It's early evening and I am somewhere over Michigan or Ohio. Not sure of the route Delta flies from Grand Rapids to Atlanta. Come to think of it, I can't recall when I last flew through Atlanta on an outbound leg of a trip. Guess I could look in the inflight magazine but I really don't care where I am at the moment. I do care about where I am going.  

About this time tomorrow I will be touching down in Tel Aviv. 

I have yet to process the trip. It came on a little fast as business trips often do. Then there were all the last minute details like pulling together essential papers, portable electronics, travel docs, etc. And packing my suitcase, briefcase, and rucksack. 

So now I'm taking advantage of the quiet of the cabin and 3:40 left of battery life on my Mac to begin sharing news about professional changes that few folks are aware of. Events unfolded rather quickly so only those I am or have been or will be working with are "in the know."

Recently I began serving as president for EthnoGraphic Media (EGM), a 501c(3) educational nonprofit formed in 2007 to explore the critical issues of our time through film and new media. The community of writers, artists, strategists, and filmmakers that embody EGM capture true stories of theological virtues moving through the human condition. EGM hopes those who see, hear, and experience these stories will gain a deeper understanding and heighten sensitivity that moves them to meaningful action. http://www.egmfilms.org  

The role of president entails championing EGM's mission, vision, and values; solidifying its strategic direction and tactical plans; encouraging a team of talented industry professionals; fostering mutually-beneficial relationships and partnerships; and driving EGM toward its objectives.

For those who know me, you know I have always been drawn to organizations with a relentless pursuit of achieving the seemingly unachievable: "changing the world" at University of Texas at Austin; "reaching for the stars" at Leo Burnett; "advancing humanity" at Hanon McKendry; and "living life inspired" at Zondervan.

So I invite you to explore the work of EthnoGraphic Media and get to know the folks who are part of its community. More importantly, I hope you will encounter a story, issue, situation, or person that connects with you in a meaningful way.

Hey, gotta run!

Upon entering publishing some years back I remember receiving some wise counsel which I believe has relevance and broad application for most professionals regardless of industry.  

"Publishing is a relational business," my new boss stressed during our first one-on-one. A few days later over coffee my mentor and leadership team peer emphasized, "Ours is a business built upon a fragile ecosystem of relationships." So my marching orders were clear. Of highest priority and immediate need was getting relationships right: if broken, fix them; if weak, strengthen them; and if new, establish them. And while all relationships were important, some were of utmost importance. 

I liken it to juggling many balls of varying size and weight. Now some of these balls are made of rubber and bounce back when dropped while others are made of crystal and will shatter if allowed to fall. You must decide what your relationships are made of, then manage accordingly. 

My relationship philosophy is pretty simple... be fully engaged. One cannot afford to be passive. If you want a relationship to work, you must work at it. And if you're doing it right, for all the right reasons, then it shouldn't even feel like work. It's a little like what my wife, Stacy, and I remind our kids, "You want to have friends? Then you need to be a friend." 

Fortunately, I'm kind of a relational guy, a character trait that has proven instrumental for finding fulfillment, having fun, and making more than a few friends across a career spaning several service-oriented, customer-centric industries. 

Truth be told, I have heard on several occasions that I'd make an excellent greeter at Wal-Mart. Absolutely! "Hi. Welcome to Wal-Mart. Thanks for coming in. How y'all doing this morning?" Of course, it helps to use your best southern accent. And if you have to ask why southern, then you probably have not lived, worked, or spent enough time in places like Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee. Remember the welcome that the wife of young attorney Mitch McDeere received in Sydney Pollack's film adaptation of John Grisham's The Firm? "Abby this is the South, we encumber you with hospitality." Over the years this little saying has become the "gold standard" I set with my teams. If our clients, guests, partners, etc. don't feel "encumbered" by our hospitality, then we're not trying hard enough. 

