Jenny Beres and Alex Grizinski: “If you want to have a Sara Blakely effect, you need to be showing up; You should be appearing in the press, showing up in the media, and being a thought leader and not a workhorse”
If you want to have a Sara Blakely effect, you need to be showing up. You should be appearing in the press, showing up in the media, and being a thought leader and not a workhorse. You should start stepping out using your company as an example of what you’ve learned. Be a leader.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Jenny Beres and Alex Grizinski, co-founders of Pink Shark PR.
Jenny Beres and Alex Grizinski are the Co-Founders of Pink Shark PR, an LA-based PR and influencer agency. After meeting in a screenwriting class back in 2013, J+A became fast friends and in 2015 cofounded their first company together, Six and Up, where they help entrepreneurs leverage their wildest dreams into lucrative businesses (and still do). You can connect with Jenny and Alex on Instagram at either @jennyberes and @alexgrizinski — or come hang out in their kick-butt Facebook community Six and Up.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Jenny: Alex and I have been in business together for 5 years, and prior to that I started out as a copywriter and quickly moved into influencer outreach marketing. I’ve always been the type to move to the next thing and to follow what was most inspiring to me. I’ve always been focused on doing what brings my clients and their brands the most awareness. So slowly the influencer marketing melded into doing press. One day, in the middle of getting press passes for a client to go to Coachella actually, Alex looked at me and said, “Jenny, I think we have a full-blown PR agency. I think we need to give it a name.”
Alex: Yes, exactly. We started out with a specific influencer who requested we start doing PR for her, so we were digging into Coachella. So we decided we needed to name it. I was sitting at an airport talking to Jenny about possible names, and there was this guy wearing a pink shirt that had sharks on it. I said, “Pink Shark PR,” and boom, we had a name. The rest is history. We kind of built the thing overnight, which is how we do everything in our business. We jump in with both feet and learn as we go. It makes us great for our clients because we’re super flexible in terms of what we can do for them. It’s created this journey where every client has very individualized services and attention, and we love that.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Alex: I don’t really believe in making mistakes in business. Based on the “classic” definition of a mistake, we’ve probably made a billion of them, so I wouldn’t be able to just point to one. However, I definitely think that if you learn from what you do, it’s not really a mistake. In business, it’s important to try stuff, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think this is especially true when it comes to branding. You just try things. It’s pretty much our philosophy on everything we do.
Jenny: On the funny side, I definitely mix up metaphors sometimes when I’m coming up with branding ideas. There was one person who called me out on it and I thought he was complimenting me at first. But I don’t know if that’s really a mistake or just me being me.
Alex: In terms of our branding though, we try not to get too caught up in decisions like wording or colors. We just see what we need to do and do it.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Jenny: I feel like there have been a couple of different tipping points for our business over the years. For the current form of our business, there was an obvious income tipping point when I started cold-pitching. Cold-pitching brands changed everything for our company because I decided to go out and start getting us clients instead of just looking at job boards. It was a game-changer for me making money personally that I used in my partnership with Alex.
Alex: I agree, and I think the second major tipping point for us was when we discovered mindset work. We had to reprogram our brains to believe in our ability to scale and bring on more and more money, clients, and even our team. It was all a mindset game with us. We had to believe that we were actually capable of running a company. The point at which a person transitions from thinking “I own a small business” to “I own a company” requires a major rewiring of the brain. I think the major takeaway from both moments is to not be afraid to put yourself out there. You can’t just lay down a net and hope fish swim into it. You shouldn’t be afraid to go out and create your own income.
Jenny: A lot of people wait until they have everything figured out before they go out and do something. For example, people want to have their websites perfect before they start making money. I didn’t even have a website when I started all of this, I just went out and did it. You don’t need to have your branding perfect to make money, your brand is you. That’s my biggest takeaway. Your brand is you.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Alex: We are an exciting new project. We are a team built of creatives and we don’t just use our PR skills to help our clients, we use them to help our creative adventures too. Everyone on our team has some creative outlet, whether they’re authors, screenwriters, or movie makers. So we’re using our PR abilities to also grow the creative side of our business, which is something we’re venturing into more this coming year.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Jenny: I don’t think I actually started avoiding burnout until our company grew to a place where I couldn’t take it all on by myself, so I had to start handing it off to other people. My advice is to get ruthlessly honest about what you should be working on, what you want to be working on, and what other people could be doing. It’s still something I work on every single day. The truth is, most of the things you think you should be doing for your company, everyone else is equipped to do. The few things that really only you can do, those are the things you should be hyper-focused on because that serves everyone on your team.
Alex: Yes. Build your team, build your team, build your team. Also, honor who you are in the process and don’t waste your time doing things that don’t feel good.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Jenny: For us, there’s no separation between brand marketing and product marketing. We’ve established a loyal community, we’ve gotten to know them, and we sell products and services. But the key is, they know who we are. They’ve gotten to know us from our social media platforms, our emails, and our commitment to showing up as leaders. So for us, there is no difference between the two. We believe we are our own brand and we just show up as us. We talk about the things that authentically interest us. The things we bring to the market have developed from our own needs. Necessity is the mother of innovation or invention. What’s the metaphor? I don’t know. (laughs).
Alex: See! A perfect example of the metaphor issue. Seriously though, when I think about product marketing I think of people like Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner is Kylie Jenner’s brand, and her business sells products. Kylie, as a brand, is the driver of her selling the products and that’s what has made her company a billion-dollar company. We’re in this economic climate where the line between product and brand starts dissolving. Ultimately, we have people selling products. People want to see the faces of the people selling them things they want to buy. Influencer marketing, which is what we do, has started to dissolve that line between people and products.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Alex: This goes back to my point about Kylie Jenner. Your brand is YOU. People are not just buying products anymore, they’re buying into you and your company’s mission. I literally just bought press-on-nails the other day because a woman on Instagram was showing herself packaging up her nails and shipping them to people. Her living room was filled with boxes and she was packaging them up. The investment in that is that now I’ve gotten to know the human behind the brand. I like her, so I want to support her.
I feel like traditional advertising can take the human out of marketing, and marketing has become a very human process. People no longer want to be sold to, they want the value to be given to them in the way that you sell. So that means interacting with the humans behind the brand. Advertising doesn’t have to be not-human, but when it comes down to investing energy in your brand it comes down to investing in you.
It’s important to invest in yourself because the better we become the more people are going to want to listen to what we have to say. A perfect example is Sara Blakely. She talks about being in a mastermind with other men, and listening religiously to Wayne Dyer tapes, and that all set the groundwork for the billion-dollar business she now owns. She talks about thinking like she was going to fail, and now people turn to her for advice because they want to do it the way she’s built it. She’s invested in herself, she cares about her mission, she’s become a well-rounded business that’s very conscious, and I believe that’s what we should all be striving for.
Jenny: I love that, and I think that there’s this misnomer between business and personal. I think building a business is the most personal, intimate thing you can possibly do. It turns you inside out. There is no separation between personal and business. Your business is extremely personal.
Alex: Yes, and that just makes it better because now we’re not just thinking about investing in ourselves, but also the people on our team. We care about investing in them, and that’s what building a brand is all about.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Alex: You should be rebranding every day. Seriously though, I don’t know if Jenny would agree with me, but we’re constantly reshaping our brand because we’re constantly reshaping ourselves.
Jenny: Absolutely! We change daily.
Alex: We’ve rebranded a million times and I think some people may think we’re a little messy with it. But I think of it as “making moves” more than rebranding. I think about Taylor Swift and how when everybody was calling her a snake, she just used it. She wiped her Instagram clean and put up a gif of a snake, and her album Reputation was born. It was one of her most successful albums of all time. When everyone said she was finished, she used what was happening to create a whole new image. It wasn’t just a rebrand but more of her shifting into a whole new version of herself. She could never go back to who she was before, which is more powerful. If something happens in your business, use it to reposition yourself.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Alex: The downside to rebranding is that you don’t want to fabricate something just to rebrand because you think you need a refresh. You want it to be an organic, authentic process. I would advise any company who is just thinking of doing a brand makeover for the sake of doing one to rethink their reasoning. If you get to a point where you need a major overhaul, you probably should have done something sooner. You should be revising your brand all the time.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Jenny: This is actually something that I’m super passionate about. Every company is so different, so I don’t think one company’s strategies will work for another. Passing out cookie-cutter strategies is something that can actually be a hindrance to your business. We like to dig way deeper to re-energize our brand.
Alex: I totally agree. We are always shifting and looking deeper to re-energize ourselves. That’s why our first suggestion would be to get in touch with who you really are. This could mean doing mindset work, going to a workshop, investing in a course, whatever you need to do to get to know YOU. There are too many companies out there that are not grounded in who they are and what they really want to do. Finding out is the only way to build something that sustains.
Jenny: A second suggestion would be to find out who your brand partners are. Your brand collaborators are going to be super powerful. Find influencers or colleagues with a similar mission who have a complementary offering, service, or product so you can tap into each other’s followings and start to build a community from both customer bases.
Alex: Third, we’d suggest paying attention to who’s buying from you. It not only reflects who your customer is, but also who you are. Thinking about their perspective as they come to your website, etc. helps you to sell them what they want, but also be able to give them what they need.
Jenny: Fourth is that your CEO should be speaking. If you want to have a Sara Blakely effect, you need to be showing up. You should be appearing in the press, showing up in the media, and being a thought leader and not a workhorse. You should start stepping out using your company as an example of what you’ve learned. Be a leader.
Alex: Yes, because again, people want to know the humans behind the company. Our final point would be to get personal and talk to the people. Talk to your team, your customers, whoever interacts with your brand. You will naturally re-energize your brand by getting to know the people who interact with it. Right now our team is small enough where I can interact directly. I strive to sit down and talk to every one of our team members to get to know them and see how they feel about what they’re doing. This not only helps me, but it helps to get people positioned well on the team, doing what they are most happy doing. But we also have social media groups where we can ask clients what they want and they can tell us. Social media is great for this. No matter what platform you use, it’s fantastic to get you directly to your people. And people feel very connected to us and what we do because we talk to them.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Alex: Again, I think Taylor Swift is a great rebrander. She does a fabulous job with her fans and incorporates all the points we’ve been talking about. She talks to her fans, she positions herself in front of them, she puts easter-eggs in her products to give her fans things to have fun with, and then she uses what happens to completely recreate herself. She would be irrelevant if she hadn’t revitalized her brand so well. And she does it constantly as she has grown.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Alex: I think we’re having it right now.
Jenny: Yes! We are having it right now.
Alex: With the onset of the Coronavirus we’re having a whole work-from-home revolution happening. Freedom is happening in this confinement. Brands are having to adjust to putting everything online, and it’s forcing them to rebrand in all ways. It’s not just rebranding, it’s uprooting. No matter what’s happening in the world, the companies who will last are the ones who will use this moment to revitalize, not just stay afloat. Industries like exercise brands and meditation, where people have had to go to space before, are now digitizing. It’s going to change how they do business forever because it’s opening them up to a global marketplace.
Jenny: Yes! The revolution we’d inspire, and that we’re in, is having the freedom to have the space to create the brand that you want. We are in the middle of a revolution of getting to pick and choose how you want to go forward, and there is a lot of power in that. There are people who had dreams they wanted to accomplish and things they wanted to do that they didn’t have the time to do before, and now they have the space to figure that out. Companies who have wanted to pivot are now being forced to.
Alex: And now that they’re learning to do this, they’re going to be able to do it over and over again. It’s amazing.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Alex: I like the quote, “Work harder on yourself than you do on your business.” It’s a variation on a Jim Rohn quote. I like it because it’s what Jenny and I always strive to do. When we first started working together, we had to figure out what would make us successful. I had a coach at the time who told me I needed to spend a ton of time doing mindset work and something in that rang true to me. As soon as we started focusing on that and programming our brains for success, we started having success. That’s why the quote speaks to me, because we’ve seen what it can do.
How can our readers follow you online?
Jenny: You can find us at our website: https://www.pinksharkpr.com/. But we also have a Facebook group for all kinds of business owners called The Six & Up Community. It’s a great community for all business owners.
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
Simply be your authentic self. I’ve got to be honest, as a woman in my forties, I realize this is a lifetime journey. It changes with seasons and some seasons are easier. Some seasons it takes a little more effort, but if I don’t want to live a life of loneliness, I have to be the person I am uniquely designed to be.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Chelsea Smith. Prior to becoming a Lead Pastor in 2009, Chelsea Smith led Generation Church, the youth ministry of The City Church, for ten years. Chelsea is a gifted leader and speaker, noted for her down-to-earth wisdom, authenticity, humor and strong faith. Chelsea and her husband Judah have three children, Zion, Eliott, and Grace. They live in Seattle and Los Angeles.
Thank you for joining us Chelsea! Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to become a pastor?
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to help people. When I went to college initially as a human development major, I thought I was going to become a high school guidance counselor. I just naturally seemed to value and recognize that each one of us needs a human connection for making life decisions and to know that we aren’t out there alone. By the time I went to college, I had really fallen in love with Jesus. This was never a religion for me or a set of morals of dos and don’ts. I encountered a real person named Jesus and He changed my life. So much so that I realized that the best way I could help people was through being a pastor, being someone who could share the story, and the love of Jesus, and He is the source of all our answers.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started on this path?
Oh wow, that’s a hard one! I’ve been doing this for 20 years, so there’s definitely a lot of stories that I’ve gotten to experience. They range from having a high school girl I worked with who found herself working in prostitution and helping her find her way out, to being able to sit with people of influence who are also navigating their faith. I think the most interesting thing that has happened lately, in light of the pandemic, is the story of a young woman who was about ready to take her life. She was looking on social media and saw another person who is a part of our church community post something about church in the comments. She clicked on it and we happened to be having a live church service, and I don’t know which platform she watched it on, but she watched it and saw that we have Pastor Chat on our Churchome app. She chatted with some of our incredible team and pastors and instead of deciding to take her life she met the person of Jesus for the first time. She said she felt like a weight was lifted off of her and she has hope again for her life. It really doesn’t get any better or more for fulfilling than that.
Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting out? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
Oh my gosh, I’ve made so many mistakes there’s way too many to count! There was a time I was on stage in front of 5,000 people trying to say the “shed” blood of Jesus but instead, I said the “shit” blood of Jesus, so that got a laugh from everybody and kind of took us out of the moment. I, of course, was horrified! There was also this time I was five months pregnant and walking off the stage and missed the last step and totally fell on my hands and knees in front of everybody, so that was embarrassing. I don’t know what I learned from those things, other than the fact that we can survive humiliation and you just have to get back up and keep going. I think the biggest mistake I made in younger days was the mistake of thinking that our relationship with Jesus is more about us, our performance, and what we do right or wrong when it really is about God and what he’s already done for us. As a young pastor, I put too much emphasis on our own works and not enough emphasis on the incredible work of Jesus. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned so much more about His love and His grace and His acceptance. That is truly the greatest fuel and motivation for lasting life change.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Right now, I’m more excited than I have ever been 20 years into this. That excitement comes from the opportunities that technology is giving us to connect people with God and to connect them with each other — especially seeing so much of that happening right now. We have developed the Churchome app that really is growing to become the key connecting point within our church. One of the things I’m so excited about is that we can provide people with guided prayer. I don’t know about you but for me, prayer can seem daunting and overwhelming to just talk to a God that I can’t see. Somehow, innately within us, we know we’re supposed to pray but it can seem overwhelming to know how to start or what to say or what to talk to God about. Through the Churchome app, my husband and I take turns guiding people in the practice of prayer. It’s just 5 to 7 minutes and in the times that we’re living in, I find myself getting perspective first before I open my news app in the morning. Guided prayers give me the perspective to handle everything else that is coming at us right now, which is so difficult and tragic. When we can see those things in the light of who God is, we could really live with His perspective. That is one of the things that we have on the Churchome app. I love it because the app is not an end unto itself, it really is a platform for building true community where you can start with a Guided Prayer, and then you can meet with a pastor through Pastor Chat, or watch a live service on Wednesdays or Sundays, and then from there, you can get connected with people in your area to really have a real authentic faith experience.
According to this story in Forbes, loneliness is becoming an increasing health threat not just in the U.S., but across the world. Can you share with our readers why people may look to you as a Lead Pastor to fight this Loneliness epidemic they may be experiencing?
I agree, loneliness is such a huge epidemic in the world we are facing and what I find so interesting is that in some ways we are unknown by more people than ever before. I feel like we are actually known by fewer people, meaning that even though more people may see us on social media or see us through Instagram or Twitter, the number of people who really truly see us and know us are becoming fewer and fewer. The people who really know your authentic self, who really know your fears and your dreams and your anxieties and your love, that’s what really eliminates loneliness — being truly known. This is one of the greatest things I believe because as followers, we share the message of Jesus. The message of Jesus tells us that we are fully loved for exactly who we are. Jesus does not require any change in us before He loves us fully and completely. I really believe it is from that place of realizing that Jesus knows me, and He loves me exactly how I am, that gives us the courage to show our true selves to other people in our world, so we can truly be known, and we can fight the epidemic of loneliness.
Can you articulate for our readers 3 reasons why being lonely and isolated can harm one’s health? On a broader societal level, in which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?
I absolutely agree that loneliness is detrimental to our health. First and foremost, we were designed as human beings to live in relationship with one another. You can see it even the way that children are born into families as a relational unit. I believe that is the way God intended it, knowing that we would need relationships for the rest of our lives. Being in relationships is the truest expression of humanity on this planet. Everything else that we could ever do outside of relationships will not bring fulfillment. That leads me to the second point, the reason loneliness is so detrimental is we can have everything we’ve ever wanted in the world, but if we have all of that without relationships it’s empty. You can have the most amazing house, and if you are in it by yourself what good does it really do? You can have the most incredible car, or boat or jet and if you are truly alone, it doesn’t matter what else you have, none of those things in and of themselves will ever bring fulfillment. Which leads me to the third point of why loneliness is so detrimental. We can see the mental health crisis in America and all over the world. Is it correlated to the lack of family relationships, lack of friendships, lack of true connections, and really knowing each other and being known? I believe the state of our collective mental health is reflective of the state of our collective loneliness.
The irony of having a loneliness epidemic is glaring. We are living in a time where more people are connected to each other than ever before in history. Our technology has the power to connect billions of people in one network, in a way that was never possible. Yet despite this, so many people are lonely. Why is this? Can you share 3 of the main reasons why we are facing a loneliness epidemic today? Please give a story or an example for each.
I agree. It is so ironic that we are living in a world that is more connected than ever before yet also the loneliest humanity has ever been. How is that possible? I believe there are three reasons that contribute to this irony. First, we are rarely truly known by anyone. I alluded to this in one of my earlier answers. The digital connection that we all face can often lead us to present a version of ourselves that is our “Instagram” life. We put up the best meals we make, our best vacations, we show our beds when they are made, and we show our families on Easter and Christmas, the one time of the year where not everyone is wearing sweats. This creates an innate loneliness because our desire is to be known and loved for who we really are. If we feel that we are loved or accepted for a fake version of ourselves then we intuitively know that love or acceptance is fake and cheap. What we are all craving is to really be known on the truest deepest level for somebody to actually know us. The image that we are portraying on digital media does not provide a way for that to happen. Secondly, I believe digital media also leads us to truly not know others. We were created and designed not just to be known but to know other people and not to just know their Instagram life but to know their real life. Because when we really know others, it helps us determine our own sense of self. I know for Judah (my husband) and me, when we have gone to marriage counseling, one of the greatest things the counselor can say is “that’s a normal response for what you are going through” and how impactful it is to hear those words and how peaceful to realize I’m not alone. I haven’t lost my mind and what I’m facing is not unique to me — it’s a human problem. Until we truly know other people, what they are feeling, facing and going through, we will feel like we are strange or alone or what we are facing is abnormal instead of it all being part of our normal human condition. Thirdly, I really believe not knowing ourselves is at the root of the problem that we are facing. We always say if you come to one of our gatherings as a church community, we are not trying to persuade you to believe what we believe, but we are sharing our experience. I believe the only way I can truly know myself is by knowing my creator, to know the God that created me who saw me from my first breath who will see me into my last breath. He knows the things about me that I don’t even know about myself. I realize that my creator loves me with unconditional love and acceptance. From that place, I can know, love, and accept myself, which allows me to open up my heart to know, love, and accept others.
8. In your experience, what are the 5 things each of us can do to help solve the Loneliness Epidemic? Please give a story or an example for each.
Loneliness is not an epidemic that has to affect our lives. In fact, I believe there are five things that each one of us can do to go through this process and really kick loneliness out of our lives.
1. Being known by God is the first thing. You may not agree with this premise, but you are here reading an article from a pastor. The first way to deter loneliness in our lives is to be known and loved by God. And here is the greatest thing about this first step: it’s not actually a step we have to take or make happen. The truth is, it’s already happened. God knows each and every one of us and He loves us unconditionally. Truly all we need to do is acknowledge and accept this love. Maybe you have never had a conversation with God, maybe you do not know where to start. But can I encourage you to start with a simple sentence? Just say “God can you let me know you know me? “Can you let me know you love me?” It’s a simple prayer but I truly believe in a God that hears you. I believe if you pray that prayer with faith in your heart, He is going to do things in your life, so you are known and loved by God.
2. Simply be your authentic self. I’ve got to be honest, as a woman in my forties, I realize this is a lifetime journey. It changes with seasons and some seasons are easier. Some seasons it takes a little more effort, but if I don’t want to live a life of loneliness, I have to be the person I am uniquely designed to be. I can’t try to be a cheap imitation of somebody else. I know it’s cliché, but only I can be the very best me there is. Brace yourself for a total mom brag. We have three kids, two boys who are 15 and 13, and our baby girl is 11. Just this past year our baby girl, Grace, moved to a brand-new school as a fifth-grader which is the oldest grade in her elementary school. Recently we had our parent-teacher conference at this new school with her new teacher and I received the greatest mom compliment I’ve ever received. Her teacher said, “you know Grace, she really knows who she is.” When she said that I thought, I want to know that for me personally for my whole life. I not only want to protect that in my daughter but also in me. And that starts by being known by God — the one who created me perfectly and finding security in that truth.
3. To know others. Each and every one of us needs to get out of our comfort zones and seek to truly know others. The old adage is true, to have friends we must be friendly. Every day in our social interactions we make choices. Are we going to be comfortable with surface-level conversations such as talking about the latest TV shows, the weather, or the latest office gossip? Or are we going to go deeper and truly get to know people? To know people’s thoughts, desires and fears? The truth is for a lot of people we interact with it is surface level. But for each one of us I know there are four or five people that come to mind, that we could get to know better. Be courageous and ask meaningful questions to those individuals. Ask what their dreams are, ask what their family life was like growing up. Ask what makes them afraid and what gets them excited. Be vulnerable and tell them about yourself. The only way we can truly know each other is by having these meaningful conversations. Let me say this, this advice is not just for women, men can do this too. I look at my husband and in the last few years, he has developed some of the most meaningful relationships. I know there is a lot of golfing and joking around but woven within that are deep meaningful conversations that combat loneliness.
4. Find a larger community to identify with. I don’t know if you’ve seen the ads that are promoting Facebook groups. They have a dog walking group, a Star Trek group — you know whatever your common interest group is. I can’t imagine all the research Facebook put behind this effort. But I am sure they have found in the makeup in every human being, that our creator has always known that we need, and that is we need to identify in a group that is larger than ourselves that shares common interests. To truly know who we are and have authentic relationships and belong in community. And not everyone in this large group will know you but a handful might. But it is the larger group that gives us that sense of identity and making a difference in the world. For me, my community is my church. I belonged to the church long before I was leading it and I plan to be a part of it long after I am done.
5. Give back. Sometimes, when all you are feeling is lonely and you want to curl up in your bed with ice cream and watch Netflix, that is the best time to pick yourself up and give back to others. I just heard the most incredible story of a woman who is on staff at our church. She moved to Seattle 5 years ago in 2015 and her marriage was crumbling. She had two small kids and was trying to figure out how to move to a brand-new city, raise children and make friends. I do not know what inspired her, but she volunteered to host a tea party at a local women’s shelter from an internet posting she found. This incredible woman decided to go and serve others even in the middle of her own pain, and it was from that one act of serving that she made close friends and five years later her marriage is doing great and she is living a life full of quality relationships.
I love that these five things are not fully completed but are a continual process. None of us have to be brilliant individuals, none of us have to be superhuman. These are all attainable for every one of us, and I truly believe as we step out and do these five things, loneliness can and will be eradicated. Not just in our lives but the individuals of the world we are living in.
9. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I actually feel so blessed because I already get to lead the movement I believe would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people in the world. That movement isn’t specifically Churchome or any religious organization by name. I believe that movement is truly a movement of unconditional love and understanding that is fully and completely found in knowing who Jesus is. When I met Jesus, I felt the most incredible unconditional love I have ever known. I believe if the world could receive that love from Jesus and then, in turn, give that love to each other, then we could truly bring healing and good to the entire planet.
10. Is there a person in the world, or in the U.S., with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
If I can have any meal with any person, it would be breakfast because I love breakfast food and I am definitely more of a morning person. I don’t know who this specific person would be by name, but I would love to find someone who thinks completely opposite of me. Maybe in matters of God, humanity and politics and would love to sit down and have a conversation with that person. My goal wouldn’t be to try to change their mind or get them to think the way I think, but the goal of that conversation would be understanding. There is an ancient Proverb that says, above all else, get understanding. I think so much of the division that our world is facing right now is caused simply because we don’t take time to understand people who are different from us. What I actually hope I would find in that conversation, is the person who on paper is considered the most opposite of me, isn’t actually that different. We truly are all looking for love and acceptance and trying to make the world a better place collectively.
Have fun. Push yourself to learn and push yourself to fail. Failure can ultimately be your stepping stone to success. Take a break and regroup when you need to so that you don’t burn out.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Abboud, founder and CEO of TetherView. Home of the Digital Bunker and Frictionless Cloud.
Michael attended both New York University and St. John’s University graduating with a degree in finance. Michael’s early career was in global operations assisting with transitioning IT platforms at Goldman Sachs. He later started Monarch Medical a leader in MRI, CT, & PET/CT sales and service. Michael left the board of Monarch to start TetherView. TetherView is a leading Private Cloud provider that offers a full-service cloud solution that encompasses security, compliance, backup, and mobility. TetherView has quickly and quietly become cloud computing’s best-kept secret. Michael established the main pillars of TetherView to be business continuity, cost containment, and unparalleled security. Michael has more than 15 years of Healthcare and Business Technology experience and has led teams large and small across multiple industries to successful outcomes.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I first experienced that unique adrenaline rush I still get whenever I close a deal while I was attending NYU in 1997. Most students were out partying, but I made the decision to start my first business selling used MRIs. I worked hard and managed to also squeeze in social time because work balance has always been important to me, even back then. After graduating I took a position with Goldman Sachs and gained leadership skills by observing how the leaders in the company ran such a successful establishment. I missed the freedom that came with my first business and decided to return to the radiology business. For the next 15 years, I had a lot of fun in the medical world because there was so much innovation. When it was no longer fun (due to regulatory constraints) I began an exit plan which led me to TetherView. I started TetherView because I realized that middle market businesses were a mess when it came to IT and they were not prepared for the next industrial revolution. My approach for TetherView was not a technical one, but rather a practical one. The Digital Bunker was designed to be the antithesis of the cloud, which is why we created the Frictionless Cloud.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led you to think of the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
It was a combination of things. Between Sandy shutting down businesses and Obama Care crippling healthcare innovation, I realized that it was time to put a plan in motion and pursue a different path. After some soul searching while I exited healthcare, I started testing different technologies that would consolidate services, be resilient, and cost-effective. In 2015, I made a leap by purchasing my first servers and started testing. Through trial and error, I knew I created a platform that could transform the cybersecurity industry and I had the “aha moment” that my approach really was feasible and people would want my services. My belief was finally confirmed later that year when we signed our first client. We deliberately choose an architecture firm because everyone said it was impossible to virtualize the intense graphic compute a design company required.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Things are amazing today. My grit and resilience led to my eventual success because I refused to give up even when people tried to convince me that I’d fail because they didn’t understand my approach. I assembled a great team and our determination has proven to be the most comprehensive offering in the IT space. Unlike our competition, we have consolidated over 60 services into a concise flat pricing offer. We have fought and continue to fight against the mainstream public cloud and traditional box offerings. Creating and trademarking the Digital Bunker and Frictionless Cloud really helped us tell the story faster and more effectively.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Customers (even extremely technical ones) don’t want to know about the wizardry behind the curtain, they want their IT to work so they can focus on their core business.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Have fun. Push yourself to learn and push yourself to fail. Failure can ultimately be your stepping stone to success. Take a break and regroup when you need to so that you don’t burn out.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I am very fortunate to have met and interacted with so many amazing people, but if I had to pick one I would say, my mom. She gives 100% to everything she does, she taught me to work hard and appreciate what you have.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Approximately how many users or subscribers does your app or software currently have? Can you share with our readers three of the main steps you’ve taken to build such a large community?
