The Jordan Philips Marketing Blog - Internal Branding - Employee Engagement

An example for leaders

I want to inspire you in a deeply profound way by showing you a video, but before I do I want to make a comment about what you are about to see. This is a clip from the television series "The West Wing", where Toby Zeigler (the communications director for the White House) addresses his team after one of them leaked a devastating quote to the press. What I find so profound in this clip is this...it's an absolutely perfect example of how leaders can and should be leading people today. It's inspirational, real, and grounds everyone is a single belief, a single value system and engages everyone of his staff members to become part of something bigger than themselves. At the end of the clip, Sam Seaborn (the Deputy Communications Director) says "that was completely unexpected" as if to be surprised that he didn't rip someone's head off. It's so easy as a leader to take the "iron fist" route but truth be told, it might get results, it might satisfy your inner desires to be the "boss", but at the end of the day its leadership like this that builds Brand Champions. If you are in a leadership position, I would ask that you watch this clip, and ask yourself how you could emulate these words and think about how that might help you build a better team. Ask yourself, if you were working for Toby, how would this have affected you?

Finding the "Buy" button (neuroscience good or bad)

Lately I have been looking at a lot of data on neuroscience. I find it extremely interesting, however, I am not convinced it's completely practical yet. Marketers and scientists are very interested in finding the "buy" button that's inside our brains; for obvious reasons. There is just so much we don't know about how the brain works and why people make the choices they do...but they are getting closer.

I guess my question is what happens when they actually do figure it out. What would that mean? How would that change the way marketers position their products? How would that change the way consumers look at brands, messages and products? Their integrity? Would it create a need for consumers to come up with some anti "buy" button counter-warfare thing-a-magig? I don't know. I imagine, for all of the research and effort marketers and scientists put into finding the "buy"button, at it's best, would only be able to slightly influence us into making an actual purchase. I can't imagine opening up a magazine and looking at an ad and being involuntarily moved to stop what I am doing and go down to the mall and buy a specific item. That's a very scary thought. I just don't think it will ever get to that point...and perhaps that's a good thing. For now I am still in control of my brain.

There is a recent interview with Martin Lindstrom (www.martinlindstrom.com) on the Tom Peters blog that many of you might want to check out as well as some other recently published books relating to this topic.

I would also suggest taking a look at True North Performance. They are doing a lot of marketing research into emotions with neuroscience. Created by Dr. Stephen Curtis, his research provides a very unique look into how emotions impact the decision making process from a neuroscientific perspective. www.truenorthperformance.com

Books to look at:

• Buyology - Martin Lindstrom
• Nudge - Richard Thaler
• Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely

Ad Age Headline that Kills Me

I couldn't make it past the headline in this morning's AD Age titled "CMOs annoyed by Ad Agencies, Ad Networks" (http://adage.com/ana08/article?article_id=131857). I did glance down and saw something about a broken agency model. NO SHIT...Really? Why is it that every one knows this except for Ad Agency folks?

The days of traditional advertising are gone. In thier place, CMOs need agencies that have entirely new skillsets. We are living in the time of marketing from the inside out...not the days of old where we would do mediocre creative and the largest possible media buy. GONE GONE GONE are those days. CMOs need agencies who understand the intricate cross-functional demads of changing business from within. You see, marketing has to cozy up with Sales, R&D, HR, IT, Operations, Customers and do it in a way that is retail focused, face to face focused, accountability, event focused and story / experience driven. Forget the old agency models and structures that only support traditional media. 

Wake up C-Level Ad Execs. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Video is Still King...YES I did say that

For anyone who reads this blog, I could see how you might think that I am anti TV, Print, Radio, DM etc...well, to some degree you are right. But it's important to clarify things. I think BAD traditional advertising is a waste of money and when BAD creativity meets BAD medium you have an expensive disaster on your hands. Just turn on your TV...you will see what I mean.

With that being said...I have always thought that Video is King. There is nothing that can tell your story like video. If done right. Maybe the exception is your customers talking to each other; thats pretty good too.