Given all the challenges businesses face today, perhaps a little more attention to these "fragile ecosystems" is in order. A greater investment of time, energy, emotion, and empathy is guaranteed to pay dividends not always found on a balance sheet.   

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Earlier this week I spoke with students at Cornerstone University. It was my tenth class and fifth college that I've guest lectured in this semester... fun times! I was asked to talk specifically on the topic of leadership. To make the most of our time together, questions were submitted to me in advance. Below are three that seemed to make sense addressing as a set.


Questions From The Class:

1. In your opinion, is a great leader born or can a great leader be made?

2. Should leadership be sought after, or if in fact an individual is gifted in the area of leadership, will he or she be sought after?

3. Based upon your experience is it easier to be a leader or a follower?

My Response:

If you are seasoned in your career, chances are you've already experienced a variety of management and leadership styles. And chances are your own style has been evident to those you've led and managed. Three of the most prevalent leadership styles that I've experienced over my career include: those who lead as if born to it (natural); those who lead others as they have been led (nurtured); and those who lead through fear, intimidation, and manipulation (neutered).

The "Natural"

Whether or not you believe in the concept of "born to lead," it would appear some among us are more predisposed than others. For example, the 5% of the population whose Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is ENTJ (Extraverted-iNtuitive-Thinking-Judging). These folks are described as "Executive" or "Leader" material. I'm pretty sure that ENTJs don't dominate the leadership ranks in organizations (that would be mathematically impossible) but I would venture to guess that ENTJs over-index as a percentage of all business leaders relative to their percentage in the population.  

The "Nurtured"

In his classic work on social learning theory, Stanford behaviorist Dr. Alfred Bandura found that people learn new behaviors by: 1) observing the actions of role models they can identify with; 2) approximating the behavior they've observed; and 3) receiving reinforcement for their adopted behaviors. His early studies recorded children reacting to aggressive television programming by punching a "Bobo" doll (those who watched Mr. Green Jeans and Romper Room should recall this near-life-sized, sand-in-the-base, bounces-back-up, inflatable doll). Like Bandura's laboratory observations, it is easy to see how the workplace can provide an environment of modeling, mirroring, and reinforcement leading to learned leadership behaviors--good, bad, and ugly.

The "Neutered"

While this type of leadership can be very effective in achieving short-term organization goals, the means (e.g., fear, intimidation, manipulation) can overtime damage an organization's climate, culture, and cohesion. One powerful yet poignant scene from Mel Gibson's "We Were Soldiers" illustrates this well. Commanding officers observe as new recruits are put through field exercises led by two very different patrol leaders--one who verbally abuses his men, the other willing to stop the exercise to tenderly check the physical condition of one of his men. The viewer is left with no doubt on which patrol leader the commanders will ultimately affirm, promote, and entrust. He is the one best able to accomplish the mission while garnering the respect of those he'll lead into battle.

Finally, I left the class with a few tips as current and future leaders:

Be Real: Avoid hypocrisy at all costs if you hope to earn respect, build trust, and gain loyalty amongst your team.

Encourage: Your team needs to be positively challenged to dig deep within themselves and driven to give their very best. They need to have ownership in the hits as well as the misses.

Attitude: Have fun! Really, if you are not enjoying the process and your people, you will never fully appreciate the outcomes.

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My time in retail was the best on-the-job, customer service training I've ever received. And the work itself proved to be a great fit for me. Being in my twenties, retail offered a flexible schedule and steady income punctuated by overtime pay for working above and beyond. 

I didn't seek out retail it found me. I had been working nights and weekends at a Mobil station while attending Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland. One late Fall Saturday night a buddy from high school pulled in for gas. These were the days of "full service" so with a smile I filled him up, checked his oil, and squeegeed the windshield.  

Leaning against his car while I worked away, Mike told me it was too cold and wet to be working outside all winter long. He suggested I talk to his boss at Memco, a membership department store (remember those) just down the road. So I did and got the job as a stock boy just 30-something shopping days 'til Christmas.