Our three steps are: Trust, Satisfaction, and Smart Teammates. Our community is built with trust. Trust cannot be bought — it has to be earned. One of our secrets to success is our ‘No Grumpy Customer Policy’. The other secret is to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you and just as dedicated to the mission.
What is your monetization model? How do you monetize your community of users? Have you considered other monetization options? Why did you not use those?
We provide a very transparent simple pricing model which counter intuitive to the industry. We chose this model because our accounting system is not that complicated…The reality is that I believe this is the only way to do it. The public cloud pricing model is way too complicated. I had dinner with a client who spends 7 digits with Microsoft annually. He is consistently surprised with 20% variances. With our model pricing things are far simpler.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a very successful app or a SaaS? Please share a story or an example for each.
Explain what you do in a few words.
Know your audience.
Take a stand. Don’t be everything to everyone. Don’t be Everything as a Service.
Don’t be afraid to do something different.
This is the hardest one: Be awesome. Don’t suck. Stop enabling mediocrity.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
The common-sense movement. Stop complicating everything, let nature take its course, and please stop celebrating mediocrity. I have the privilege of mentoring executive graduate students. To me, the folks that standout is respectful, humble, and know-how to listen.
Today, the coronavirus outbreak pushes retailers to even faster adoption of digital channels and innovation. E-commerce is booming and will continue winning the hearts of consumers, although, before the crisis, it used to account for 10–15% of the retailer’s turnover. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers are expected to become more price-sensitive and used to online shopping, which means that retailers will need to pay even more attention to pricing as a primary driver of their profitability
As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alexander Galkin, co-founder and CEO at Competera, a retailtech company offering a comprehensive pricing platform for enterprise retailers across 26 countries.
A serial entrepreneur, a Forbes contributor and a speaker at IRX, e-Commerce and RBTE conferences, Alex has 12+ years in auditing and consulting retail enterprises globally.
Thank you for joining us Alex! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
While majoring in Computer Science, I also worked as part of a MedTech project. We developed a neural network to power an “electronic nose” to distinguish scents. It was back in 2004–2005, so the network was pretty simple. But I already knew that this technology has a great future. Then my life took a turn: after graduating from the university, I found myself working for a company from the Big Four. There, I was responsible for providing consulting and auditing services to retailers. Simultaneously, I got trained in auditing and IT implementation systems.
By the time I got 24 years old, I had earned good money after selling an outsourcing company and continuing to work for the consulting firm. The consultancy was a financially rewarding job, but I wasn’t getting what I needed. I helped others develop successful products, but I was craving to create something myself.
In 2012, I decided it was time to move on. I told a friend of mine: “I have money. Let’s build a product.” I didn’t have a precise idea of what it would be — we just wanted to start something of our own. That’s how we launched a copycat of American Woot, a website offering daily product discounts (Woot was acquired by Amazon several years ago).
We invested the equivalent of two Lexuses into the project, but it didn’t work out for several reasons. The local market was not ready for this type of offering. We also spent too much time just developing the platform instead of deploying it right away and upgrading it in real-time. Besides, I realized that I had no passion for building a non-product business. Meanwhile, here our main focus was buying and selling traffic.
Back then, I noticed that retailers rarely made data-driven pricing decisions and set optimal prices. Most of very advanced retailers would collaborate with the Big Four to get long, 200-page reports with the market forecast and recommendations on what pricing strategies to apply based on econometric models, in other words, long Excel formulas.
This status quo was flawed in several ways. First, only extremely established retailers could afford cooperation with the Big Four. Secondly, as a rule, only up to 20% of the recommendations were applied. The reason for this was quite simple: all the strategies were rather high-level, which meant that pricing analysts had yet to turn them into precise steps — and they simply did not have tools to do that.
That’s how the idea of Competera was born. We wanted to “hire” machine learning algorithms to make all the necessary calculations to recommend the most efficient pricing strategies. But back in 2014, we had no infrastructure to execute such a project, while the technology itself was not advanced enough. But at the same time, we also knew that any product would start with data. That’s how we started Competera as a competitive data provider for retailers.
Since then we have come a long way to become a comprehensive pricing platform which allows retailers to combine several pricing approaches — from market-driven to demand-based pricing — to make every product in the assortment help the retailer reach their goals, be it grab a market share, cut expenses or maintain the profit margin.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
It would be an observation rather than a story. Since launching Competera, I’ve worn several hats — from a matcher (a person responsible for finding identical products offered by the retailer’s competitors) to a courier to a marketer to a developer. I used to be the interim Head of Sales when we were entering three markets at once. I didn’t sleep for several weeks back then. I had to handle calls from Australia and the US. Both of these countries are actually in different time zones to mine. In the daytime, I had a team to manage. I used to get up at 4 am and go to bed at 2 am. Living like this for several weeks is hell, trust me.
As a CEO, I need and can gather an outstanding team that can share your vision and help scale it. It’s not about the battle of ideas; it is about the synergy and the ability “to row” in the same direction with the same rhythm. That’s beyond exciting!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
Some time ago I came up with a genius idea of a report dubbed “Price Index” we could provide to retailers. I was entirely sure that our clients would be on cloud nine as soon as they could use it. Developing the report took three months and cost us several thousand dollars. Once it was deployed — wait for it! — only 2% of our customers actually used it.
My main takeaway was: no matter how genius your idea sounds, test it first. That’s why I’ve asked our product team to test my ideas and not to follow them blindly.
Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I love it when our product team engages me in discussing our platform — they show me new features and explain their necessity, expect my feedback. I genuinely appreciate it. What drives me is that our platform is getting even closer to being a single workplace for category managers that can use it not only to set prices, but to track their performance, create strategies and monitor their effectiveness, and course-correct, if necessary. By automating calculations, providing all the necessary insights at any level — from an SKU to the whole assortment — and suggesting optimal data-driven strategies, we aim to free up to 4 working hours per category manager per day.
Our biggest goal is to help retailers optimize their operations, cut expenses, and stay competitive while helping category (or pricing) managers build the best careers in the industry.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Professional “burnout” is a serious issue — and you need to know how to deal with it, or better, how to prevent it. I suggest taking a ten-day vacation twice a year. From my experience, seven days are not enough as you will still be dealing with business tasks for the first three days. Then I would also add three days per quarter to take a break.
Another piece of advice would be to take up sports that leave you no time to get distracted. Martial arts can be a good example. In this regard, the gym is not the best option as it still gives you plenty of time to think of something else other than doing pull-ups. Once I read that our brain takes a break when we concentrate on something which does not require engaging our intellect. So, weaving or drawing can be an option, too.
If you are going through hard times, try to find something to encourage you. In my case, customers’ feedback helps a lot. Knowing that you are doing the right thing that truly changes the lives of retailers is a huge booster.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I think it’s too early to say that I have found THE mentor. Indeed, I regularly talk to a group of entrepreneurs whose opinions I appreciate. I particularly value the experience of people that have failed at something, because failure is a better teacher than success.
But if you still want to narrow it down to one person, I’d say it’s my father. As a student, I co-developed a program that had some success. This fact made me think of quitting the university. My dad, who used to be in the military, told me that he would shoot me in the leg if I did it. So, I stayed. Needless to say that he was right — our project would fail two years later. What’s more, my dad taught me some basic, but pretty crucial things — to be honest and straightforward.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’d be careful when using the word “success.” It’s still a long way to go. But anyway 🙂 As I see it, I can bring goodness to the world by creating highly paid jobs and “growing” true professionals at the company I run — which will also help to create even more companies like this run by people that started their careers with us. I’d really want to build a true unicorn and do for Ukraine what Skype has managed to do for Estonia — bring investment and expertise to the country.
Also, I dedicate some time to sharing my business experience as a speaker at 5–6 conferences annually and as a columnist. For example, I’ve been a member of the Forbes Technology Council for almost two years now. I believe that my talking about mistakes I’ve made can help other entrepreneurs avoid them in the future.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main question of our interview. Can you share 5 examples of how retail companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to shop?
I’d like to start by emphasizing the following: retail is the oldest industry in the world that has survived all the good and bad things there’ve been to survive. However, today the required speed of changes is so high that retailers have trouble putting up with it.
Among these changes are the shopping behavior and purchasing power of younger generations. Although millennials spend almost as much time shopping like their parents, they are less financially rewarded compared to previous generations that tend to leave big cities, taking along their spending habits and abilities. Younger generations expect shopping to become a kind of emotional experience rather than a simple act of making a purchase. Thus, retail is leaning towards being more experiential than ever before. It’s becoming a space where shopping meets entertainment and technology.
Today, the coronavirus outbreak pushes retailers to even faster adoption of digital channels and innovation. E-commerce is booming and will continue winning the hearts of consumers, although, before the crisis, it used to account for 10–15% of the retailer’s turnover. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers are expected to become more price-sensitive and used to online shopping, which means that retailers will need to pay even more attention to pricing as a primary driver of their profitability (as you know, according to PwC and Deloitte, the price of a product is the main factor for shoppers when making a purchase). In the short- and mid-term, most companies are likely to use a market-based pricing approach which will allow them to react to competitors’ price changes in a smart way, offer competitive prices while speeding up the pricing process and cutting expenses to survive the time of uncertainty.
As the power of the current crisis will be fading, retailers will go back to long-term strategies which include creating the most personalized retail experience possible — in terms of the product, selling channel, timing, price and delivery options. Here AI comes into play as it is projected to optimize various areas of retail operations — from pricing to interaction with customers to managing warehouses and delivery — and decision making in the increasingly complex environment. In pricing, AI-powered tools will help retail managers switch to demand-based pricing, make the right pricing decisions for all the products in the assortment, separately and combined, based on the data regarding their demand elasticity at any given moment and create the right price perception (just like Amazon).
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’d start two movements: “Saving the Earth” and “Better education.” I’m all for a more fair distribution of resources and a healthier planet being home to more educated people. I believe we need this.
To me investing in building your brand should be the top priority for your business. If you are successful in creating a clear brand message to the consumer, they will be more likely to try your product or service. General marketing and advertising is a secondary necessity to help maintain a strong brand.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Ben Premo.
With over 10 years of banking experience under his belt Ben is putting his knowledge to use by helping others avoid financial missteps as Founder of TrueFees. He discovered a need for more transparency in the world of banking after working in various consumer-facing roles. His solution not only benefits the consumer but also benefits financial institutions that are committed to providing better products and services.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After working a number of years in the banking industry I was exposed to both good and bad. One of the negatives that consumers are faced with when having a bank account is paying for numerous fees. I saw how fees could have a significant impact on someone who is living paycheck to paycheck. I wanted to create a trusted resource that consumers could turn to when looking for a banking experience without all the fees.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Looking back now I’d say using GooglePlus was a funny marketing mistake. I spent a lot of time and energy creating content for GooglePlus, which is no longer running. I learned it’s best to focus on fewer social media platforms for better results.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There are a lot of beneficial consumer finance sites out there, but they all seem to promote the same megabanks. There is a growing number of digital banks that don’t nickel and dime their customers with ridiculous fees. What makes TrueFees different is our commitment to only list financial institutions that meet our low-cost standard.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
TrueFees is currently collaborating with an online service that will offer significant cash rewards to its users. Those people that use their checking account responsibly will receive earnings that are much higher than any interest rates available today.
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
A lot of times people think of physical appearance or design when they think of brand marketing. I think it’s much more than that. Brand marketing encompasses the entire story or message of your business and how it relates to the consumer. It could relate to how it makes someone feel or how it encourages someone to improve their lifestyle. It’s important that brand marketing be clear and simple. Product marketing should focus on getting the consumer to engage by using or purchasing what your business offers.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
To me investing in building your brand should be the top priority for your business. If you are successful in creating a clear brand message to the consumer, they will be more likely to try your product or service. General marketing and advertising is a secondary necessity to help maintain a strong brand.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
1. Every company big or small should have a website to help build a trusted brand. Someone is more likely to engage with your business if you have an online presence. The best part is it’s easy and affordable to create a site for your business in 2020.
2. Once your site is active it’s also beneficial to publish testimonials from your customers. This is a great way for building trust with potential new customers that have not tried or purchased from you before. Make sure consumers can easily locate your testimonials on your website.
3. A third strategy is creating a social media presence. A lot of times a consumer will visit your social page first before going to your website for more specific information about your business. Choose one or two social media platforms that allow you to reach your target audience. Don’t feel like you need to be on every social media platform just because your competition is.
4. Another great way to build trust for your brand is to be featured by a reputable media source. That can be easier said then done especially if you are a new business. An example of a service I use to increase the chances of building credibility with the public is HARO (helpareporter.com).
5. The public appearance of sponsorship is another strategy that can build trust for your brand. Getting involved and being seen at public events is a great way to interact with consumers and tell your brand story. A service that helps connect potential sponsors with event creators is called sponsormyevent.com
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand? What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
The first company that comes to my mind for building a beloved brand is Apple. They do a great job telling a story with their marketing. Their products are great, but they focus more on how they make you feel, look, and improve your overall life. Ultimately people strive each day to improve their lives in some way, and Apple has done a great job in marketing to address that need. To best way to replicate Apple’s success is by creating a clear message that your service or product is life-changing.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand-building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
Building a trusted brand does not happen overnight, and there are multiple factors that go into it. I think measuring a brand’s success only by its sales can be misleading. Sales can naturally fluctuate depending on the type of business and the industry. I think measuring customer growth and retention over a period of time is a better way to measure a brand’s success.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Like any other marketing you should have a purpose for using social media. I use social media as a tool to echo my brand’s message while trying not to sound too corporate. It’s also a great way to interact with potential users and clients. If you’re just starting a business it’s important to focus your attention on only one or two social media platforms.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
Building a successful brand is a process. To avoid burnout set short term goals that can be accomplished on a daily or weekly basis, and be sure to celebrate small successes. Try not to waste energy or stress about long term goals. They will never come to fruition if your motivation has gone.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My idea for a movement would have to do with people helping people through free financial advice and real life lessons about money.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen” — Michael Jordan. This quote has always been motivating for me. Growing up I loved playing sports especially basketball. It’s now something I can relate to starting my own career path.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have lunch or breakfast with?
It would be great to sit down with the founder of nerdwallet, Tim Chen. He has built one of the most recognized brands in personal finance. I’m sure there is a lot I could learn from him when it comes to creating a service that benefits both the consumer and financial institution.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can connect with me on LinkedIn or follow TrueFees on twitter.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
A brand evolution can include visual updates, stronger messaging, building larger design systems, or implementing internal brand changes that strengthen values and touchpoints to attract and keep the right talent. The need to rebrand can be triggered by expansion to multi products or services; new leadership with new visions; stagnating sales and greater competition;
As a part of my series about brand makeovers, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dava Guthmiller, founder, and chief creative officer of Noise 13, a top San Francisco branding and design firm focused on creating distinct brands that deepen consumer connections. Noise 13 clients include Tile, Instacart, Uber, H2O+, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, Good Food Awards, World Wrapps and more. Dava is also co-founder of In/Visible Talks, a year-round series of creative salons — from maker workshops to artist discussions — that culminates every January in a one-day design conference. Bringing together global designers of every medium — interior, product, architecture, graphic design, fine art and more — it’s the ultimate inspiration mashup.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As a little girl, I worked in my family’s vintage auto repair shop — washing cars, going to Hot Rod swap meets and, developing a love for colors, lines, and craftsmanship. Then, an early trip to the grocery store sparked an obsession with wine labels. I was fascinated and wanted to learn more, so I enrolled in San Francisco’s Academy of Art University. Working in restaurants throughout design school furthered my interest in wine and food. Shortly after graduation, I launched Noise 13, building my team and business from scratch, focusing first on
what I loved best: SF’s foodie scene. Many of our first clients were small restaurants — and I was super lucky to meet Dina Mondavi (of iconic Robert Mondavi Winery) during those early years to develop a new wine brand for her family.
That said, it’s been a long road to get here. But today, Noise 13 is celebrating 20 years strong with a Fortune
100 list of clients and a slew of international design awards for everything from inspired packaging to creative branding.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Working with Uber brought massive growth and takeaways. Being small and flexible allowed my business to adapt quickly to needs. My team doubled to accommodate the work, as we learned to manage project requests from multiple offices globally. We designed hundreds of projects over two years, driving us to create new workflows and tracking systems to keep ourselves — and Uber’s internal team — super organized. And stepping-up our time-tracking shed huge light that we were under-budgeting which sparked a big shift in our proposal approach.
While all this brought Noise 13 milestone success, I also learned an important lesson in team burnout. I realized designers come to Noise 13 for creative freedom and project variety — from designing food and spirits packaging to hospitality and beauty branding — not just technology. If you don’t give your creative team a breather to work on other projects, you’re sure to lose great talent.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now?
Most recently, we created a fresh careers site for Instacart, the leader in online groceries with same-day delivery/pickup from over 20,000 stores across 5,500+ cities. And we’re now excited to be building their website’s first corporate section and bringing their community guidelines top-level as a resource for customers, shoppers, and partners.
We also just designed new packaging and branding guidelines for H2O+, helping the skincare company launch a sensitive body line. The revamped look reflects a commitment to cleaner, more earth-conscious products, while also creating standout differentiation on the shelf.
In addition, we’re evolving and clarifying the visual branding for Spare the Air, a well-known Bay Area organization that offers actionable tips to help improve residents’ air quality. Likewise, we’re working with San Francisco General Hospital Foundation (SFGHF) — bringing awareness to the non-profit’s great work in supporting the hospital. We just finished the new brand positioning and are working on core messaging and an identity update this year.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Burnout occurs with repetition — be it working on a project too long or being overwhelmed by advertisers with the same loud and distracting messaging. You need to keep things fresh and consider how a change of pace, new message or image will affect results. Be sure you’re finding new sources of inspiration, like mixing it up by moving to new projects or teams. Remember how YOU feel seeing, doing, hearing the same things over and over and dare to change it up to keep your ideas fresh — and keep you and your teams inspired.
In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between branding and advertising?
Branding is who you are as a company from the inside out, and how consumers experience your company at every touchpoint. It might evolve over time, but at the core, branding should always be consistent. If you think of advertising like trying on the latest outfit that begs people to pay attention to you and what’s new — branding makes sure that style matches your core personality so people know it’s still you.
Can you explain why it’s important to invest resources into building a brand, in addition to general marketing and advertising efforts?
If you haven’t yet established a strong brand start with your core, your marketing is just overly sweet frosting on a messy cake. A brand is more than your logo. It’s your tone of voice, messaging, mission and vision, your product offering, events, and customer service. If you don’t invest time and budget to keep all your brand touchpoints cohesive then no level of advertising or marketing will mask the mess on the inside.
What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
A brand evolution can include visual updates, stronger messaging, building larger design systems, or implementing internal brand changes that strengthen values and touchpoints to attract and keep the right talent. The need to rebrand can be triggered by expansion to multi products or services; new leadership with new visions; stagnating sales and greater competition; initial branding that no longer fits or reflects your company; or growing business demands requiring new internal branding to resonate with your team — from the clarity of purpose to philosophy.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
One of the biggest downsides is the cost and time it takes to implement a full brand evolution. As I’ve evolved my own firm’s branding, I understand the pain points. But when done correctly, it’s massively worth it. The other downside, or mistake rather, is not getting your team to align with the updates. Not everyone needs to agree, but your employees are your first brand advocates — if they don’t believe in the change, or you’re not providing best practices and tools to share your brand — you’re wasting your money.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please share an example for each.
1. Re-evaluate your internal brand. When was the last time you looked at your company’s core values? What internal or external touchpoints can be updated or strengthened? Recently, we did a brand workshop with high-end rug design showroom, Woven, to help their disparate teams — spanning designers, rug handlers and sales crew — feel better connected. After helping their leadership clarify messaging, validated by a full team survey, we successfully helped the company implement their refreshed values in candidate interview questions, monthly all-hands meetings, and even how the team interacts with customers.
2. Look at the whole visual picture. Where does your brand show up visually? What’s working best, and what opportunities can use a refresh? Even if you love your logo, the supporting design system is a key area that typically needs a reboot — and that involves a full touchpoint audit. This was our first step in helping Spare the Air evolve their branding. A great tip: find every example of your visual system and cover your conference room walls — seriously PRINT IT OUT and tape it up. Seeing everything side-by-side really highlights what needs the most help, which teams are executing best, and who needs more guidance.
3. Take stock of your photography. Most brands launch with free photos, which means you look like everyone else in your category. If you have to use stock, consider checking out new options like UnSplash where images are not taken based on the highest search terms. Or you can spice up photos with duotones, black and white effects or new cropping. Whatever you choose — the style should always reflect your brand personality and messaging. Never update without judging against your brand’s core.
4. Rethink your website. For brands that use their website as a brochure or simple resource, this is a great place to start with a refresh. Begin by looking at who’s actually using your site — and why. From messaging to visual style and content that’s relevant to your audience, a website redesign will have a great ripple effect on other parts of your brand.
5. Get fresh eyes on your brand. More companies than ever are building internal design teams. While we applaud this commitment to design — and have helped some of our clients build internal teams too — getting an outside agency’s fresh perspective can reveal priceless insights, opportunities and help highlight issues. Even for my own company that specializes in crafting brand platforms and identities, I found it necessary — when we were evolving our identity — to seek a strategy consultant to help with our brand, competitor and customer audits. This process was super eye-opening — not only observing how someone else tackles the challenge but to live the process through our client’s side. While we crafted our new identity in-house, the fresh perspective was absolutely invaluable.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
One of my favorite recent rebranding examples is the design firm Pentagram’s refresh for Fisher-Price. From the modern identity to playful brand assets that are like a toy box of tools for all touchpoints, every element authentically speaks to their values. I especially love the animated squiggles, patterns and great bits of fun messaging that capture the brand’s attributes built over the last 90 years — resonating with parents and kids alike. To replicate this type of brand refresh, audit your touchpoint needs and be sure any new elements do not distract — but rather enhance your overall brand message.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
There’s more competition than ever online and social media — and we’ve all become so used to hearing ourselves talk that we’ve all stopped listening. If there was a way to inspire more universal empathy, it would bring ground-breaking change — from better understanding employees’ experiences and perspectives to differing political views to just really listening and developing greater compassion for everyone.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Stay true to yourself.” I love the people I work with — from my team to my clients. I value their insights, encourage their passions, and know that I’m a better person and business leader when I bring all of that into my work style. Far greater than monetary, I work for the joy I derive from creating with others. These are true-to-me values, personally and professionally. It’s super important to know your truths as these “why’s” help guide the “how’s.”
For a long time, technology companies have taken advantage of consumer’s information, whether it is posted freely online or collected obtrusively. What started as a respectable need to use IT to enhance products, improve user experiences, and decrease costs, ended up creating a monster that can track data and use it without the customer’s knowledge. Aerendir is MY answer as to what might change the world.
When confronted about the state of privacy, tech companies put up a facade that if users were concerned about their privacy, they wouldn’t share their information online, or after reading Terms and Services agreements, would opt out of using that particular service. However, there are few alternatives when it comes to the usage of the Internet as a whole. Terms and Services agreements printed on normal letter paper would add up to 18 feet in length! There is a continuous stream of scandals around data breaches in databases and around abuse of those very same agreements. Aerendir has been conducting research (two years before Cambridge Analytica) that proves consumers are concerned about their privacy in general and even more specifically in an online environment. We will soon have a peer-reviewed scientific publication showing that 93% of all people deplore their lack of online privacy, and we measured their emotional responses (like anger, for example). This was true across all demographics. This was true for the EU, UK, US, LATAM, Africa, and India.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs. I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Zizi MD-PhD, the founder and CEO of Aerendir Mobile Inc.
Martin is the inventor of the Neuro Print®, a cloudless AI supporting a physiological neural tapping technology for authentication, identification, encryption, and bot detection. The NeuroPrint® extracts a unique proprioceptive signature from micro-vibrational patterns in the user’s hands, using the accelerometers and the gyroscopes that are standard in today’s mobile devices. NeuroPrint® users can be safely authenticated across applications on the device, from online payments to the IoT, and as a result, devices become fully trusted. While surfing the Internet, our NeuroPrint® technology can also recognize if a human or a bot is generating the signal, all this without breaching user privacy. We do this by keeping computations local on the end user’s device, no need for cloud connectivity, or centralized databases.
Martin Zizi is an MD-PhD and a Biophysicist; he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Université Catholique de Louvain Medical School (Belgium). He completed his professorship thesis and postgraduate work at KULeuven University (Belgium). In addition, Zizi completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (MD, USA) in the Department of Nephrology, where he was involved in biotoxins and biodefense. He also did groundbreaking research on mitochondria, cell metabolism, and protein-protein interactions at the University of Maryland (UMCP, MD, USA).
Martin Zizi spent his career in both academics and strategic projects for the Belgium government and international organizations. Martin Zizi has 24 patents in various fields from artificial intelligence to bacteriophages.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Insatiable curiosity and a drive to experiment with things for myself whenever possible.
Some good luck too, as I was fortunate to have been trained and mentored by four giants in their respective fields, whether it was Medicine, Physics, or Molecular Biology. For someone reading my resume, they will think it is not possible to be wide-ranging, it would look like dilettantism, but it is the opposite. I always joked that I was not good at anything in particular, and hence I had to train myself 40-plus years to learn. The more one learns the more one sees what one does not know. The fun results in using this relative wisdom to create new things at the frontier between different fields. The oddest thing is that half of what I did is not and cannot be public domain.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career
I have two.
One is a deeply humanist memory. I happen to be a former military veteran. Once in Iraq, in 1997, I was a bioweapon inspector. During the time that we would inspect the weapons, we were always chaperoned by Iraqi minders. Some of them were talented biologists, and some were not. In the course of this work, we got to know one of our minders better, and he was a biochemist. He told me time and time again, how life was difficult in Iraq in 1997. Unfortunately, he could not get married because he needed to pay a dowry, and with what he was earning back then he would need nearly 25 years to do so. Long story short, when UNSCOM was pulled out of Iraq, I had to go through the empty streets of Baghdad in the middle of the night to pick up members of my team to go to the military airport. On my way, I collected all the Iraqi dinars we had on us — back then, $1 was like 2,000 dinars, so with six people, we had in a plastic bag more than he needed to offer to his future in-laws. We stopped at his house — against protocols I must add — and gave him the plastic bag, telling him: “This is for you. We have to scramble and go. Be happy!” At least two people in Iraq must have nice memories from that period.
