The Engaging Brand

Why are you searching for perfection?

It amazes me that managers and leaders expect themselves to be perfect - but why? All the great leaders of our time and in history, have been known to have flaws.

Seeking perfection is a great motivation - if you understand that you will make mistakes, that it is impossible to be loved by all.

The trouble with demanding perfection is that you

• Don't take enough risk - you play safe.
• You don't stretch yourself, your team enough
• You make yourself less human! After all humans have flaws :)
• You put yourself under too much stress, unhealthy stress that lessons your performance.

We need the desire to improve, to seek perfection - at the same time we need to understand that it is in our own imperfections that we come across more human.

Maybe it is by recognising our imperfections that we can move towards perfection!

How Leaders Can "Drive" Business Success

When I was 14, Dad said "We need to get you ready for driving". I looked a little puzzled as there was still 3 years to go before I could start to 'learn'. He looked and said "Yes, true but if we coach now, you will never need to learn!" So how did he do it

• From 14 each journey - I navigated using an old map, and he tested me on the road signs.
• He then talked to me about gears and explained why we had gears. Then I had to tell him when to change gears, later I got to use the gear stick and change gears for him.
• I took over the maintenance of the car - checking the oil, tyre pressures, water levels, brake fluid and he showed me how the engine worked.
• We had a ride on lawn mower and he used that to show me how to park...between 2 dustbins!
• With a few weeks to go, he took me up to a local farm and used their paddock to give me the first experience of driving a car.

I turned 17 and passed my test within a week. Why?

• He had wanted me to succeed...so invested in my skills before I needed them.
• He knew that understanding the mechanics of the car, helped me to respect the car.....helped me to see how to get the best performance of the car. (Maintaining people is as important as driving the inspiration)
• He used a step by step approach to learning the new skills.
• He trusted in my ability to learn and develop.....and to help me build that confidence he gave me a safe environment in which to make mistakes.

I think there are huge parallels with succession planning. Planning ahead, investing the time, developing the skills step by step, mixture of theory and practice....it is not about what skills people have now, it is seeing the inner potential and both of you enjoying the journey of discovery.

Understand Perception, Understand Employee Reaction

It must be 15 years ago when Mum was walking along the cliff top at the seaside, she slipped and was in danger of falling down the cliff...Dad - amazingly as reactions were not his greatest asset! - grabbed her hand and saved her, possibly from a fatal fall. Was Dad the hero ?
Not quite.
Mum was in agony as her hand was broken!

My life lesson was this....it is not what you do, it is not how great your intention is...it is how the person feels AFTER your action.

Mum could only see her broken hand, she could only feel the pain...it was only later, much later that she understand the wiser implications of what had just happened. Dad didn't react to Mum's anger, he let her be mad...then when she returned home with her cast....turned and said "It's our turn to look after you, now (He dealt with her fear). A broken hand is better than a family of broken hearts of a mother/wife lost (He put it into context)"

Leadership can be like that.....your best intentions can be seen as wrong, can be perceived as harmful in the short term. Dad's reaction showed me that you need to allow your actions to sink in, understand why they have reacted that way, then guide them through to seeing the larger picture.

Tomorrow Never Comes For Unsuccessful Leaders

My lawn needs cutting, it has needed cutting for a few days - I'll do it of course tomorrow!
Problem is tomorrow never comes just like in business...it never comes for unsuccessful businesses who put off until tomorrow

1. Dealing with poor performers who might turn round
2. Dealing with leaders who do not share the values of the business
3. Talking to customers
4. Listening to feedback
5. Adopting social media
6. Thinking about the long term
7. Investing in people
8. Innovating for the future
9. Measuring success
10. Making decisions rather than holding meeting

You see business needs real leaders who are leading today for brand leadership tomorrow....

How Familiarity Can Hinder Personal Development

Fact: In a psychological experiment a person shown a photograph of him/herself and then one of a reversed image of the same picture consistently preferred the reversed picture.

Why ? Simply because that was the one they were used to seeing in the mirror !

Familiarity is great but is it hindering your development? - some questions for you and your leadership

1. Do you tend to like similar people with similar opinions ?
2. Do you tend to go to lunch with similar people ?
3. Do you like to stick to routine tasks?
4. Do you like the way you have always done it ?

If so STOP think about it....that is hindering your development. You are in a comfort zone - comfortable Yes....but stretching...NO...

Be G.O.B.B.Y!.... Dear Leader

I was reminded of my first role as a Managing Director yesterday, which came quickly in my mid twenties. As always Dad took me aside and said..."Anna, it is not how you lead...it is how they follow. Stay close to the pulse of the business..internally and externally"

I decided early doors to know what was happening

• Inside the business..I needed to speak to the employees.
• Outside the business..I needed to speak to the customers/supply chain.

