may be trying to appear humble, I believe they are losing out on several things.

First of all, success is great and it should be celebrated; it should be enjoyed. Secondly, success can be learned from, because failure should be as well. If we don’t learn from success because we “dumbed into it” are we saying we likewise don’t learn from our failures?

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Genuine

Nobody is perfect, but anyone can be genuine.

Being genuine costs nothing and is priceless. Whether in business, personal relationships or politics, the genuine person benefits no matter how much he or she lacks in brilliance or beauty.

We buy “genuine.” We avoid the person who tries to look good or agree or takes the easiest path. Often, the person who isn’t genuine doesn’t trust that he or she will get their due, but others will sense that distrust and go elsewhere.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Failing good, part III

Being too afraid to fail will lead to avoiding risk, which drastically reduces the number of opportunities available to us. Being overly concerned about risk stifles creativity and prevents us from realizing the big successes that might be on the horizon. Risk-aversion essentially places us in shackles—we can’t move forward, we can’t grow, we can’t live. We are stuck.

Conversely, failure is freeing. When we fail, what we’ve dreaded has happened, but we’re still alive (hopefully). Failure opens up a realm of possibilities for how to move forward—if we have the tenacity to try again.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Failing good, part II

Failure makes us use our imaginations, our creativity, our intelligence to determine what went wrong and make corrections. It can give us crucial feedback that helps us cultivate better attempts at succeeding not only in the area where we failed, but in other areas as well. When we refuse to learn from failures, blame others or blame the circumstances surrounding us, the failure becomes truly futile and immensely frustrating. There are surely times when failure is a result of forces out of our control, but that doesn’t mean the opportunity to learn something from it is lost. It's when we use failures to learn that they become a useful tool for growth.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Failing good, part I

Everyone fails at one time or another. Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts three times. The Beatles were dropped by their record label when first starting out and told they had no future in show business. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Hard to believe these megastars ever had a failure in their lives, but it happens to us all—and we don’t like it. Not in work, not in our personal lives. So hearing that failure can be a good thing sounds bogus…but it has validity.

Oftentimes we fail when we try something the first time. Hitting a baseball on the first pitch, learning to ride a bike, selling a new product to a customer. So knowing that fact, failure should be no big deal, right? Reality is that it’s difficult to realize in the moment that failure is what can lead to success. The sting of failure can take over. But without failing, we would never be driven to reassess how we approach things or learn how to do them better. Improvement would be obsolete and so would we. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

The magic of collective creativity

Several years ago, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull shared his thoughts on how the studio fosters creativity and how, when creating an original product, the initial idea is not the most important element. It is, in fact, the people and culture. As Catmull puts it, it is about preserving the “confluence of forces necessary to create magic.”

That includes the concept that creativity is not a solo act or a single idea, but rather several people from different disciplines working together to solve challenges and creating more than just an initial idea but many other ideas that support it. In the case of a movie, that can be tens of thousands of ideas from hundreds of people. For collective creativity to work, there must be an environment where people support one another. Once you reach that level, you have the foundation for some of the most inspiring creativity.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com