The other one is a bit crazy. One morning I woke up and told my family out of the blue at the breakfast table: “Today I will make THE experiment that will solve cancer by attacking its metabolism.” In response, I got a table of laughter. Of course, this was an ongoing project of mine while in university, but I had struggled with some key experiments to complete it. So that night, I unconsciously dreamed about it and woke up to take notes. Next thing you know — we did it, and it was successful. We took out patents, and we now have unpublished molecules that can kill aggressive cancer cells in animal models by blocking the energy inside those cells, and thus making it impossible for those cancerous cells to divide. The normal cells being left untouched. This will change cancer therapy. This will be another company that I may build once Aerendir flies high.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
I never thought that AI needed the Cloud to work, as the brain does not learn or train as we do with big data. Children learn to walk around age one, and they are not connected to hundreds of other children learning from each other at all times, right? Our brain learns by simulating mistakes. This makes mistakes safe, as they are not real. But the brain can — without consciously doing so — learn from those simulations and modify its wiring (its coding) from this ‘hidden’ learning. So, it will never be about big data, but about smart information and about learning from mistakes not just from large-scale statistics (aka big data).
Using those radical concepts, we were able to build one of the most effective and fully cloudless AI engines ever. Equipped with this first-of-its-kind capability, we developed a line of products, both can allow users to use their body as passwords to protect and shield themselves against data abuses and breaches. By being able to be at the true edge of what is Edge computing, we can give every individual the right to decide when and who has access to their personal data. It is quite a statement and quite a revolution in thinking and product design. Privacy is Democracy. By giving choices to users, customers, and citizens, we can unleash the true power of IT without risking the dystopian “Big Brother” models. 1994 was not “1994” as Steve Jobs once told, but 2018 was!
The first two products available are foolproof biometric authenticator and anti-AI-bot.
Our advanced AI system runs locally on standard mobile devices to power our physiological biometric authentication technology. Our patented technology extracts a unique proprioceptive signature, that we call NeuroPrint®, from muscles in the palm of the user’s hand to identify and authenticate the legitimate user. NeuroPrint® is based on a live signal that cannot be spoofed by presentation attacks. Our competitive edge is that we have liveness detection built-in — it comes free of charge.
In a similar way to our authenticator, our anti-AI-bot uses a live signal to differentiate between software agents and humans. In 2019, bot traffic reached up to 50% of all internet traffic — this trend contributes to ad fraud and is truly dragging the whole system down. Our approach to bot detection ensures that there is a real human on the other side of any online interaction. Simply touch a device that is running our anti-AI-bot and one will be seamlessly recognized within seconds. No friction points, no CAPTCHA. No RE-CAPTCHA either. Because, if you think about it, as long as we use the data generated by humans to prove that they are alive to train AI machines, we will fail. If we continue on this path, the human will become the friction point, as the machine will be better at answering RE-CAPTCHA than humans.
We are also in early-stage development for an ethical data collection tool. We have ways to measure certain consumer demographics without EVER needing personal information. We have built a product to “feel” the age of someone using a vaping device, for example, to ensure they are old enough to use tobacco products. The possibilities are quite endless, and for us the keyword now is FOCUS.
By creating these products, we aim to restore individual privacy to the online landscape. We believe consumers care about privacy and are ready to see competitive alternatives to the status quo and Aerendir Mobile Inc. offers those alternatives. For us, there is NO privacy paradox — meaning that users deplore their loss of privacy but still are eager to use privacy-busting products — they are using what they have, not because they like it but because they have NO other choice… so we hope to deliver that choice.
How do you think this might change the world?
For a long time, technology companies have taken advantage of consumer’s information, whether it is posted freely online or collected obtrusively. What started as a respectable need to use IT to enhance products, improve user experiences, and decrease costs, ended up creating a monster that can track data and use it without the customer’s knowledge. Aerendir is MY answer as to what might change the world.
When confronted about the state of privacy, tech companies put up a facade that if users were concerned about their privacy, they wouldn’t share their information online, or after reading Terms and Services agreements, would opt out of using that particular service. However, there are few alternatives when it comes to the usage of the Internet as a whole. Terms and Services agreements printed on normal letter paper would add up to 18 feet in length! There is a continuous stream of scandals around data breaches in databases and around abuse of those very same agreements. Aerendir has been conducting research (two years before Cambridge Analytica) that proves consumers are concerned about their privacy in general and even more specifically in an online environment. We will soon have a peer-reviewed scientific publication showing that 93% of all people deplore their lack of online privacy, and we measured their emotional responses (like anger, for example). This was true across all demographics. This was true for the EU, UK, US, LATAM, Africa, and India.
So, by offering a novel human-machine interface that is under the full control of the human, we can change the depth of IT technologies as a whole. This has helped us pave a path for our privacy-centric products. We are one of the few companies that offer an ecosystem at the intersection of AI, biometrics, and hardware that can revolutionize the way we interact with the connected world. We are coming to an inflection point where people will need to decide which organizations they want to interact with and who they trust will be responsible for their data. Wouldn’t it be nice for each for us to decide what we want to do with our data? Either keep them to ourselves’ or allow their anonymous usage but then receiving say between $1,000-$500 a year to do so from the giant tech companies? Big data had immense value — in the trillions of dollars for some — it would be the right thing that millions of users get a share of this.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
By the way, I liked that show.
Of course, there are always good and bad uses of any technology. It is never what you do but how you do it! By not using databases, by not using raw data to build statistical analysis, by keeping all data on the device, and by using the very same technology to encrypt all of you, I feel that we go extremely far in avoiding all kinds of abuses.
People may be concerned about neural data collection. Hey, would I or should I share my brain in the age of big data abuses? The answer is that NOTHING is shared. It is all yours, at all times, and as I said, your brain can both authenticate you as the unique and legitimate user of a bank account, while at the same time never reveal your identity, plus encrypting your data.
Imagine a world where we bring the envelope back to email — thanks to YOUR unique NeuroPrint®. You touch a device, and there it goes full encryption for everyone except you and the recipient. We are busy building this too.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Well, I was on a plane between San Francisco and Frankfurt, having left another startup I helped lead. I had received a free Wi-Fi card. On such long flights, the mind wanders, so I went online and checked the prices of the mobile phone sensors and their performances. I had a eureka moment when I saw that they cost next to nothing. In shock, I wanted to understand why this was. And I surfed further only to discover that the same sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) have been sold by the billions to the automobile industry. And automobiles need reliability and fast speed, so those sensors were super-fast and super accurate. Now as I knew a thing or two about the brain and neurological signals, upon arrival in Brussels, I immediately took an old nexus phone, got an app to read the sensor’s output, and did a very quick and dirty pre-pre-product. I compared the curves that I could generate using my right hand, my left hand, and when the phone was on the table. It was fascinating — I could separate and recognize each hand at around 70%, and the table — without hands — was a perfect control. I knew then that I had stumbled onto something. In the next three months, I wrote a business plan, and one year later, I secured funding for Aerendir.
I can imagine Steve Jobs telling his team building the first iPhone twelve years ago to get ‘the cheapest off-the-shelf things’ to solve the problem of the orientation of the screen. I am quite sure he never thought that a Belgian contrarian would one day try to connect this to the human neural system.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Market access is always the hard part. Building magic is relatively easy by comparison.
At the moment, we deliver tailor-made B2B offerings. As a startup, we would be dead if we tried to change the world with our technology platform because we are keen on privacy in an ecosystem that thrives and makes colossal revenues out of the systematic breach of privacy. Not everyone’s bottom line depends on such breaches. Hence, we have to cultivate those important market ‘friendships.’
We also need the press to stop falling victim to PR noise and ask the hard questions. Do you know that Face Recognition has many unpublicized problems? From the foundation, neural networks are so brittle like a cathedral and are so easily fooled. Simply use lipstick, lip balms, or base make-up, and lightning can influence results. When we mentioned those facts — even as measured by labs or independent institutions like NIST- we get to hear that “others have a different opinion.” Our facts are NOT opinions. We always reference tech or scientific institutions. Does no one know that you have 4,500 tutorials on how to breach and fool the fingerprints from an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy? So, we need the press to play a critical role.
Additionally, I think that for some reason, the media conflates the terms Safety and Security. The use case at the border when face recognition is needed, and databases linked to law enforcement are OK, is totally different from my front door or my fridge. Does our fridge need to have links to a biometric database, sending my private information using my face to monitor the expiration date on a bottle of milk? … I do not think so. So, educating the public and the authorities is also a huge need.
Like any other startup, solid financial backing will allow us to make the B2B deals that are optimal. Lastly, we need to raise the debate about Privacy and educate the globe that choices do exist.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We have been working with specialized media outlets and have been trying to insert ourselves into the conversation at opportune moments, as well as also producing our own research around online privacy and its offline consequences. This is slow but will shed light on the fallacy of the Privacy Paradox that I mentioned earlier.
Given the fact that we need a lot of education, we specifically built our website to give contextual explanations about our products. We created two professional movies and a full fun amateur one, also on the website. We are now starting to film some truly funny spoofs about biometrics in general. Humor can be an attention-grabbing weapon.
We still need to find THE silver bullet there… any ideas?
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
So true.
Serendipity and a good friend led me to meet one of my current investors. After a lunch that was supposed to last one hour but lasted 3–4 hours, he decided to invest in this company and me. He turned out to be not only an investor but a partner. He taught me the difference between being a missionary and a mercenary, and he is quite a deep learned humanist.
Via Pierre — my first helper — I quickly met our second investor. He is one of the most successful people in PE in NYC, but a very quiet one. He happens to be trained as an electrical engineer before becoming a banker. After a first meeting that was centered on the name of the future company “Aerendir,” I went home disappointed only to be called the next day for a more serious business discussion. Then he suddenly told me in French (this happened in Brussels).
After six months, having two people who understand you and what you are intending to do, and who support your dream and vision doesn’t happen too often. I heard that the founders at Google struggled through a few hundred pitches before they got any traction!
But the real luck was to meet my team members. I like humor, so for my future Chief Technology Officer, I wanted someone with many different skills — someone who can code and thrive in various environments like an amphibian. So, I put an ad for a “frog,” and after a few humorous lines, I actually described the expectations and responsibilities of the job. A few weeks later, I received a phone call and heard in Frenglish “I saw you look for a frog?” I said, “yes.” “Well,” said the voice on the line, “I happen to be one, as I am French.”
Now, I have probably one of the most gifted hardcore C-coders that the world has seen. We can do AI in pure C, or at levels that can be ported directly on silicon chips. Exactly what Elon Musk just publicized that he needed. I’ve had this for four years now.
It is all about the team, in fact. Money is just fuel, necessary but sterile without humans. In the last three years, we successfully created a team of around 20, highly diverse in all capacities (youngest is 22, oldest is 71!). Without all of them, I would be nothing but a dreamer. By the way, I am still looking very hard to find a female Chief Operating Officer, so if you know someone!
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As a scientist, I always offered my time and energy to educate, help the public, and the authorities to reach balanced decisions. I saved — as a doctor — a few people who had heart attacks or worse on airplanes or in public outings.
I started non-profits to solve the crisis of antibiotic resistance using viruses of bacteria known as phages.
I volunteer time and effort for various activities without bragging about it. I believe that no matter what the company of the future has to offer, it has to be something tangible and useful for society, otherwise, it will fail.
To me, money is just a means to do things; it can never be the goal. So, it is the means to fund new adventures in technology or to help bring change. When Aerendir flies high, one of my projects is to set up a foundation for me to use the money to focus on education and housing. We need to clean up the oceans, and we do not have 20 years to do so. We need to use biology to bio-clean our planets. This cannot happen with thinking as usual. We need to raise our children as out-of-the-box thinkers, but for that, we need them not even to see the boxes! Quite some work!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each)
Do not worry you’ll be OK.
It is a blessing to never think about difficulties; it paralyzes you. So free yourself from what people think about you and about what you do. You live in the eyes of the others, not for their eyes. Often, we want to please or appease, but this should never be too frequent. 10–15 years ago, I was too keen on peer-review because of my past as a scientist and professor. It took me a while to convince myself not to mind.
Be good to yourself.
Being an entrepreneur is like jumping off a cliff and building the plane while falling down. It is both adrenaline-laden and awfully distressing. We all forget to maintain our “driver” for our bodies. So early on, I put on some extra weight. It also took me a while to carve out “me-time” without feeling selfish about it, especially when I have family spread across two continents.
Stand the truth.
Jack Nicholson yelled this in one of the final scenes of the movie A Few Good Men, “We cannot stand the truth.” This is actually a truism in itself. For good or bad reasons, it is easy for any of us to selectively hear what we want to hear, not what we need to hear. I had to reach that stage very quickly, just to survive, to hire and keep good people, and to dismiss a handful (only 3 out of 23).
Use other people’s money.
Sounds provocative, right? But think of it as the ONLY safeguard against going off a cliff. If anyone is 100% self-funded, this person is more likely to indulge him/herself without accountability. Using other people’s money is actually the best way to learn how to be careful with the funds since you will be called to justify your spendings later.
Follow the Madonna business model.
This is from a friend of mine, actually. When you think about it, Madonna has been ‘cool’ for so many years — how did she do it? By being provocative at all times, she occupies the fringes. From her experiences there, she turned them into mainstream successes.
I do not need to be prompted to be provocative — it comes naturally to me somehow — but I had to force myself to unite my ‘fringe side’ to my ‘mainstream side,’ knowing just how far to push while being mindful of people around me.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Become who you truly are, dare to show humanity. Think globally. Act globally.
Richard Buckminster Fuller once wrote “Think Globally, Act Locally,” and it was/is a true movement, which echoes in a lot of what activism was, and what the millennials are updating. But we could go wider. We truly need to unite the planet.
Whatever you do, dare to be a nomad and travel — the experiences will make you fuller! Be human to all, be global, be practical. Always ask yourself: why not?
Whatever you do, remember: 1. Is it human-centered? 2. Can it go global? 3. Can anyone have “fun” doing it because then it would self-sustain? This last part is the trickiest one.
Can you please give us your favorite” Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.
This is a quote by T.E. Lawrence.
When I first read it, it was liberating. I now knew that I had to own my practical dreamer side. I always had those lucid dreams in me, those ‘what ifs’ in my mind, those that I only shared with close friends. Liberation came when I just went to bat for it. This is why I built the VA in Belgium, a side project I did for the Secretary of Defense in Belgium, reshuffling whole parts of the Belgian Social services, DoD, and health services into a structure that was based on the U.S. VA model. Before this, if one Belgian soldier went into a military operation and came back with some problem, or a disease, there was no way to help them, as the very word “veteran” had no legal standing in the Belgian structures.
Everyone, they all told me that I was a crazy dreamer, or worse that it was a good idea but not now, not with my people, not with my money etc. In the end, I had to go from A to Z — planning budgetary notes and drafting the legal statute. This was my side job, and to this day, a few people still love me for that!
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Aerendir is a market-ready neural tapping platform. Our code is production-grade and can function as libraries on devices, as part of an OS or firmware or ported to ASIC. This changes everything. True learning capability can be given to chips worth less than $2.
But to allow those changes we need the means, the skills, and the missionary spirit of our people. We need help to steer this platform into what it can become.
We have an experienced team where nearly everyone is multi-skilled. We have done what others did not. In three years, we have obtained 11 granted patents, and 20 more to come. We have three products at the gate, ready to enter validation in a B2B context, we are NOT a normal startup, we are Aerendir. We are GDPR by design before GDPR was even a word.
Imagine a frictionless, un-spoofable, near impossible to hack biometrics. Imagine being able to solve the problem of fake news and bot-farms. Imagine that Aerendir brings a win-win solution to our actual problem of privacy vs. security vs. user experience. Your body is the password and remains in control of you at all times. Our focus is known; our possibilities in the future are endless.
The aim is doing well while doing good.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Follow me on Twitter @MartinZ_uncut or LinkedIn @Martin Zizi. Follow my company on Twitter @AerendirMobile or LinkedIn @Aerendir Mobile Inc.
Believe in yourself. There will be many folks who tell you can’t do something or simply point out the negative. What matters most is trusting your abilities. You will not always be right, but remaining true to your beliefs is essential.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Hoffman, Executive Vice President of Global Affairs at Herbalife Nutrition.
Overseeing Herbalife Nutrition’s global corporate affairs operation, which includes communications, public policy, government affairs, CSR, community relations and philanthropy, Hoffman drives this premier global nutrition company in over 90 countries. In addition to his role as EVP, Hoffman also serves on the Company’s Executive Committee that is responsible for guiding the Company.
Hoffman has more than 25 years of public policy, communications and government experience, which makes him uniquely suited for this position. Prior to joining Herbalife Nutrition Hoffman served as senior vice president for global public policy at PepsiCo, where he oversaw policy development, external relations, and government affairs.
Before joining PepsiCo, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Joe Biden and Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama and played several key roles in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events have drawn you to this specific career path?
As far back as I can remember, I have always been drawn to situations where I can affect change; to situations where I can improve communities and improve lives. This is what motivates and animates me. So, whether it was in government or the private sector, I sought opportunities where I can make a difference. I am also a big believer in the motto that to whom much is given, much is expected. When you combine these two elements, government service and public policy are a natural fit.
I saw this first hand beginning in high school when I served on our school board. Having the ability to impact policies at the local level at such a young age truly had a lasting impact on me. I continued serving in similar positions during college and law school and then was fortunate to work for our federal government in a variety of positions. They were all challenging, rewarding and stimulating leading me to a life of public service and policy.
Can you share your story about “Grit and Success”? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Like many young professionals, I struggled with finding a job that excited and challenged me. I started my career practicing law then moved to health care. While both professions were interesting, I did not have a passion for them. While I tried to make the best out of the situation, it was challenging to go home each night knowing that I was not happy with my choice of profession. More disconcerting was thinking that I still had 50 years of work ahead of me. It took me several years until I found the right job which back then, seemed like an eternity. Yet I had confidence in myself and knew that if I was going to be successful, I had to be passionate about what I was doing.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
My parents were big believers that you had to put your best effort into everything you did, no matter what the task. I am in turn trying to teach my son this important life lesson. My parents also believed in me and gave me the confidence to tackle any task. These two motivating forces are extremely powerful and can propel anyone through the choppiest of waters.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit?
Challenge yourself. Always strive to learn new things and push yourself to take on more responsibility. You might not always succeed, but the lessons learned will make you more resilient the next time. One of my colleagues at the Department of Justice had suddenly resigned, and we needed someone to take over. I volunteered and spent the next several weeks developing a knowledge base that resulted in my leading the Department’s efforts and ultimately enacting meaningful legislation involving economic espionage. While there were many stumbles along the way, this was the first time I took an idea from inception all the way through the legislative process, making the process less daunting the next time.
Challenge conventional wisdom. Don’t always follow the same path that others have charted and continuously question whether conventional wisdom is the best answer. By doing so, you might be taking a risk, but the ultimate outcome may be better, more effective or efficient. Always learn from others but remember that new frontiers have never been tackled by simply doing what someone else did. Working in government gave me a rare opportunity to affect change and by challenging conventional wisdom about topics such as criminal justice reform and corporate governance, I was able to help enact legislation benefiting millions of people. For example, on the eve of passing the landmark Sarbanes Oxley Act, I contemplated a world where CEOs and CFOs were required to sign off on their financial filings. In a matter of hours, we were able to draft legislation and get it approved by the US Senate. This legislation ultimately became law, allowing for greater transparency and accountability in corporate America.
Work hard. There is no substitution for hard work. None. I remember working on my first Presidential campaign back in 1988. There were many volunteers working in the office, but I was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. In fact, the campaign staff grew so tired of seeing me out in the cold waiting for the first person to show up that they eventually gave me a key to the office. Out of the 100 or so college volunteers that were working that winter, I was the only one that received a full-time job offer. I was not the smartest person in the group, but I was definitely the person who worked the hardest. And that matters.
Take advantage of the opportunities that are presented. A big part of life is luck — being in the right place at the right time. It just is. And anyone who tells you differently is not being honest. Yet another part of life is taking advantage of opportunities that are presented and doing your best with each opportunity. By chance, I happened to be assigned to campaign headquarters in the 1992 election. While there, I found that I had time on my hands and offered to assist in any way possible. The Chief of Staff had a stack of phone messages that needed to be transcribed. There must have been 3,000 messages. It was a mundane task but important to her. Instead of simply writing them down, I stayed up all night creating a searchable database. The combination of luck, taking advantage of the opportunity and gong beyond what was required led to my first job in government.
Believe in yourself. There will be many folks who tell you can’t do something or simply point out the negative. What matters most is trusting your abilities. You will not always be right, but remaining true to your beliefs is essential.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough?
My wife has been my biggest champion, believing in me and supporting my decisions. She also knows me the best and understands what motivates me. In the end, she is looking out for my happiness. Knowing that she is in my corner, loving me unconditionally and supporting me, is critical. Moreover, she is fierce and my strongest defender and ally.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I have been extremely fortunate to have had an opportunity to affect change in all of my jobs. Whether in government, the non-profit world or in global corporations, there are many opportunities to change people’s lives. At times you might be impacting one person’s life, while at other times you are changing the lives of millions of people. All of these opportunities are important.
One of my greatest accomplishments is in the area of criminal justice reform, trying to bring about a more just and sound system. Having been a federal criminal prosecutor, I brought a unique perspective during my time in government about some of the areas in need of reform and when presented with an opportunity, I took it. While the process was long and daunting, I am proud that I was able to bring about change that has impacted hundreds of thousands of people.
Since joining Herbalife Nutrition over five years ago, part of my role is overseeing our philanthropic efforts, including the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation, a global non-profit foundation dedicated to improving communities around the world through access to good nutrition. We provide grants to organizations in more than 61 countries to nourish and care for people, so they can thrive.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m incredibly proud of Herbalife Nutrition’s recent launch of the Nutrition for Zero Hunger initiative which addresses key pandemic problems. Malnutrition encompasses three different problems: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and obesity. As a result, one in nine people globally is undernourished, one in three is impacted by some form of malnutrition, and one in ten is obese. Nutrition for Zero Hunger tackles global hunger through a pledge of $2 million over the next three years including key commitments to increase access to healthy foods and nutrition education for vulnerable populations around the world. Through our work with our local, national and global nonprofit partners, such as Feed The Children and The Hunger Project, we hope to build a world where everyone has access to quality food and nutrition.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
You need to create an environment where everyone is empowered and feels like they are part of any solution to moving things forward and affecting change.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
One in seven households with children in America cannot afford to buy enough food for their families. This is unfathomable.
With everyone’s help, we change this harsh reality — and that movement in our company is Nutrition for Zero Hunger. Hunger or malnutrition looks different to many people in different situations. It’s something that is felt in rural areas and large cities. Having access to good nutrition and understanding how to take care of their health and wellness allows adults and children to function at their highest potential. We believe tackling this particular area of hunger will in turn also help people to succeed in other things in life that are important to them as well.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“To whom much is given, much is expected.”
I have been extremely fortunate in life and was provided with every opportunity to succeed. I believe I have a responsibility to help others.
The decision to rebrand can be so exciting and rewarding — but it shouldn’t be taken lightly, for a variety of reasons. For one: To feel confident buying, people usually need to be familiar with you. They need to know, like, and trust you — and encounter you at multiple touch points over time. So, consistency is crucial — because it helps build that familiarity. When you change things up, you need to be incredibly intentional and strategic about it.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Kaye Putnam, the Psychology-driven Brand Strategist.
Kaye Putnam is the psychology-driven brand strategist for entrepreneurs. Through work with hundreds of clients from global brands to solo business owners, she developed The Clarity Code. She believes in pursuing audacious dreams and that there is a genius that lives inside every entrepreneur. She helps clients and students develop clear and compelling brands — so that clients love you, respect you, and are willing to pay premium prices for your work.
Kaye works with students in her programs and with clients 1-on-1. When she’s not transforming brands, she’s exploring the world with her husband and two little ones.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Yes! It’s so great to be here. So, I was an entrepreneur right from the start. I started a wedding and portrait photography business as a teenager. I was so young when I was running it, that I had to use my mom’s name for my PayPal account. (In fact, her name is still on there now with mine!)
But eventually, photography became more of a hobby. After school, I ended up working in the agency world. I worked behind the scenes with a wide variety of brands and learned so much.
The transition from marketing to branding as a specialization happened for me because I started seeing some patterns. I noticed through my work that some businesses were able to cut through all of the noise — and scale and thrive. Meanwhile, others failed to gain traction and fizzled out. And I wanted to understand why. For example, I was working on radio advertising spots at one point, and I observed that some campaigns delivered major results, while others flopped — even though we were applying the same basic principles to the campaign creation and delivery.
So I was trying to identify the common denominators. And the patterns I saw weren’t about how much passion the people who ran these businesses had, or whether they were good at their work. The businesses that made sales and succeeded had strong brands. They had done the work to get clear on who they were and what their values and opinions were. They were confident and knew *exactly* how they wanted to show up in the world. People knew what these brands stood for and made emotional connections to them.
So, that’s how I learned that a strong, clear, compelling brand makes everything else easier. And I got hooked on helping define and build those strong brands.
Meanwhile, I was also studying the ways that companies connect on an emotional level with their prospects… but that’s another story altogether! But, that’s where the psychology piece comes in. The work that I do is not simply about colors and fonts — it’s about the underlying psychological and emotional triggers that brands must hit before they can generate sales. People make buying decisions emotionally — then they back them up with logic. I wanted to help brands tap into that. So, I am the “Psychology-driven Brand Strategist.”
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Gosh, there are so many I could share, because I was so crazy-awkward in the beginning. Before discovering my own brand, I struggled to determine which aspects of myself to highlight in order to really resonate with my audience. So, when I look back at my older content, it’s funny in a cringe-worthy sort of way!
Rather than focus on what made my brand unique, I found myself identifying other successful entrepreneurs, and literally trying to do what they were doing. (Cringe!) For a while, I mimicked a female entrepreneur with a really magnetic, high-energy vibe and started my emails with, “Heya, Gorgeous!”… which is so not me. Then, I saw a really strong, no-nonsense coach-type succeeding in business, so I’d try to be like him. I remember creating an email series called “Monday Morning Kick in the Pants.” … Again, so not me.
It didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t working and only left me spinning my wheels. While there were some amazing strategies involved, even the best marketing plans will fall flat if your brand isn’t based on your own truths. And mine wasn’t — at first. When I finally learned exactly how to lean into my own unique strengths, everything finally started to work for me. But, the time before that was pretty funny (in retrospect!).
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
I definitely had a huge entrepreneur epiphany — and it changed everything when it happened. As I mentioned, I noticed through my work in marketing that some businesses really thrived — and others flopped. And I had figured out that the difference-maker was the brand.
I wanted my brand to be clear and compelling, so I started looking for ways to make it so. One day, around 2013, I was in full nerd mode, down a deep rabbit hole of internet research. And I stumbled upon a jenky website that featured Carol S. Pearson’s brand archetypes — the Magician, the Royal, the Caregiver, the Guy Next Door, etc. There are twelve of them. And although the site I found them on looked like 1992 had called and wanted its website back… the basic content was still jaw-dropping to me.
By way of some background, the brand archetypes I discovered that day are universally recognized figures that stand for certain basic human motivations and emotions. They help us connect to our ideal customers on a deeper, more emotional level, because we are used to seeing them in literature, tv, mythology, etc. Archetypes make sense to us. Our brains naturally organize ideas by grouping like things, and by seeing patterns. Recognizing common traits in people and symbols helps us to process and understand a story. Those commonalities cue us to feel particular emotions. And they trigger certain gut-level responses. And triggering those can help us shorten the sales cycle with ideal customers.
So, as I read about the archetypes, I had to know what mine were. (My instinct was that this could help end the mimicry that wasn’t working for me!) But, there was no easy, fast way to determine my archetypes. I had to spend HOURS reading about all the ‘types, their motivations, their values, their characteristics, and influences… I actually loved all this research, of course — because I’m a huge nerd.
I finally settled on the two that were most ‘me.’ And when I did, my brand became clear and I finally gained the traction — and started to make the money — that I had been desiring… and I truly chalk this up to my discovery of the brand archetypes.
So, I knew I wanted to share this amazing tool I’d discovered with other entrepreneurs. So I’m asking myself “How could I make it simple for small business owners to quickly assess what archetypes would best help them leverage their unique genius?”
