When company values kill brand value
“Values are key to company culture, but when customers can see through your walls they become your brand, too.” - Josh Levine
Values are key to company culture, but when customers can see through your walls they become your brand, too.
Josh Levine on Forbes.com makes the observation that it’s easy to tell when a company talks to it’s customers in a way that’s contrary to to their culture. The key to aligning that story is with useful company values that employees can understand and work with.
In my own experience of brands that are disconnected from their people, it’s always a losing game. Employees are dissatisfied and customers can tell something smells. The customer experience is the sum of all parts.
Why the best advertising in history will always be made by CEOs
The brands that outperform all competitors in their market always have one and the same thing in common: they are led by boardrooms who truly, deeply love the brand they are responsible for.
A poster from the iconic Apple “Think Different” campaign.
This is a good opinion piece from The Drum which points out that great advertising and memorable brands are intrinsically linked with the CEOs who love them.
If you want to make a name for yourself, work out how to make your CEO famous.
The Drum has an email signup, but they’re not pushy about it ;)
Maintenance vs Innovation
Calen Cole at Stripe Partners does a neat blog post about the Festival of Maintenance and the roles of maintenance and innovation.
“Creativity and maintenance go hand in hand. And in a mature ecosystem as much energy goes to maintenance as goes to creativity.”
Calen Cole at Stripe Partners does a neat blog post about the Festival of Maintenance. He quotes Alex so you know it must be good ;)
Definitely worth a read if you’re passionate about innovation.
“The Festival as a whole was a provocative and eye-opening experience. It was also a strange experience – after all, Stripe Partners specialises in innovation. We spend our time and effort doing the research, ideation and facilitation that produce innovation that works. Our work is nearly always focused on new offerings, new markets, new consumer groups.
The Festival got me thinking: are maintenance and innovation necessarily antagonistic?”
Innovation obstacles and their simple solutions
What are the most common barriers to innovation in large companies? According to a survey of 270 corporate leaders they are: politics, turf wars, and a lack of alignment; cultural issues; inability to act on signals crucial to the future of the business; lack of budget; and lack of the right strategy or vision — in that order.
Scott Kirsner writes in the Harvard Business Review about a study done for Innovation Leader about the obstacles innovation faces in large businesses.
On one hand CEO's are happily not to blame, but on the other internal politics, turf wars and a lack of alignment are a monster cited by 55% of the study.
Three things got my attention in the study and the feelings of the respondents.
Firstly, it was the simple inability of large businesses to react to market changes. Large businesses can lack structures or processes to test or attempt effective action. It means innovation never moves past the knowledge that something needs to be done, or a well-meaning strategic PowerPoint presentation.
“...what mechanisms exist to set up collaborations with outside vendors or startups, or run a quick pilot test with a function or business unit? Too many companies wait for the annual strategic off-site to roll around before they address the changing dynamics of their market.”
Then the need to influence corporate culture and create an inclusive innovation story can't be underestimated. 45% of respondents blamed cultural issues for a lack of innovation which is remarkable for such a poorly defined aspect of our working lives.
I'd argue that it's a side-effect of positive innovation actions that failed or were dropped too quickly after people invested their reputations or energy into them. Few things reinforce a feeling of inertia more than I-told-you-so disappointment.
Few things infuse a culture with self-belief better than turning ideas into reality, even if they aren't perfect every time. Start-ups disrupt with action, not perfection.
Kirsner's final point cuts to the chase and is brilliantly simple, "long-term commitment is essential".
“Corporate cultures reject many new initiatives if people believe they are the flavor-of-the-month. When CEOs and other leaders talk about innovation, they need to make it clear it will be more like a daily exercise regimen — part of the way things are done here, from now on — than a magical incantation that delivers instant results.”
Experience is everything
A wonderfully in-depth study about the future of customer experience by PwC.
PwC have a great study about the value of customer experience. Definitely worth a read.
“Good customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated; it minimizes friction, maximizes efficiency and maintains a human element.”