Humanizing Brands
“Jobs aren’t big enough for people.”
— Studs Terkel
With an audience of about 100 digital agency founders and owners, there were a number of things I could speak on. I leaned into the four major themes that have been on my mind lately — the nature of work, capitalism, leadership and of course branding — showcasing how they relate and are connected to one another.
The nature of work
There is a crisis of meaning which was presciently captured in Studs Terkel’s book and subsequent play Working (1974).
It’s no surprise the Great Resignation happened — the office has been empty all along. In 2004, Steven Covey published The 8th Habit. In it he writes about a poll of 23,000 employees across different industries and organizations.
Here’s what the poll found out:
Mr. Covey continues with a simple metaphor. He says, “If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.”
Capitalism
We are in midst of a paradigm shift from shareholder capitalism, as has been defined by the Milton Friedman doctrine, to stakeholder capitalism, where profit is not the sole purpose of a business, but instead the by-product of a successful one.
Marc Benioff from Salesforce articulates his frustration with shareholder capitalism:
Through the old lens, it’s easy to conclude that capitalism is evil, but those who recognize its potential to be dangerously effective in shaping the future are the ones who will do it.
Corporate brands have the structure, the finances and the ingenuity to solve humanity’s biggest challenges. This is the real power of capitalism. It fosters innovation. It’s what business does best.
Gather your workforce around solving a big problem and you have work that has meaning.
Leadership
Seeing the potential is one thing, reaching it however requires clarity and action. Too often leaders experience what Edwin H. Friedman calls “A Failure of Nerve.”
Looking from the macro scale, it begs the question:
“What role should our companies play in the massive social issues of our day?”
Someone needs to lead, and we can all agree that our governments are much more dysfunctional than we are comfortable with.
Branding
Corporate brands have the means to create positive change, however that potential often gets trampled and lost in strategy decks. Too often when onboarding a brand client, we come across old archived presentation decks. The story is always the same, pulled apart by committees, left to gather dust. Layers upon layers of research, mountains of data everywhere you turn.
I’m a big believer in the art of sacrifice. Boil down why the brand exists at the core, then build a plan around that truth. The alternative is continued stumbling across a hoarder house quarter to quarter, wondering why budgets keep getting cut.
This is why branding is so crucial. It’s not about a marketing campaign, but articulating why you exist in a marketplace. And that truth is key to connecting with your audience on a deeper level. A truth you can’t just speak, but must act on.
It’s the reason why we start client conversations by asking this question:
Can you state the goal of your company, without using numbers or dollar signs?
Uncertainty will continue to grow
As these four major themes continue to shift, the level of uncertainty in the marketplace will only continue to grow. The need to ground your brand and its stewards will continue to become even more important than ever.
Neither data nor analytics will be your saving grace. If you don’t know who you are or why you matter, neither will they.
What should really concern you is how this impacts everything. The talent you attract, the talent you keep, workforce productivity, margins, the level of effort it takes to attract customers and to keep them, and ultimately, your bottom line.
This is why we created the Be Meaningful podcast, to spark a conversation and reveal the potential a brand has when all the noise is stripped away. We’d love to have you as a guest, you’ll enjoy the conversation and walk away with a refreshed perspective about your brand; reach out.
A huge thank you to Tom Beck and the team at SoDA for having me, as well as my good friends at Pagely for getting me over there.
Thanks for taking the few minutes to read my thoughts. Tell me what you think below, and hit me up on Twitter.