I decided to create a tool I could use to spread the knowledge. And, so… my Brand Archetype Quiz was born. I created it, tested it, and shared it. Others shared it. LOTS of others shared it, actually! And, long story short, it’s now been taken more than 100,000 times — by entrepreneurs all around the world. (I still can never say that without my heart racing a bit!)
When people take the quiz, they often write me and say they feel like a huge weight has been lifted… like they finally have permission to be themselves, and to stop worrying so much about the old “ideal client avatars.” An effective brand actually starts by doing the self-discovery work, and the quiz makes that easier.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I am! My most recent program, The Brand Advantage, was born from a huge realization I had in 2019. My husband was in the military until recently, so our family lived in a lot of places — Italy, Hawaii, Tennessee, to name a few. In 2019, we were returning to the U.S. from Italy and he was interviewing for private-sector jobs. We spent about three months living in a hotel while we searched for the right job and then for the right house — and hotel life did a number on my health, my business, and my habits. Lots of take-out food and a tiny hotel gym, plus a lack of structure in my family’s daily schedule… it all added up (for me) to low-energy, lack of focus, and a general sense of malaise.
As soon as we moved into our new house, I knew I needed to make major changes. To do this, I took inspiration from a trip we had taken earlier in the year. My husband, sister-in-law, a cousin, and I had trekked to Everest Base Camp. We had an incredible, knowledgeable guide. The thing that surprised us the most about the experience was that he had us walking… So. Slowly. It seemed crazy in the beginning. We stopped every few hours to rest, drink tea, eat snacks, etc. But, in the end, that plodding pace was the only way to make it. We made it to base camp only because we consistently took small steps. One after another.
So, back in the states, post-hotel life… I started focusing on the small — almost no-brainer — actions that I knew, when taken consistently, would add up to major results. I tracked my habits in a few areas of my life, and experienced huge shifts. I ended up launching new programs, re-organizing my team, hitting my first $50K revenue month in business… Oh, and I lost 20 pounds, too!
These shifts were so incredible to me, and I knew I wanted to teach what I had learned. I knew I wanted to help entrepreneurs who might feel “stuck” and lacking clarity to take action — because clarity really comes from action (not so much from researching and planning!).
So, when I created The Brand Advantage, I drastically evolved my teaching style to focus less on the “why” and cranked up the “here’s exactly what to do.” It’s “learning by BEING” experience designed to create results — clarity and progress — in 30 days. The students who’ve taken it so far have totally blown me away with their results. In just 30 days, they get radically certain, sign clients, get highly-visible, create and upgrade assets… Several students have reported doubling their sales in the short 30-day container. I knew the program would create results because the principles had worked for me. But, I was truly surprised by just how HUGE their results have been.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
I think this really comes back to habits, too. It’s crucial to be consistent about both business-building and self-care. Just like on our Everest trek, it’s the small daily steps and habits that will add up to big results — and you won’t burn out when you take that approach.
I also think it’s important that entrepreneurs think of their brands as a system. You have to build your content machine and leverage automation to be visible consistently — even when you’ve actually stepped away for some r&r or adventure. A few years back, I wrote an article about the systems that I use to “make it look like I’m working 24/7”… and it’s still one of my most popular pieces.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
I always say that marketing is what you do, and your brand is who you are. To me, that’s the difference. And your unique messages are at the intersection of those two things.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
This is one of the most common questions I get. For business owners, they tend to think of it like this: “What’s the ROI of branding?”
And I get it! As entrepreneurs, we have to be careful and intentional about how we spend our time and money. But it’s a real rookie mistake to think that branding costs are not a good — or necessary — investment. In fact, defining and developing a compelling and memorable brand is the most important and foundational investment you can make. It makes all other decisions easier. It makes all of your marketing more effective.
If you want to improve your sales funnel, increase your sales conversion rates, grow your audience… You have to start by getting crystal clear on your brand. Skipping this step essentially makes it so that you’re sort throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will stick — which is not a good strategy. (It’s actually not a strategy at all!) That’s what I learned early on in my career with those radio spots I mentioned above. They weren’t landing with people and converting listeners to action-takers — because they hadn’t been build on a solid brand foundation.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
The decision to rebrand can be so exciting and rewarding — but it shouldn’t be taken lightly, for a variety of reasons. For one: To feel confident buying, people usually need to be familiar with you. They need to know, like, and trust you — and encounter you at multiple touch points over time. So, consistency is crucial — because it helps build that familiarity. When you change things up, you need to be incredibly intentional and strategic about it.
Plus, branding is a process that requires an investment of your time (and often money) to be done well. So — like with any significant investment — you need to be ready to make it, and ready to leverage the results.
But, if the circumstances and timing are right — the process can transform and up-level your business in all the right ways. Here are a few “ready for a rebrand” indicators that I see a lot:
If your business has evolved, and there’s a large delta between “who you used to be” and “who you are now,” it can be game-changing to give your brand a much-needed upgrade.
If you initially built your business’s visual identity or messaging (or both!) around something that was trendy, I’d recommend a re-brand so you can present with a new brand that is timeless and based on your truths — not trends.
If you’re planning to dramatically raising your prices, or launching something at a much higher (or much lower) price point than you have before — this calls for a re-positioning in the market, and a re-brand might be needed to support that.
There are a few other hallmarks of a rebrand-ready business, but these are the ones I see most often!
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Well, occasionally I see a business need a re-brand when sales have stagnated. And sometimes the fresh brand solves the problem. But, there’s a huge caveat here… It’s imperative that you be very, very careful if this is the only reason that you’re considering a rebrand. If your sales have been stagnant, it can be tempting to throw up your hands in the air and be like…Okay, we need to change everything!
But, here’s the thing: Your brand may or not be the issue. It might be some other piece in the puzzle. If you assume it’s your brand, and you blow it all up… you run the additional risk of losing the brand recognition that you have earned.
The other re-branding mistake I see is this: I’ve encountered entrepreneurs that rebrand once a year, and I just can’t endorse that. Building a blockbuster business takes more than a year. Your brand needs time to build familiarity and trust. So, if you’re rebranding more than every 2 to 3 years or so, I’d advise a really close look at the “why” here.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
I’m a huge nerd, so I’m always learning about — and teaching — strategies for building and re-invigorating brands. But, some of them really stand the test of time, and those are the ones that are based in psychology. (Because the human psychology algorithm doesn’t change! 😉
So, I’ll share five of my favorite brand psychology hacks. And I’ll bet your readers will find some of them to be game-changing.
Hack / Strategy #1: Humans make decisions emotionally first.
This first one is critical to understand. Your brand has to meet people at that emotional level — if you want them to buy. (And I know you do!) Findings from several studies support this, but one of the most seminal was outlined in Harvard professor Gerald Zellman’s 2003 book, The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer. Zellman’s research and learnings prompted him to come to the industry-rocking conclusion that, “95 percent of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind.”
So, hit your ideal client at the heart and gut levels — as opposed to just appealing to their brains. This is the tact that will ultimately make them choose you.
Hack / Strategy #2: Humans are social creatures.
We’re constantly paying attention to the people that influence us. And we’re building our identity within that social construct. Our base, reptile brain doesn’t ever want us to be cast out from the tribe — lest we be isolated and die. (Dramatic, yes! But we’re hard-wired to function this way. It goes all the way back to our caveman / hunter-gatherer days when it would be dangerous — deadly even! — to be alone.)
Think about the restaurant that has like a line out the door. That one’s automatically more appealing, right?
Leverage this by creating the “social safety” people crave within our own brands.Do this via testimonials, by highlighting case studies, or even by interacting publicly with other influential peers. These behaviors and brand assets shows that other people trust us — so this new customer can trust us too.
Hack / Strategy #3: Humans want to connect to something bigger.
When we buy, we aren’t just buying a service or product. We’re buying into the bigger ideas that service or product represents.So, connect your brand with some universal human values. I love doing this with brand archetypes (mentioned above!). They give us a proven mechanism by which to convey our messages at that heart and gut level.
Hack / Strategy #4: Humans have short attention spans.
Before we can actually say anything (and be heard), we first must actually get people to pay attention… to notice us. Then, we need to keep their attention long enough to convey our message. For better or for worse, our attention spans are ridiculously short at this juncture of civilization.
So, make it super-apparent that what you have to say is hyper-relevant to your audience. Imagine you’re at a cocktail party, and you hear your name. It doesn’t matter if somebody’s talking to you… If you hear your name, your ears perk up, right? Demonstrating relevance to grab attention is just like that. If you can show your ideal client that you understand her… that you’re talking about her specifically in your brand? That’s going to get her to take notice — even in a noisy market.
Hack / Strategy #5: Familiarity = Appeal.
This is a weird one. (At least I think so!) The “Mere-Exposure” Effect (coined byRobert Zajonc in 1968) is the tenet that says “repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus object enhances his attitude toward it.” In plainer terms, the more that we see something (a person’s face, a piece of art, a logo, anything!), the more that we like it. You can play into this simply by just consistently showing up.That consistency will build trust over time and bond people to you. (It’s science!)
…So, I hope these are helpful to your readers. Incorporate one, incorporate them all… but understand that psychology is a collection of human truths. These truths aren’t changing anytime soon, and they impact the success (or failure) of your brand. So, it makes sense to pay attention to how human brains work… Because we’re all selling to humans, right?
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
I discovered one of my favorites whenwe were developing my twelve Brandfluency courses. (These are my brand archetype courses. Each one goes deep into the motivations, desires, language, etc of one of the archetypes — to help entrepreneurs apply their archetypes to their brand decisions. )
My lead strategist and I were researching fitness brands. We wanted to identify at least one that was leveraging each of the twelve archetypes. (In case readers are curious… Lululemon is the Magician. Nike is the hero. YMCA is a guy / girl next door brand. Tory Sport uses the Explorer… but I digress. 🙂
During our fitness brand research, my lead strategist turned me on to the women’s “technical clothing” brand ADAY — which had recently undergone a brand overhaul. Since then, I’ve been watching this brand and I really admire them. I love how they mix the Sage and Innocent brand archetypes to create an inspiring, yet “back-to-basics” clothing line. They infuse their unique personality everywhere. For example, their tagline is “Smart clothing for everyday life.” And rather than going with a standard classification as fitness apparel, ADAY positions itself as a brand that provides “technical clothing.”
ADAY’s strong re-brand shows us two key things. First, it’s crucial that brands connect themselves to something bigger than just what they actually manufacture or provide. By connecting to the deeper desires of humans to learn and know — and to themes like innovation, diligence, and research that makes the everyday better — ADAY becomes memorable and compelling.
Here’s an example of a brand decision that is clearly driven by this firm grasp on their brand. The co-founders of ADAY (Meg He and Nina Faulhaber) did an interview on the ‘Millennials Don’t Suck’ podcast. They were asked if their “smart” clothing measured your heart rate. Their response could not have been more Sage. They immediately answered… “Not yet, but maybe in the future.” It’s a classic Sage point of view is that there is always more to learn. One of ADAY’s top values is invention. They’re always researching what will make their clothing better for their consumers… all very Sage… and so different than Under Armor or Stella McCartney Sport, right?
Second, brands must find a way to make the ordinary different, and to stand out — especially in crowded markets. It would be easy — maybe even obvious — for a fitness brand to employ the Hero archetype — and some of them do it really well. But, carving out a position that is different? That’s the genius here. ADAY attracts a different buyer with different desires, and that solidifies their market share.
There’s a lot of more to learn from ADAY — especially for the Sage brands! But those are a couple of my takeaways.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My objective is always to help entrepreneurs lean into who they truly are — and be themselves, without reservation. I really believe that’s the best way to attract the right audience and build a brand that’s impactful, profitable and sustainable. Everything I do is about teaching people not to shy away from their own truths to please others. So, if I’m leading a movement — that’s the one!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Seth Godin wrote this:“Doing nothing is expensive… It’s tempting to sit quietly, take notes and comply, rationalizing that at least you’re not doing anything negative. But the opportunity cost… is significant. Not adding value is the same as taking it away.”
These words speak to me! I see this in myself and I see it in others. But, the world needs the genius of entrepreneurs — in every sector. One of my goals is to be asking genius people, What have you been missing out on by staying invisible or by staying quiet? What are you pretending not to know? Where do you know that you can add value but you haven’t yet? Isn’t it time for you to show up and shine?
How can our readers follow you online?
I invite anyone who is interested in building a brand on “truth, not trends” to head to my website KayePutnam.com and take the brand archetype quiz I mentioned above. That’s a great way to dip a toe into what I teach, and it’s fast and fun!
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
Re-branding is expensive and risky. There have definitely been companies that have hurt their brand by trying to re-brand. Therefore, it’s important that sufficient thought and resources are put into a re-brand so leadership can be confident that the re-brand will yield positive ROI.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Kean Graham, the CEO of MonetizeMore, an 8-figure ad tech company that is a Google Certified Partner with 100+ full-time team members remotely based across the planet. MonetizeMore was conceived in the mountains of Machu Picchu and has grown to $23M in revenues. Graham has traveled to over 90 countries during the 10 years that he has been growing MonetizeMore.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I originally fell in love with the online industry when working for a large online classified network. The job was an immense learning experience but once the recession hit, the company decided to lay off the marketing department. I lost the best job I ever had but I was determined to turn the bad into something great.
Five days later, I’m on a plane to South America to go on a life-changing trip. Four months into my backpacking trip I was on a four-day trek through the incredible Inca trail towards Machu Picchu. By the end of it, I was sitting on top of Wayna Picchu reflecting on my experiences throughout my trip. I have had the most fulfilling time of my life and it finally clicked:
I will work and travel when I want, where I want.
I have to start a digital business to enable this autonomous lifestyle. Seven months later I started the digital business called MonetizeMore which now offers this autonomous lifestyle to every member of our team.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I started the business it was challenging and exciting. I was able to break-even by month five. My first client was an employer that laid me off a year before. I offered them a percentage of the ad revenue increase and was able to make them additional millions. At the time, I was a one-person company and communicated myself as such. Since I communicated the business as just myself, they looked at my company as just an ex-employee. As a result, when I was increasing their ad revenues by over 300% and earning strong commissions, the executives saw this as unjust that an ex-employee was making 4x more than what he used to earn. As a result, they strong-armed a deal with much less commission.
Ultimately, my mistake was not communicating my business as something bigger than just myself. I could have avoided that re-negotiation because it’s reasonable for a larger company to receive large commissions to pay for overhead, technology, and employees. Ever since that mistake, I always communicated my business as “we” rather than “I” even when it was just me out of habit!
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
MonetizeMore’s first tipping point was when it broke even at month 5 to become a profitable business. However, MonetizeMore first started seeing the light of scalability in the fourth year when I started hiring team members to be able to handle the surplus of demand. After getting over the training hump, we continued to hire and saw our largest growth % year in our history.
I was convinced that it’s possible to scale a business completely remotely and that MonetizeMore had greater potential than I’d ever imagined. If I’d never taken that initial risk to hire team members, MonetizeMore wouldn’t be where it is today and I would still be the bottleneck to the business and my own ideal lifestyle. I’d recommend other solopreneurs (sic) to make this jump when they experience a surplus of demand and are the bottleneck to their business.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Many large publishers that have ad space as a revenue source, have a major pain by having many ad revenue sources that have their own reporting interfaces. In order to find out the ad revenues they made that day and the overall ad revenue performance, most publishers copy and paste the ad revenue stats to an Excel spreadsheet.
We are curing this pain that many publishers experience with a PubGuru feature called unified reporting. Instead of publishers having to assign someone to spend hours on data entry, they can log into an interface to see their real-time ad revenue stats on one dashboard. In addition to this, PubGuru helps ad monetized publishers by solving the below pain points:
– No idea what parts of their publisher business are most profitable: PubGuru’s revenue attribution report provides revenue stats for each traffic source so they can decide where to invest in next.
– Publisher ad inventories tend to break often: PubGuru Ad Inspector crawls their page in real-time and uncovers any ad setup issues and how to fix them.
– No clue how to increase ad revenues: Smart notifications can be found in PubGuru to specifically recommend what to adjust on their site via step-by-step instructions to increase their ad revenues.
– Invalid traffic could destroy their business overnight: Traffic Cop detects and blocks invalid traffic to prevent any ad network account bans and revoked revenues. It also boosts traffic quality to entice bidding from the largest advertisers that watch traffic quality metrics per domain.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Back in 2013/2014, I was overworking myself on a path to burn out. This was the first serious growth stage of the business. I started hiring full-time team members and training proved to be a significant challenge. I not only had to spend more time in my daily training them, I still had to do my normal sales, marketing, operations, ad optimization, and accounting tasks to keep the business running smoothly. This was even more important because there were new salaries that had to be paid for so the pressure was mounting.
By 2015, the team was at a more self-sustaining level so I could finally focus on higher-level tasks. I was able to engineer myself out of a lot of the day-to-day tasks and could finally achieve a healthy level of work-life balance. If I were to breakdown avoiding burnout and to thrive instead into specific steps while growing a company, they would be:
Hire new team members
Train each new team member the core of the business
While training, record the training material so it can easily be used again for the next hires
Establish important teams like marketing, sales, operations, support, accounting/finance and product so these tasks can be delegated
Engineer yourself out of the day-to-day by training clients to stop contacting you directly and to delegate high-level problem-solving responsibilities to other team members.
Turn off all sound and vibration notifications from your phone and computer.
Do an efficiency overhaul of your email accounts.
Engineer balance into your day-to-day.
Recognize symptoms of over-work.
Build habits establishing and maintaining balance in your life.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Brand Marketing: More of a long-term marketing strategy to improve awareness and recall of the brand while purposefully adjusting brand associations to maximize the overall brand value.
Product Marketing: This form of marketing has more of a short-term approach to drive sales of a product. It’s strategy’s goals are to get a direct response that involves marketing specific features, promotions and short-term value adds.
To sum up, brand marketing is more of a long-term approach that focuses on the soft-side of marketing while product marketing focuses more on the short-term and can be more easily quantified via short-term sales and leads.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
It’s important to invest in a brand and marketing to develop a long-term competitive advantage. This investment builds a valuable brand that leads to greater customer loyalty, the ability to charge higher prices, increased sales conversions and greater referral rates via positive word of mouth. As a company invests in a successful branding strategy, it builds a marketing moat that enables the growth of the company while securing the current revenues.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
We are actually going through a re-branding of our logo as part of MonetizeMore’s 10th anniversary. We are modernizing our logo and making it more integrateable with each part of our marketing mix. With that said, keeping a brand fresh is an important ongoing focus.
The reason why we’re doing a soft re-brand is to maintain a brand association with MonetizeMore of being cutting edge and modern. Since we’re a tech company, this brand association is key to our success so having a logo that looks old simply doesn’t work. Over a ten-year period, things in the industry change. Market demands change! Therefore, it’s important to have a brand that reflects these changes.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Re-branding is expensive and risky. There have definitely been companies that have hurt their brand by trying to re-brand. Therefore, it’s important that sufficient thought and resources are put into a re-brand so leadership can be confident that the re-brand will yield positive ROI.
I would advise companies that have old and trusted brands that have very high value against re-branding. There’s no reason for them to re-brand if their brand is already strong. Plus, if part of the value of the brand is that semblance of old, wise and trusted then changing the brand would lose that.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Logo Re-brand: Upgrading the logo after many years works well for many companies to keep the logo current and spot-check the brand associations with the logo. It’s good to re-visit it and at least make slight improvements. MonetizeMore is currently going through a logo re-brand as part of our 10th anniversary.
Name Re-brand: Some companies that have bad reputation over-time or because a sudden string of negative events can benefit from a name re-brand. This allows them to start from fresh rather than dealing with the uphill battle of a negatively valued brand. For example, we’ve seen this happen with SumoMe after buying Sumo.com. After the purchase, their name changed to the domain and the Founder leveraged this by creating great content on his podcast about how they went about with the re-brand and what the results were.
Slogan Re-brand: This re-brand is more frequent and common as slogans tend to have a certain lifetime before they are forgotten. This is a great way to gain brand awareness if the slogan catches on and/or to adjust brand associations if successful. You’ll notice big names like McDonalds will come out with new slogans every few years.
Website Re-brand: It’s important to do a website re-design at least every few years to keep it fresh with the latest website design standards. Sometimes this is in coordination with a new domain and domain structure. A website re-design is a great opportunity to re-visit the success of the website and to improve the online marketing strategy. MonetizeMore have done this every 2–3 years.
Holistic Re-brand: Sometimes it’s worth to re-brand everything. This can tend to be the case if there’s a name re-brand because if the re-brand is that necessary then it’s makes sense to re-brand the logo, slogan and website as well. We’ve seen this happen before with oil companies after nasty oil spills that were all over the news.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Back in 1997, the initial name for Google was Backrub. They made a very good choice to adjust it to Google rather than have a name connected to backlinks which was a major differentiation of their search engine. The re-brand was done so well that very few people even know that it used to be called Backrub!
Many businesses start with an unfortunate first name that had little effort put in to come up with it. Once a business starts to get traction, founders tend to put more effort into the name and brand to come up with something better. This is a good lesson for founders just starting out their business. Don’t worry about name and branding till you get traction but make sure to make the change while the company is still small and agile.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
MonetizeMore is one of the pioneers of location independent businesses. We have proven that it is possible to run an effective business without any offices and over 140 full-time team members. Location and schedule freedom has shown to be competitive advantages for MonetizeMore in an industry where that is rarely offered. As a result, MonetizeMore has been able to acquire incredible talent, minimize turnover, out-innovate competitors and better tailor to international clients.
We can already see effect of the influence of location independent business pioneers like MonetizeMore has had on the technology industry. The trend of remote working has been trending as expectations for in-office work has decreased. I believe in the next ten years when someone mentions a new business, the next common question is: “Is that business location dependent or independent?”
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You will never write an extraordinary story until you realize you are the author”
This is an incredible quote because it enables me to enjoy my victories more and bounce back from my failures quickly. For victories, I know that even if there was a bit of perceived luck involved, it was my previous actions to inevitably lead to that event.
For my failures, I am able to learn from them immediately because I take responsibility and reflect on how I could have prevented the negative situation so that it never happens again. From there, I change a good thing into a bad thing by approaching the negative situation from a new clever angle. For example, we were disapproved by Google several years ago and lost millions as a result.
We responded by improving our screening processes, diversifying our revenue streams and creating invalid traffic detection and suppression technology called Traffic Cop to prevent this issue from happening again. As a result, we have re-built the company to be more sustainable and resilient than ever. It ended up being a blessing in disguise!
I’ve managed several rebranding campaigns and usually, the reason is a change of strategic direction. You realize that you’re not being perceived in the way that you intended. You’ve changed, or your product has changed and evolved over time, and it’s time to rebrand. Getting support doing this is crucial to not lose what you’ve already built.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Hélène Clabecq.
Hélène Clabecq is the Founder of Lives/Disrupted and is a Brand Specialist for leaders & influencers. She gathers data from around the world by interviewing some of the most disruptive people out there to understand the triggers that pushed them to transcend themselves, no matter their walk of life. Her work focuses on the topics of human potential, consciousness, and perspectives about success, happiness and comfort zone.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Totally, I began my journey into the branding world at 21. I was obsessed with understanding the psychological aspect of Marketing. What manipulates us on a daily basis? What gets us to behave one way or another, without us even realizing it? What can tweak our perception of a brand and our buying decision-making process, down to the slightest details?
Aside from that, as a digital nomad, I travel the world and meet new people constantly. After getting inspired and relating to so many of their stories, I decided to integrate more human storytelling to the branding of my clients.
Can you share a story about a branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I once made a brand mistake that hit me hard. I had flown to London to interview an infamous tattoo artist, but when I shared the final interview with him, he told me that it wasn’t up to standard. That it wasn’t inspiring, all the little things he disliked about it and why it shouldn’t be published.
The first thing he had told me when we met was that he was “shy and awkward” and that it was his first interview. Throughout the conversation, he was asking me whether I regretted coming and whether his answers were boring or disappointing.
The lesson is to not try and showcase people who cannot see the beauty within themselves (yet), as talented and inspiring they may be. If they aren’t ready to see themselves, they aren’t ready to show their truth to others.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
I really saw a change in people’s interest in my work when I started interviewing celebrities. CEOs, influential artists, Politicians. It gave me social proof that allowed me to be taken more seriously. That’s definitely a tip.
The difference is, I can interview a billionaire and a street artist the same day and interact, laugh and connect with both at the same depth.
Therefore, throughout my work, I want people to see that we are all the same, we all go through similar challenges and fluctuating emotions, no matter our status. I want to redefine what makes someone “worth listening to” and challenge the common definition of success.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, my dream project! I am working on a miniseries in which I’ll be infiltrating the world of game-changers. I want it to be both inspiring and entertaining and the video format is ideal in a branding strategy in 2020. It’s the trend because you can be more raw and authentic. And it leaves more space for creativity!
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
To be attuned to your emotions and intuition. Your body knows what feels right, and when it’s time to stop. Check your energy level. Tune in and feel whether you’re enjoying the process or feeling contracted. I used to work for clients that didn’t align with my personal values and ethics and I couldn’t care less. Now, I pick who I put my energy on, and sometimes feel aroused when getting my work done ;).
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
For me, product marketing is a one-shot. Your clients have a need, you market the right product, they buy it, job done.
Brand marketing adds a layer of experience to the product (or service) that you sell. It takes into account the emotions of your client. How will they FEEL when interacting with your product. Will it transform them? Make them think? Make them feel a different way about themselves, the world? Will they be proud to associate themselves with your product? Will it represent them in a way, that they stand for? Will it mean something to them that goes beyond the actual problem it resolves?
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
I specialize in personal branding, which implies marketing people. It used to be reserved for figures of authority. But nowadays with social media and the internet in general, we all have platforms to share our voice. Building our brand is ensuring that we communicate our values, goals, and missions in a way that resonates with our audience.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
I’ve managed several rebranding campaigns and usually, the reason is a change of strategic direction. You realize that you’re not being perceived in the way that you intended. You’ve changed, or your product has changed and evolved over time, and it’s time to rebrand. Getting support doing this is crucial to not lose what you’ve already built.
Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
It needs to make sense. Especially if it involves changing the price point. Always think about the value that you are providing, rather than focusing just on the creative part of the makeover. If not, it will hurt your brand.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Okay. My top five tips would be as follow:
1. Ask new questions and share the answers with your audience. Say you own a fitness brand: ask your members how sports changed their lives, and make a communication campaign out of it. You are a speaker: ask yourself why you really started. Was it that day you had suicidal thoughts? Include that in your next speech. You are a music producer. Wonder what all your lyrics have in common. Explain their deeper meaning in an interview.
2. Be raw and authentic. You are human after all. How can people relate to you? Don’t limit yourself to a facade and show a glimpse of what it’s really like to be you.
3. Hop on new trends, even if it may seem “crazy”, and see what happens. For instance, Tik-Tok is all over the place now. Done well, what if it could take your business to the next level?
4. Think about the value behind what you are sharing with your audience. Is your content ego-based or will it serve them?
5. Reflect upon the causes you fight for. What makes your heartbeat? Or melt? How can you align your brand with this cause?
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
I’d like to give an example of a personal brand makeover with Leonardo DiCaprio, the movie start that has become very vocal about his environmental activism. From the movies he acts into the car he picks and the foundations he creates, his words and actions have always been consistent with his values: to preserve the planet.
In order to replicate that, one needs to be extremely clear about their core message and embody and express it unapologetically.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Thank you. I would like for as many people as possible on the planet to ask themselves this single question: if you could disrupt something in your life or in society, what would it be? This simple question can create a trigger in your life to challenge the status quo.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I collect life lessons through my work because I look for stories of transcendence. But my favorite life lesson quote at the moment is one from the Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi who said: “every mortal will taste death, but only some will taste life”.
How can our readers follow you online?
You guys can find my work here on my website www.livesdisrupted.com and you can follow me on Instagram where I show the behind the scenes of what it’s like to be a female entrepreneur and digital nomad.
