Recognition

Recognition is critical in all kinds of relationships. In business, it usually means a person is called out for a good performance in front of the company or they get a promotion.

The most meaningful kind of recognition is the kind that is not very public, not very formal and seldom ends up with a new title or salary.

It's the day-to-day acknowledgment of what a person is really good at. It requires an interruption of whatever is going on and actually stopping and remarking on that. Much of the time this doesn't happen because it's a hassle or seems unneeded.

But it is needed. It will change an underutilized person into a star or an insecure person into a confident one.

Recognize, see what a person just did well or always does well. After you do it, see if it really was a waste. I'm betting you'll recognize it wasn't.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

Protecting the brand

Company acquisitions happen every day. We usually only hear about the big ones like American Airlines buying US Airways, Fiat buying Chrysler and Kraft buying Cadbury, but lesser-known companies are bought and sold all the time. As smaller companies become part of larger holding companies or investment firms, they run the risk of losing their luster, along with their brand equity. In the face of competitive and consolidating markets, protecting brand value is more important now than ever before.

Protecting a brand is how you build long-term value in a business. It goes beyond the tangible assets, the bricks and mortar, of a company to something that translates to so much more. It’s a fact that companies with well-known brands can sell their products at a much higher margin. The greater a brand’s equity, the larger the value at which a company can sell its products. And the greater the value of the brand, the greater the value of the entire company.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com

What's the idea?

There’s a lot of idea generation going on in the world today. Some ideas end up changing life as we know it. Others never make it off the ground. The process for coming up with those ideas is widely varied. Alex Osborn popularized the term brainstorming in his 1953 book Applied Imagination. While he established rules to follow during brainstorming sessions, there’s really no one right way to do it. There are hundreds of different idea generation techniques you can use. And sometimes applying several different techniques to a particular challenge can yield the greatest results.

One of the most important elements of a successful brainstorming session is to have fun. There’s nothing more cringe-inducing than a brainstorming session where you could hear a pin drop and the energy level is non-existent. Make up your own brainstorming technique or use one that already exists, but by all means, have fun when you’re doing it. The next great idea is just around the corner. 

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com