The Engaging Brand

Show 277 - Beating the commodity trap in marketing

Show 277 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days 

Today I talk with Richard D'Aveni one of the top 50 thinkers, who has written a marketing strategy book called Beating the Commodity Trap We discuss

• Do commodities make markets honest?
• What are the positive aspects of commodities?
• How do you recognise as a marketing department when your product/service is becoming a commodity?
• The effect of retailers on creating a commodity.
• 3 forms of commodity traps
• Is profitability or market share growth your marketing aim?
• How to succeed in beating a commodity trap

Don't forget to subcribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

What brings life...to life

Engagement grows through the little details in life. It is not the present, it is the level of thought...it is not who is there at Christmas, it is how much you care about the people there....

Life is a general concept. We are born, we die....what happens in between depends on us. When you look back at the happiest times in your life, it is not the generalities that matter...it is the details, the little touches that made it so special.

We know this in our personal lives, and the people who succeed at work realise

• It is not what you offer as a boss, it is what you offer as a person
• It is not what you offer product wise, it is what you offer experience wise
• It is not what you say you will do that matters, it is what you actually do

It is not what you say or do, it is of course...how you made them feel

Show 276 - Am I the only sane one working here

Show 276 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days 

In tonight's show I talk with Al Bernstein about how to survive office insanity! How I wish I had read this book - Am I the only sane one working here - 20 years ago!

Today we discuss

• How we need to think about the context not just the content of our conversations at work
• How to handle control freak bosses
• How too much honesty is not always a good thing
• How to handle a micro manager
• How to handle a political animal
• The best way to get someone to change behaviour
• The importance of self awareness
• How to handle team members with no people skills
• The problem with offices and people working together

Don't forget to subcribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

What is the season to be J.O.L.L.Y?

So it is the season to be jolly then! The holidays for me is also a time for reflection, reflection in so many ways is fuel to the heart, mind and soul. Reflection is so often missed in our hectic lives...and yet we need to reflect to learn and grow. If it is the season to be jolly, here are my reflections on what JOLLY could stand for...and what we could use a base for living all year round.

J = Join with others and realise that really at the very heart of all things great is the power of belonging and of love. (Even soppy things are true you know!)

O = Offer to others the precious gifts that money can't buy....time and respect....no other investment will have such a big return in the long run.

L = Learn to listen and revel in the stories of others. Stories can turn facts into magical experiences.

L = Learn to enjoy what you have and think about what you can give to others...the journey is so much better when you take in the view

Y = Your legacy will be the footprints you leave each day in the world. Do your footprints squash people or lead them to a better life?

Are you on the road to nowhere?

Today I was coaching a great young talent who had lost a little direction and who said

"I am working really hard and not getting anywhere"

I asked

"And where is it you want to go?"

They answered

"I am not sure" He smiled at that point and said "So I may well be there!"

When we live busy lives, whether we are working on a brand, in social media, on our own development.....you must have that dream of what success will look like.

Success may have different definitions to different people, or even during your life you may evolve what is truly important to you. It is not what it is, it is what it means to you.

The evolution is part of life's journey, but the journey is only inspiring if it leads to your dream.

 

Show 275 - How to stay younger and feel sharper

Show 275 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days 

Tonights show helps us to keep our brain 'thinking young' and retain that youthful  enthusiasm for life. I talk with Chris Middleton of Futures Coaching who has written a  personal development book called You can be as young as you think. We talk about

• Why we lose the wisdom of youth as we grow older?
• How society has changed from wanting to be like your parent, to wanting to be like your child.
• Are there good aspects of growing older?
• The distinction between ageing and maturity.
• What is adaptive navigation?
• How to get out of a rut
• How changing habits can change perspective
• Plan your life as if you don't have much to lose
• Why living to the future is better than living in the past
• How people can be a blood supply to your brain
• The need for reflection

Don't forget to subcribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

What makes a person charismatic?

I was thinking today about how lucky I am, having been surrounded all my life by charismatic people. My good old Dad, three influential bosses and people I work with now. It made me wonder - what creates charisma, what made them charismatic?

• They were empathetic. They spoke to you as a person not as a 'role' They saw the whole person not just the work person
• They talked passionately about the future and what we would create...not what had gone wrong
• They shared freely - mistakes, learnings, thoughts, aims, information.
• They gave credit to the people around them. They didn't seek praise, they sought success through those around them.
• They were positive and saw the good rather than the bad.
• They were emotional....not in a bad way, in a good way. They knew that a smile a day kept boredom away!
• They were accessible for those around them.
• They kept things simple and clear. I knew what they wanted and what they didn't want from me.
• They had energy. Energy in wanting to learn, energy from living the dream, energy to keep striving that little bit further in their passion.
• They set the standard that they wanted to see in others.
• They were human. They didn't hide from their mistakes or blamed others...they understand themselves fully.
• They were honest with giving feedback and always constructive
• They believed in what they were doing. Work was not a job, work was a way of delivering their legacy.
• They accepted risk as a way of moving forward. Risk was a good thing, it meant that you were striving for more...

Charismatic people deliver the unexpected. They shock in a good way because they always think about their impact on others and how they can bring out the good in people. Charisma is not something that can be bought, it is something which grows from inside, from the passion to create a better world.

Show 274 - How to succeed as an entrepreneur

Show 274 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days

Today I talk to David Ingram who has just written 15 Bedtime Stories That Keep Entrepreneurs Awake at Night. We discuss

• How to fight boredom as an entrepreneur
• How to make work more interesting
• Don't isolate yourself in the business
• The importance of mentoring
• Is starting a risk or is it risk averse?
• The difference between cost and value when deciding on bringing in outside experts to the business
• Why you should see suppliers as external employees
• Learnings on how to manage talent
• How to grow as a leader when talent leaves the business
• When to say no to a customer 
• The importance of searching for weakness in the business
• The importance of charitable giving

Don't forget to subcribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

Life lesson from Nicole Kidman

I watched an interview with Nicole Kidman this morning and a sentence she said made me think hard about how we live our lives and also lead people at work. She said in response to a question about her acting

"You need to feel the role. It is about working from the inside and letting that emotion express itself"

Whether you are talking about branding, leadership or even plain old living isn't that so true?

When we feel passionately about something, we live it. Our values drive us in our life. I wonder sometimes whether as leaders we fear people feeling too much.....as feelings are complex and can be...well emotional!

However, when we feel the emotion doesn't it become so much easier to portray? Doesn't hiding the emotion make the delivery more complex?

 

Leadership Tip: Are you casting a shadow?

I wonder why people think their talent will "grow" quicker if they micro manage. When you plant a seed it doesn't grow quicker by watching it

"So why do we look for talent and then watch every move they make...we are just casting a shadow and blocking out the light that will help them develop. Plant the ideas then stand back to let them grow. You will see or hear when they need watering and feeding"

Something again that Dad taught me early days in my business life.