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
Spend time being humble and thankful every day. I start every day with a time a prayer appreciating a new blessing in my life. This gets me back to zero and keeps me grounded.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Thiessen
As the Co-Founder and President of Dansons Inc., Jeff Thiessen is an accomplished pellet grilling executive with over 20 years of experience in the hearth and bbq industry. He has played a pivotal role in leading Dansons customer and business development, and his chief responsibilities include providing strategic direction and vision for all of Dansons global sales and marketing activities. Jeff Thiessen formerly served as the President of the Pellet Fuels Institute and the President of the Wood Pellet Association of Canada. Since starting Dansons with his Dad in 1999, he feels blessed and humbled to work with an incredibly accomplished team of people that have helped Dansons emerge as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the pellet grilling industry today. His mission as the President of Dansons is to continue to cultivate integrity-driven consumer and retail partner relationships that continually work towards Dansons mission of providing world-class, authentic products.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
We are a family-owned Christian company. We started in 1999 with my Dad Dan and his two sons. Thus, came the name Dansons. We manufacture high-quality wood pellet, charcoal and gas grills, griddles, and smokers. We sell our product through leading retails such as Walmart, Lowes, Menards, Academy Sports, and many more.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
We have been taught to rely on God’s provision time and time again. In 2009, it looked like the company wouldn’t survive through the recession. At that time, we also manufactured wood pellet heating appliances alongside our pellet grills. We prayed day by day for the company, and we slowly recovered. I have learned that so much of business is around timing and opportunity. God had provided both for us. In 2012, we sold off our manufacturing arm and focused entirely on our grill business. At the time, we were devastated that we were forced to sell off the heating part of the company that had previously been very profitable. It was indeed a blessing in disguise. With a dedicated and talented team that God continues to build, we have evolved into one of the leading pellet grill brands in the BBQ business.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Although we are about 250 team members company-wide, we still try to sit in on as many interviews as possible. Protecting our culture is one of our top priorities. I also think the fact that we share our faith openly makes us very different. Our Christian faith calls us to love and care for all people, no matter what their beliefs. Although we have people from various backgrounds and beliefs in the company, we are very deliberate to share that they are part of our family and that we genuinely care about them. We truly have a very diverse company that we are very thankful for. We love that our diversity has come through the open inclusiveness of others, not because of a government mandate or a fear of public perception. This has allowed us to create a safe and inviting atmosphere to enable our team members to use their talents to the fullest. In turn, it has driven the growth of the company and attracted more top talent.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I would certainly credit God for making me the person I am today. The faith tradition that my parents passed down to my siblings and me has made all the difference. My dad is the heart of the company. He continues to inspire me and my brother Jordan to use our gifts to the best of our abilities while relying on God for direction. This is a mindset that he has demonstrated to us throughout his entire life. Without the vision my dad had for the business, we would not be here. And he credits that to God’s direction. My dad allowed us the opportunity as young men to be mentored by him in business. This allowed us to learn each part of the business from the ground up under his watchful eye. He always said not to ask anyone to do anything we weren’t willing to do ourselves. From taking out the trash and cleaning bathrooms to the C Suite, no lesson was too small. Even now, as my dad approaches his 70th birthday this year, he is still very active in the company and continues to keep us very grounded.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is simply not giving up. Our financial success has only come in large part in the last five years, and we have been in business for over 20 years. When you are confident, as we are that God is in control, and His plan is better than our plan, it takes a lot of the anxiety out of business. There are good moments and challenging ones. They all create more responsibility to never give up. My father has always exemplified that unwavering ability to work hard and never giving up. He has been an entrepreneur for most of his life. When he had a setback or got knocked down, he always got up and stuck in the fight to work toward his dreams. He just didn’t have it in him to quit. Those are ethics he instilled in his children. Today, we work together through the most challenging times because we have a vision that is worth fighting for. God has built us this way, and it has served us well.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
That is easy. No doubt it is my dad. He is the toughest guy I know. He never gives up. I have seen him go through the toughest times and never lose heart. He has had business failures and had to start all over a few times. He was in his late 40’s when we began Dansons, and he pushed all his chips in, including all the credit he could pull together. When other guys are starting to think about making plans for retiring, he went all-in with a couple of his sons — who were pretty green. He fought through 15 years of very difficult times and almost lost the business through the recession. It was his unwavering faith that God was in control that gave him the strength to carry on. Now it is our responsibility to continue this tradition and honor his innovation and legacy.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
During the 2008 recession, we went to see a business advisor for advice on moving forward with our pellet grill business. He reviewed our plans and immediately referred us to a bankruptcy lawyer. Basically, advising us to throw in the towel and give up on the chance of such a small piece of pellet business being successful. If we had listened to him, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
During our toughest times, my dad, my brother, and me had more than a few well-respected business advisors advise us to declare for bankruptcy. And that was a real blow. We did a lot of soul searching through this time but agreed unanimously to keep fighting. We believed in our product, and it drove us to prove them wrong. Furthermore, to lean into what God had in store for us, and not what man was telling us.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
Growing up with a father who had a grade 8 education and came off the farm yet runs one of the largest and fastest-growing companies in the BBQ industry, I would say I have always been inspired. He never let his lack of formal education hold him back. He is an avid reader and has a real thirst for knowledge. Through many lessons and being very self-taught, he can read a financial statement better than any accountant I have ever worked with. He has business intuition that is rarely found in MBA grads and is someone who continually models resiliency.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Commit to something bigger than yourself. By accepting God is in control, it makes my work and my contribution to the business more meaningful than simple financial success.
Don’t let others deter you from your goals. Surround yourself with people that will support your goals.
Be relentless in driving forward. If you hit a goal, set another and keep going.
Look for ways to help others. Helping others creates purpose, which gives you even more drive and ambition.
Spend time being humble and thankful every day. I start every day with a time a prayer appreciating a new blessing in my life. This gets me back to zero and keeps me grounded.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would say look to God for your true North. We all need something to bring us back to center, and God has always provided that for me. There need to be absolutes in this world, and God gives them from His word. If you apply the principles in God’s word to business, your chances for success go way up financially, and more importantly, they will guarantee success personally.
I think it is important to note that I never thought I wasn’t a success before we had success in business. I had a great relationship with my dad and family. I often ask my wife if money has changed me. I was a happy person before I had financial success, and I am still happy today. She does say that I am more relaxed than I was during our early years, I don’t always feel it, but I take that to be a good thing.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I would welcome the opportunity to have breakfast or lunch with the owner of Hobby Lobby, David Green, or the owner of Chick Fil A, Dan Cathy. Both of these men have led exceptional businesses. More importantly, they have put God first. It would be exciting to understand more how they have kept their focus so clearly on God while operating such dynamic, successful companies.
Richelle Parham of WestRiver Group: “Here Is How Diversity of Thought and Diversity of Experiences Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”
When team’s do not feel like they understand the mission, vision, strategy, plan or all of it, they get restless and do not execute effectively. So, my advice would be to communicate the mission, vision, strategy, and plan frequently. Address questions and concerns in a timely manner and do not assume that everyone understands or is on board. Better communications will lead to improved alignment.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Richelle Parham.
Richelle Parham is a Managing Director at WestRiver Group (WRG), a Seattle-based venture, debt and equity company with $2B in assets under management (AUM). Prior to WRG, Parham was a partner at Camden Partners, a private equity firm focused on lower middle market growth stage investments and served as Chief Marketing Officer of eBay North America. Parham also served in numerous executive leadership positions at Visa Inc., Rapp Collins Worldwide and Digitas.
Parham co-leads WRG’s Experience Fund with Managing Director Scott Maw, leveraging her experience in integrated consumer and digital marketing to lead investments in the consumer experience economy. Parham is passionate about WRG’s purpose to drive diversity of gender, ethnicity and thought with its co-led, gender-balanced, fund management. She is known for empowering the next generation of diverse leaders and is recognized as one of the most influential marketers in the world.
Her honors include Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Forbes 50 Most Influential CMOs in the World, Savoy’s Power 300 and Top Innovator of Marketing and Advertising by Black Enterprise Magazine. She also serves as Executive Chairman of Shyn, is a Member of the Board of Directors of Best Buy, LabCorp, and e.l.f Beauty.
Parham holds a bachelor’s of science business administration degree in marketing and a bachelor of science degree in design and merchandising from Drexel University, where she serves on the board of trustees.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Absolutely. I am not sure how far back you want me to go, but just a few highlights. I grew up in Baltimore, MD and went to an all girls’ private school, Bryn Mawr School for Girls. I was at Bryn Mawr from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Those years are an important part of my story because I believe they taught me that I could be anything that I want to be, that my voice matters and that I am leader. I graduated from Bryn Mawr and went to Drexel University where I was a business major, who ended up graduating with Bachelor’s degrees from both the College of Business and the College of Design Arts. The majority of my career I spent in marketing, with 13 years at Digitas where I truly honed my marketing, digital marketing and leadership skills. I went on to be an executive at Visa leading a large part of marketing there. And, I was Chief Marketing Officer of eBay for 5 years and part of that iconic turn-around story. After taking a much-needed break, I joined Camden Partners which is a private equity firm on the East coast. I was a partner there, and that’s where I learned and got excited about investing and helping entrepreneurs and management teams grow and scale their businesses. And now I am at WestRiver Group as a Managing Director co-leading one of our equity platforms with my partner, Scott Maw. What’s exciting about WestRiver Group at this time in the company’s history is that we are leading with our purpose, which is diversity. Our founder and CEO, Erik Anderson, laid forth this vision that we can truly change the investing landscape by giving women and diverse leaders access to global capital. Our equity platform is co-led by men and women.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I believe that we are the only company in the venture/PE space that has committed to leading with gender parity as our first step in diversity. Diversity, in part, executed through our co-led investing model is the foundation for our business. This approach is important if we want to truly change who is allocating capital and who has access to capital. We have a white paper on the topic, called The New ROI: Exploring The Correlation Of Gender Parity And Value, which demonstrates the benefit of diversifying leadership roles and investing in gender-parity in the venture capital sector. And frankly, the empirical evidence correlates gender-diverse investing teams with superior performance over the long-term, including a higher net internal rate of return (IRR) under diverse team leadership, as cited in our aforementioned white paper, The New ROI: Exploring The Correlation Of Gender Parity And Value. We leverage this co-led model on our equity platform.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
In addition to managing our equity platform, we continue to build our pipeline and put capital to work. Scott and I are seeing and meeting with so many great companies in the experience economy across sports/esports, entertainment/amusement, virtual and augmented reality, food and beverage, and technology. The companies in our portfolio and in our pipeline know that consumers, particularly millennials and genZ, are opting for life experiences with friends and families over spending on physical products. So, these companies have created engaging, shareable, premium experiences, that focus on life moments that matter.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
It’s always so important to keep the customer at the center of the conversation and understand how to address their unmet needs. Listen to your customers and watch their behavior to better understand what they need and deliver on that. You will really win when you can effectively anticipate customer needs; this is not so easy to do.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders about how to manage a large team?
In my career when there is a disconnect in a company, it seems to always come down to communication. When team’s do not feel like they understand the mission, vision, strategy, plan or all of it, they get restless and do not execute effectively. So, my advice would be to communicate the mission, vision, strategy, and plan frequently. Address questions and concerns in a timely manner and do not assume that everyone understands or is on board. Better communications will lead to improved alignment.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line? (Please share a story or example for each.)
First, let me first define how I think about diversity. Diversity is not just about gender and ethnicity; it is also about diversity of thought and diversity of experiences. You need these different types of diversity to be open to investing in, partnering with and/or working effectively with different people. Where you are from, how you were raised, the experiences that you have had, and the expertise that you have gained, give you a unique and differentiated perspective that can add a richness to any conversation, debate or decision. In our WestRiver Group white paper, entitled The New ROI: Exploring The Correlation Of Gender Parity And Value, we have cited empirical data across different sources that get to the impacts that diversity has to the bottom line:
“All In: Women in the Startup Ecosystem” by PitchBook and All Raise reports “there appears to be a correlation between hiring female decision-makers at the investment level and outperformance at the fund level.” The report notes that at a time when women made up 12% or less of U.S.-based investors at venture firms or angel groups, fully 69.2% of top quartile VC funds had women in decision-making roles. (30.8% were funds with all male decisionmakers.)
Startups with gender diverse founders achieve a 30% higher realized multiplewhen they are acquired or go public, according to Kauffman Fellows Research Center, which analyzed 90,000 U.S. venture-backed startups going back to 2001.
Companies with a gender-balanced executive team are more likely to have higher valuationsat both first and last funding, according to Babson College’s “The Diana Project” and its evaluation of 6,793 U.S. companies receiving venture capital funding between 2011 and 2013.
Investments in companies with at least one female founder were valued 63% better than investments in all-male founder teams, reported First Round Capital, after analyzing their 10-year investment record in 300 companies and ~600 founders, published in 2015.
According to January 2018 report by McKinsey & Company, “Delivering Through Diversity”, above-average financial returns are 21% more likelyfor gender-diverse executive teams and 33% more likely for racially and ethnically diverse executive teams.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
One of my superpowers is being a great connector. I enjoy having good conversations and through those conversations recognizing opportunities to make introductions of people who are like-minded, working on a similar challenge or just introducing people who should know one another. In my career, I have met so many brilliant, interesting, courageous and innovative people and connecting them to each other has led to great friendships, partnerships, deals and companies.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?
I learned this quote in middle school and have lived by it ever since.
“Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better, and your better is best.”
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I am incredibly blessed to have a Personal Board of Directors which officially formed in 2007; they were informally advising me years before. They are well accomplished and brilliant executive leaders who have helped to guide me on important decisions in my career. I treat them like a corporate board of directors and I even have a chairman of the board. Having their thoughtful advice has been instrumental for me.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
I have long admired Oprah Winfrey. I have met Oprah a few times, but we have never had the opportunity to sit down and chat. To me, Oprah represents power, resilience, a keen sense of self, and the ability to understand people, what they need, and how she can help. I look forward to that meeting.
Find clients and causes you truly believe in. Feeling good about the work you’re doing makes it worth all the time and energy you have to put in to succeed and leads to a true sense of fulfillment. I love what I do, and I’m passionate about the clients my agency and I choose to work with, which makes avoiding burnout significantly easier.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Eric Yaverbaum.
Eric Yaverbaum, CEO of Ericho Communications, is a communications, media, and public relations expert with over 35-years in the industry, having co-founded Jericho Communications and served as President from 1985 until its successful merger in 2006 with LIME Public Relations & Promotions. Eric has worked with a wide-range of top-of-their-industry clients including Sony, IKEA, Progressive Insurance, Domino’s, Beachbody, H&M, and fitness guru Jack LaLanne. Eric is also a bestselling author who literally wrote the book on public relations — the industry-standard bestseller PR for Dummies — as well as six other titles including Leadership Secrets of the World’s Most Successful CEOs (over a million copies sold). His expert commentary has been featured on Forbes, The Washington Post, The New York Times, HuffPost, CNBC, Fox Business, and PR Week, among others.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My sophomore year at American University, I was in the business school and looking for opportunities to put my street smarts to work and get paid for it. Matthew Lesko had just finished writing his first book, Getting Yours. I met Lesko in DC by sheer luck at 19 years old. I was, in all honesty, a bit starstruck by an actual author (at the time, that was a big deal to me). I wanted to gain some industry experience, and I didn’t want it to be something from a textbook. So I asked Matthew if he knew anyone who’d be willing to hire me to do PR work. I’m not entirely sure what I did to convince him, but he offered me a job the next day, paying $100 per week to do anything I could to promote his book. He was unconventional, encouraged creativity and hustle, and let me try whatever I wanted. Between my classes and other jobs, I successfully promoted that book against all odds — we prevailed with no industry experience with a book that was a cut and paste of a federal document — and helped make it a New York Times Bestseller. It was through working with Matthew that I learned that I didn’t have to follow the rules, color inside the lines, or reshape myself and my work to fit neatly inside the proverbial “PR professional” box. In fact, not knowing there even was a box was the single greatest asset of my career (and always reminding myself of that still is). I found success precisely because I didn’t yet know what all the rules were — so I wasn’t bound by them — and I had the chance to work with people who encouraged bold thinking, creativity, and unconventionality; seeing that I could make a career out of those traits is what made me know I was on the right path.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
While working with Prince Tennis, we developed a campaign around a new tennis racket that was marketed at the time as “long-body” technology. Michael Chang was one of the company’s sponsored athletes, and the longbody racket was his signature racket — his name was even on it — throughout his comeback year (during which he ranked a career-high #2 and made it to the US Open Finals). There had been a lot of speculation around the racket, and the press and tennis fans alike repeatedly questioned whether its longer length was contributing to Michael’s success. During a press conference after one of Michael’s winning matches, with me standing just a few feet away off to the side, a reporter asked him directly, “Did the racket have anything to do with your success?” Without missing a beat, Michael replied, “It had nothing at all to do with it.” My jaw dropped to the floor, and I learned that while celebrity endorsements are great, it’s critical that you ensure that brand ambassadors are completely on board with the messaging. You don’t want to pin your hopes (and entire brand strategy) all on one individual only to have them whiff a perfect setup when the whole world is watching (or in this case, elect not to simply say, “Yes, it helped!”).
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
During the 1985 Major League Baseball strike, I organized a coalition of fans into an organization named Strikeback in order to protest the third Major League Baseball strike within a span of only five years (work stoppages had become a regular occurance every few years since the 1972 strike, and just a few years earlier, a strike saw the cancelation of over 700 games). As it became increasingly clear that salary negotiations were breaking down and a player strike was a possibility, we formed a grassroots organization with a letter writing campaign and a mass fan pledge to strike game-for-game if the owners couldn’t come to an agreement with the players. The players’ strike lasted a mere two days (with no game cancellations), and league commissioner Peter Uberoth cited Strikeback as one of the reasons it ended so quickly. Moreover, Strikeback set a new precedent that would have lasting impact on the league; it was the first time a labor dispute resulted in lower attendance even after it was resolved, a fact that greatly concerned the league. And while I never believed Strikeback was entirely responsible for the speedy resolution, fans felt that their voices were heard, and I was yet again reinvigorated by the power of this job. Strikeback and the exposure it generated changed the trajectory of my entire career; we began to secure big clients and major brands. I was able to move my office from my home on Capitol Hill into an actual office — two actually — one in DC and another on Park Avenue in New York City, which had always been a dream and career goal of mine. That first experience with growth taught me that nothing was impossible, to never rest on my laurels, to constantly push forward, and to continually adapt and adopt new strategies. I think in this industry, you need to have many tipping points, lest you get left behind.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m genuinely excited about every project my team takes on. With my current agency — Ericho Communications — every single client we represent is focused on helping people in some way. Whether it’s with their physical health, their mental well-being, or their career, our overarching drive (beyond helping our clients) is to make a positive impact on the world, and we only work with clients who are trying to do just that in new, innovating, and exciting ways.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Find clients and causes you truly believe in. Feeling good about the work you’re doing makes it worth all the time and energy you have to put in to succeed (for any career) and leads to a true sense of fulfillment. I love what I do, and I’m passionate about the clients my agency and I choose to work with, which makes avoiding burnout significantly easier. I’m never tired of waking up and collaborating with my clients, finding new ways to share their messages, and working toward making the positive impact on the world that I can with the unique skill set I have as a leader (surrounded by people far smarter than I who truly act as a team). Success ebbs and flows; there will always be multiple career highs and lows, but what I’ve found even more fulfilling and sustaining than even the biggest of victories is the feeling that my work will leave the world at least a little better than it was before I came into it.
It can’t be all work though; the other key is to find balance (the other parts of your life need to be nurtured as well). I spent a large part of my career trying to balance all my lives — my work life, my family, my personal life, etc. When I finally managed to give everything the right amount of attention (to me, my kids have always come first, and I treasure having made an impression on them that may help them lead more fulfilling lives), I discovered that my “separate” lives could not only coexist but actually lift up one another (e.g., when my personal life is healthy, and I put work into self care and self development, I’m so much happier and better at my job), it all came together, and I felt like I found real and true inner peace. That’s always the goal for me as a life lesson for my staff and personally for my kids.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
The difference between brand marketing and product marketing is fairly straightforward; respectively, one represents the abstract ideas that shape who your company is and the other is focused on your company’s concrete offerings. Brand marketing should answer the following questions: What sentiments does the brand elicit from people? Does the brand make them feel good, and does it offer value beyond the product itself? What kind of experience will you create? And what kind of relationship do you want to establish with your customers? It’s about identity, values, and ethos. On the other hand, product marketing is focused specifically on what you sell and requires working closely with the client’s advertising team. Nonetheless, the two disciplines are not mutually exclusive — in actuality, they go hand in hand — and real integration with one another is key to the success of each. Brand marketing and product marketing must work together — not separately — to create a cohesive picture of who you are, who your customers are, and what you’re offering them.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
The brand is who you are, everything else is what you sell. Building a solid brand with a positive reputation takes years (often decades) and requires a commitment to consistently putting out not only the best products and services, but in creating a unique and rewarding experience and relationship that keeps your customers coming back. It’s all about that very special relationship between your customers and your brand (and it must be based on something greater than just buying what you’re selling). Someone might try a new product once (though branding plays a huge role in this as well), but longevity requires customer loyalty, which comes from getting your customers to embrace what you stand for. Consider Apple or Samsung; brand devotees flock to their stores to purchase their latest products, share their experiences on social media, and even adopt them as part of their identity all because they have a relationship with the brand. In short, people buy brands, not products. If people like and trust a brand, they’ll be more inclined to buy the product, talk about it, and keep coming back.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
There are a number of reasons a brand should consider rebranding; for example, if your company is growing, expanding, pivoting, or evolving in some way, a rebrand might be smart to ensure that your brand and the experience you’re providing remain relevant and match up with what you’re selling, who your customers are, and what your goals are. Or perhaps you find that the ways in which your customers like to interact with your brand are different than you had expected when you initially developed your brand. A rebrand might be wise in this case in order to make that relationship more enjoyable and beneficial to your customers.
By and large though, one of the most common reasons companies consider rebranding is because business is not performing as it should. So they’ll seek to rebrand in order to shed an outdated image, reposition themselves as relevant, or simply speak to different and evolving audiences. It’s important to keep in mind though that rebranding is never a quick fix. Branding (including rebranding) is a process. It’s something you continuously build upon, and if you try to change things up too often, at best you won’t have a coherent brand (or really a brand at all), and at worst you will alienate fans, push away current customers, and lose trust (especially if you are dramatically changing what brought them there in the first place).
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Once you establish your brand, there will always be voices encouraging you to make changes or sometimes recreate it altogether. The key though is to evolve your brand while still keeping it coherent; growth and continual improvement are vital, but not at the complete and total expense of the foundation you’ve already built (the risk there is destroying the goodwill and trust you’ve already established). Change and evolution are constants in any industry, and you absolutely have to be nimble to keep up and stay relevant. So I generally wouldn’t advise anyone against doing a rebrand, but I would remind them that it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) happen overnight. Rebranding takes time, and if done too abruptly or drastically, can result in confusion for your audience and even alienation and backlash (after all, it’s often human nature to be resistant to change). Furthermore, expectations need to be managed. A rebrand is not the quick fix many believe it to be. The overall goal of branding — and rebranding — should be to affirm the positive experience and the trust, belief, and value in what you bring to your customers.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Make a Tangible Difference — In the 90s, British Knights sneakers and my team developed a campaign working with the NYPD for a Guns for Sneakers Exchange. Owners of unregistered firearms were able to bring their guns to various drop-off locations across New York City and exchange them for new British Knights sneakers. Over 1,000 guns were collected in the first initiative. It worked because BKS was already a fixture in New York and Los Angeles youth culture and tapped into a very specific desire in that community.
Consider your External and Internal Audiences — Reenergize your brand in a way that excites both your employees and customers. IKEA, another former client, was the first company to feature a same-sex couple in an advertisement in the US. This generated buzz both within and outside of the organization, exciting the company’s employees and customers and generating an incredible amount of press. Your employees are often some of your biggest ambassadors, consumers, stakeholders, and advocates, and by adopting a public stance that aligns with their principles (and a company ethos built on positivity and acceptance), you can create a company culture that keeps your team engaged, energized, and eager to support and represent your brand.
Upgrade the Brand Experience — The “30 minutes or less” delivery promise was the ethos that Domino’s built its name on, allowing it to dominate the pizza market for years. One of our projects with the brand was publicizing its previously internal annual competition to find the company’s fastest pizza maker. The “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” contest not only excited employees but showed customers the real people behind the brand, personalizing their relationship with their local Domino’s, and giving them a chance to see just how Domino’s was able to keep its “30 minutes or less” promise, thanks to the talent and speed of its cooks. It gave them insight into how the food was made and the people making it and the competitive element was a natural draw. This campaign built on an already familiar concept of the brand (its 30 minute delivery window) in order to bring new insight, create an experience, foster personal investment, and generate excitement. (I should note that this was later discontinued for safety reasons that I fully supported.)
Reintroduce Yourself and Set Things Right — Following the collapse of Consumer Financial Services, the consumer debt collection agency that made him a billionaire (and also landed him on trial, though he was found innocent on all counts), Bill Bartman came to me in need of a rebrand and comeback. His experience in the debt collection put him in a unique position, with in-depth knowledge of both sides of the industry (internal and consumer facing). After he was acquitted of all charges, Bartman founded CFS2 and became a consumer debt advocate. Using his position of power (and an understanding that people fell behind not because they didn’t want to pay, but because of other circumstances in their lives, like losing a job, getting sick and having unforeseen medical expenses, and needing to make hard choices between paying bills and putting food on the table), he advocated for debt-burdened consumers and worked to help them eliminate the debt he had previously hounded them to collect. He showed the industry (which was rightfully engulfed by a poor reputation) that coming from a place of compassion and empathy, and seeking not to collect, but to actually help and serve people, ultimately proved more successful (his employees weren’t rewarded based on what they could collect, but instead on the extent of services they could provide debtors). He even harnessed his influence to change policy; curtailing the powers and scope of the debt collection industry. Sometimes accepting that misteps were made, owning up to them, and setting things right is the best way forward.
Collaborate with the Right Influencers — You don’t want to just work with any influencers. It can not only be a waste of time and money, but it can also undermine your brand. It’s about partnering with people who speak to and often even are your target audience. The success of the British Knight Sneakers brand in the late 80s and early 90s led to the launch of Lugz Shoes in 1993 by the same parent company. BKS had become synonymous with the inner city, its innovative music, and its rising athletes. Collaborating with and sponsoring notable basketball players and featuring them in the brand’s ads, BKS understood its audience — young, cool, urban men — and created an image and experience that spoke to them and the things they cared about. And with the launch of Lugz, the company worked with rising and established hip hop acts as endorsers. The brand’s intimate knowledge of the market combined with the rising mainstream visibility of rap/hip hop culture at the time allowed the company to establish an enduring brand.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Apple is perhaps the best example of a company that has completed a successful, thriving rebrand. Beginning originally as a niche, colorful alternative to the dominant (at the time) Microsoft, Apple has morphed into the primary company driving the course of technological aesthetic and innovation itself. The fact that Apple has cultivated and managed to keep (and continually grow) a dedicated, loyal customer base shows that it doesn’t rest on its laurels (something that often kills technology brands and almost took down Microsoft). The key to growing any business to the point that Apple has is continuously pushing and innovating. It’s fair (and right) to be proud of and celebrate the accomplishments you’ve achieved. However, Apple has managed to remain at the top because it refuses to sit on the successes of its past.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My ideal movement would be one that inspires people to be healthier (physically and mentally) and to have a better quality of life. In my youth, I was sure I was immortal, and I neglected my own health and personal needs. It was only after years of growth (and I mean years), that I took control of my personal, physical, and mental wellness, and I’ve never felt better. It’s so easy to let work dominate our lives and to put ourselves last, especially for young people today who are just beginning their careers at a time when the boundary between work and our personal lives is blurring more than ever (thanks in large part to technology bringing the workplace with us everywhere we go). Changing how we view work and how we balance it with our personal lives is something I’m really passionate about (it’s also something I try to impart on other business owners and managers). When we value the people we work with as people, support them, and give them the space to succeed both at work and outside of it, we are all better for it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Growth is a process, not a light switch.” We’re so wired for quick fixes, culturally and socially, that we often forget that things take time. I’ve found that the joy of life is about the journey, enjoying the things that we have when we have them, and being grateful for the changes they inspire within us.
