Thoughtful leadership and marketing

A country that wants it bigger, better, faster, and stronger

Years ago, I was shopping in a crowded market in Hong Kong with a business friend. We were trying to pay for something at the exact same time another person was attempting to pay. I didn’t think we were being overly aggressive maneuvering in line, but perhaps we could have been more gracious.

The local citizen suddenly became angry with us and shouted, “You Americans are all the same; bigger, better, faster, and stronger. You want it all right now.” 

I’ve been accused of a lot worse things. After our initial fear wore off, we were proud. Bigger, better, faster, and stronger became a sort of business mantra. It is a more testosterone-driven way to make the case for continuous improvement, which is one of the best mantras you can apply to most of what you do.

Why not change the brand tagline?

I received a nice note the other day from a former business associate (circa 1987) thanking me for providing “a great starting point” in her career. She even quoted from one of our taglines from 20 years ago that she said served her well: To be innovative is risky, but not to innovate is even riskier.

Much like my former associate, my adult daughter recently used the same tagline/quote in her law school entrance paper. She recalled it from her childhood years with an over-zealous father.
 
Oddly enough, our company had stopped using that tagline simply because, after years of use, it had grown old to us. Just about the time the public was starting to really understand the tagline and associate it with our brand, the brand team grew weary of it after reading and hearing the tagline a million times in our own corporate communications, marketing media, and sales presentations. So they dropped it and changed to something new.

Changes like these can be a natural progression, as everyone wishes to make their own mark on the company they work for—often by changing the tagline. Sometimes, the tagline should be changed, as the company has evolved. But more often than not, it is change for the sake of change.

If you watch the very best marketers, you will see they keep their own egos in check. They retain the original brand equity by updating the image and messages, but not starting over. They capitalize on the brand’s history to make the brand personality or product identity even more meaningful and memorable to the public. Done right, it is the ultimate act of brand building.  

They yell at the best

When I was younger, participating in the drama of athletic competition, I would notice that no matter the sport or the coach, the better I played, the more attention I drew from the coaches. Unfortunately, many coaches showed their attention by yelling at me, but it was attention nonetheless. The more they yelled, either their approval or disapproval, I viewed their attention as music to my ears.

Those in charge don’t spend an inordinate amount of time working with their weakest athletes or business leaders. Just the opposite. The more value a coach or leader sees in an athlete or a promising associate, the more attention they give them. In fact, in business, because promising associates are on the front lines trying new things and oftentimes making mistakes, they are going to get an inordinate amount of personal attention from the leader. Business associates should view that attention from the boss as the highest possible form of flattery. It is a sure-fire sign that they are performing their jobs correctly. 

So be grateful and pay special attention when the boss gets “on your case.” It is a sign you are a high performer whose service is highly valued. The time to worry is when you hear silence. That means the coach or leader has moved on to developing talent elsewhere. 

Leaders must surround themselves with fearless people

It is critical that leaders surround themselves with people who are willing to tell the truth. You don’t need people who blindly march in lock step—mostly because those people are easy to come by and you probably already have enough. You need people who give you diverse and honest opinions so you can make good directional decisions.

In January, I asked my financial guru to adjust the stock portion of my portfolio to reflect a more defensive position, in which we stop investing in banks and put our money in things that people need to survive in a recession, like food! 

My straight-talking financial advisor told me, “Yes, indeed, had we done that back in October we would have minimized the losses from the stock market drop. But, Ralph, if you do it after a 40% drop, in which banks were the hardest hit, you will not participate when, or if, the banking stocks stage a comeback.” 

I stuck to my food strategy. I thought to myself, If he’s so smart, he would have had me out of the market back in October, before the 40% drop. 

So in April, he returns and fearlessly demonstrates to me the results of my actions, that had I stayed in the banking stocks in January through April, I would have done better with his bank strategy than my food strategy. A leader must encourage people who keep standing up with a different thought than your own. And this time I took his advice.

Sometimes it is natural for leaders to develop reputations for wanting to do things their own way.  Telling stories that praise the people who doggedly confront you and are still alive collecting a check is the best way to encourage more people to stand up and tell you what they really think. Thus allowing the leader to receive the greatest benefit from their people’s knowledge and insights—which is probably the reason you hired them in the first place.

Which leadership style would you choose: Intimidating or gentle giant?

