Posted by Rahna on January 29, 2009 under Personal Branding | 
I had the extreme honor of cheering on one of my Executive Coaching clients as she was announced as a finalist in the CT Women of Innovation Awards ceremony at the elegant Aqua Turf Club this evening. She was one of a roomful of innovators, women who are brains surgeons or scientists working on stem cell research, or bone marrow research. These were people working on military helicopter designs–all sorts of technical fields, and I’m awed by what people can do. From this evening, it occurs to me that one person really can make a difference.
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Now I was with 500 people, all making a difference in their field, in their industry, in their lives day after day pushing projects through, celebrating triumph, dealing with frustration, dealing with setbacks and then trying to figure another way around.Â
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I act as marketing coach to people from so many different fields to help then strengthen their own personal brands, and one thing that I have found is that all of the people that I work with are already wonderful, brilliant, fantastic….They just don’t know it yet. It’s locked deep inside. Lack of self-esteem is hiding all the great that they can do (and are doing) in their fields.
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Everyone thinks they lead ordinary lives, doing not much of interest and certainly nothing of significance. But think about that. These researchers conduct test after test, looking for the slightest nuance that might make medical history. I’ll bet there are days when it feels like they are sitting there watching the paint dry.  But in the mundane, the ordinary, the boring, innovation does come.Â
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The same can apply to you. Â
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As I sat in this room of neurosurgeons and rocket scientists (literally!), I was reminded again that everyone has something interesting and unique to contribute in their own organizations. If we could innovate, just in our own little worlds, even within the scope of the work that we do, we could change the world. Maybe you need to innovate within your school or your children’s school. Maybe you need to innovate within your accounting department. It doesn’t matter. Just innovate. Be curious. Don’t accept the status quo.
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If you want to find out more about these extraordinary Women of Innovation, check it out by following the link.
Posted by Rahna on January 26, 2009 under Consumer Research |
There’s an article Consumer Czar Slams Youth Research Techniques that came out on January 22nd. In it, the author is highlighting a book by Agnes Nairn and Ed Mayo, entitled Consumer Kids: How Big Business is Grooming Our Children for Profit. Ed Mayo, the CEO of United Kingdom’s Government Watchdog Consumer Focus. The criticism in the book is that companies should not be using market research in developing their products.
As you can imagine, as someone who has been doing research with kids for so many years, I don’t agree. I haven’t read the book, but I’m puzzled by this attack.
In my work at LEGO, it was my job to make sure the products were the most fun they could possibly be. How can you do that without talking to your consumer? Any company, whether it’s selling to grown-ups or kids has to develop products and services that are highly compelling, and the way to find out if something is compelling is to talk to someone.
Now certainly, there should not be an intent to exploit kids. But most of the youth marketers that I know are truly, honestly trying to make sure that their products are the most fun, that they are developing nutritional products that taste as good as they possibly can and speak to kids in a way that’s really compelling to them–so that they’re interested, so that they’re engaged. The motive is right.
There is discussion in the article about parental permission, which has me quite puzzled. Of course, if you were going to do research with kids, you would get parental permission before you talk to them.ÂAnyone who didn’t do that should definitely be chastised.
Perhaps there is more of an incidence of unscrupulous exploitation in the UK, but I have not personally experienced it in the six years I’ve been doing youth marketing.
Consumer research at any age is vital, valuable information to make the most exciting, the most compelling, the most helpful, the most tasty, and the most fun products available.
Posted by Rahna on January 22, 2009 under Personal Branding |
Last week, I spoke at a conference where Bud Krogh was also speaking, and I had long discussions with him throughout the weekend about all sorts of topics. It was fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Bud Krogh is, unfortunately, known best for his role as the “Plumber” in the Watergate scandal, as he was the first (of many) to be indicted and serve a jail sentence for his illegal actions in that history-altering series of events. But what I learned about him this past weekend was that he should be known for something else.
