WE live in a fast-paced world of business. We can’t sit on our laurels and expect business to continue productively and profitably. There is need to constantly keep an eye on the bounce of the ball and swiftly disrupt what’s needed to stay afloat. It's no longer enough to do a “good” thing, but there is need to do the right thing. The best way to stay in business is to intentionally position and reposition the enterprise. Brands evolve and the business executive must be at the forefront of that change.
The inability to change swiftly and on time might have cataclysmic effects on business. We need speed, agility and acceleration in responding to change. Our columnist Jonah Nyoni (JN) engaged Keith Heywood (KH), a business strategist, soft skills training and development specialist on how business can be awake in the world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (Vuca).
JN: We live in a Vuca world, what is your advice to both the budding and old leaders in repositioning their brands?
KH: I must say that the Vuca world itself is so complex and evolving so fast that I do not think there is anyone on the planet who can claim to have a one-size-fits-all answer to what leaders of any sort can do to respond and reposition themselves. That said, there are principles that can guide thinking in trying to reposition brands. Let me share just three that come to mind:
- In the words of Mohamed Ali; “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”. Basically, have great agility and snap at opportunities faster that your competition.
- Learn and adapt faster than the rate of change. If you don’t you will fall into what someone called the valley of death.
- Differentiate — The marketplace is buzzing with all sorts of offers and new entrants are wreaking havoc to established brands. You must continue to ensure that what you are offering is unique.
JN: How do you sustain brand reputation as a leader?
KH: Consistency. Consistency. Consistency!
JN: The company or personal brand is on a plateau, or has nosedived, how does a leader revive it?
KH: Allow me to use the idea of a product life cycle. If you understand this concept, consider the same for a company brand and personal brand. Do not wait for the brand to plateau or even show signs of plateauing — re-invent when the brand is approaching its peak point.
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JN: Internet and AI are disruptive, how does a leader keep the brand ahead of the game?
KH: Let me put it out there. We are all in free fall as far as the internet and AI are concerned and the situation is going to get worse. I like what one of the American generals once said: “If you do not like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.” The message to leaders is simple: “Adapt or Die”. For companies, a practical guide is to hire more millennials who were born into this “madness”.
JN: How does a personal brand conflux effectively with the company brand without causing conflict?
KH: Let me let out a reality that is emerging in the company and personal brand space that is before us. For company brands to thrive and navigate the rogue waves of the Vuca world, the functionality and relationship of the personal brand and the company brand need to be reconfigured. The two must not be seen as incompatible or in conflict. Those familiar with European football may relate to this illustration. Brand Barcelona got as much value from itself as much as it got from having the Lionel Messi brand and vice-versa. The same can be said of many other similar situations. The key learning point here being that companies should not just seek to hire and keep people who need a job – but rather personal brands that need to co-brand to get greater effectiveness. Individuals in companies that develop and position themselves as brands are more valuable to the company than a threat as is usually thought. There is, therefore, no rationale in seeing conflict if one embraces this kind of paradigm.
JN: How important is brand repositioning?
KH: The term important does not best describe it. It’s a do or die scenario.