My retail career spanned ten years. I worked for three different retailers at nine different stores in four states. There really is nothing like working retail, especially during the holidays. Beginning Black Friday (Thanksgiving Day +1) life as you know it significantly changes. At work, "busy" just doesn't describe it. "Chaotic" is a little better but my favorite descriptors come from friends working restaurants... slammed, 86ed, in the weeds. Often you get so busy on the floor that you forget to eat, take a break, or go to the bathroom. That's when you know that you are "in the zone." 

Typical customer encounters from behind the counter go something like this: You step up to a pressing throng of holiday shoppers, eyes beckon, "over here." They beg, "pick me!" and seem to scream, "I'm next" or scream at you, "HEY, I was next!" A single directed phrase from you quiets the crowd, "how may I help YOU?" Now you focus on your customer, addressing his or her needs one-on-one, making the best of the situation as well as making the sale.  

A person can grow to really love this kind of work. I did. You can even grow to love the people you meet. I found that "regular" customers can become much more than that. While working in Southern California there was women in her mid- to late-seventies named Barbara who would stop in several times a week. Sometimes we would grab a cup of coffee and just chat. She liked to share stories about growing up in Orange County "in the day." She had worked at Knott's Berry Farm for many years and had lived within walking distance. She didn't talk much about her husband who had died awhile back nor her children who had grown and moved off to somewhere.

She lived in a small but tidy mobile home park with palm trees and narrow little streets. I remember one Mother's Day when my wife Stacy and I took Barbara out for dinner to a nice restaurant near our home. She got all dressed up and we brought her flowers. Later when we dropped her off she insisted on giving us a huge brick of government-issued cheese to take back with us (I guess newly married couples can never get enough cheese and 70ish widows can only eat so much). 

When Stacy and I moved from Southern California she gave us about a dozen pieces of pale green and light pink Depression Glass. These small plates and cups, Barbara's heirlooms, have been a part of our home for a quarter century and still grace the corner hutch in our dining room. One customer who became a regular and then a friend also has remained a small part of a family.  

If it were in my power, I would create a special form of Selective Service (emphasis on the idea of "service" as in serving others). My program would call up young men and women into a season of working in a store, hotel, restaurant, or the like. I'm pretty sure it would help shape them personally, relationally, and professionally. Hopefully, they will meet a few customers like Barbara.

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I recently participated in an Advertising & eCommerce Advisory Board meeting at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. During the discussion I shared with the group a few insights/observations about being a marketer of goods, services, ideas, and brands.

It went something like this: 

"Marketing is fast-paced and deadline-driven. It's equal parts science and art. Your work is highly subjective. Everyone has an opinion on everything you do and they don't mind sharing it (but not always with you). 

Marketing serves many masters, both inside and outside the company. It must produce results in the short-term but has long-term benefits that you may never fully realize. There is a complex network of pieces, parts, and people that must be efficiently and effectively orchestrated. 

Very high (sometimes unrealistic) expectations must be either met or managed. And there will never be enough time, money, people, energy, and creativity to accomplish all that is possible."

I believe it was American daredevil Evil Knievil who said, "There are two types of motorcyclists--those that have gone down and those that are going down." Applying that reality to a "successful" career in marketing, my hope is that you dig the thrills, survive the spills, and enjoy the ride.

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I struck out on my own one year ago this week. Much of my early success and ongoing satisfaction can be directly attributed to those who reached out to me as I tried to find/make my own way. While some folks I'd known over the years, others represented newly-formed relationships. Almost to the person I felt their genuine concern for me and a desire to help.

I have been trying to do the same, that is, investing in others as others have invested in me. While I am neither an executive coach nor trained mentor, I have been dispensing individual doses of advice to those "in transition."

Amidst all the professional upheaval many are experiencing, it seems people are longing for someone to listen to them, empathize, provide perspective, challenge them, and encourage. More and more, these "conversations" are taking place online via email, IM, texting, and social networks. But call me "old school," I still prefer talking over a good cup of freshly-brewed coffee. 

