Labyrinth Life Lesson

One of the basic principles that I follow and teach is that "everything we need is 3 feet in front of us."

What I learned recently, however, is that it often requires persistence, faith, and momentum to get what we want, or where we want to be.

I have a beautiful biking route that takes me along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Just beyond the midway point of my route is a retreat center that sits high above the ocean, and there is a spectacular labyrinth made of stones on the retreat center's property. Usually on my Sunday ride, I'll stop and walk the labyrinth.

My mantra for walking the labyrinth is "with this step ...", and with each step I speak to some intention that I'm working on at that time. It's a powerful activity.

On this recent walk, I happened to be paying attention to where I was along the route through the labyrinth, and at one particular point I experienced a very meaningful life lesson.

If you look at my glove in the left of the attached photo, you'll see that I had reached a very critical point in the labyrinth, where I could literally reach out and touch the goal. It seemed that I was "there", that I had made it to my goal.

But, as you look closely at the photo, you'll see that I still had to go around my glove on the right, actually walk away from the goal, and continue walking for some time before I came back around to the goal.

The "labyrinth life lesson" is quite clear - just when you think that your journey is successfully completed, you will likely have to persevere, continuing step by step along the path that will lead you to a positive outcome.

I taught this lesson at a career transition workshop this past week, and all of the participants clearly understood.

So, when you get frustrated that your efforts might not be delivering the desired results, just keep going, step by step.

The Greatest Branding Lesson Ever

He is described as the most popular and most powerful athlete in the history of the world.

His brand is estimated to be worth $1 Billion, generating close to $100 Million annually.

Some of the most prominent brands in the world ... Nike, AT&T, Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture ... have coveted their association with him and with his personal brand.

And, now we know that this brand lacked one very critical element, the element that bonds everything together inside the brand ... authenticity.

"Authentic" is defined as "being actually and exactly what is claimed".

Now we know that this individual, and his brand, were far from being authentic. So far in fact, that ALL other brands, either personal or corporate, will now come under scrutiny and skepticism for what they claim to be. If it could happen to this very popular and powerful individual, as the thinking goes, then what about you and your brand?

So, there's a great lesson and opportunity here, for the brands that really are authentic.

Amidst all of the scrutiny and skepticism, the truly authentic brands have an opportunity to stand tall.

While brands like Tag Heuer cower and ponder their next steps, saying things like "this individual's personal behavior is not a reflection on his stature as an athlete", the authentic brands are letting the world know who they really are.

That's the lesson and opportunity ... we all should do the same.

HOGS - The World's Most Passionate Brand Ambassadors?

I'm back! All that I can say is that getting a new business off the runway is way more than a full-time job. But, I'm loving every second of it.

Check out this photo of a guy that I met last week on the tram at the Atlanta airport.

He was standing next to me in this packed tram, and I quickly observed that he was covered up (as they say in the South) with Harley-Davidson logos ... leather jacket (of course), tee shirt, sweatshirt, belt, ring, boots, and God only knows what else. I passed on the tatoo check.

And look at this guy ... he's a businessman in his late 40's, and it didn't seem out of place to him that he was clad in all of this H-D gear, on a Wednesday morning enroute to Chicago.

When I asked him why he was such a Harley-Davidson brand ambassador, as we were on one of those escalators to the sky that they have at Hartsfield, his whole body seemed to glow with a smile. He told me that he travels extensively in his work, and that his Harley helps him escape from all that craziness.

I began to understand how Harley-Davidson attracts customers from all demographics (from doctors to prison guards, and just about everything in between), and how the brand cultivates passionate, and at times unusual, behavior.

When you land on the Owners page on their website, where they explain in compelling language what the benefits of membership are for the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.), you encounter the following warning ... "But beware: Prolonged exposure may lead to extended periods of uncontrolled euphoria".

Harley-Davidson goes on to explain in their mission statement that "Here's the bottom line: We like to think of Harley-Davidson - from the top corporate officer to the newest Harley owner and rider - as one big, happy family. Their membership slogan is "If everybody could join us, they would".

Once you've made the decision to sign on as a H.O.G. member, you can choose between Full, Associate, or Lifetime membership; and, you can also join a local H.O.G. Chapter. And what would your leather or denim jacket look like without specially designed patches and pins recognizing every possible dimension of H.O.G. membership, including 10 or 25 year service awards?

Today, more than one million H.O.G. members worldwide "share their passion, and show their pride" in the Harley-Davidson brand.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and even some work, on the "brand ambassador" model and its powerful impact on leading brands, and this chance meeting with a H.O.G. member last week has charged me up to learn even more on this topic.

So, help me out here ... tell me, and our group, your story about your best encounters with passionate brand ambassadors. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving.

From the Inside Out

Recently, I came across a line that sums up the essence of branding, whether personal, product or corporate ...

Activate the brand from the inside out.

Sounds simple. Yet, we tend to focus so much more attention on all of the other elements ... packaging, positioning, marketing, advertising, promotion ... how we look, where we are, and how we get to where we want to be.