Take a look at this Hyundai Commercial. No fancy graphics, No fancy voice over. No cute little jingle (BTW to all of the car dealers out there...STOP WITH THE $&#^% JINGLES!!!!!!!!)

I think it says enought by itself to make people think. Making people think and is good. Letting them have an inner dialogue (without you SUPER smart marketers telling them what to think) is much better. Almost perfect. Hats off to Initiative Media, Los Angeles for their work.

Optimism...When it really counts

OK…I realize that I am only 37 but I have gone through some hard economic times. The normal ups and downs of the economy…a few recessions (a.k.a. the "R" word) and even a Dot Com bubble here and there. As a business consultant I have worked with a great number of CEOs and CMOs who Zigged and Zagged through what was in front of them. Some making good decisions and some…well…not so much. When times get tough, the cream rises to the top and the gap gets a lot wider between the winners and the losers. This is the time when good decisions count the most and take this from experience, you can't make good decisions without a healthy sense of Optimism.

Here are my 5 tips for keeping your wits about you in hard times.

1. Maintain a Positive Mental Attitude and provide a positive sense of leadership and direction.
   
2. Stay focused on what's most important. Realign your goals and share them throughout the organization.
   
3. Keep everything that's good. This means good employees, good vendors, good customers, good service. Its OK to make cuts but do not and I will say this again, DO NOT sacrifice your quality or your values…not even a little.
   
4. Let your employees be part of the solution. They are creative, and they want to feel that they are somewhat in control of their situation. Let them take ownership and be part of the rescue team. This will also continue to build trust which is so vital in times like this. Beware of low trust actions…there is a real and true economic factor that affects businesses with low trust.
   
5. Find a way to get rid of YOUR stress. Get out and exercise. Set goals and make sure that you are getting enough sleep. Make sure that you are confident in your strategy. I say do these things because people will sniff out the fakers. They are looking for folks like you to be positive leaders who can steer the ship in tough waters. If you say one thing and project another, you are DEAD. So button up yourself and others will follow you.

Final Word:

There are winners and losers. Leadership, vision and execution…that comes…from you, can be the difference maker.

Dan Roam at Google (How to Visualize anything)

I love a quick read and I love Dan Roam's book "The back of the napkin". I highly recommend you check it out and just in case you are curious, you can watch the video below where he was speaking at Google. As someone who was in Ad agency management for a number of years I really appreciate his approach. Its so easy for me to see the connections, as you might take some of these drawings and transfer them into marketing messages or sales presentations with "actual" images. Would be great direction for the photo guys. I might update this post with some of my own attempts. Might be worth a laugh.

More on Turnarounds

Recently I was channel surfing and came across a show on Bravo called "Tabatha's Salon Takeover". I mention this because, in many ways, it reminds me of an older TV show I used to love called "The Turnaround" which was on CNN and hosted by Ali Velshi. For someone like me, who loves business and especially turnaround projects these two shows are spot on.

In watching a couple episodes of "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" I noticed a few common threads between that show, what I often speak on and "The Turnaround".