Below are two "stream of consciousness" missives I recently sent. The first was to a seasoned professional asking, "what next?" The second was for a young man about to enter the workforce and wondering, "what now?"

Advice for a Seasoned Professional:

"...don't just get "on" LinkedIn, become a power user. Your relationships (don't think 'networks') are key. Everyone you know, everywhere you've lived, every job you've held, etc. Request recommendations. Your online profile becomes your resume. Push it out to people when they ask. Link with people or check out their profiles before you meet with them. Follow other power users and draft behind them. Repurpose your content across social media/networks. Also get on Facebook (175M and growing). Don't be afraid to ask for and give advice, freely. Go out for coffee with folks (a lot). Consider consulting. Set up an LLC and get a separate checking account/credit card for business. Stay optimistic. Do something creative you have always wanted to do (e.g., teach, speak, write) that makes a difference. Oh, invests in others." 

Thoughts for a College Senior:

"A good start is just asking others that have gone before you, walked the trail so to speak. Of course, it's hard to know just what you want to do, are best suited to do, and what you will be doing 5-10-15 years down the road. So dream big, be willing to change, be O.K. with that. Don't make excuses. Apologize and learn from your mistakes and be willing to step out and risk failure. ASK YOURSELF: 1) What am I passionate about?; 2) How am I gifted?; and 3) Where can I impact? Also, what can challenge and grow you in the ways that are healthy, positive, and God-honoring? Don't compromise your integrity. I recommend you take the "Strength Finders 2.0" assessment. Buy the book, take the test, send me a copy of your top five strengths, then read the book on your own time. Play to those strengths. Make a "start doing" AND "stop doing" list. You are more than your career... meaning your title or position or office or money or perks should not define you (so guard your heart and head against drawing your identity from them). Don't compare yourself to others (stifles self-determination). Become part of a project, idea, initiative, or effort that is powerful and makes a difference in some way. I also believe in adding value to something as in being a small part of something really big. Oh, I learned a lot of this stuff the hard way."

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A well-stated vision and mission can be critical to the overall success of your business and brand. Together they help focus, guide, align, and inspire those inside and even outside your organization. It's important not to confuse the two nor fuse them together into a single "mission/vision." 

William Drohan provides us a helpful distinction: "A vision statement pushes the association toward some future goal or achievement, while a mission statement guides current, critical, strategic decision making." Pretty straightforward stuff.

A well-defined set of core values builds upon and extends beyond your vision and mission. Values help personify your organization while articulating the characteristics that matter most. They should reflect your organization's culture and climate as well as transcend people, products, and processes. 

Core values can be either intrinsic (e.g., integrity, respect, compassion) or extrinsic (e.g., excellence, innovation, advocacy). Ideally, yours will include a healthy mix of both. 

Below are some basic questions that I walk through with my clients during the "discovery" phase of strategic planning. Hopefully, they will help you assess how firm a foundation your business and brand are built upon.

1. What is your stated vision, mission, and set of values?

2. How clear and compelling are they to both internal and external audiences?

3. Are they comprehensive yet concise--saying everything they ought to say, not everything they could possibly say? 

4. Are they easy to remember, internalize, and articulate?

5. Do they capture the heart and soul of your organization?

6. Is there awareness and buy-in across your organization?

7. Are they believable to those inside as well as outside the organization--are you individually and collectively able to deliver on the expectations you create? 

On February 18th, Keith Brophy presented the following at GVSU's Eberhard Center. The event was very well attended and the overall mood was upbeat despite the current economic climate in Michigan.

Topic: Evolution of the cell phone

Prediction: Within 5 years, 50% of adults are tracked in home or office via phone tracking applications.

Topic: Extinction of Paper

Prediction: In 5 years, only one-third as many newspapers and books are published on paper. Alternatives to paper, such as on-line forms, E-paper products and E-reader delivery boom.