Nicole Nieves of The Brand Vibe: “Here Are 5 Things You Need To Do To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand”
There are far too many competing brands out there that are fighting hard for your customer’s business. If you want to build a brand that stands out from the rest, flip the script by focusing on people over profits. Because when you care deeply about serving others first, brand trust and loyalty will always follow.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Nicole Nieves.
Nicole is a marketing and personal brand strategist from Chicago who founded her consulting agency, The Brand Vibe. As a former vice-president of sales for a Fortune 500 company, she now teaches executives, entrepreneurs, and brands how to build credibility and profits through story, strategy, and digital impact.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Growing up Latina, my parents always wanted me to have the American dream. Get an education, a stable job with benefits, have a family, buy a house, all that jazz. I wanted to make them proud, so I did it all. I worked my way through college graduating top of my class in just three years. I became one of the youngest vice presidents at a Fortune 500 company at just 24 years old. I married my high school sweetheart, had three beautiful baby boys, and bought my first home (all that was missing was the white picket fence!)
But I was stuck in a career that didn’t bring me joy and it was time to Marie Kondo my way out of it. So, I pivoted. I jumped feet first into a more creative field refining my skills as a marketer, brand strategist, and creative director. Soon enough, I recognized that the knowledge and experience I’d built up over time were secret weapons all entrepreneurs needed to know to create and up-level their brands. And so was born The Brand Vibe — my boutique consulting agency where we empower dreamers, leaders, and entrepreneurs to use their authenticity and story to build powerful brands that impact the world.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I use an intuitive email marketing service called Flodesk. They take the complexities of email campaigns and simplify them with pre-designed templates that can be customized. The first thing I did was set up my email welcome sequence (the series of emails that automatically get sent to new subscribers to properly welcome them to your brand — an absolute must!)
One day, a friend of mine asked how my new product photography business was going. Thoroughly confused, I read the email thread and realized one of the sample emails on food photography was sent out to my full list! After sheer panic, I decided to embrace the mistake with a follow-up email that said, “Well, that was awkward!” My audience laughed right along with me. In the end, I learned that being honest in the mistakes we make is always better than trying to twist the truth. That level of transparency is exactly what helps build brand trust.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
My dad was a serial entrepreneur who always felt the opportunity for a better life was at our fingertips. He had the vision but was missing the right strategy. And that’s where so many brands fall short. Because your “brand” is so much more than a logo — it’s the essence of your business. Your “vibe” is your authenticity, the heartbeat of your brand. That combination? That’s where you win. And that is what makes us unique.
At The Brand Vibe, we believe you have exactly what it takes to create a powerful business and personal brand. We offer the strategy to connect the dots by helping you uncover your competitive edge, market your story online, and attract your ideal client using your authenticity as your secret weapon.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I have two exciting new projects in the works right now — The Brand Vibe Podcast and The Brand Vibe Tribe (an online Facebook community for entrepreneurs and leaders). I believe we’re approaching a new generation of brand leaders in the workplace where time and freedom are the new currency and where thought-leaders, passion projects, and online businesses are the new norm. From free training to marketing shortcuts, I’m excited to empower and equip these like-minded leaders to go after their most audacious goals with a focus on community over competition. Because we’re better together!
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Product marketing advertises your product’s features and benefits. Brand marketing connects people to the heartbeat of your business. Let’s use Nike as an example. Their mission is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world (*if you have a body, you’re an athlete).” Nike isn’t just selling the latest gym shoe craze — they’re selling possibility, inspiration, and global reach. Their “Just Do It” brand marketing campaign reflects exactly that.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Like any relationship, if you don’t have a confident understanding of who you are, how can you possibly connect with — or give back to — anyone else? Your brand represents exactly who you are and what you want to be known for so you can connect with your ideal client on a deeper level. Because for every amazing product or offer you have, another competitor is vying for your customer’s attention. The way to distinguish yourself, build trust, create loyalty, and become truly loved is not just through impressive marketing ads. It’s by building a brand that connects with people on a personal level to organically create loyal brand advocates.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
What people aren’t talking about — from start-up entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies — is that creating a believable, beloved brand starts from the inside out. After 15 years of working in sales, marketing, and brand strategy, consulting with hundreds of small businesses and corporate executives, here are my 5 key strategies for building a trusted brand:
1. CLARITY: Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, famously said, “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Creating a clear brand promise on what your company offers is key to building a foundation of trust and creating conversations that align with your mission.
A brand promise is simply the expectations, beliefs, and feelings you want your customers to have when they experience your brand. Disney is dedicated to “keeping alive the magic of childhood.” Facebook is on a mission to “bring the world closer together”. Amazon’s brand promise? To be the earth’s most customer-centric company. Today, over 197 million people around the world visit Amazon.com each month. Decide what you want to be known for and build your brand on that.
2. CONNECTION: People are yearning for connection and community. Gone are the days when a punchy marketing slogan was enough to draw in — and keep — new customers. To build trust, your brand needs to authentically tell a unique narrative on how you are dedicated to bringing your mission to life. You can do this through the power of brand storytelling.
A few years ago, Chick-fil-A shifted its brand strategy from “EAT MOR CHIKIN” to a story-based approach that instead communicates the heartbeat of its brand. Because while the former killer ad campaign created brand recognition, it wasn’t representative of their unparalleled service or community-centric mission. Now, they run brand story campaigns highlighting their staff as community heroes doing work like learning sign language for their hearing-impaired customers or working late hours on family night for single, working moms.
Today, Chick-Fil-A is dominating the fast-food market with over $10 billion in sales. Since implementing this story-based approach to their brand strategy, they’ve grown by over 35%! Because people do business with people.
3. CULTURE: The purpose of communicating your brand’s vision and impact through story is to create a deeper connection to your audience both externally and internally. One of the biggest mistakes companies make when building a brand is focusing the majority of their time on external customers, often neglecting the lifeblood of the brand — their internal staff.
If you can organically build brand loyalty from the inside out, then the spark you create quickly starts to catch fire. Your employees should be your biggest brand advocates — the quality of your product or service depends on it! Don’t underestimate the impact of building a dynamic company culture. Recognition, appreciation, flexibility, respect, innovation, diversity, growth, equality: these are all factors in creating a brand name that is trusted in the marketplace. Need a case study on this? Just google, GOOGLE.
4. CREATIVITY: If you want to stand out from the rest, you’ve got to be the best. Enter, creativity. Now, lest you think it’s only about guerilla marketing or shock advertising, think about this Steve Jobs’ quote: “Creativity is just connecting things.”
Finding new ways to connect the dots between what your customer needs and the solutions you provide increase the trust they have in your ability to produce impactful services designed with them in mind. When Apple was close to bankruptcy, they launched arguably one of the most famous campaigns in history: Think Different. Yes, Apple has innovated some of the highest used technologies in the world, but what saved their business was finding a creative way to connect the mission and product solutions to their customers clearly.
5. CARE: If you want a brand that is near and dear to the heart of your customer, then you need to show them you genuinely care. If your intentions are simply self-serving, people will see right through even the best marketing messages — and you’ll taint your brand faster than it began.
There are far too many competing brands out there that are fighting hard for your customer’s business. If you want to build a brand that stands out from the rest, flip the script by focusing on people over profits. Because when you care deeply about serving others first, brand trust and loyalty will always follow. Just look at the likes of Southwest Airlines, Trader Joes, and Nordstrom to name a few.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand? What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Starbucks is by far one of my favorite brands. I’m a true advocate and loyalist. Now listen, they have one of the oddest logos I’ve seen which is just a perfect example of the fact that your logo is not the center of your brand. The reason Starbucks so fantastic at building a brand is because they focus on experience, service, and innovation above all. Every location has a consistent ambiance that’s welcoming to all. Their service is bar none which comes from the confidence they have in the quality of their product. They constantly innovate, finding new ways to make their customers happy from their reward program to their give-back campaigns. It’s how they can get away with charging $8 for a cup of coffee and still manage to be the #1 coffeehouse chain in the world! Now that’s impressive (brb, going to grab an Americano).
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
It’s really a unique combination of both social proof + sales. Things like user-generated content (UGC), positive reviews, and organic marketing are all direct results of a solid brand building campaign that builds trust over time. Over time being the operative words. Be patient with your brand-building campaign because when sales do trickle in, they yield long-term success, multiple purchases, and greater retention. KPIs and data can and should still be tracked for brand marketing campaigns across a longer period of time measuring things like secondary purchasers, retention rates, and a potential referral tracking system — all wonderful measurements of success!
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
I love this question so much, and my answer might surprise you. While social media is absolutely integral to branding efforts, it’s simply one part of an all-channels marketing strategy. The fact is, you can’t build your business on borrowed land. Unless your last name is Zuckerberg, you have no ownership or control of your social media accounts. They could be revoked, hacked, or thrown out of whack by algorithms at any moment.
Think about this: when you’re out at a networking event, what’s one thing you always walk away with? Their contact information to follow up later, right? Social media is a lot like that. Those who hang out and network online without getting contact information to follow up with at a later time are missing the whole point. The key to properly leveraging social media is to network, make an authentic connection to your brand, and walk away with contact information (like an email address) to continue the relationship elsewhere. This is why I’m a huge proponent of email marketing. You 100% own your email list, and it’s exactly where you should continue cultivating relationships forged on social media platforms.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
To be honest, I rewrote my answer to this question 3 times! Because as a mother of 3 boys, community volunteer, founder of a rapidly growing brand marketing agency — and recovering perfectionist — I know a thing or two about burnout! But I’ve also learned a ton about balance, rest, and health because we don’t just want to survive as business leaders, we want to thrive.
I started to list out advice like “set practical goals” or “prioritize what’s most important in your life.” While I’ve implemented helpful tips like those, the single most important piece of advice I can give someone is this: Embrace the power of NO. It feels good even writing that sentence! Every time you say yes to something, you automatically say no to something else — whether it’s your family, health, business, etc. So learn to reserve your best yes for what matters most, and become empowered in saying NO to anything that doesn’t add value to the areas of your life that matter most.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I truly believe that we are all uniquely qualified to contribute something significant in a way that no one else on this planet can. I want to empower a movement of people who are courageously owning their talents, gifts, and superpowers to create a legacy of fearlessly living out their passions and calling in their life. From building global brands to changing company culture to giving back to their local community, I want to inspire a movement of leaders dedicated to impacting their sphere of influence in the best way possible. The world needs your awesome — let it shine!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Choose courage over comfort. Choose whole hearts over armor. And choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid…at the exact same time.” — Brené Brown
I have the privilege of connecting with thousands of inspirational leaders and powerful entrepreneurs from all around the world. Many are sitting on ground-breaking ideas and life-changing stories that can truly transform people. More often than not as a society, we allow the fear of failure, vulnerability, and other people’s opinions to overshadow our potential. I love that this quote challenges me — and the amazing clients I serve — to be braver each day, to be authentic to who we are, and to never be afraid to fail forward.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Oh goodness, Michelle Obama girl, I’m in Chicago. I’d love to meet you at Bongo Room for brunch!
I dream of sharing a stage one day with her, Brené Brown, and the one and only, Rachel Hollis. Together, we’d run a business conference designed to inspire a movement of women who lead from the inside out. Our opening act? Beyoncé. Who run the world? Girls!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Come catch a vibe with me over on Instagram @thebrandvibe and @nicole_nieves. And join me in my Facebook community group, The Brand Vibe Tribe, where I provide monthly training, guest experts, inspiration, and a safe place to simply be authentically you.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
It’s my honor. Thank you for allowing me to share my story and insights today!
In order to make sure this is submitted properly, please read this document that addresses the most frequently asked questions: http://bit.ly/AuthorityMagazineFAQ
Please upload the completed interview, bio and pictures in the upload form linked in the red button below
The approximate posting date will be listed there. Links to the live articles will be shared there as well. Please do not email this interview to the editor because it will be missed.
When you send this back, please include 3–4 high quality picturesof you that we can include in the article. They should be at least 1100 pixels wide.
Please make sure to proofread it carefully before you upload it. We are unable to make changes after its live.
Guy Nickerson of Remedy Television + Branded: “To Develop Resilience Practice Forgiveness; You Must Let Go”
…practice forgiveness. Whatever it is that’s happened to you, business or personal, you must let go. A person only has so much energy, and devoting any of that to negativity, resentment or anger will never help you achieve your goals.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Guy Nickerson, Founder and CEO of Remedy Television + Branded.
Guy Nickerson is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning executive producer, director and CEO of Remedy Television + Branded. Over the past 30+ years, Nickerson and his team have developed and delivered more than 1,000 episodes of programming to top networks, ranging from docu-series to hidden camera work with an array of talent from Natalie Portman to Jack Hanna. In addition to his work developing and producing original television series, he has led the creation and production of numerous branded content projects for Fortune 500 companies.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Military brat, surfer and photographer as a kid, I moved from Florida to Northern Virginia for my final years of high school, which is where I got my start in television at a small local station. From there I worked as a news cameraman and editor in Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla., before leaving to start my production company in 1987 at the age of 23, what is now Remedy Television + Branded. With my background in news, highly visual and factual storytelling became the foundation of everything we do. Initially my focus was on more traditional corporate branded content, but in 1995, we were awarded the opportunity to produce a nationally syndicated Jack Hanna TV series. This started our entry into the unscripted television business. Since then we have produced well over 1000 episodes of programming for networks like National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, BBC, Travel Channel, The Weather Channel, and Discovery Channel, working with talent ranging from Natalie Portman and Elijah Wood to Jack Hanna and Bindi Irwin. Our programs have received 17 Daytime Emmy nominations and seven Emmy wins. Although we have an office in Los Angeles, our primary studio is still located in Tampa, Fla.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
After completing a shoot in Uganda with Jack Hanna, I learned that the company producing his series was putting the show out for bid. They were targeting companies based in Los Angeles, but because of my work in Uganda they brought me into the loop.
Being in Tampa, with limited talent at the time, I reached out to a handful of people that I thought could help me craft the proposal and also help produce the series if we won the bid. To my surprise, they turned me down and told me that I was wasting my time and that we wouldn’t get the project. Instead of getting discouraged, I just put my heart into the proposal, reimagining the series with sponsor integrations, hunkered down with my small team and pulled a rabbit out of a hat. We won the bid, eventually producing 200 episodes of the series and launching our emergence into the unscripted television industry.
Looking back, the people who didn’t support me were sort of right. We truly didn’t have much of a chance at winning the production contract, but you can’t win if you don’t try, and it’s amazing what you can do when you don’t listen to the doubters.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think the fact that we have built a nationally recognized entertainment and branded content studio in Tampa says it all. Today Tampa is an amazing, vibrant and exciting place to live, but it wasn’t always that way. Back in the day, we knew that the only way to distinguish ourselves from and win projects over bigger companies based in New York or Los Angeles was to work harder, be friendlier, be more buttoned up from a business and creative standpoint and attract the best talent. To do this, we have established a culture with a high bar for entry, but a very supportive culture from top to bottom. Next, we work hard to feed our team’s creative appetite with exciting projects.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I’d have to say Jack Hanna. At the time we were under consideration for running his series, although he didn’t own the show, he carried significant influence. Jack’s willingness to give us a shot really opened the door for so much of our success. But beyond the business, in 25 years of working together I’ve learned so much from Jack about being a good person and how to treat people. He’s been my business partner, my father, my brother and my friend. His genuine kindness and generosity are consistent, no matter if he’s meeting with a janitor or the president of a country. That approach set the bar for who I aspire to be in business and life. In many ways, you can feel his influence throughout our company culture and it sets the tone for how we treat each other and our production partners.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I mentioned earlier that I grew up in a military family, where we moved every three years. As a kid, that means walking away from best friends and familiar surroundings and starting from scratch, no questions asked and no input on the decision. You can choose to handle that two ways. You can either sulk, or see it as an opportunity to grow, meet new people and see new places. I always felt this background made me fairly well adjusted. Next, I had hard work drilled into me from day one. So, when things don’t go right, I’m equipped to roll with the punches, roll up my sleeves and fix things.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Being a sports fan, I’m constantly inspired by people who have overcome hardships most of us could never imagine accomplishing their goals and setting an example for others. Athletes Tony Dungy and Warwick Dunn are just amazing inspirations for their resilience. Also, JK Rowling is someone who has really embodied overcoming hardship with lifechanging results.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
As a kid that grew up with dyslexia, I never quite caught on as a student. With no path for college, being told I couldn’t do something was the norm. The upside was that, without much external support or guidance, I quickly realized that I was in charge of my destiny. This also helped me appreciate even the smallest of opportunities as a success.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
In late 2008, on the cusp of the Great Recession, our company was wrapping up its best year ever, with a brisk slate of branded content and television business. We had so much business on the horizon that we were looking to add staff, but by the end of the year we started sensing that projects were disappearing or being put on hold.
In January 2009, the bottom fell out when our CFO, who is also my wife, pulled our head of sales into a meeting to figure out what was happening and she discovered that everything had fallen through over the past two months. After the meeting, my wife (a former Big 6 CPA) came into my office, shut the door and told me through tears that we would likely have to close our doors.
We spent the next 24 hours hashing through numbers and analyzing cash flow (fortunately we are very conservative) and our obligations, and realized instead we needed to fight for the company and, more importantly, do what we could to help the people on our staff that were about to have their lives disrupted.
Next, we pulled our leadership team into a room and explained the situation. The rest of the week we mapped out our core competencies and selected the staff members who we believed would best help us preserve who we were creatively and culturally. So much more went into the decisions we made throughout that week, but I can promise we shed tears over every single person. We figured out how far we could stretch our cash with this core team, while also planning to offer the best severance possible to anyone we weren’t able to keep long-term.
The day we laid people off was the hardest day of my life, having to meet with amazing friends/coworkers who committed to my company and release them for no fault of their own. I don’t think anything I say can convey the sadness we went through that day, but it was devastating to put it mildly. My wife and I stopped taking salary for roughly a year to ensure we didn’t have to cut salaries for the staff we retained.
From that point forward, we were an all hands on deck, uber talented, eager, multi-hat wearing team. We took every project we could get our hands on, appreciated every one of them and made even the smallest project look like a big budget branded project. The goal was to slow the burn of cash long enough to get our footing.
Within a year of the crash, projects started coming back, former employees returned and we were in production on a new TV series. The company stabilized and started growing, and has continued to grow steadily since. To this day, my wife and I remember how we looked beyond the potentially catastrophic situation we faced for the solution, thoughtfully made very difficult decisions, saved as many jobs as we could and survived as a company, and we count it as one of our proudest accomplishments in business and in life.
The impact that the Great Recession had on my staff and company still influences me to this day. Even though our culture reflected qualities of pride and appreciation in our staff and our clients all along, the experience reinforced never taking one client or person for granted, and that’s how we operate to this day. On the personal side, that year without pay forced us as a family to tighten our belts (to say the least) and really appreciate and enjoy the little things in life. It truly was the best of times in so many ways.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
That’s a tough one, but as with anyone it’s rarely one experience that molds us. From growing up in a strict military family to overcoming just about every personal and professional catastrophe…it’s all played a part in my success. But the one quality I’d have to say played the largest role in my resiliency has been positivity. I joke about having a short memory, but if you hold onto every bad thing that’s happened to you it will eat you up. You truly must compartmentalize your experiences and move on with a clear mind. Positivity always works and is infectious.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
When faced with difficulty, you must first assess your situation, identify your challenges and develop step-by-step plans. Stay focused, but nimble. If something isn’t working, be prepared to reassess and shift direction. The following five steps will help get you through tough situations and come out stronger:
As I have mentioned, unwavering positivity is a great way to start the process of moving past challenging times.
Next comes hard work. I always tell my son that he doesn’t have to be the most talented basketball player, but that no one should be able to outwork him. I’ll always help someone who shows determination and hard work.
Then, I would have to say practice forgiveness. Whatever it is that’s happened to you, business or personal, you must let go. A person only has so much energy, and devoting any of that to negativity, resentment or anger will never help you achieve your goals.
Also, and this slightly goes against what I just said, but feel everything. It is only human to hurt when things hurt and smile when things feel good. Don’t mask that. When things hurt, channel that into action and remember that feeling so that you do everything in your power to never feel it again. Use fear as a motivator, not an inhibitor.
Finally, never get complacent. When you are most successful is when you should be looking for the next big thing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I will reiterate what I said about positivity, hard work and forgiveness as things everyone should aspire to embrace. Aside from that, having been immersed in running and growing my business since I was 23 years old, I’m entering a time in my life that I wish I had given more to people like me that just needed one break. I’ve always felt that providing good, stable jobs and creating a positive workplace was enough, but moving forward my goal is to ensure there was a purpose for me being given the opportunities I’ve received.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I’ve been fortunate to meet presidents, celebrities and sports figures — all inspirations. But I truly am most inspired by everyday people who get no attention for the fights they fight or the people who use their influence to thrust the spotlight on these inspirational people. But off the top of my head, I would love to meet Warren Buffet, a no nonsense, simple guy who does what he does for the love of it, then uses his success to better the planet.
The Future Is Now: “Use blockchain to make a new internet that works for everyone and not just the tech giants” With Evan Shapiro of Coda Protocol
Successes and failures do not follow any particular order — Sometimes everything is great all at once, and at other times it feels like everything is on fire. The important thing is to not take it personally and to keep doing your best.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Evan Shapiro, CEO and Co-Founder of O(1) Labs, the team behind Coda Protocol. Evan graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a BS in computer science. He then obtained his research MS while working in the CMU Personal Robotics Lab, where he did research for the HERB robotics platform. He has also worked as a software engineer for Mozilla.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I started programming in high school. Instead of paying attention to my classes, I’d be coding on my netbook (for anyone who remembers those). I also became obsessed with playing Minesweeper with my now fellow co-founder of the Coda Protocol, Izaak Meckler. Neither of us anticipated at the time that our hobbies would lead us to found a startup with 28 full-time employees and hundreds of dedicated community members just a few years later. When I first heard of cryptocurrencies around 2010, I thought of it as comparable to the invention of the internet, or a new kind of computer. Just like that innovation, I wondered what could be done with the novelty of cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the limitations of the new technology really stuck out to me. It was clear that blockchain technology, as it was, couldn’t scale without a different design approach. I like puzzles, and I couldn’t get this one out of my mind. The desire to find a solution is ultimately what led Izaak and I to create the Coda Protocol.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The rise of zero-knowledge proofs definitely influenced the trajectory of my career, tapping into my interest in elegant computing solutions.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Coda Protocol is the world’s lightest blockchain. This is important because legacy blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum are so data-heavy that they cannot scale to meet the needs of the modern digital economy. To put this in context, streaming a Full HD Netflix show with a very fast home internet connection for 1 hour uses about 3 GB; the Bitcoin blockchain is nearly 270 GB. Add to this the reality that more than half of all web traffic is on mobile, which has limitations to the amount of data that can be stored and processed, and you have a real problem. What the Coda Protocol does is use cryptographic, zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the Coda blockchain always stays about the size of a few tweets (~20 kb). Compared to the Bitcoin blockchain and other legacy protocol layers that must add more data to the chain with every transaction, this is a completely transformative innovation. It allows Coda Protocol to scale to thousands of transactions per second, millions of users, and years of transaction history without sacrificing security.
How do you think this might change the world?
Our aim is for the Coda Protocol to enable a more efficient, fair future by forming the foundation for a new internet that works for everyone and not just the tech giants. The way we achieve this is by allowing anyone to participate in governing the very systems powering the dapps we use to exchange ideas, value, and data. This is in stark contrast to today’s internet that is controlled and operated by corporations like Google, Facebook, and Amazon whose business models revolve around collecting data about users and then selling that data to advertisers to use in retargeting campaigns.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Blockchain technology emerged with the promise of widespread participation and prosperity for all. Instead, we see power and ownership on these chains concentrated in the hands of just a few ultra-wealthy entities. This is not the dream of decentralization originally put forth by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin Whitepaper.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Coming from a background in computer science with experience in machine learning and robotics, I’m always thinking about what in the world isn’t computerized that needs to be. Looking at our divided politics, our echo-chamber online communities, and broken financial system caused me to see cryptocurrency as a much-needed alternative. At the same time, back in the early 2010s I was concerned about the delta between the hype and what the tech was then capable of (we’ve come a long way since then). All of this led me to ponder how a decentralized system would work and envision what sort of positive community could be enabled by such a network.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
The dream of the decentralized Web envisioned by many technologists will not become a reality without developers building dapps for every facet of digital life. This is why at Coda we ensure developers have tools that will make their work easier and we’ve prioritized an incredibly inclusive consensus process that will allow anyone with a mobile device to participate.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We have a very strong community of participants in our testnet. Their feedback on how to make the protocol more resilient and function more effectively has been invaluable. So many of our community members believe so strongly in the importance of what we are doing that they have volunteered their time and expertise to translate our project documents into other languages, draft blog posts about the protocol, and help spread the word about what we are doing across social media and community channels. We recently launched our Genesis Token Program that is designed to prepare up to one thousand participants to become block producers (an essential role in the network), upon mainnet launch. This will ensure that our network has some of the highest levels of decentralization among protocol layers from jump. This is also our way of expressing our gratitude to our most ardent community members. These are the folks who know the ins and outs of the protocol best and are committed to ensuring its success.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am fortunate to have my co-founder, Izaak Meckler, to lean on. I remember the challenge of determining a consensus mechanism to deploy in the Coda system, and it was incredibly helpful to be able to talk-through the pros and cons of different approaches together. This collaborative approach is what has allowed us to develop such a resilient testnet in a short period of time with an enthusiastic community of supporters.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
It’s my belief that the biggest improvements to the world happen through people sharing and working to put into the world their values. The end of the Cold War spurred the growth of democratic governments around the world, which brought the values of freedom and tolerance to the forefront of the global consciousness. In recent years we’ve seen a rollback of democracies as many governments turn towards authoritarianism to cement power. The reaction to overt centralization of power will be a movement towards decentralization and community-powered systems. I believe that our protocol, by embodying the values of inclusivity and individual empowerment, is doing its part in furthering the newest value shift that will hopefully improve the lives of millions of people around the globe.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Here are three takeaways I’ve learned from my experience running O(1) Labs, the team behind Coda Protocol.
Running a company can be incredibly rewarding — As an engineer by education, I had to learn this.
Successes and failures do not follow any particular order — Sometimes everything is great all at once, and at other times it feels like everything is on fire. The important thing is to not take it personally and to keep doing your best.
Though you can’t predict the future, if you keep moving the ball forward, you will achieve more than you expected, even if your accomplishments are different from your original goal — Our team has found answers to many technical problems, from which consensus mechanism to deploy, to the creation of the Snarketplace. I couldn’t have anticipated the answers to these technical quandaries prior to doing the hard work of iterating solutions and experimenting with our team. As nice as it would be to have a hint of our technical journey in advance, if developing a new system to power the decentralized web was easy, our entire economy would already be different.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We should build fair platforms that get around the tech monopolies of today to bring more open, fair marketplaces to people and small and medium-sized businesses. Starting with value/money, because of its power to incentivize action and power change, I would like to see a transformation in how people earn value based on their contributions and how this democratization of value distribution can allow for the emergence of a competitive marketplace, diverging from the current tendency towards monopoly.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Although of course, you end up becoming yourself” is a quote from an interview with writer David Foster Wallace. I think we’re all always working on ourselves, and who knows if it’s true, but I love the idea that we’re all converging towards something.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Crypto got where it is today by being user-run, but that’s increasingly hard with today’s blockchains. Coda allows for a return to that, so we can build a strong first community, and has the tools to get to end users on web and mobile for the first time. Coda can be a platform for truly open programmable money and work towards letting anyone build more fair platforms through crypto.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
To keep up-to-date on our news and developments, be sure to check-out our website, follow us on social media, and join our community channels:
Stephanie Benoit-Kurtz: “The great thing about mistakes and failing in general are the lessons that can be learned from the situation”
The great thing about mistakes and failing in general are the lessons that can be learned from the situation. Fail fast, learn quickly and remember not to take things too seriously. In technology, being the only woman at the table most of the time, you find everyone is watching to see what you know and how you will react.