1. Kick the leadership's ass: Almost always, without exception, the first thing that happens is the host or mentors have to have a heart to heart with the owners / leadership. This is the tough love part. In order for anything to happen, the leadership has to stomach someone from the outside, coming in and just shocking them into reality about what is really going on. It gets ugly sometimes. It hurts. It is gut wrenching. Nobody wants to hear about their short-comings, their failures, or in some cases a total smack down and complete "WTF are you doing here / maybe you should quit" moment. With that being said, however, I have yet to see one of these shows where the leadership didn't come around and acknowledge that change was actually a good thing and that they were better off for it in the long run. This gives me hope, but its a tough and dangerous road to go down. It takes guts and I applaud leaders who can stand up for that and demonstrate their personal strength and openness with everything on the line. They do this because they trust these folks; either that or they are desperate. Sometimes desperate is a good place to be; you do things you normally wouldn't and its the repetition to do the normal / safe thing that often gets leaders in trouble. 
2. Remodel the store: Environment is so important. I can't stress this enough. There are two types of environments. One that is mentally established by the leadership and the other is the actual physical environment. Both of these shows, always has a team of folks come in and completely remodel the entire facility. It's a bold thing to do, however, very few initiatives signal seriousness to your employees and customers like a major remodel. There is an extremely important connection between your facilities and your customers and your employees. It's where they interact. It's where the entire emotion of the very thing you do takes root. It's a secret weapon if you leverage it right.
3. Market your product / service: Usually, all of the companies who participated in these "turn around" projects, weren't doing much for marketing. Their image was mediocre at best and because employee morale was so low there wasn't much energy in anything they did. Believe me, energy is contagious and customers will respond quickly. The mentors, with lots of energy and passion, took these companies through a process of making the marketing obvious inside the stores and then took the team, the employees and the product outside...going to the public...with excitement and passion. This helped them acquire and jazz up new business. I will say it again...ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS. Build it inside and then let it explode to the outside world.
4. Inspire the Employees (Hint...they love the change): With all change management issues, there were some who loved it at first and others who strongly resisted. In either case, the organization has to be committed to moving forward, and that means get on the vision or get on the bus. I will tell you this...you can see how people come to life when you BURN the RULE BOOK, when you lead them with servant leadership, and let them take control and leverage their strengths. Ruling with an iron fist just beats people down. I think this is my favorite part of both of these shows. Seeing how the transformation impacts the employees...I LOVE IT.

A Word On Leadership

I attended a speech this week at the Indiana State SHRM that really made me think about something. I have a lot of experience sitting across from senior level executives, and truth be told, the levels of their leadership varied quite a bit. I have seen the best and the worst.

At the speech, the presenter, said "don't focus on being right all of the time, because every time you are right, you have to make someone else a loser, and nobody wants to feel like a loser". He also did a wonderful job of tying this into your personal life. If, perhaps, you are married and you always have to be "right" to prove something to your spouse, like that you are smarter than them, what you are really doing is making them feel like the loser; and this can really wear them down over time.

So when I thought back to the many leaders I have met over the years, in comparison to this little tid-bit, I had a small Ah-Ha moment. It got me thinking about how leaders who focus more on "always having the RIGHT answer" instead of focusing on "leading" always had workforces who were less engaged. Less engaged workers mean higher turnover, lower profits and unhappy customers. There is nothing "right" about that and it all starts with leadership.

We have all seen them. The type of leader who doesn't want ideas, who doesn't want input, who micromanages, who "tells" you what to do, and of course the leader who is infinitely "smarter" than you. They have to prove their wisdom to you, they have to show you who is in charge.  You know the type.

Now compare that to a "servant leader" who coaches you to the answers...your answers. Who lets you find your way through success and failure, who supports you along the way, but also keeps you in the boundaries of whats acceptable. They do also keep you accountable but more so accountable to yourself and to the values of the organization. It makes you work harder, it makes  you more engaged.

And after all, thats what leadership is all about...leading instead of "always being right".

MindJet (Cool Tool)

For any of you who have to do creative or strategic brainstorming, I highly recommend MindJet. I like to think of it as visio on steroids. I actually have to say that this is one of the more impressive tools I have used in quite a while.

Mindjet is a free flowing program that lets you create a whiteboard of sorts with categories, sub-categories etc, but where this tool really leaves the pack behind is this...you can easily and instantly link to files, websites, images, documents, spreadsheets, contacts...basically anything. This opens up the application to all sorts of wonderful possibilities.

There are a ton of templates that you can us to start your projects. Looking for a creative brief...no problem. A strategic plan...no problem. Its all there ready to go. Plus there looks to be quite an active community behind it as well who are willing to help and creating more templates and pushing the product further ever day. I really like that.

I recommend going out to their website and downloading the trial...you have to try it for your next project.