Topic: Evolution of Social Networking

Prediction: In 3 years, social networking becomes as pre-requisite as phone and electricity across the full range of age demographics. Organizations continue to embrace Facebook as it loses its "teen" status and opens the way for acceptance of other similar business social networking solutions.

Topic: New Energy Source

Prediction: In 5 years, we will find the early generation of a new heat-to-electricity energy harvester (the thermoelectric generator) on a wide variety of products. This will be the beginning of a revolution in the way we use energy.

Topic: Evolution of the PC

Prediction: In 3 years, the majority of us use Netbook computers, as traditional desktops and laptops largely fade to the background.

Topic: Evolution of How We Interact with Computers

Prediction: In 5 years, software lives in clouds and the computer platform is everywhere.

Topic: Cyborgs

Prediction: In 5 years, simple cyborgs appear and social and legal issues begin to rage.

Topic: AniRobos

Prediction: In 5 years, 20% of professionals, 20% of business offices, 30% of homes have mobile helpers or AniRobos.

Topic: Data Communes

Prediction: In 5 years, we own an "overall e-record" of our lives that we grant electronic entities selective access to; many regions gain advantage by aggregating this; and privacy issues rage across all sectors as collective personal data begins to be viewed as gold.

Topic: Evolution of Role of Elderly to a that of Workplace Sages

Prediction: In 5 years, we see the start of a remarkable shift in workplace demographics and workflow. There is a societal shift of age-based roles fueled by explosion of age-supporting technology that pushes net-era Seniors to the forefront.

I recently contributed to the book Leading CMOs on Assessing New Trends, Analyzing Changing Demographics, and Incorporating Global Trends Into Your Marketing Strategy. My chapter, Marketing Trends: A Mix of Old, New, and Renewed, identified the five major trends impacting our publishing company's marketing communications and branding efforts. Specifically...

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Dylan Thomas warned against going "gentle into that good night."

I prefer a similar (though slightly cruder) observation by William Hurt in The Big Chill. Reflecting on how his friend Alex spent his last night on earth, Hurt's character Nick says, "He went out with a bang, not a whimper."

So whatever you do with the time you are given, don't fail to leave your mark. Have something that you have worked on that let's you say, "If it all ended tomorrow, at least I had a small part of THAT!"

Here's one of mine, Inspired by... The Bible Experience: 2007 Audio Book of the Year and recipient of both a Silver Anvil and Effie award.

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Bill Reviews: The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier

Consider yourself an idea person? Then you will like what this book has to say to you.

Consider yourself a creative person? Then you will like what this book has to show you.

Marty Neumeier demonstrates that he is both a sound strategist and talented designer with this fresh, compelling, and practical look at the often over-engineered world of brands and branding.

Neumeier keeps things refreshingly simple in The Brand Gap without sacrificing content, something both a brand novice and brand expert will appreciate. The short, 194-page book makes for a meaty yet breezy read. Back-of-the-book bonus features that will surely delight include the Take-Home Lessons, 220-item Glossary, Recommended Reading List, and a link to a free downloadable Adobe PDF presentation based on the book.

The book is well designed and well written, nothing less than what you might expect from an author whose career began more than 30 years ago as a designer and copywriter. The premium softcover binding presents a tasty package, and the text is regularly interrupted by strong graphics. Images fit nicely with the subject matter, bringing major points to life. The type size and weight make the text easy to read and allows for quick scanning. There are also good dark/light contrasts throughout.

I had just a few nits. Text-laden pages sans graphics scream for more breathing room (white space) at the margins where words feel uncomfortably cramped. Additionally, headlines and callouts are often so subtle they fail to command the attention that the weight of the ideas/concepts themselves require. Admittedly, these are relatively small criticisms regarding style, and I've been told more than once that it's best to just let art "flow over you."