Last year, he wrote a book called, Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Lessons from the White House. In it, he talks all about the facts of his involvement and the events leading up to Watergate, as well as the growth in moral courage that took place in his thought. I highly recommend reading the book.
He urges us to ask three questions when considering any moral dilemma or decision:
My favorite part was when he was in the midst of being tried and had entered a plea of “Not Guilty” due to reasons of national security. He believed in what he was doing and did not think that he was guilty. But he had occasion to take his family to Williamsburg in the midst of the trial. He was standing outside of the House of Burgesses (the colonial “Congress”, if you will, and he was pondering all that the colonists had fought for (among them was freedom from illegal search and seizure). That’s when he realized that was exactly what he had done, all in the name of national security. Well, he had an epiphany and realized that he was guilty and needed to go to jail.
Just imagine the moral courage needed to turn around and say, “Yep. I’m guilty. I screwed up, and I should be punished.”
Do you do that in your life? When was the last time you had to express moral courage?
The beautiful thing about Bud’s story is that you can change. In my work with people on evolving their personal brands, the topic always comes up, “I can’t change. That’s just how I am.” Here’s a perfect story about how you can change in a huge way. Bud Krogh screwed up in a monumental way, on an international scale, went to jail, and then, changed in a monumental way.
He actually only spent 4 & ½ months in prison … not that long when you think about it … one season. He was disbarred for 5 years, but then was re-admitted and went on to practice law for many years.
There are so many personal branding stories in Bud’s story:
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If you screw up, you can recover.
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It is possible to learn from your mistakes.
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The terrible things that happen to you can turn out to be the best things that happen to you in your life.
I urge you to read Bud’s story and realize, you can always evolve your personal brand, adding new qualities and eliminating undesirable ones. If you have your own story of change, I’d love to hear about it.
If you would like more info on this, check out our Signature For Success program by following the link.
Posted by Rahna on January 19, 2009 under Branding |
In my last post, I talked about my mentoring experience with a National Teen Leadership Council. As a marketer, leadership is a very important concept, both on a personal level and a brand level. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, and tomorrow, the first African-American president is sworn in to office.
Huge.
Huge leadership examples, both of them.
Leadership is something everyone is talking about. As we transition our national leadership teams, it makes sense to think about how it applies to you business life.
So it makes me think, how does that apply to my client’s businesses? What is the lesson in it? Here’s what I think. Leadership qualities can apply to people … and to brands, companies, and services. I’m asking myself, “How am I encouraging my clients to express leadership in their own worlds?”
Does your brand have a vision?
Leaders have a vision of how things ought to be. Obama has talked many times about his vision for the country, and Apple has a vision of how innovation and technology should be pervasive in their products. What is your brand’s vision for your industry, for your consumers, or for your category?
Are you challenging the status quo?
Leaders are the ones out front, blazing the trails. They certainly respect where we come from, but they are not stuck in the past. Risk is an inherent part of leadership, but it is a mantle that leaders are happy to put on. What is your product, your company, doing to challenge the way things have always been done? Innovation comes from saying, “Why do we do it that way?” “What if we did it another way?” How are you blazing a trail in your category? Do you play it safe, just following the crowd? Or are you taking risks and showing the world a new way of doing things.
Are you encouraging your people?
Whoever “your people” are, they need to be inspired, encouraged, cajoled, appreciated. Are you a voice for “hope” or “change” in your own world, just as we’ve heard so much in the past year on the national stage? Are you engaging with your people … your consumers, your customers, your staff?
Are you empowering?
Does your brand make your consumer’s life better? Does it enable them to go beyond what they thought they could do? Brand leader Nike does. Brand leader Apple does. Who’s the brand leader in your category … and how can you get it to be YOU?
Do you “walk the talk?”
Brand leaders are consistent in their communications. If they are creative and irreverent in their advertising, they are creative and irreverent on their website and everywhere else? If you say you care about customers, how are you backing up that statement? Actions speak a billion times louder than words.
