So Here’s Your Challenge

Price/Expertise/Trust: Do these dimensions — by themselves —generate sustainable competitive advantage? Not necessarily.
Most service-based organizations compete based on Price, Expertise and Trust. But developing competitive advantage requires taking each of these items to their logical conclusion.
✅ From Price to Value.
✅ From Expertise to Thought Leadership.
✅ From Trust to Trusted Advisor.
Unfortunately, many organizations (and people) pay lip service, at best. Or they claim to offer value, be thought leaders, and be trusted advisors, but in the minds of the market, they do not. In this week’s podcast, we ask: how might we do better?

To rebrand or not to rebrand? Not a question to be taken lightly, but it has been asked – or considered – by just about every CEO and every marketer at one point or another.
First, a quick definition of brand: it’s not the logo, or the name. The brand is the intrinsic quality of what you and the organization represent. It is how your organization interacts at each touchpoint. The question is whether your brand is truly aligned with the values you aspire to.
In this podcast, I share five reasons when rebranding makes sense... and four circumstances where a brand should be left as is.
 
Boost Your Leadership: If you hold a leadership role in your organization, meet Randall and ask your toughest business questions, without obligation. Find out more here:https://www.randallcraig.com/growth-coaching-for-ceos/ or book a time on his calendar directly at www.RandallCraig.net/30.
Boost Your Event: Do you have an event or meeting where Randall's presentations on marketing, thought leadership, or becoming a trusted advisor could make a difference? Call Randall directly at 416-918-5384, or reply to this email. (Presentation Descriptions: https://www.randallcraig.com/speaking/speaking-topics/)
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(And also check out the Braintrust Professional Institute for your team: https://braintrust.randallcraig.com.)

Creativity can help you solve some of the most difficult problems, which is why it is why it is valued so highly by clients (and your employer). Yet why are some people seemingly so creative, and others aren’t?
 

Too often it is the marketers, advertisers, PR folks, and others involved in the sales process who “own” digital within an organization. This isn’t surprising, but it is unfortunate. The development of relationships is critically important in just about every organizational department, and each person’s individual success.  

In Japanese culture, there is a cultural practice to avoid causing others to lose face. In business meetings, this often means that objections are not raised, and decisions are made apparently without a thorough discussion. While this is what appears to an outsider, the reality is far different.
 

Why are all consulting projects not wildly successful?  Why are some merely acceptable, and others fail?
Without a doubt, consultants are often to blame: they over-promise, under-scope, or take on assignments with unrealistic deadlines.  Yet clients also control the outcome of the engagement, and often, unwittingly, sabotage their consultants.
 

Consider this scenario: you get a phone call from a key client or a distraught family member: “didn’t you get my email?”  They are clearly upset that you “ignored” them: they see evidence that they are not your priority. You are not unresponsive.  You don’t care.  
Or maybe, your spam filter was doing just a bit too good a job.  Welcome to the world of Type I errors.
 

When was the last time you ever gave anything (or anyone) your 100% complete, undivided attention?  If you’re like most people – and you’re honest – it was probably a long, long, time ago.
The question is why.
 

In the olden days, external advisors would be called in whenever there is a problem to be solved.  Proposals would be reviewed, contracts negotiated, references checked, and the engagement would begin. The consulting team would show up, diagnose the source of the problem, and help the management team focus exclusively on getting rid of the bad.
Then, more often than not, the real problems would begin.