The story of how the venerable Ford Motor Company managed to recover from the Great Recession of 2008 may be one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in U.S. history. And it demonstrates how great brands rebound from turbulent times. Not only did Ford recover, but it ended up thriving and achieving heights once thought impossible […]
If you are like most business leaders around the world, you probably want to improve your employee engagement — for good reason. The Gallup organization estimates that actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. $450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity per year. It’s clear employee engagement should be a priority for you, but in addition to asking how to engage […]
Differentiation may quite possibly be the top priority in brand development. In today’s competitive business environment, simply being better than other brands no longer creates a sustainable advantage. Your brand must be different. As you scale-up your brand, it is critical to identify and develop your key brand differentiators. […]
In the research I did for my latest Harvard Business Review column, The Best Salespeople Do What the Best Brands Do, I came across a lot of terrific sources on how to achieve sales leadership. I was only able to include a few in the piece, so here’s a round-up of some more clarifying insights […]
A couple of weeks ago I started a blog post series on how to scale-up your brand. Today I’m going to discuss five critical dimensions of brand power. These dimensions indicate the strength of your brand to establish and maintain competitive advantage, command a price premium, and win customers’ loyalty. They provide a simple way […]
Breaking up may be the hardest thing to do in relationships,* but scaling up may be the hardest thing to do in business. Something like nine out of 10 start-ups fail. If you want to be among the few that survive and thrive, your brand can serve as a compass and guide as you navigate […]
In lieu of my usual Brand Book Bites format, I wanted to share my favorite excerpts from Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul, the book Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote in 2012 to memorialize the remarkable turnaround at his company after he returned to the helm in 2008. […]
Good to Great, the bestselling book by Jim Collins, offers timeless insights into what it takes to become great. It applies not only to businesses, but also to brands, people, churches, non-profits, governments, communities, and more. I recently revisited the text, along with the monograph accompanying it, Good to Great and the Social Sector, and […]
Given all the new media options and technology capabilities today, it’s easy to forget the essential truths about brands. I read several reminders this past month about getting back to brand basics. […]
The Sharp Healthcare All-Staff Assembly provides a compelling example of how to engage, educate, and emotionally connect your workforce with your brand. Take a look at this short video to see how this annual event helps keep the thousands of Sharp staff, partners, and volunteers motivated, aligned, and focused on delivering The Sharp Experience. DLYohn Brand […]