Posted by Rahna on January 15, 2009 under Uncategorized |
I’m going to Colorado this weekend for the National Teen Leadership Council meeting of Adventure Unlimited’s  Discovery Bound program. I have mentored a student throughout this program and he is graduating this weekend. This program is a four-year commitment for these kids and is an outrageous way for them to learn about leadership, community service and working together. The young man that I have mentored, along with all the others in his class, are going to do amazing things in the future.Â
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As I reflect on the past few years, here are some thoughts that I have:
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Mentor someone:
You will learn as much (if not more) than they will. I don’t care who you are…you have something valuable to offer to someone. Being a mentor means being a cheerleader-encouraging someone to keep going, even when things aren’t going the way they thought it would. How can you cheer someone on if you are feeling down yourself? You can’t! So mentoring someone will automatically put you in a more positive frame of mind (something we could use more of in this economy!). In addition, a mentor is a teacher. If there is something you want to learn, try to find a way to teach it. You will have to know it well enough to really understand it.Â
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You can learn to be a leader:
Think back to what you were like at age 16. Were you awkward? Full of bravado? Smart? Smug? Shy? Or maybe all of those things. The kids that I have come to know in this program have decided that they WANT to be leaders. So they are putting themselves out there, learning what leaders do and how they act. If they can learn it, so can you. The next point tells you how:
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Continue to Build Your Leadership Skills:
In this program, these kids were learning about leadership skills. We talked about vision and confidence and passion and servant leadership. If you are in marketing, chances are you are leading in some capacity….Maybe you lead of team of people at work. Maybe you lead your clients to the proper marketing execution. Maybe you are leading a task force in your industry. Leadership skills are universal and can be applied to anyone in any situation. Take the time to brush up on your leadership skills. There are several books on the topic which I highly recommend:
·        The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
·        Essentials of Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf
·        Authentic Leadership by Bill George
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Be confident
One of the key skills that these kids had to build was public speaking. They had to stand up in front of each other (about 100 people) and often in groups of 500 people to talk about a topic that they cared about. They had to be prepared, they had to have the guts to get up in front of all those people and give that talk. That is not easy, especially at age 16. Add to that the idea that you should try to captivate your audience, and it’s really not easy!Â
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Be Prepared:
I have found that one part of leadership (and public speaking in particular) is being prepared. Yes, it helps if you have a sense of comic timing. But gathering your thoughts ahead of time makes a big difference.
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Be Passionate:
Another part is giving in to your passion. If you are talking about something you care about, you are much less likely to be nervous. In addition, you are much more likely to have a vision about something you care about.Â
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This weekend is a reminder to me about being a leader—what leaders do and what leaders are…something every marketer should stop and think about every once in a while.
Posted by Rahna on January 8, 2009 under Branding, Social Media |
I gave a talk today on Top Secrets of Digital Branding, kind of a Digital Marketing 101 course that covered the basics of various on-line and e-mail marketing strategies. It reinforced to me how wide the world is and how varied the world is.Â
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I am in a unique position where I work with both large corporations and small businesses. In the past, I have found that the marketing tactics of each are completely unique—large corporations using “traditional†vehicles like TV, newspaper, and print, while small businesses get the most out of guerilla marketing tactics like direct mail, windshield flyers and word of mouth campaigns. Of course, the internet has changed all that, and now, small businesses are able to leverage digital marketing opportunities in amazing ways. I have found, actually, that in many cases, small businesses are much more savvy about digital marketing and branding opportunities than large corporations. The big players are just now turning to the internet to see what it has to offer in the way of low-cost, high-touch marketing and branding opportunities.
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But that wasn’t the case in this room. It was interesting to see the reaction of the audience. There were some people who were very knowledgeable about the digital world, some web designers who obviously know a lot about all things digital. However, most of the people there, although they have the website, really aren’t up to speed on all that the social media world has to offer. I tried to give tips and basic information on website content management, search engine optimization, blogging, social media sites, book marking sites, email marketing, and any other digital marketing tool you could imagine. The audience members, while taking notes furiously, also looked like they’d been drinking through a fire hose.