It's really all about what's going on inside ... whether it be ingredients, values, passion, or process.

Let's start with a brand example that I'm very familiar with ... Titleist.

Titleist's brand positioning is Golf's Symbol of Excellence, and it only works if everything that is done every day by all 5,000 associates worldwide reflects their very best effort at excellence. Titleist associates know that they can never let up on this brand promise, whether it's Monday morning before the first cup of coffee, or late Friday afternoon before a long weekend. They know that there's a duty that comes along with being the most respected brand in golf, and that is the energy that drives the Titleist Brand from the inside out.

Now, let's look at another example ... General Motors.

The business pages have been flooded with articles about GM's repositioning efforts ... selling brands like Hummer and Saab; in and out of bankruptcy; eliminating several hundred executive positions to speed decision-making. Fritz Henderson, GM's new CEO (and 25 year GM veteran), recently said that "business as usual is over at GM ... everyone at GM must realize this and be prepared to change, and fast."

Well, one GM dealer in San Francisco apparently didn't get Fritz's memo. In response to recent reports that GM is investigating an alliance with eBay, this dealer supported the alliance by positioning eBay as a more welcoming venue than the dealer's showroom ... "One of the fears the customer has when they walk in the door is that they are going to pay too much for a car ... if they are negotiating a deal on eBay, from their living room, they are in their comfort level."

So, rather than fix the "showroom showdown", which 99.9% of car shoppers abhor, this dealer supports moving the ugly process to another venue ... eBay.

Makes you wonder whether Fritz and his minions will ever really get it. Why not fix the showroom experience, making it a welcoming environment with a pleasant outcome for the buyer? Oh, they've already tried that with Saturn, and isn't that the brand that they just sold to Roger Penske?

And, how much of a "new direction" (or "GM Reinvention") can we expect when they appoint 77 year-old Bob Lutz to forego retirement and stay to head up Sales and Marketing? Lutz, in a speech at Harvard Business School several years ago, blamed the decline in GM's market share in part to lack of brand loyalty among dealers and car buyers, and inappropriate support of Southern Governors to Japanese automakers. On Friday, I heard Lutz acknowledge in an NPR interview that GM "lost track of quality" in the late 70's, the 80's, and most of the 90's ... which, as the interviewer pointed out, adds up to over 20 years. Lutz's response was mostly "that was then and this is now."

Activate the brand from the inside out ... make it right; make it work; and, make people happy.

How hard is that?

If This Were Your Brand, What Would YOU Do?

Let's take a break from personal branding to look at a real tough branding issue that so many companies are facing, in this New World Order.

Founded in 1907, this legendary retailer quickly set the platinum standard for uncompromising quality, style, product presentation, innovation, and customer service ... resulting in unyielding customer loyalty, and a track record of sales and profitability growth unmatched in the retail segment. Perhaps the only other retail brand in the world that carries the same cache' is Harrods in London.

The brand is Neiman Marcus, the retailer that even Nordstrom looks up to. At least until recently.

The folks who oversee the Neiman Marcus brand have the following picture to look at ... sales for the first three quarters are down 21%; and for this period, NM posted an operating loss of $460.8 million compared to operating earnings of $472.6 million in the prior year. That's a swing of $933.4 million, in one year!

Those folks, by the way, are a long way removed from founder Herbert Marcus and his son Stanley, who guided the company into the 1970's. NM is now owned by two private-equity funds ... TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus LLC ... and these folks tend to have short attention spans and desires for quick profits from their investments.

As they looked at this picture, they decided that they needed a new merchandising strategy. As innovative as Neiman Marcus has historically been, they've probably relied on the same basic merchandising strategy for the past 92 years ... so, shifting to a new strategy has to be a very delicate thing, but you take drastic measures when you're on track to lose well over $500 million this year.

The new strategy? According to The Wall Street Journal (6/12/09), Neiman's new merchandising strategy "will strengthen our position in mid-price goods."

Herbert and Stanley are rolling in their graves, while the new owners are repositioning Neiman Marcus to compete with Macy's. Can you imagine what the folks at Kohl's and Target are thinking? They weren't even on the same planet with Neiman Marcus, but now the gap is narrowing.

And, why are sales and profits down so much at NM, while Nordstrom's sales are down 9% and profits are a respectable $81 million? According to NM's CEO, Burt Tansky, "while customers hadn't questioned our prices in the past, we are sensing a shift in our customer's mind-set."

Welcome, Burt, to the New World Order.

So, if you were Neiman Marcus, what would YOU do? Sit tight, and hope that you can convince enough people to spend $79 for True Religion Medium-Wash Jeans for their "Baby Boy" ... or, do you carry merchandise that your customers could find in their local Macy's store?

In the New World Order, every company has to rethink its strategy. And, after all of the thinking is done, then they have to figure out what they should do.

Let us know what YOU think NM should do.

Brand Transparency ... Do You Have It?

You should.

Why? Because in today's virtual and viral marketplace, "transparency" is the new "integrity".

