January 2007        •       www.visionsmc.com       •        410-849-8095   

 Editor's Note

Happy New Year!

Several years ago, I gave up on New Year's resolutions. Yup. Just threw them out the window. Ooooh. Doesn't that sound illicit, gluttonous, immoral, wanton, and ... fun?

Well, my process is fun, but it isn't as depraved as it sounds. Actually, I make resolutions all year long, not just at New Year's. And this is how I do it.

When I taught Outward Bound after college, I had to take a course as a prerequisite. Our instructor had read the just-published Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and introduced to us the concept of the four dimensions of renewal-sharpening the saw physically, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally.

Around the same time, I also read Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth which states, "If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living."

Both of these sounded pretty good to me, so my philosophy has been to follow my bliss and be on my "growth edge" on as many fronts as possible, understanding that it's a bit of a stretch to be on a real growth edge on all four fronts at the same time.

Whenever life is feeling a bit dull or flat, I realize I'm not challenging myself on enough growth edges. So, I pick one or two and get busy. Sometimes life just throws the edges at you-you don't need to look for them. No matter how I get on the edge, I find I'm having fun-I'm challenged, excited, and happy.

What does this have to do with marketing? Embracing this philosophy has always led me to have jobs that I have truly enjoyed. And loving what you do is crucial to successful marketing for several specific reasons. This newsletter discusses that in detail.

So, I hope that if you do make New Year's resolutions, you will resolve to be happier in what you do!

Molly Hughes Wilmer   

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 Feature

Be the Brand: Loving What You Do

David Sedaris, according to his own telling, was an awful elf at Macy's. He hated it, and the kids knew it. However, he was so great at telling a story about it that it launched his career as a very successful international satirist and commentator.

Sedaris did not fit into the Macy's elf culture. While trying to fit, all he could see was the ridiculousness of it. Other elves saw a touching holiday moment between child and fantasy. Sedaris saw snotty noses, self-absorbed parents and fellow elves acting like fools.

It's no secret: if you like what you do, you're better at what you do. If you love what you do, you're likely to be very successful at it. Thoreau recommends, "Do what you love. Know your bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still." An earlier newsletter discussed Jim Collins' theory of focusing on "what you can be the best in the world at" from his book Good to Great.

When it comes to marketing, it's important to understand that the people within your organization are the brand (David Sedaris was not!), and having the right people is an essential component of brand success.

A brand is not an assortment of impersonal brand elements. A strong brand is an experience of multiple brand elements that are created and executed by people who believe in the brand. If those people don't embody your brand, the brand experience will fall flat and fail.

Your corporate culture needs to rally around the brand because everyone is involved in delivering the brand. If these people are unhappy and forcing themselves to comply, their effort will fall short, eroding the brand and leading others to question the brand. Everyone needs to agree with, identify with, and be happy embodying the brand.

And yes, everyone is involved. It's obvious that the people who interact directly with your audience, by answering the phones, delivering your product or service, or dealing with returns or customer service calls should be able to embody the brand. Those who act indirectly should also embody the brand; their product design, marketing copy, systems engineering all create a framework for the brand. And those that don't think they interact at all, such as human resources and accounting, are supporting those that do, and need to respect the value that all bring to delivering the brand.

It's simple: The people must be the brand. To be the brand, they must love what they do.

What Can You Do? There are four essential steps: First, as a leader, you must be happy and enjoy what you are doing, and the organization you are doing it for. Second, you must create an environment where the people that are happy can succeed: "In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it: they must not do too much of it: and they must have a sense of success in it-not a doubtful sense, such as needs some testimony of others for its confirmation, but a sure sense, or rather knowledge, that so much work has been done well, and fruitfully done, whatever the world may say or think about it." W.H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden Third, you need to help the unhappy people become happy-either with a different position within your organization, or by firing the miserable Macy's elf. It could be the best thing you ever do for them. And finally, you need to begin to recruit the people that will be happy within your organization: "Skilled work, of no matter what kinds, is only done well by those who take a certain pleasure in it, quite apart from its utility, either to themselves in earning a living or to the world though its outcome."-Bertrand Russell

Ask the Expert Question Does being the brand mean not questioning the brand? Are you recommending a cult-like environment? Answer There have been cult-like brands, but they don't last very long. As Percy Bridgman said, "There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea." The success of a long-term brand depends upon innovation, change and evolution. All questioning, criticism, and changes should be brought forward with the brand's best interests in mind, not with the goal of undermining the brand. A strong brand culture should trust the team players to be working with the good of the brand in mind, and welcome their efforts to improve it. Submit your questions to the editor: molly@visionsmc.com

 Want to Know More?

In addition to adopting or creating a personal philosophy to stay motivated and moving forward, there are many career books out there to help figure out which career tracks are most suitable. One that uses the Myers-Briggs test to match career to personality is Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type.

© Molly Hughes Wilmer, Vision Strategic Marketing & Communications, 2006. All rights reserved.

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