The Speed of Trust

Maybe it's me but this has been a really strange week: Paris Hilton completely put the smack-down on John McCain (who happens to be running for PRESIDENT) and the Packers traded Brett Favre to the Jets.

For many of you who frequent this blog, you probably know by now, that I am a die-hard Green Bay Packer fan...at least I was. I even lived in Green Bay for a number of years, and as of writing this I only live about 40 minutes from hallowed Lambeau Field. Personally, the thought of Brett Favre not running out of that tunnel opening day is upsetting. Thinking about how much he gave to the Packers and how he was treated is equally unsettling, but it's over and we all have to move forward.

Let me see...Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers...Hmmmmm...What is there to think about? There is no reason, at least any logical reason, you can honestly tell me that they believe that they have a better chance at winning with Rodgers. This issue is about something other than winning. I don't know what it is; maybe ego, but it sure isn't about winning games.

This is a professional blog so I will keep my personal feelings out of this. For those of you who want to imagine this for entertainment sake, Imagine my head exploding and then going off on some kind of Lewis Black inspired rant about how unbelievably stupid Ted Thompson is and the reasons I think he should be fired. This isn't his first bone headed move. But that wouldn't be professional so what I will do instead is compare these recent events with the latest book I am reading (which is pretty darn good) called The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey.

In Stephen Covey's latest book, he talks about the bank account of trust and how high trust environments create dividends / returns while low trust environments create a tax / cost.

If you have been following the Brett Favre circus, it's pretty obvious to see the short comings in most of all of these 13 areas. It's a big tax / cost and I am betting that the Green Bay Packer organization, which is a business, is going to realize a heavy penalty down the road at a later point (maybe already). After all if you are Arron Rodgers and you see them Run Brett Favre out of town and you haven't even won a game yet you have to be wondering how you are going to get treated. Sound a little like a tax...right?

Lets take a look at the 13 principles / behaviors of trust:

1. Talk Straight
2. Demonstrate Respect
3. Create Transparency
4. Right Wrongs
5. Show Loyalty
6. Deliver Results
7. Get Better
8. Confront Reality
9. Clarify Expectations
10. Practice Accountability
11. Listen First
12. Keep Commitments
13. Extend Trust

Now...ask yourself how you think the Green Bay Packer organization handled this in the Media. I am not claiming to know what happened behind closed doors, however, as a long time fan and someone who was paying close attention, I don't think it's too hard to draw an opinion.

When organizations lose trust, it cost them a lot. I know this because as a consultant, I see it quite often. It's my job to get inside companies and understand what's really going on. On many occasions I have heard how executives believe they have an organization full with trust but when we get down to the front line or mid manager level, it's completely the opposite. Sometimes, the customers don't even trust you. Bottom line is many C-Level executives have no idea how distrusting their people are of them because they don't adhere to these simple 13 principles...and it's costing them dearly while they live in their own little worlds. I used to be a CEO, I still have a membership card to that little happy place.

Low trust organizations will find it harder to attract top tier talent (or lets say athletes), employees go about their work with less passion, less commitment, there is significantly higher turnover, lower sales, a lower level of customer service, lower profit margins, etc. and I could keep going.

Ask yourself this: have you ever worked for an organization you didn't trust...or perhaps a boss you didn't trust? How did that affect the way you went about your work? How did that affect the results you delivered? Did you notice that distrust spread through the organization like a wildfire? Yes...there is indeed a tax and a cost to low trust environments.

If you are a C-Level executive who "thinks" you have a high trust environment, all I am saying is you better double check.

UPDATE #1: Go out to YouTube and take a look at the difference in tone between The Packers and the Jets in their press conferences. They are very telling. One team thinks it's Christmas and the other...not so much.

UPDATE #2: I was reading in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal about the heckling of Aaron Rodgers and how it's really out of control. On and off the field folks are walking up to him saying F.U. and young kids are swearing at him. That's a horrible situation. He didn't create this situation, he didn't make any decisions about Brett Favre, so please take that into consideration.