As a part of my series featuring accomplished women in STEM, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Benoit-Kurtz, Director of Cyber Security, Station Casinos.
Stephanie Benoit-Kurtz is a cybersecurity professional and part time faculty for the University of Phoenix College of Business and Information Technology in Las Vegas. Benoit-Kurtz received her BS and MBA from the University of Phoenix and is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate at Capella University in the Doctorate in Information Technology with an emphasis on Information Assurance and Cybersecurity. She has over 30 years of IT experience, working with organizations that range from small business to the Fortune 500 companies in security, innovation and technology transformation. In her current role, Benoit-Kurtz serves as the Director of Cybersecurity at Station Casinos in Las Vegas. In her role, she is responsible for working with IT and the business to embrace security best practices, policies and procedures, as well as collaborative, solutions-based consultation between the business and IT.
Benoit-Kurtz’s goal is to create opportunities that change lives by transforming students into lifelong learners. She is passionate, dedicated, and persistent in finding new ways to impact the learning experience in and outside of the office and the classroom. In her spare time, Benoit-Kurtz lends her passion and expertise to IT Works, ISACA, Westcare and others to help disadvantage youth earn living wages within IT careers. She actively mentors students on the career development journey, focused on IT career options and choices. Benoit-Kurtz is not bound by walls, but believes that opportunities need innovation and strategy. A Nevada native, Benoit-Kurtz continues to call Las Vegas home with her husband James and her daughter Ashley.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I fell into this particular career path at an early age. While I was in high school, I interned at a radio station — that turned into a paying job like many do. The job started out as market research, but soon turned into fixing broken things around the office. When I graduated from high school and started at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) I became an assistant in the computer lab, and quickly was moved to the main office where I supported faculty, staff and students across campus. It was not long after that I began to understand what type of gaps and opportunities there were in the field and that by filling those gaps that I could move through the ranks quickly. At what was then the Community College of Southern Nevada, now CSN, I was the Academic Computing Coordinator when I realized that governance, risk and compliance (GRC) were important, and that someday that GRC and security would play a huge role in my career choices. Turned out I was right!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Over the course of my career I have worked with everyone from businesses on the Fortune Top 10 to small shops. All had different stories to tell with their technology environments. The current organization has an amazing story to share — based on how different the organization views what’s important in the technology landscape. From the boardroom to the executive staff, everyone is very supportive of listening to where the gaps are and finding ways to close them. Cybersecurity is generally is viewed as a barrier to getting things accomplished by IT and the business, but Station Casinos proactively asks questions and thinks about the risk associated with technology. It is this mindset that has set the strategy and foundation for cybersecurity.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The great thing about mistakes and failing in general are the lessons that can be learned from the situation. Fail fast, learn quickly and remember not to take things too seriously.
In technology, being the only woman at the table most of the time, you find everyone is watching to see what you know and how you will react. When I first started in IT and was called to meetings, and I was so young that I did not understand how important it was to actually sit at the table. I would generally find a chair somewhere else in the room and park. One day I parked, and the CEO of the company, said, “Hey, I invited you to this meeting, so would you please sit at the table.” I was so embarrassed that he had to ask. I had no idea that this mistake of avoiding the table not only impacted my message, but those around me. It was that moment that I understood why it was important to always SIT AT THE TABLE. I thought I was just being respectful to others, but in reality it was a self-sabotage.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I believe it is our culture that makes the company stand out. In my department I take pride in being inclusive, as well as diversified. On top of the wide and much appreciated diversity, we also have a large number of those who are or who did serve in the armed forces. We also are making sure that there is formal mentoring process for those women who are interested in advancing their career within cybersecurity — not something you see every day.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I enjoy having projects on a variety of fronts. Professionally we have about 12 active projects in continuing to deliver on the strategic plan for the organization.
In my spare time I teach graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Phoenix. Beyond teaching and working to constantly improve curriculum in the classroom, I am currently working on how to right the gap in the education continuum for IT professionals. A degree is not the only answer to professional development. Right now, it’s a combination of approaches that students need and employers demand to advance and maintain employment within the IT and cybersecurity fields.
I also volunteer and sit on the board of IT Works in Las Vegas, which provides outstanding opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Through this program students get IT skills, an internship and certifications to prepare them for a living wage job. The program is funded through philanthropy and donations so the students can focus on how to make a commitment to change their lives. In working with the team to bring this Philadelphia based non-profit to Las Vegas over three years ago, the focus was how to help the youth in our community. Last fall one of my current employees asked if she could attend an event to share her story. I 100% support any staff that are out in the community giving back in any way. She came back from the event and started to break down in my office. She shared that she came to the US from Syria as a refugee less than two years ago and went through the IT Works program in Las Vegas. That she was hired by Station Casinos based on the experience she had obtained through that program. That I profoundly changed her life. It is always so humbling to see that kind of impact in action.
Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
Satisfied? Absolutely not. More women need to be encouraged and developed to take jobs in the STEM fields. Part of the solution is to start education and opportunity discussions at an earlier age. The other is developing confidence of women who are looking at these fields. In the classroom I see the overwhelming male presence in IT courses. However, when the women do come to that table, I focus on letting them know that it wasn’t that long ago that I was where they are. I was the one girl in the room. It takes confidence and grit for women to be successful in IT and as leaders need to find ways to foster development programs and teach women how to leverage their talents and training into career currency. Teach how to harness grit and use it to dig deep where necessary to stick around, add value and become an agent of change.
What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?
Mentoring, formal professional development plans and making sure that as a leader you address the employees holistically. Over my 25+ year management experience, I’ve maintained and retained staff at a much higher level than my male peers — usually by double digits. It is not just pay that that entices employees to perform, be productive and ultimately be retained until they are at a point where they advance out of the team, it is a holistic approach to the employees’ journey.
In several organizations, I managed government, or public service employees. In other organizations our pay may not be as high as competing employers, but what is always different is my approach to investing in employees through integrated career development plans. These plans include things like training, certifications, mentoring others, and spending time in the community to give back. I have senior staff mentoring junior staff on key projects so that the leaders of the team learn the value of mentoring and the junior team members get the skills necessary in an interactive and meaningful way.
Do not wait for the occasional passing in the hall. Interact with your employees regularly, which doesn’t mean micromanage! I run self-managed teams. I believe in autonomy of individuals and teams. In my current role we are an Agile shop so I expect that the teams self-manage to deliver results. I only get involved on escalations that hit my desk. It’s their issue to find a resolution for, but my role to share that the escalation is happened and to engage with unplanned work to respond.
The last recommendation is encouraging the teams to get involved in giving back to the community. After employees start to get involved in that dialog, they find it rewarding and provides a satisfaction of feeling accomplished by giving to others.
What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
Over several years, I have managed both large and small teams, virtual and onsite. All have opportunities and challenges. My advice is stay connected no matter how large your team is. The hands-off approach translates to a lack of involvement and lack of understanding of the employees and their work. Look for ways to take the achievers and provide them opportunities quickly to engage in different projects and tasks. Use collaboration tools to offer virtual office hours like, Skype, Zoom, or WebEx. Even if employees do not use the virtual office hours, they are aware of the open door policy where they can reach out at any time. Hold meetings where employees can share what they are doing. Employees need engagement from management, and that engagement can translate to amazing outcomes.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been very lucky to have a number of mentors, prior bosses, and peers that have inspired me, and helped me navigate the bumpy road. They range from my University of Phoenix mentor Dr. C.T. McIntosh, who pushed me into the community service pool — Head first, no waterwings, into the deep end of the pool. Every day I think about the impact he has had on my life and wish he could have understood the value of the gift he gave me prior to his passing.
Dr. Richard Moore who at the time was the President of the Community College of Southern Nevada who said he would no longer promote me until I got my degree. As a single mom working 60 hours a week, I was unsure about why he pushed me down that road, often kicking and complaining. In retrospect it was one of the most impactful decisions of my career.
Ken West, John Johasky and Jon Shank from Hewlett Packard provided mentoring on how to find my voice and be comfortable at the table. Through endless exercises of working with C-Level executives, being the subject matter expert at the table and understanding how to reach down deep and command the necessary presence to be taken seriously at the table.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Giving back to the community and mentoring others is so important. I do whatever I can to find ways to volunteer, sit on boards and volunteer with time and money to help others. Teaching is a labor of love, so I teach whenever asked. I see that as an investment in the future. Finding how to connect classrooms to careers by working with disadvantage youth in finding ways to get the necessary skills to find living wage IT jobs. The last area really is a focus on women in the field. I personally am not OK with being the ONLY WOMEN AT THE TABLE. Although I am comfortable there, it is something that I have defined as a lifetime mission — to help as many women as possible to gain interest in STEM opportunities and to join me at the table. A diverse workforce delivers amazing results and as a women leader in the field, it is critical that I do what I can to reach out and find ways to inspire others to engage.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Find your inner voice. As women we can understand environments and situations at a different level. Make sure to nurture your inner voice to share what you see. Keep in mind that is not always popular. Not too long ago I shared my observations with a management team where the response was explosive. It was right to bring it up, it was right to not be silenced. It was the right thing for the organization. The management in the room have since apologized however, in reflection I would not hesitate to do it again after seeing what impact it had in changes that are required within the organization.
Always sit at the table. Never sit in other chairs unless you arrive too late to get a seat. But think about that, if you arrive too late to sit at the table, what is that telling you? Arrive early, be at the table, and engage.
Find joy in everything you do. IT work is not always easy or fun. Find a way to enjoy every minute. People regularly ask me what I do for work. My response is that is difficult since I have never worked a day in my career. I enjoy everything I do and continue to look for different ways to create change.
Always be FANTASTIC. IT can be a tough gig. It takes a ton of grit and dedication to create meaningful change. There are times when the tide seems to be tossing you out to sea. Always go in with a FANTASTIC attitude, even if you are a little less than fantastic that day. Positivity breeds positivity. Bring as must positivity and optimism into your environment. There are enough whiners, complainers and folks that are generally just grumpy in the department. Look for ways to convert others to a place where they too are positive and FANSTASTIC
Embrace your strengths and use that as currency always. Often individuals are too modest about talent or knowledge in specific areas. Embrace that special talent and use it often. For example, I have a very specialized talent for researching information, creating models and articulating business cases. For too long I did not use these skills in the work environment. Embracing these skills has created a level of credibility that I did not have with my peers and executive management when I can come in and talk business value, as well as technically about why and when change might be required.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
This goes back to my lifetime goal of creating opportunity and changing lives. My movement is to encourage employers through tax incentives to create REAL Career Development Programs with outcomes — where employers start to invest in employees and offer training, degree programs, certificate programs, and certifications. Lots of organizations talk about it but few, very few really invest in their employees at a meaningful level. $500.00 for college reimbursement annually is honestly not enough to cover books for a 10-week course. Nor is it enough to cover a certification course and testing. Not to mention all the CEUs that are required once certifications have been obtained. Those can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. Over the length of my career very little of my development has been funded by others. Those costs come right out of my personal pocket in most cases and now are not even eligible for a tax deduction. For those women who want to make a switch or want to investigate STEM, there are very few financial programs that are public knowledge. My current boss believes in enabling individuals, so my development is now covered in my goals and objectives. That has not been the case throughout my career and the additional educational endeavors continue to be self-funded.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening and live each day like it’s your last. Wake up every day with the focus to make a difference every day. Go after everything you do with purpose. It will change your life and all the others you touch.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
There are so many powerful women out there that this is a difficult question. Condoleezza Rice is the person that I would like to have lunch with. After years of serving our country as often the only woman at the table she now continues to serve others through teaching and sharing her experiences with students. In her book, No Higher Honor, she shares some very personal experiences that I believe that I could learn from and improve how to deal with adversity, criticism while continuing to excel.
Within the technical industry, I think that Alieen Allkins the Corporate Vice President of Customer Service & Support at Microsoft would be my selection for lunch. She has been transforming organizations through service. I would love to understand more about driving business value, inspiring technical talent, and how to drive meaningful change.
Big Ideas: “Large communities of sharp, witty, and insightful people can be the creative writers powering the media” With James Donahue of Write Label
Get enough savvy and smart folks together and group them into verticals that complement their skill sets and life experience, and you’ve got an army of people who can create, in real-time, across subject-matters and industry verticals in a more authentic voice than ever before.
I had the pleasure to interview James Donahue, Chief Strategy Officer of Write Label.
James Donahue’s passion has been to bring people together through a practice of inclusion and community building to address various issues in business and philanthropy. As Chief Strategy Officer at Write Label, he has helped develop a platform and process for sourcing original creative and ideation services by crowdsourcing from a community of vetted writers that numbers in the thousands. Write Label is a meritocracy built to service brands, agencies and media companies to address any short form creative need. A solution to the ever-increasing content demands experienced across industries though the democratization of the creative services model.
His community building has translated into numerous charitable pursuits to address issues related to ocean conservation and sustainable food systems. As a board member of Blue Sphere Foundation he has contributed to the creation of numerous large marine protected areas from Antarctica to Indonesia, and the production of media assets associated with the conservation of large marine animals including sharks, rays and whales.
After studying English Literature and History at the University of Miami, James worked in Miami and NYC in the hospitality industry. This period of time became a case study in human nature and the cultivation of environments that have the ability to spurn collaboration and creativity among diverse subsets.
James spent the majority of his early career straddling two family businesses. He served as Managing Director and Head of Sales for Donahue Fine Arts, and as Senior Partner at the real estate investment trust, Astor Properties.
He currently resides in NYC with his amazing wife and collaborator, Sarah, and their 5 lb. Chihuahua Luddie.
Thank you for joining us James! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always been interested in disruptive technologies that address growing issues across verticals including real estate development, telecom, and agriculture, to name a few. As a result, I was often approached by friends and associates about earlier stage technology investment opportunities and their strategies around going to market and scaling. Some years ago, a friend explained his vision to me for a very early stage company hoping to harness the collective strength of a huge social network of creative writers to change forever how ideas and copy are sourced. He saw me light up before he even finished explaining the idea. The sparks were already flying and I was rattling off applications for such a community across a wide range of industries. Sometimes, something as small as a facial expression, an immediate recognition of the potential for something, is enough for someone to take a chance and invite you into the fold. And, that was the case with Write Label. One day, I didn’t know anything about it, and the next, I was fixated on helping to make that vision a reality.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When I was changing careers, I sought advice from one of the most well-known CEOs in media and entertainment, whom I happened to know from childhood. I wanted to transition to work in a sector in which I had no formal training or experience. I had focused my 20’s doing something completely different, and now was unsure about making such a drastic change. I remember he told me something in a very matter of fact way: “In life, there is only doing and everything else is just passing time. When you look back you’ll be less interested in success or failure, but rather how much you did on the bumpy road that got you there.” He let me know that the gift was the journey, the unknown, the risk, the fear, all of it. If you left any of those things on the cutting room floor then the experience, and life itself, wouldn’t be as full. So, needless to say, I moved two weeks later and pursued this new career, which is where I still am today.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
I have always used EQ more than IQ in business. I’m rarely the smartest guy in the room, but I’ve always been strong at interpreting, expressing, and managing my emotions and connections to others. So as a result, my ability to gauge sentiment about user experience, product feedback, and market fit has always been valuable. My core philosophy is to acknowledge one’s strengths and accept one’s shortcomings and be okay with that.
Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
My world changing idea, is that every day sharp, witty, and insightful people should (and now can) be the creative writers powering the media, social, and brand messaging of the future. Similar to how YouTube provided a platform for anyone with a phone to become a content creator, Write Label has proved that the same is true in the professional creative and ideations space. Get enough savvy and smart folks together and group them into verticals that complement their skill sets and life experience, and you’ve got an army of people who can create, in real-time, across subject-matters and industry verticals in a more authentic voice than ever before.
Our recent collaboration at the Super Bowl with launch of the SUPR (single-use plastic reduction) pledge is a perfect example of how social good, technology, and harnessing the collective consciousness can result in an inspiring body of work that moves people. SUPR is a pledge that was created by Oceanic Global in partnership with Accenture and Nexus to request that owners of major sports teams and arenas commit to reducing their use of single-use plastics. SUPR was announcing that Steve Ross and the Dolphins had taken the pledge and agreed to cut their plastic consumption by 96.4% (2.8 Million pieces annually) by the end of 2020, and was looking for a way to create a lot of original content before, during and immediately after the Super Bowl around plastic waste and football. They collaborated with the Write Label community to source 50+ writers, distributed throughout the country, to write topical and engaging posts for the release. We created 1000+ pieces of original content for consideration, reached 16M+ people through multiple social accounts, and allowed a very small SUPR team to have an aligned army of people creating on their behalf.
How do you think this will change the world?
Like with SUPR, by connecting our community of writers to the media, we’ve created a direct line for people to create for these companies and initiatives. We make the only barrier for participation the quality of your submission, so in turn, we’re facilitating the democratization of content creation. Anyone who has proven the quality of their voice can submit, and with SUPR, there was the added benefit of curating the community based on people who were aligned with the cause of eradicating single-use plastics. We were able to affect change and add tangible value through our community by generating real time creative during a cultural event. In turn, making that moment even more meaningful.
Circumstance is the most common hurdle for people, and those circumstances are always different (geography, family, education, opportunity, etc.) and as a result, only a small fraction of the population can participate in the areas for which they are most naturally suited. Most people don’t pursue a creative career, and this is for a host of reasons, but this doesn’t mean that their innate ability to ideate is any different from the pros. By connecting our community of writers, we’ve created a direct line for people to create for these companies and be compensated for it.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
As with many new technologies that disrupt a space, they’re so often models that streamline efficiency at a cost. Not to say that anyone or anything can stop these technological advancements, it’s the way the world is going, but when technology actually harnesses insights from real people in order to address growing problems across various industries, it’s an amazing thing. I’ve already seen our technology connect wide swaths of talented writers to brands, agencies, and media companies at scale. Our company needs people to power the ideation machine that we’ve developed, and I honestly don’t think that AI is ever going to be able to truly replace the height of human creativity (although I do think it can help make creative better through machine learning that helps optimize people’s creative output).
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
The idea came about when we decided to convert our social network for comedy writers and comedians into an actual business. The community was hugely engaged and had created over two million pieces of original content in the form of jokes, insightful observations and creative challenges for nothing more than getting leaderboard points and garnering bragging right within the community. These were people from all walks of life who, when asked, could produce a body of work that was impressive by anyone’s standards. So, we set out on a mission to discover if anyone was in need of an ideation platform that could produce huge amounts of original content, at scale. And, when we inquired about who might be interested, the answer was everyone. From small businesses requesting social media posts, to brands needing hero copy for product releases, to media companies demanding original and engaging advertising copy, everyone wanted to access this ever-growing community that responded in minutes and hours, not days and weeks. After diagnosing the creative bottlenecks at a few companies, we realized that it was simply a matter of curating our community and creative brief to reflect an array of different content challenges.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
I think it’s the exceptional case studies that our team has put together that will eventually lead to widespread adoption. The biggest hurdle is the disconnect between how people view solving capacity issues as a result of content creation. Hiring additional internal resources, bringing on freelancers, or just piling additional work onto an already overloaded employee, all result in either higher costs or subpar creative output. As companies realize that there are high quality, yet cost effective platform solutions to these problems, our adoption will continue to grow.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Large corporations test, measure, and then approve new solutions at a glacial place.
As an example, we met with the head of a global media company in 2017 and explained the first iteration of our product, and he said on the spot: “Stop selling me, I’m a buyer for this. Let’s move forward.” We left the meeting elated because we had this huge new client, and significant revenue to match. After a few months, we really came to realize the timetables associated with testing and adoption. But, we did garner company-wide adoption, though it took us two years, and a lot of resources and development costs.
Not everyone is gonna be nice (Don’t take it personally).
Being able to overcome negative responses to our vision, strategy, and product is paramount to trying something no one has done before so be prepared for a mixed response — at best. Don’t take it personally, and stay the course.
Remember that making omelettes requires cracking a few eggs, and not everyone is going to embrace your ideas with open arms. The challenge remains on how to persuade someone who is visibly ruffled by the disruptive technology you are proposing, which is when I try and remember this quote:
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” — George Bernard Shaw
This perspective has made my skin thicker, and I have adapted my approach accordingly, to better resist the strong headwinds that persist in some early stage conversations.
We were pitching a TV station group in Texas, and when I started talking about the efficiencies our platform creates in the production space, the prospect took issue with the idea of replacing their in-house creative staff. It was only later, after he realized that to remain competitive he would have to make some adjustments, that he came around to our thinking.
This encounter led us to understand our service as both an opportunity for those willing to embrace the change, and an existential threat for those unwilling or unable to pivot — the classic burning platform.
Admit when you don’t know something. It’s ok to not be an expert in everything.
There is a proverb that says: “A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.”When you don’t fully understand something, just ask. People rarely mind explaining something, and nothing is worse than nodding your head until you’re in an uncomfortable position later for not understanding (or worse, trying to wing it).
Showing some vulnerability and being confident in not having all the answers, tells your audience that you are human. It’s also a great way to get more information when a negotiation has stalled, by simply asking: “Can you help me out here?” You can cut through the chatter and get to the point.
When we first tapped into the greeting card industry, we met with several owners of greeting card companies, and not wanting to seem out of our depth, spent a lot of time nodding along during conversations packed with acronyms and jargon. When asked if we could help, we looked at each other baffled, before coming clean and admitting we didn’t understand what a SKU was. Minutes later, after a quick lesson, we were all back on the same page, and closed a series of sizable deals.
If you can’t have a laugh while doing something, do something else!
I’m the first person to admit that there’s a time and place for jokes, but if you’re not finding some levity and having a few laughs throughout your day, then whatever you’re doing is probably not the right fit.
Early on in my career I worked for a marketing organization where the management insisted on sending company wide Memo’s in the same format for issues large and small. You would have to read all of them, because there was a remote chance that one of them would contain important information, but mostly it was requests for people to take their old food out of the refrigerator. I jokingly replied “all” to one such email with a single word “unsubscribe,” and was subsequently pulled in front of a large committee and asked why I felt compelled to send such an irksome email. While I was explaining the frustration experienced by these internal communications, I realized that I was right, I did in fact have to unsubscribe … from that role and that company. I tendered my resignation on the spot. Sometimes you have to have a laugh, and sometimes you have to go with your gut. That day, my gut said these guys simply don’t get it — so it was time for me to go.
You have to learn to let go and trust the people around you.
When you’re building a company, one has a propensity to treat it like their baby, and why not, it represents sleepless nights and years of obsessing about every detail. At first, there’s nothing wrong with that, but eventually you’ll watch your baby grow up, and when this happens, it can often be hard to let go of the reins and trust someone else to safeguard it.
This is where it helps to have someone tell you that letting go and allowing others to take responsibility for the business is in fact a good thing. After all, in order for a company to flourish it takes a village of great people, or in this case, a great team.
So, let go of certain areas, check in frequently with your team, but focus your limited time on areas of the business that need it. Do the things that only you can do, and let others do the rest.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Setting an intention for the day is key. The first thing I do every morning is make my bed. Making the bed allows me to put something in order, no matter how small, as it reaffirms that I’m in control of how I interact with my surroundings. I also believe in visualizing my future accomplishments, actually picturing my clients loving the product or signing a long-term contract. What that might look like, what might they say, and how would it feel? I read a book called The Biology of Belief a few years ago, and ever since, I’ve been super interested in the possibility of actively attracting the things you want in your life. It’s a little bit out there, but I like it.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
If I could pitch one VC, it would have to be Alan Patricof of Greycroft. The only thing that I’d want him, or any VC to know is that our tech is betting on people as the future of creative optimization — the “human cloud”. Every voice is measured through the same lens of “Did the client like it?” The future is using little pieces of greatness from a huge swath of talented people to create authentic messaging that’s worth listening to.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can always check out our Twitter (@writelabel) and Instagram (@write.label) or you can connect with me on LinkedIn and see what we’re doing in the marketplace (@james-n-donahue)
The definition of a retail company has changed. For decades, retailers and manufacturers stayed in their own lanes. Increasingly, technology, and information available to consumers through technology, have blurred the lines and the lanes will continue to merge, forevermore. Consumers are in the driver’s seat.
As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Sternoff a national correspondent for NBC News and anchored newscasts for many years in Washington D.C., Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles. In 1998, he became the CEO of Body Glide.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I tried to think of a new consumer product to sell in my teens, but took an entry level job for barely $1.00 an hour answering phones in a Seattle radio newsroom. From one of the calls, I was hired as a freelance reporter for a leading group of all-news stations including 1010 WINS in New York and KFWB in Los Angles, and it opened doors to tv and a decades long career anchoring local news in Seattle, Denver, Washington DC and Los Angles, and becoming an NBC News correspondent reporting in the US and abroad.
In 1995, I was approached for seed money to back a Los Angeles startup that came upon a technically advanced consumer skin protection product that we branded Body Glide. When a minority owner filed a nuisance suit against the company and everyone left, I relaunched the business, discovered what it means to be an entrepreneur and built an appreciation for consumers and retail.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
N/A — We have let Yitzi know that Bill did not answer this question.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
N/A — We have let Yitzi know that Bill did not answer this question.
Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We have been working on new products and this may be the year one comes to market that will also fill a consumer need; so stay tuned.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
This is a great question.
Curiosity is in my DNA and should be in yours. It’s the basis of learning and doing. Nothing is static. Everything is evolving and moving faster than at any time in history, and history is as recent as last year, last month, yesterday. If you are curious, your mind will be recharged by what you discover, and you will thrive. If you are not curious, either step aside or retire.
Curiosity in business is no different than in journalism. Train yourself to consciously consider and pursue answers to who, what, where, when, why and how. Who is doing what? What do you need to know? Where will you find this or that? When can you or should you do this or that? Why and how will it be of impact? And so on. And for inspiration, look into people, places and things that may seem irrelevant. Be curious about everything including art, business, politics, and trends in culture and law in countries around the world, as the world is flatter than you think.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Jim Bellows was a legend in journalism, a managing editor of major US newspapers in NY, Washington DC and LA, then in tv. I learned about self-reliance working for Jim at USA Today.
I was preparing a story that would say trash tv shows were on tv because they were cheap to make. Trash tv, then, is what we now call reality tv.
Jim read my story and said it needed something. Instead of telling me what it needed, Jim said, “you’re a smart guy, you’ll figure it out,” and it left me mystified and troubled.
The next morning it hit me that the existence of trash tv was not simply because it was cheap to make, and I changed the end to say: “Why does it exist? Because we watch it!”
I said nothing when I handed the story back. Jim didn’t read through it. Instead he jumped right to the last page, looked up, smiled and said, “let’s go to lunch.”
His process was a tremendous boost to self-confidence, self-awareness and self-reliance. He effectively said, “yes you can”.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Time will tell and others will judge according to how they define goodness and it can be defined in many ways. I am my biggest critic and I am not perfect. My word is good. I am fiscally responsible, socially conscious, and charitable. It is my observation that greed kills, and I act accordingly.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main question of our interview. Can you share 5 examples of how retail companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to shop?
The next five years is now. Consumers want speed and savings and increasingly buy direct. In one way or another, everyone including the consumer is a seller.