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So many business people are starting to explore this new digital world. Some are puzzled, some are frightened, and some just have that “deer-in-the-headlights†look. All of the advances and changes and opportunities in the digital world, when we try to take it all at once, can seem completely overwhelming.Â
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My advice to them (and to you, dear reader) is to jump in–get started. Just do something. You don’t have to be an expert in everything, but you should at least find out about and get started on advances in digital marketing. There are so many low-cost opportunities out there for anyone who wants to market anything that it behooves you to at least explore the options.
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I’m in the industry and I know I don’t know everything. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot I don’t know. I do an email newsletter, I blog (obviously) and I contribute to other websites. I engage in electronic PR.  I have a Twitter account, but I don’t tweet…although, perhaps that is something that I’ll start to do more of this year as a part of my New Year’s resolutions. I think I’ll go take my own advice…..What about you? What digital programs are you taking advantage of? What are you scared of? Let me know and we’ll figure it out together!
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Posted by Rahna on January 5, 2009 under Personal Branding |
I was discussing my Signature for Success program with a corporate Vice President recently, and he asked me what would be the benefit to his company for having people on his team go through the program and have strong personal brands. I told him that there are many benefits. Here are some of the ones we discussed:
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Highly Motivated Self-starters
The company gets highly motivated employees that are actively looking for ways to “evolve their brand.â€Â The way to build their brand is to add skills, become more professional, and contribute more. This program is set up is to light a fire within each person so that the boss is not telling them how they need to grow; they are eagerly, actively yearning for more growth,  managing themselves—seeking out what areas they can add more value. What could be better than an employee saying to himself,  “How can I add more value at work? What can I do to contribute more?â€Â I know that leadership is important to any company, and this program is meant to inspire self-leadership at all levels, whether we’re talking about the mailroom or the boardroom.Â
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Clarified Roles & Responsibilities
 There is strong benefit to be realized from a session that would focus on understanding how the various members of the team can “blend†into a holistic team that leverages the skills the team currently has, and identifies the skills they need to evolve their brands in a way that benefits everyone—meeting the company’s needs and adding to their individual competencies.Â
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Strengthened External Perceptions of the companyÂ
Every time department team members talk with someone outside the  department, they are creating an impression of that department. When they talk to folks in Purchasing or Operations, they create an impression. When they talk to a client or a vendor, they create an impression. By having them focus on what they do well and what the department wants to be known for, it can create a stronger impression of the group –either within the company or within the industry. That will have long-term implications for recruiting efforts, for selling ideas, or for garnering respect with other departments.
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Boost Morale
Employees will see this as very personally-focused. They will see that management cares about their growth, their potential and feel that you are putting them first.Â
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Provide a Framework for Career Development
By conducting this program in advance of annual Individual Development Plan (or Performance Management) sessions, it is easy to segue into those discussions about how to build their personal brands in the areas that the company needs them to focus on. With everyone having gone through this session, there will be a common “language†for these discussions that will have been served up within a familiar framework of “marketing†language.    Â
Posted by Rahna on January 1, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Happy New Year! I wish all a prosperous and productive 2009, filled with increasing client lists, growing market share, and stronger brands. To that end, I have been thinking about my own New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s what I have come up with:Â
I am committed to promoting strong personal brands to everyone I know. I recently asked a VP friend of mine, “What are you doing to build your personal brand?â€Â Watch out, because if you see me in person, I’m going to ask you the same question!Â
I will deepen the consumer insights for my clients and share the general learnings and consumer trends I see with all whom I am in contact with. Your consumers are interesting and uniquely qualified to help you realize new business opportunities in this coming year. I love to help people uncover those opportunities, and Beacon Marketing will do this joyfully in 2009.Â
I will focus more on leveraging the power of digital media in the promotion of my clients’ (and my own) branding efforts. I am dedicated to revamping websites, focusing on SEO, and being a stronger proponent of digital branding programs.Â
I’d love to hear your New Year’s Resolutions. Let me know what you are focused on in 2009!