Some leaders believe the best way to lead is through intimidation. They use their position of power to strike fear in the hearts of those who work for them, incorrectly believing that this is the surest way to accomplish the leader’s wants and needs.
 
Consider this example of leadership: My new cycling friend Gerry is an imposing figure and among the top cyclists I have ridden with. He towers over my average-size frame and weighs 200-plus pounds.  He could be a physically intimidating leader by his size and power alone, but instead he is the gentle giant. 

In a cycling peleton (a small group of cyclists that share the work), you take turns as the lead cyclist cutting through the wind, which takes great effort by the lead rider. When the lead rider begins to tire, the rider behind him, who has been resting while the lead cyclist does all the work, must be careful to come around slowly or the rider being passed will have difficulty staying in his draft.
 
With Gerry’s cycling prowess he could make it painful on the rider he is passing, something that is sometimes done without correctly judging your own superior rested strength, or it is done intentionally to dish out a little pain (boys will be boys).
 
But the gentle giant, who potentially could dish out the most pain because of his superior ability, comes around the lead rider at an extremely slow pace so as not to cause any extra work or pain for the tired, retiring lead cyclist.

The gentle giant performs other acts of kindness. He gives a friendly wave to any vehicle that passes the peleton and leaves a safe cushion of space between the cyclists and the vehicle. The gentle giant doesn’t just wave occasionally at vehicles, he waves each time he sees an act of kindness. It is his way of promoting safe cycling and saying “thank you.”

Intimidating leaders in the business world seldom have the time for random acts of kindness. They mistakenly believe that kindness might be confused with weakness.

If you lead by fear, it is difficult to get people to take risks and attempt great things. Turnover is high and great accomplishments will be rare. However, if you lead by creating an environment where people feel free to take risks and do their best, your leadership will create a more profitable company. Over time, leading by fear takes greater energy and a personal toll on your physical body, whereas, leading with acts of kindness, is a far more relaxing way to lead. Your choice, you can be the intimidating tyrant or the gentle giant. Which will allow you to accomplish more?

You can be the sponge. Or you can be overly sensitive and miss the message.

I’ve been helping a public speaker with his presentation skills. And it occurred to me that he is motivating me to take him to a higher level, as much, if not more than I am helping him improve his presentation skills.
 
I have identified the reason why I get so high and work so hard to make him better. My public speaker is a thirsty sponge that listens intently to my advice and then takes my direction and improves his skills—and his income. He is a pleasure to lead and the reason I love leadership. 

A big part of leading people is demonstrating to them how they can improve what they are currently doing, which by its nature is a mild, unintended, and often understated rebuke of the way they are currently performing.

Teaching people that it’s necessary to continuously improve is an essential task of a leader. Sadly, some people can’t handle any form of perceived criticism, even when the leader is trying to move them to a higher level. They shut down, take comments as a personal attack, and they miss the real message.
 
But not my public speaker. He is a sponge. He sucks it all up and encourages more analysis of his work.  And then he uses it to improve himself and his presentation.

You can be the sponge. Or you can be overly sensitive and miss the message.

You are more of an expert if you're not in your hometown

I was in Spain recently and took a guided tour of the Royal Palace in Madrid. The tour guide kept proudly emphasizing how Italian painters did the painting on the ceilings and most of the walls. You would think that Spain would have showcased their own talent a little better.

In the business world, it is often said, “You are an expert fifty miles from your hometown.” That statement illustrates an incorrect perception in the world that things are better if they come from far away locations. It is perceived by the locals that the painters must be good; after all they came all the way from Italy. It is as if locals oftentimes think, People I work with everyday are just like me, and so they couldn’t possibly be great painters or architects. I will go to a far away place and bring back the very best that must somehow be better.

I confess my company, located in a small U.S. city, benefited from this phenomenon for years. We noticed early on that potential clients perceived that our special niche just wasn’t available in their area. We capitalized on it by highlighting our remote location prominently in our promotional material.

Conversely, we became miffed when the few Fortune 500 companies in our hometown, went to agencies outside our city to obtain the same services we were offering to some of the best-known brands in America. Much like the Spanish hiring fine Italian painters for their palace ceilings. I’ve got to believe there are people from Spain who can lie on their backs and paint incredible scenes on a ceiling. But it just doesn’t have the same panache when you are in Spain.