Regarding substance, The Brand Gap takes great care to logically yet magically lay down the essential building blocks of branding. Neumeier first feels obliged, however, to clear a path for his ideas by dispelling common misperceptions, such as: 1) a brand is a logo, 2) a brand is a corporate identity, and 3) a brand is a product. According to Neumeier, a brand is none of these. Rather, a brand is "a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company." Further, Neumeier insists that a brand isn't what YOU (producers) say it is but what THEY (consumers) say it is.

Only through such a consumer-centric orientation do certain products, services, or companies even achieve charismatic brand status. These charismatic brands are iconic and speak an emotional rather than rational brand language to their consumers. Of course, you know the brands about which Neumeier writes: Apple, Virgin, Coke, Nike, and Disney.

Charismatic brand status is not confined, however, to only the biggest, best, boldest, or brightest. No, any brand, regardless of size (and marketing spend), can become charismatic. It just takes spanning the brand gap, that gulf between strategy and design, the difference between left-brain and right-brain thinking, between logic and magic. In Neumeier's words, charismatic brands have "a clear competitive stance, a sense of rectitude, and a dedication to aesthetics."

Consumer-centric branding also means that a brand's currency is one of trust. The greater the trust, the more valuable the brand is to consumers and the less likely they will defect the brand. Under such conditions it's no wonder that a brand's value can far exceed what its balance sheet might list under net assets.

Neumeier recommends five steps to span the brand gap, build charismatic brands, and create value. First, a brand must differentiate itself in the marketplace from all others. "Differentiate or die," as Jack Trout so aptly put it and the author reminds us. "Become remarkable" like a Seth Godin's purple cow.

One of my favorite parts of this section of the book is Neumeier's time line depicting the "evolution of marketing" from Features to Benefits to Experiences to Identification. This leads into a wonderfully rich discussion of tribalism (think Harley Davidson, Starbuck's, Apple, etc.) over globalism.

The second recommendation is to collaborate, or expressed in mathematical terms, 1+1=11. Neumeier posits that brands are not built in isolation, rather "it takes a village." And he offers up a myriad of organizational structures all designed to foster/optimize collaboration. For the most part, Neumeier comes across as solutions-neutral except for his fascination with the Hollywood Studio model, which unbundled formally vertically integrated companies.

Third, a brand must innovate. For me, this section is perhaps the most inspiring, although others might find it the most challenging. Innovation, you see, real innovation, "requires creativity, and creativity gives many business people a twitch. Anything new, by definition is untried, and therefore unsafe."

According to the author, "Innovation lies at the heart of both better design and better business." And I especially like Neumeier's bold attitude toward innovation, "When everyone zigs, zag." A great challenge indeed and the core concept behind his follow-up book entitled Zag: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands.

Fourth, a brand must validate. Neumeier supports the old business adage, "What gets measured, gets done." Or said slightly differently, "you can't manage what you don't measure." I found it refreshing to hear a creative type openly embrace research, recognizing its role in gathering important consumer insights and developing sound strategic platforms. Neumeier's observations on how and when to best employ qualitative and quantitative research techniques are simple but spot on.

The last of the five recommendations for spanning the brand gap, building charismatic brands, and creating value is to cultivate. This is perhaps the most obvious but potentially the most critical area of branding. Because, once a brand has been birthed, nurtured, and developed into something special, it needs proper care. It needs protection. It needs brand guardians, ambassadors, champions to make sure it doesn't just survive but also thrives through all market conditions. That takes alignment, training, discipline, and vigilance. Ah, but the benefits are incalculable.

Many other areas of this book deserve mention. While not all of the ideas in Neumeier's The Brand Gap are new ones, it is in their presentation that they take on greater meaning and significance. He adroitly spans the gap, straddles the hemispheres of the brain, and balances logic and magic.

So do as the author suggests and pick up a copy, throw it in your bag, and read it on your next plane ride. I'm fairly certain that you'll enjoy what it has to say and to show.

Bill's review was first featured in ECPA's E-LINK.

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