Forward Thinking Leadership
Have you have noticed how Life can be a funny thing?
The minute you think you've got it all figured out something like a global pandemic comes along and turns it all upside down.
Since March of 2020, we’ve all been forced to muddle through and find new answers for our companies and careers. The usual patterns of market conditions or business rules of thumb don’t work or apply anymore.
But one thing hasn’t changed:
Turbulent times are when fortunes are made by those who are unafraid.
Few know this for a fact better than Geoff.
In the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown, his best-selling book, The Upside of the Downturn, helped restore the shattered confidence of a beleaguered nation of CEO’s and business executives looking for solid answers.
Would it surprise you to know that through the course of the COVID-19 crisis many of those same rules still apply?
As the Senior Editor-At-Large at Fortune Magazine, Geoff Colvin is convinced that certain businesses—and some people—will emerge from these economic storms with even more wind in their sails; stronger and more dominant than ever. Others will be blown adrift or shipwrecked on the shores of insolvency or irrelevance.
Don’t allow this current crisis to pass you by without discovering The Secret to Finding the Upside on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”. SOCRATESp.s… It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating for business leaders everywhere. Never allow a good crisis go to waste. Especially as it relates to long-term brand-building.
As far back as the Great Depression, history has shown that marketing is one of those areas where even the scariest turbulence presents opportunity for a huge upside.
While it’s tempting to want to take your foot off the gas, it has been proven repeatedly the opposite is true. Many studies have revealed that during economic slowdowns, those that jump into the arena and continue to build their brand reputations are quicker to recover and enjoy more substantial growth than those that stay on the marketing sidelines. One business leader who decided to charge ahead and take the bull by the horns is Jim Pientka out of Madison, WI. Determined to align his company with Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” philosophy, Pientka and his team at Iconica seized the opportunity by digging in and answering the “Why” question once and for all.
Meanwhile, it a completely different industry, Larry Rybka, Jr also had a “Why” story that needed to be uncovered and told. Based in Akron, OH, this is what Larry and his team from Valmark Financial Group was able to create over these last several months and create a distinctively different brand strategy for decades to come.
Back around 400 B.C. the Greek philosopher Socrates observed: “Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of. The way to a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear”. In many respects that’s what business leaders like Jim Pientka and Larry Rybka Jr. are doing right now to build their brands and move their reputations forward as they focus on the upside.
Maybe you have been pondering for a while that it’s time to let everybody else zig while you ZAG. If you're feeling now is the perfect time to RE-DEFINE, RE-POSITION and DIFFERENTIATE your company or organization, you might want to saddle up for a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Our in-person or virtual "Executive Bootcamp" serves as both journey and destination to help you emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One". For more information send us a note here.
As always, we are open to serving small to medium size business owners with an open heart and no strings attached. That's why we always schedule a limited number of FREE 20-Minute Discovery Sessions via ZOOM. If you are facing a business or branding challenge that you are not quite sure how to handle, we’re only a click away.
Every week someone asks me a question about our videos and more specifically our media partner responsible for the production and editing. Based in London, Ontario, Defiant Astronaut Media also posts a monthly blog, showcasing a curated selection of story-based videos that inspire others to re-think what's possible with this art form and how it can help build your brand.