So no board meetings where people reported back to me.....I reported back to my reports on what I had found out by listening...I listened through

1. Informal sessions with groups of people in the coffee room.
2. Walked round 2 shifts each day (when in office)...night shift once a month.
3. Phoned our top ten customers each month (if not visited and others on random basis)
4. Asked a supplier a month to showcase not what they were doing then...but there innovation in the pipeline...then asked what can we do to ensure we are the first to get this?

Seems weird to everyone at first, my role of reporting back on a monthly basis...however, this approach led us to be focused on what we needed to do, not what had already happened....it also gave the truth of the state of business rather than what I supposedly "wanted" to hear.

I think leaders can hide behind layers, meetings etc....I think that is wrong...respect the direct reporting lines, of course - never undermine your direct reports by listening rather than commenting on what you are hearing. But as Dad said "Get GOBBY which stood for Get off butt, be yourself"

With social media the chance to connect is now even greater....in person and now even via the web...there really are no excuses not to engage.

10 Business Skills to Develop Your Brand

Business is evolving and now being driven by the experience of social media. We hear each day that the customer doesn't buy into the message, they create their own message and share that through stories to their colleagues and friends.
As I work with leaders on how to develop this modern leadership, the challenge is for companies is to think again about the skills they need, the skills that they value within their companies. Over the last 10 years I think the needs have been changing

1. Data filters rather than managers of information
2. Relationship builders rather than people management
3. Asking the right questions rather than delighting in the right answer
4. Speed of thought and implementation then evolving, rather than seeking perfection on launch
5. Thinking of value rather than price and cost
6. Listening rather than talking
7. Distributors rather than collectors of information
8. Collaborative rather than command and control
9. Creativity across the whole brand experience rather than just the product
10. Brand storytellers rather than compilers of product benefits

The great news is that as our teams experience more and more of the web, these skills are being taught on a daily basis. These are skills are evident in how they interact outside of work. Our challenge within business is to free ourselves of how we were managed and evolve a new leadership based less on releasing the skills rather than stifling them.

Are you doodling or creating a masterpiece?

I have been over to my mum's this weekend and we were reminiscing about Easter's with Dad. I remembered asking Dad before he died what he would change about his life...his answer was emphatic

"I would give my life to someone else, otherwise I would feel guilty about having the pleasure of living it again...then I would sit and watch how much they enjoyed it. Anna, you get one shot..make the most of it and never be afraid to share the joy with others"

I have had highs and lows in my business life....however I always remember it is not what happens to you...it is how you respond to it that matters. Your response does not just affect your mood but also of those around you.

I also asked Dad if he had any regrets...."Regrets?" he said laughing. "Regrets are for those who live in the past...me, I prefer to live for the future"

Each moment of your life, your career you are painting another dot in your personal brand story. Each smile, each response, each word  creates that picture for others to see.....are you doodling or creating a masterpiece for others to savor?

10 Ways to Be a Human Trigger

I love the idea of triggering thought. When I think of brands, leaders or speakers that I love, it is because they trigger thoughts in my head, they trigger ideas...they trigger a brighter future. I try in my speaking events on engagement, social media and leadership to trigger inspiration...isn't that what life is about?

We as human beings can create value in people's lives by acting as a human trigger

1. Trigger an idea about how to solve a problem by connecting thoughts.
2. Trigger ideas about how people can achieve success by relating your success story.
3. Trigger networking by introducing people.
4. Trigger belief by believing in people
5. Trigger happiness by smiling
6. Trigger ideas by asking more question than giving the answers
7. Trigger value by asking people how you can provide value in their lives
8. Trigger conversations by using and participating in social media
9. Trigger action by setting targets and goals
10. Trigger the concept of attracting talent by constantly searching for talent

When you think of your interactions with people, do you act as a trigger or a blocker of thoughts?

Never compromise a Brand....

Brands - be it employer or consumer - should stand for ...well, something! I do not believe businesses that compromise, build strong brands..

• Never compromise on talent to fill a role. Demand the best - seek out the very best.
• Never compromise to appease people, or to get a consensus. Collarboration and listening is not the same as compromising...compromise a decision and it will never fully succeed.
• Never compromise on values. Think about the word...if you compromise on value you automatically devalue or dilute the offering.
• Never compromise on quality, service or safety. Your product/service can only demand a premium if it delivers reliability, and an experience that excites the consumer.
• Never compromise on long term growth for short term gain.
• Never compromise on leadership skills. Pay people well for specialist skills, only promote on people/thinking skills.
• Never compromise on searching for the dreams inside the people, never compromise your personal mission of delivering those dreams. If the dreams are not matching the organisation...don't compromise, just say goodbye...