Rowley Associates

Spot the link. Toyota; Tiger Woods; JetBlue; basketball superstar Kobe Bryant; Goldman Sachs; and the SEC. These are just some of the more high profile names caught up in scandals impacting their brand. In a recent edition of the Economist, the reporter Schumpeter describes the growing number of companies that spend time in ‘brand rehab’. He argues that globalization, the Internet, and the rise of the CEO as celebratory, create a “toxic mixture” that can threaten any business at any time. Recent statistics estimate that executives have an 82% chance of facing a corporate disaster within any five-year period, up from 20% two decades ago.

As I read the Schumpeter article I thought about ‘disruptions’ that impact the brand of individuals lower down the organization.  What about the person in a management or leadership position caught up in malicious talk, who has been unfairly linked with a failing strategy or team, or who has presided over a series of poor results. What does brand rehab mean for them?

I’m continually surprised by how many executives ignore their brand. If you have no idea what people are saying about you - how peers, colleagues or directs describe you - you need to start your own brand rehab. Rest assured just because you haven’t promoted your brand, those you work with will have created their own shorthand for your abilities.

In his excellent book, ‘A New Brand World’, Scott Bedbury defines a brand as:

“The accomplishments of your best employee – the shining star – as well as by the mishaps of the worst hire that you ever made. Brands are sponges for content, for images, for fleeting feelings. They become psychological concepts held in the mind where they may stay forever. As such you can’t entirely control a brand. At best you can only guide and influence it”

The first step in guiding and influencing your brand is to:

1. Acknowledge you have one.
2. The next is to identify what your brand stands for. How do you want people to perceive you, to connect with you, to feel and talk about you? I believe a person’s brand is deeply rooted in their beliefs. Find what you believe and use this insight to create your brand.
3. Conduct a brand audit. Talk to a few people in your team or organization, how would they describe you to a colleague? Go the extra mile – take part in a 360 to really see how people perceive you
4. Link your brand to your business strategy. How does your brand connect and extend your strategy. It’s a lot easier for others to understand what you stand for/believe in if it’s linked to something tangible or concrete.
5. Run your ‘campaign’. Borrowing from the political arena identify opportunities to communicate your Brand, and always, always stay on message. Remember we train people how to respond to us – messaging your brand is just another way to coach people about who you are and what you stand for. If you need some pointers check out ‘Living Your Leadership Brand’.