With everyone having fingertip access to just about anything that they want to know, about a company, about a brand, or about YOU, it's becoming a better competitive strategy to just let it all hang out there, warts and all.

Let's look at a few examples first, and then we'll discuss this a little further.

Starbucks has recently launched a new "Coffee Value & Values" advertising campaign, and in their latest ad called "No Compromise", they promise that "If your coffee isn't perfect, we'll make it over."
http://news.starbucks.com/photo_display.cfm?photo_id=220&view=low_res
That's cool ... Starbucks acknowledging that they're not perfect. And, when you click on these ads, Starbucks asks you for feedback on what you think of their new campaign.

Then there's a new bank called Ally Bank, and their full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal last Friday defines Ally as "a bank that believes banking took a wrong turn somewhere with fees and penalties ... we never hide behind the fine print." When you check them out on their site, they prominently share that they are "built on the foundation of GMAC Financial Services."
http://www.ally.com/ally-story.html
Seems like a bold move to me, since GMAC has been in a hot spot lately, but Ally Bank isn't trying to hide this affiliation.

And, how about the New GM? In full-page ads that started running last week in major publications signed by GM's President & CEO Fritz Henderson, he says that "over the coming days, months and years, we will prove ourselves by being more transparent, more accountable and, above all, more focused on you, our customer." When you check their new site, GM is giving you access to stuff that previously only the members of their Board of Directors would see, including the opportunity to "follow tweets about our progress and day-to-day developments."
http://www.gmreinvention.com/?brandId=gm&src=gm_com&evar24=gm_com_topnavigation
Welcome to the new world of corporate transparency, where you could probably navigate your way to a one-on-one online chat with Fritz himself.

So, what does all of this mean to YOU?

Well first of all, as a consumer you now have extraordinary power literally at your fingertips.

But also, why not employ this strategy yourself, whether you're in a job search campaign or promoting your products or services?

In my view, the appeal of the campaigns from Starbucks, Ally Bank and GM is that they're trying to be brutally honest. This just might be the type of marketplace where buyers are tired of being hammered by claims of "we're the greatest", and they are taking it into their own hands to do the easy research to determine which product to buy or which person to hire.

It may seem awkward to you to willingly reveal some of your "warts", but you have to admit that it's a refreshing approach.

Try it, and share your experiences with the rest of our followers.

Ed. note: If this strategy doesn't work, I'll take it back and give you a better one.

More Signaling Theory ...

Eventually, we'll get into other types of "branding" in this blog, but with six million people unemployed and looking for work, and upteen millions wanting to change what they do, let's stick with personal branding for a while.

So by now, we've made the case that decision-makers are using sophisticated techniques to make better decisions about who to hire, and who not to hire. And, we've also discussed how we can unconsciously, or consciously, assist in this decision-making process by the signals that we send. Like, for example, what we post on our Facebook page.

Let's dig a little deeper, tho, and get more personal about the signals that we send in the job search and interview process.

First, let's consider the absolutely most significant signal that every one of us sends, every day, in every contact in this process ... our ATTITUDE. No sophisticated techniques are required for measuring this aspect of our "package" ... we pretty much wear this on our sleeve, whether we know it or not.

Most people that I've encountered in 19 years of career counseling would rather have multiple root canals than have to conduct a job search ... most people find the job search process to be at best uncomfortable, and at worst demeaning. While I obviously don't feel this way, I do understand this attitude. Unfortunately, however, no one in the world of decision-makers really cares about whether you like it or not.

And, good decision-makers can smell a bad attitude from a mile away. How? ... easy.

We make it easy; consider some of the following clues ...

• We answer the phone "Hello" (unprofessional) , rather than "Good morning, this is Beth Smith" (professional).
• We don't send "thank you" notes to every person who has helped us in any way in the process ... go to vistaprint.com right now and order 100 thank you note cards.
• We fail to "connect" with people because we're so focused on what we want (interview; job) ... so, when someone sends an email saying that they have to reschedule a networking meeting or an interview, do we write back with "OK, no problem" (bad attitude) or "I understand, and I look forward to the opportunity to get together with you soon" (better)?
• When we actually have a networking meeting or an interview, we never demonstrate a genuine interest in the other person, because again we're so focused on what we want ... or even worse, because we believe that we have nothing to offer to that other person ... even a recent graduate of Boston College, for example, has something to offer to the person they're meeting with, since that person may have a son or daughter who desperately wants to go to BC, and appreciates any guidance.
• We say things like "I haven't looked for a job in XX years" ... so what? Have you considered that today's technology (Google, LinkedIn, indeed.com, monster.com, etc.) has made the job search process infinitely more productive and easier than ever before?
• We fail to follow-up persistently, because we take the process so personally ... we over-think every aspect, and most often end up on the down side.

There are lots and lots of ways to ensure that you maintain a good attitude throughout the job search process. One of the most effective is momentum ... activity breeds good outcomes; lack of activity leads to a predictable outcome.

It's definitely your choice.

Please share your thoughts.