Winning is easy—losing is hard work

This past season, the Green Bay Packers had a losing season. What followed was a lot of infighting on their football team. Guys on the same team publicly blaming each other in various media for mistakes that contributed to the Packers’ losses. Here's one example of the blame game, an article from the Wisconsin State Journal.

Being on a winning team is easy, in sports or in business. The money flows and everything you do works brilliantly. Clients that are considering a new initiative go forward and give you the work. Prospects that are on the fence magically fall your way. New clients suddenly appear at your door almost magically. And, if something doesn’t work, you are bringing in enough money to easily cover your losses. There is no internal finger pointing. It is one big happy family. The biggest management challenge is figuring out how to distribute the profits to deserving associates. What a great job.

Losing, on the other hand, is damned hard work. You are often handed one close and crushing defeat after another. It is not as much fun to come to work as when you are winning.  Self-doubt creeps into your everyday work. Your biggest client is bought out by a cost-cutting, multinational behemoth that isn’t fond of whatever it happens to be that you are selling and loves to slash budgets. Frustrated, like the Packers, you are tempted to look at other members of your team, thinking they must not be doing their jobs, because it is not your fault the team is losing; you are trying as hard as you can.

It takes guts to lose and keep coming to work and fighting for survival. Team members at a losing company must work extra hard to retain their confidence and composure and keep working to bring in new business. Potential clients can sense fear and self-doubt. You must remain confident and cocky and keep thinking about how to move forward smarter. Otherwise, you’ll end up like the Green Bay Packers and your troubles will be splashed all over the media.

Thoughtful leaders create manifestos for change within their organizations that they repeat often

I used to naively think that once I had identified a challenge within my company, all I needed to do was determine the solution, proclaim the new direction, and all would be right with the world. If only it were so; the world would be an easy place to manage. Management is damn hard work.  And sometimes a tad tedious.

Truth is, when you proclaim the new direction that will solve your company’s problems nobody cares much except you. Most people don’t like change and are perfectly content to continue doing things the way they have always done them.  They are comfortable and they certainly don’t need you telling them how to do something faster, smarter, or better.

Most importantly, get it out of your management head that you only need to say something once and it will be so. You’ve got to keep repeating and teaching the message over and over again until everyone understands it. Preferably tell it with an interesting and memorable story, as it will contribute positively to the learning process.

Give your message through more than one channel.  Some people do learn from email messages, while most others learn best from direct, personal communication.

Thoughtful leaders are evangelical and create manifestos for change within their organizations that they repeat often. Experts in teaching and communicating tell us that if we do everything well our audience will understand 30% of what we say.  Sad but true.  I’m no math wizard, but I think that means you’ve got to tell the story many more times before they get it. 

Let people feel they are the most important part of your life when you are together

My daughter sent me a text message the other night when she was out to dinner with friends and she called me “Hon.” She never calls me Hon, so I knew she messed up.  Quality multi-tasking is an oxymoron.  You can’t simultaneously do justice to a conversation with friends while text messaging others.

One of the highest compliments leaders can make to their troops is to demonstrate extreme interest in what each person has to contribute to the enterprise. In the “old days,” a way to demonstrate interest occurred when the leader and an associate were in the leader’s office and the phone rang. The thoughtful leader didn’t answer the phone; instead he remained focused on the associate and what the associate had to say.

Today, the opportunity happens more frequently when they are together and the text message rumbles. Ignoring the ring or the rumble says, I value whatever it is you are telling me and I am going to remain focused on you and what you want to share with me during our time together. It not only empowers the associate, but the troops are closest to the action with the best bottom-up ideas—so a thoughtful (and smart) leader listens intently for content. 

Answering the phone or reading a text message sends all the wrong messages to your associate. It says, My time is so valuable that I’m going to take time away from you, and what you were excited to convey to me, to deal with a different issue (that might be as mundane as an ad message from my car dealer about a potential lube job).

Our actions speak far louder than anything we say. Ignoring a text message or a phone call that arrives in the presence of associates is an opportunity to demonstrate to people you work with (and play with) what is important in your life.  The next time you have a perceived interruption via text or phone, view it as an opportunity to show people how much you value and appreciate their thinking and time.  And listen closely, as it might be the next big idea in your business or personal life.