The definition of a retail company has changed. For decades, retailers and manufacturers stayed in their own lanes. Increasingly, technology, and information available to consumers through technology, have blurred the lines and the lanes will continue to merge, forevermore. Consumers are in the driver’s seat.
First — the definition of a retail company is expanding at lightning speed. Retail companies are everyone.
Second — any person or company selling to end user consumers is a retailer: in their own physical stores or online; through someone else’s physical or online store; or as an online marketplace seller.
Third — it may not be seen clearly in North America, but the world is pulling us in the direction of anti-competitive law. It’s in the EU and the majority of markets outside North America. Manufacturer minimum advertised prices are legal here, but not out there where laws generally forbid price controls. Margin is up for grabs. Laws around the world barely distinguish the position of a distributor. Instead, a distributor is considered in law to be any person or entity that sells anything. Think about that!
Fourth — a retailer is anyone selling at any price, anywhere. Don’t think so, ask yourself: how many consumers who buy on Amazon care, much less notice whether Amazon actually bought and resold the product, or it was listed on Amazon by the manufacturer or a third party, or even under a fictitious name?
Fifth — how consumers shop will continue to be disruptive.
Many brand stores will grow in number and will thrive multichannel or just online. But those with little to distinguish themselves, if seen as commodities, will struggle.
Distribution companies that sell wholesale to traditional retailers will struggle to stay in the loop as manufacturers and brands take advantage of logistics efficiencies to sell direct to consumers.
Amazon and its competitors in the world are the premiere retail logistics companies, and consumers can thank technology for that.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I appreciate the power of social media, but I am not the product.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
The Future Is Now: “Now we have a a scientific basis to estimate large crowd sizes” With Dr. T. Edwin Chow of Texas State University
The controversy around rally attendance often leaves the public with “a view of the truth colored by the beliefs of the people making the estimates”. Hence, there is a lack of objective and independent crowd estimation, discrediting many social movements around the world where civilians express their opinions on various important issues through peaceful protests. In the context of rally count, my research aims to minimize the controversies within an independent count that is closer to the “truth” and to facilitate a more meaningful dialogue among stakeholders. As humans are often the focus of many pressing issues, such as the evolving coronavirus and global climate change, simulating their spatial behaviors (such as migration) can be helpful in understanding human dynamics in spatial epidemiology, public health, disaster response, special event management, urban planning and so on.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. T. Edwin Chow is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. His research interests focus on geocomputation and human dynamics. He has published dozens of empirical and theoretical articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and moderated conference proceedings. Edwin received contracts/grant funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), American Association of Geographers (AAG), and Census Bureau. His recent projects investigate the potential of big data, including web demographics and social media, to unearth spatial patterns of human movement in dynamic events, e.g. disaster response, protests, etc.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My genuine interest in geography can be attributed to the colorful pictures of the amazing places shown in National Geographic magazines that my uncle subscribed to during my childhood. I never envisioned myself becoming a geography teacher one day. In fact, I never thought that I would ever become a teacher being that I grew up (i.e. suffered) in a teacher’s family — my parents and my grandfather were all teachers. However, my interest in geographic research drove me to pursue a career in academia and thank God that it opened up my horizon to teach and conduct research. To leave myself some options to work in the “real world” I chose Geographic Information Science (GIScience), the subfield in geography that uses geospatial technologies to better understand where, when, what, how and why things are located and with each other (plus who if human is of interest).
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I once helped out a friend in Hong Kong and stood in as a substitute teacher for the second grade. As a veteran teacher, I thought this was going to be a walk in the park. During the first class of the day, one student raised their hand and asked, “Can I use the restroom?” I said “yes” without much thought. Yet, soon after that student left, about 35 other little hands were raised and asked me the same question. Due to fairness, I couldn’t say no. Lesson learned — pedagogy is important and teaching at the elementary school level is not a good match for me.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Most recently, I’ve been working on geocomputation and big data analytics to model human dynamics. This rally project involves ongoing collaborative work to 1) process, analyze and resolve uncertainties of big data (i.e. crowdsourced trajectories, etc.) and the use of artificial intelligence to 2) extract protester count at specific locations at rallies in order to better calibrate the rally model. This research provides a scientific basis to estimate the crowd size at these events and better serve the public by quantifying the attendance independent of political bias. Additionally, it helps scientists better understand crowd behaviors related to scientific applications — such as evacuation simulations during and after an emergency event to better manage emergency responses, evacuation plans, search and rescue missions and resource allocation.
How do you think this might change the world?
The controversy around rally attendance often leaves the public with “a view of the truth colored by the beliefs of the people making the estimates” (Goodier 2011). Hence, there is a lack of objective and independent crowd estimation, discrediting many social movements around the world where civilians express their opinions on various important issues through peaceful protests. In the context of rally count, my research aims to minimize the controversies within an independent count that is closer to the “truth” and to facilitate a more meaningful dialogue among stakeholders. As humans are often the focus of many pressing issues, such as the evolving coronavirus and global climate change, simulating their spatial behaviors (such as migration) can be helpful in understanding human dynamics in spatial epidemiology, public health, disaster response, special event management, urban planning and so on.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
This research leverages computer simulation of individual behaviors aggregating to collective geographic pattern(s), and it relies on many model parameters and a lot of individual data (aka “big data”) to fine-tune the model properly. Moreover, human dynamics in each event are unique and often non-repeatable. Therefore, it requires tremendous effort to collect high-quality and representative individual data (e.g. trajectory), to customize the computer model to simulate each event properly, and to interpret the model outputs. This process can be labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Hence, this approach is not a silver bullet, but it offers an alternative lens to describe what happened (or will happen). In the age of big surveillance, some may also be skeptical with regards to the use of big data in rally count, as they fear they are being watched or tracked.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The organizers and police are typically the ones offering an estimated count of the rally. However, there has been a trend of increasing discrepancy between what the two groups report — up to 7 or 8 folds — that make neither party’s count meaningful nor trusted by the public. On the other hand, some researchers have adopted a statistical approach to manually count the moving crowd at one or two check points followed by a survey, which asked the protesters if they have visited the check point(s) to account for those who left early and joined late in between the check points. However, the political gridlock in Hong Kong has spawned numerous rallies in 2019, and the protesters have gradually adopted “guerilla” tactics of civil disobedience to cope with the tightened crowd control by the government. As a result, many protesters were not counted at the check points because they scattered all over the rally region.
Since, in a controlled setting, a historical event cannot repeat itself to count any protesters who might have been missed, we decided to explore an integrative approach by employing Artificial Intelligence to count at the check points, coupled with a simulation that can reconstruct the moving crowd repeatably to be calibrated by crowdsourced trajectories volunteered by selected protesters.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Right now it takes weeks, and sometimes months, to customize, calibrate and run the model successfully. Unfortunately, this gap in time can lead to the results becoming obsolete once they are ready for proper interpretation. I have been working on moving this onto a cloud, or parallel, computing platform to speed up the process. But, this also requires a tremendous effort to recruit more volunteers and train them to provide a stronger quality of trajectory data.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
I have been marketing this project through the following platforms:
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am in debt to the amazing volunteers who were part of the project: I Go There, I Count. Not only did they spend countless hours in the field collecting valuable data, they also provided constructive suggestions to improve the project overall. I attribute any success of my current project to their contributions.
I also appreciate the collaborative efforts of Prof. Paul Yip at Hong Kong University and Raymond Wong at C&R in this work. The project is inspired and motivated by all Hong Kong’ers who demonstrated high-quality civil engagement via their participation in the protests.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
In recent years, I have attempted more aggressively to conduct applied research that has stronger societal impact. In addition to publishing jargon-filled academic journals, I hope that my research can engage the general public by raising their awareness around these types of events and empowering them with the knowledge and tools to explore topics that matter to them. I also consider it an honor and privilege, but also my responsibility, to speak out on subjects where my expertise may contribute — if only a little — to “rebuke” myths around certain issues (e.g. rally count, migration, border control). Since 2017, I have published a lot of commentary pieces on public and digital media as they relate to various social issues.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Keep dreaming. Creativity often comes in the least expected places, and from ideas that seem unrelated. As researchers, we are continuously in search of topics to explore. The ideas of crowdsourcing volunteer trajectories and rally simulations came from daily jogging using a mobile exercise tracking app and “The Sims” computer game, respectively. Remember to always dream big and eventually your ideas will become reality.
Identify your passion. There are ups and downs throughout our work and career. In my 15 years and counting working in academia, I continuously explore different topics that I like and enjoy doing. This in turn enhances the likelihood of being “successful” and in doing so, hopefully discover something meaningful for others as well. Being passionate helps me to persevere and ride out the storm through the ups and downs.
Pay attention to detail. Dreaming may inspire one to think big and creatively, but an eye for detail helps keep us grounded, and is ultimately what turns our dreams into reality. In the process of computer programming rally simulation, there are so many “bugs” (i.e. unexpected error or unrealistic crowd behaviors) that have to be discovered and fixed, and only when we pay attention to the finer detail are we able to identify these bugs.
Get a secondary “interest.” We are often encouraged to think outside the box. But our primary training in a specific discipline often leads us to think in a certain way. Expanding our horizon with a secondary “interest” can help us to think more broadly, far beyond what’s right in front of us. In academia, this means taking more courses (or even a major/minor) across different disciplines. My research interests often intersect GIScience, computer science and social science, and I have learned so much from other disciplines that provide useful insights. It is evident that multidisciplinary, inter-disciplinary, and transdisciplinary research can more readily lead to new innovation and breakthroughs.
Find partners. As mentioned above, it is often beyond my expertise to be able to learn, know and do everything. I appreciate my collaborators who can fill in the gaps. Moreover, it is important to have intellectual and/or social partners who can point out our blind spots. This goes beyond just being technical at work and extends to personal life as well. For example, as a researcher who studies big data, I have always been skeptical and hesitant to create a Facebook account. Nevertheless, social media is an important platform for community outreach, volunteer recruitment and civil engagement with the general public, all of which are also integral to fueling the rally project.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In the digital era, the biggest threat to a civil society is “fake news,” or the idea that there are no agreeable facts. Despite the fact that we may have faster and more data available at our fingertips, we have less time to evaluate its reliability. Misinformation can polarize and threaten our universal values (e.g. democracy, integrity) that are treasured in a civil society. To enable critical thinking, it is important to have access to “facts” from independent sources. I would encourage people to verify or gain more exposure with fact-checking sources by exploring social media pages or visiting their websites regularly. Some examples may include the following:
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My life lesson quote can be summarized as “stay hungry and stay humble,” which resonates with the Bible: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13). To me, “stay hungry” means maintaining my continual discovery of the truth through research; and “stay humble” is to share the lessons (i.e. the ups and downs) I have learned with others through teaching. I am thankful for certain life events, such as graduation(s), tenure, promotion, relocation, etc., which present both challenges and opportunities for me to do some soul-searching and to adjust my career and life goals as desired. So far I have enjoyed the ride. ☺
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
We all have limited time and resources — what would you like to invest in? We will all rest in peace one day — what would you like to be known for? Most physical materials will pass away over time — what will have lasting values? My answers to those three questions are all related to humans — that it is very meaningful to make a lasting impact on others. The knowledge we share and impart on others can empower them to make a difference not only in their own lives, but in the lives of others. It is important, however, that we make an effort to ensure the knowledge we deliver is accurate, as this is how we as a society can maintain our civility and make advancements. I would like to invite you to invest in fact-checking sources (see the list above) and/or the research work that I do in providing evidence-based content to those sources.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Please subscribe and/or follow in any of the channels:
Create working conditions and a culture that you would want your own children to be in or you would want for yourself. Don’t let the thin air of being at the top of the hierarchy make your mind have a distorted view of others’ daily experience of working in your organization.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Freebairn-Smith.
Laura Freebairn-Smith is a co-founder and partner at Organizational Performance Group (OPG). Laura helps leaders redesign their organizations and create strategic plans through organizational development guidance. Laura also teaches at Yale’s School of Drama and the Yale Office of International Affairs.
Prior to this work, Laura served as Yale’s Director of the Organizational Development and Learning Center, which she helped create in 1999. In addition to her work with OPG’s clients, Laura teaches leadership, diversity, and team building at Yale’s School of Drama.
Her work and career have three major foci:
Leading the creation of extraordinary organizational cultures
Guiding groups, large and small, to greater effectiveness and impact
Consulting on organizational development issues with a special emphasis on strategic planning and organizational redesign
Laura’s background includes a BA from UC Berkeley (Philosophy and Political Science) and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Systems and has published articles and chapters on organizational development topics, most recently the impact of gender on inequity in compensation.
Prior to joining Yale, Laura founded Good Work Associates, a consulting firm providing strategic planning and organizational development services. Before that, she served as Managing Director for the Gesell Institute of Human Development, as Chief Operating Officer for Jobs for the Future, and as Education Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee on the Thai-Cambodian border.In addition to her teaching position at Yale, Laura has taught at the University of New Haven, Georgetown University, and Central Connecticut State University. She has received several leadership awards.
Laura is committed to being a catalyst for the planting of one million trees in her lifetime.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I was raised in San Francisco during the 60s and 70s, marching in anti-Vietnam war marches with my parents. I went on to UC Berkeley to study Philosophy and Political Science. I always share this when I’m teaching or giving a talk so people know my personal mental framework.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I do not have a most interesting story; that’s impossible to choose from the events and experiences of 40 years. I have had the honor and privilege of working with CEOs and front line staff on a wide range of challenges that mattered to them greatly. I’ve flown in helicopters to retreats, skied down a mountain at night with emerging leaders, and watched multiple staff grow and flourish. It sounds corny but it is true for me that every single day that I spend growing OPG is interesting and meaningful. At my core, I’m an entrepreneur. I love creating jobs and value through creating great organizations.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
“OPG is the first organization at which I’ve worked that inspires me to work to the highest possible standard for the benefit of both our clients and our team.” That’s a quote from one of our staff. Our recruitment brochure outlines our exceptionality in many ways.
Organizational Performance Group (OPG) is an organizational development, management, and leadership consulting firm that believes people and their ability to work together are critical to the success of organizations. We believe organizations that inspire and empower their employees have a competitive advantage. We help our clients achieve their best by aligning people and processes in support of a shared vision. All our clients are leaders in their organizations who have a commitment to improving their organization so their people can be more effective at achieving the organization’s mission while also creating an extraordinary work culture.
“If you want to work in an organization where you will constantly be challenged to be the best version of yourself, both professionally and personally, come work for OPG.”
OPG consultants also approach each project with fortitude, heart, creativity, and a strong internal locus of control that ensures success. OPG has a fast-paced and intense culture, typical of management consulting firms, requiring both mental and physical stamina. All team members self-manage and accomplish work at a rapid pace while maintaining the utmost commitment to OPG’s high quality standards.
“Leave your ego at the door and join our collaborative team.”
Candidates have an intellectual zing and charismatic gravitas, and they should be comfortable working as part of a small, collaborative team in a fast-paced, growing firm.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Our client projects are always meaningful since we are asked to help them change their organizations for the better and thus the world. But I’ll focus on an OPG project that is in its third year — our charrettes.
The organizational charrette is a new management practice in which the entire company closes shop for one week so every employee can focus on innovation and future planning. In my opinion, charrettes are magical. They provide time for deep intellectual exploration of matters significant to the success of the firm. They also provide the space and time for innovation. Charrettes allow people to work at their own pace on projects that matter to them, and nothing more. If only the charrette tone and pace could be replicated every day and the firm could still meet our clients’ needs!
To understand what the charrette week entails, it helps to understand the term being used. The word charrette is French for “cart” or “chariot,” referring to a common practice in 19th century French architectural firms in which student architects would work right up until a deadline, at which a charrette would be wheeled among them to collect up their scale models for final review. The word charrette has now taken on a larger meaning; companies all over the world use it to describe an innovative period in which a team or a group of individuals from a company creates pioneering solutions and tackles complicated problems during an established period. These periods are being shown to improve productivity, innovation, employee retention, and internal relationships within companies.
As a part of our mission to be a laboratory for organizational development, we undertook an experimental charrette in December 2017 in order to test its effectiveness on team creativity and innovation, productivity, and overall staff engagement. Here’s how our little “lab experiment” looked:
Every person works alone or in groups to complete one new innovation for the firm. They formulate the idea far in advance, presenting the project first to the partners and then to the organization to ask for feedback on the idea, explain how they will approach working through the charrette, and what goals the idea will accomplish for the firm
During the charrette week kickoff, the entire staff meets for lunch on Wednesday to check in and discuss problems and pain points that are being encountered.
Finally, the week ends with each individual or group presenting their project and receiving questions and feedback from the entire organization.
The first charrette’s goal was to test the effectiveness of a charrette — does only focusing on one idea for an entire week facilitate a deeper, stronger innovation for the organization? How does the individual or group view their relationship with the project and with the company over the course of the week? How difficult will it be to follow through on each project after the charrette is finished?
To answer these questions, we suggest you collect data from every employee in the form of an initial survey at the start of the week, daily feedback forms, and a final debrief at the end of the week. Daily entries from each employee include:
What went well, what could have been better, general reactions, and a 1–5 scale of how meaningful this experience has been so far.
The responses are then categorized into qualitative data that show themes, trends, and potential pain points that the organization can address.
After the charrette is long over, you should also track the progress of each project on a quarterly basis and reallocate resources for projects that are lagging in implementation. This way, projects are seen through fully and don’t only live and thrive for a week.
Here’s what staffers had to say about the two charrettes I’ve been a part of:
Staff members on average rated the whole experience at 4.2 out of 5; in the second year, the average was 4.58.
Going into the charrettes, people reported feeling excited, nervous, optimistic, positive, and energetic. Things that went well included “time to think,” “rich discussion,” and “sticking to a daily plan.”
In both years, the experience improved over the week (3.63–4.75 in the first year and 4.00–5.00 in the second year).
When asked what could have made things better, several staff members said they wished they had done more preparation or research ahead of time.
Others noted frustration around “regular business” creeping into the charrette time.
Finally, staff members commented on needing to give themselves more breaks to move around or take a walk to break up the day and keep their minds fresh.
As the meaningfulness ratings suggest, there was a palpable arc to people’s engagement and experience in the charrette. At the beginning, there were anxieties about not being prepared enough, not being sure where the work was going, etc. By midweek, people were feeling like progress was being made, but they were feeling tired. By Friday, most everyone was in good spirits and felt that they had really accomplished something. Because the experience was positive and fruitful overall, I highly suggest businesses decide to try to hold charrettes with a cyclical cadence.
If a leader’s goal is to cultivate creativity and innovation within his or her organization, the charrette may be the perfect tool to do so. Through this process, employees often find themselves energized and engaged with their work in new and different ways. Each person gets the time, resources, and support to make a personal contribution — this strengthens the bond between each team member and the organization for which they work.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Create working conditions and a culture that you would want your own children to be in or you would want for yourself. Don’t let the thin air of being at the top of the hierarchy make your mind have a distorted view of others’ daily experience of working in your organization. Pick generosity over hoarding. Pick transparency over cloaking. Pick humanity over depersonalization.
We as a species are at such a critical, painful turning point. Millennia of greed and fear have wreaked havoc on the planet and how we treat each other. We are hard-wired for greed and fear so this work of “coming around right” will be and is so hard. It goes against our core biological drivers. But like the science of medicine is discovering, I believe we can reprogram our psychological DNA. But we have to do it fast. There’s almost no time left to spare.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders about how to manage a large team?
Two habits I strongly recommend leaders focus on are transparency and relentless repetition in communication. For the first, transparency, we know from our own work and research that the more information you give people, and the education to understand that information, the better decisions people will make. They will feel more empowered and more engaged.
As to the second habit, relentless repetition in communication is based on the fact that human beings are fairly bad at communicating inside organizations. Research shows that people need to hear and see information up to six times to hear it, understand it, believe it, and use it. Leaders usually fall short in this need to repeat a message in multiple ways. Beyond repetition, communication has to be seen as one of the top three tasks of a leader.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Increase your markets and your effectiveness in advertising to those markets. People from diverse backgrounds bring a deeper and better understanding of the markets they grew up in.
Improve the productivity of your staff. When people feel that they are accepted for who they are, they are more likely to bring their whole selves and energy to their work.
Increase your applicant pool. The more diverse your staff, markets, and product lines, the more likely someone will see themselves in your organization.
Decrease legal costs and risks. The more cross-culturally competent your organization is, the less likely the organization will have lawsuits and other legal and financial issues around discrimination.
Making the world better. This is the best part of increasing diversity. You and your organization are not responsible for thousands of years of discrimination, but you are responsible for recognizing the negative results of that oppression and doing something to remedy it.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I try to transfer the wealth and privilege I’ve been given to others in my community, at work, and at home. I do that in myriad ways throughout the year. One example is my monthly donation to GiveDirectly (www.givedirectly.com) which skips the middleman (aka nonprofit) and gives cash directly to those in need.
Here’s another example from the firm: every year the staff nominates a nonprofit to receive a donation from the firm. We send that list of nominees to our clients and colleagues. They all vote and the one with the most votes gets the donation.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson” quote?
I use the five rules of life in my teaching and my own life.
Show up
Be present
Speak your truth
Don’t be attached to an outcome
Be open to all possibilities
For me, speaking my truth has been an ongoing practice — how to speak the truth without anger or sarcasm or fear. This is hard work.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
My godmother, Marilyn Burns. She was a very successful businesswoman back in the day (1960s onward) when women business owners were a rarity. She is smart, direct, unintimidated, and is a true role model.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
Warren Buffett. I’m intrigued with his deep commitment to sharing the wealth. I’d love to talk to him about how capitalism can be changed to reduce income inequality, at a system level, not just individual by individual. How do we reduce greed? Increase ethics? Increase sharing? I think he’s worked hard on these issues his whole life.
Natalie Franke of HoneyBook: “Here Are 5 Things We Can Each Do To Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic”
To me, helping people transform their passion into a sustainable business is the most rewarding pursuit and I hope our movement continues to grow and bring value to business owners.
As a part of my interview series about the ‘5 Things We Can Each Do Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic’ I had the pleasure to interview Natalie Franke, Head of Community at HoneyBook and co-founder of the Rising Tide. After seven years as a freelance photographer, Natalie started the Rising Tide to curb entrepreneurial loneliness and provide solopreneurs with the resources and support they need to be successful in business. Since the Rising Tide and HoneyBook joined forces in 2015, the community that Natalie built has grown to more than 75K small business owners who meet monthly around the world. Natalie has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, NPR, Bustle and others. She studied neuroscience and the psychology of seeing at the University of Pennsylvania.
Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
Absolutely! I was raised in a family of science nerds, so I initially pursued a degree in visual studies with an emphasis in neuroscience and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
I loved psychology, but it wasn’t feeding my creativity. That’s when I started photographing weddings on the weekend. The side-hustle quickly turned into a full-time career. Freelancing has many perks, but it also comes with an unsettling amount of solitude.
For seven years, I did what I loved, but I did it alone. With my background in psychology, I’ve always been interested in how our brains are designed for connection. So, I started looking for the thing that I felt was missing in my life as a freelance photographer: community.
Since then I’ve dedicated myself to helping freelancers connect with one another in the spirit of community over competition. What started as a local meet-up quickly grew into a global movement that led me to HoneyBook and my current role as Head of Community.Today, my focus remains the same and we’re working every day to bring business owners together to support each other.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I knew when we started the Rising Tide that I couldn’t be alone in my desire to find community. I knew I couldn’t be the only one feeling lonely. That said, it’s still wild to step back and look at what the Rising Tide has become. I could never have imagined that in just four and a half years we’d be a community of 75K with 430 community chapters in cities around the world.
The Rising Tide has always been about empowering small business owners to succeed doing what they love. When we joined with HoneyBook we were able to double down on this mission by providing freelancers with not just community support and resources, but also the software they need to actually run their business.
To me, helping people transform their passion into a sustainable business is the most rewarding pursuit and I hope our movement continues to grow and bring value to business owners.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Yes! We just wrapped up a very exciting project at HoneyBook — my husband and I sold our house to go on a road trip across the country and meet with small business owners from coast-to-coast (all with our 9-month old in tow!).
As Head of Community at HoneyBook, finding opportunities to connect with creative entrepreneurs is essential. The more we know about the people we are trying to serve, the better we can support them. And I thought, what better way to connect with the community than to hit the road and meet them where they are.
But this wasn’t the only reason for the trip. When I was 28 I had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor and at this very vulnerable time in my life, the creative community was there to lift me up. They had my back personally and professionally without question. I knew that when I was well again, there was more that I could do to give back.
So for two months we travelled across the country to host meetups In 14 major US cities. At each stop I was reminded of how powerful human connection is. By coming together as a community we can help each other overcome challenges, celebrate wins and, most importantly, fight the epidemic of loneliness that so many small business owners face.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’ve always got something up our sleeve, but I’m particularly excited about our latest feature launch. We just released the HoneyBook scheduling tool which helps business owners schedule client meetings two-times faster.
We know that for service providers, meeting with their clients is an essential part of their business. In fact, those that meet with prospective clients are 40 percent more likely to book them. But we also know that scheduling meetings is time consuming; many business owners spend more than two hours a week sending emails with their clients to schedule a meeting. That’s a lot of time that could be spent on something more valuable like practicing their craft or spending time with family.
That’s why the scheduling tool is so powerful. It eliminates the email back-and-forth and gives business owners their time back. In doing so we’re literally delivering on our mission to help freelancers spend more time doing what they love.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
Brené Brown, I’m deeply inspired by her ability to combine research and emotional intelligence to inspire!
Can you share with our readers a bit why you are an authority about the topic of the Loneliness Epidemic?
Simply because I’ve lived it. Freelancing for seven years brought with it a lot of joy, but also a lot of loneliness. It was this experience that inspired me to found the Rising Tide and which led me to build community at HoneyBook.
And with 35% of Americans freelancing today, we can safely say that loneliness is prevalent across the US. It’s crucial that we acknowledge its existence if we ever want to overcome it.
Through my journey of freelancing, being diagnosed with a brain tumor, and my current role at HoneyBook, I have experienced the power of relationships deeper than ever before.I am now focused on motivating others to invest in their community and overcome the loneliness epidemic.
Can you articulate for our readers 3 reasons why being lonely and isolated can harm one’s health?
There are so many reasons why isolation is bad for your health. Here are the top three:
It can cause mental health issues: A deficiency of relationships will play through our brain with an emotional soundtrack — sadness, emptiness, deprivation. These feelings tear away at our emotional well-being and deprive our brains of the nutrients it needs to feel happiness.
It can cause physical health issues: Studies have shown that the mind and body are intertwined. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and attitudes have the power to affect our biological functioning.
It leads to poor decision-making: When you exist in a negative state of mind, whether it be sadness or anger, it influences your actions. Because you feel low, you make poor decisions.
In which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?
Connection is a lot like food. Every community needs it to survive — we are a social species! Throughout the history of mankind, our social networks (communities, families, etc.) have enabled us to survive and thrive as a species. As social animals, human beings need connection in order to feel whole.
Our brains are hardwired to empathize with others and our biological and psychological systems long to thrive in collaborative and communal networks. A lack of support can discourage you from creating beautiful businesses and relationships, two things absolutely key to a functional community.
Our technology has the power to connect billions of people in one network, in a way that was never possible. Yet despite this, so many people are lonely. Why is this?
It’s easy to keep life’s low points to yourself, while sharing the polished highlights on social media. But doing so can lead to loneliness because we prevent people from getting to know our true selves.
We all have highs and lows and it’s important to realize that going through them is actually what brings us together. Shared experiences — the good and the bad — create connection. For me this looks like sharing my health struggles and the lessons I’ve learned in life and in business. Once I started opening up about these vulnerabilities more frequently, I began building stronger relationships with my community. I’m encouraged to see that this behavior is increasing in the creative community and more people are pulling back the curtain on the every day challenges they are facing.
Technology can also rob us of the real, human, interaction that is so important to our health. That’s why Rising Tide chapters host in-person meet-ups once a month. We’ve seen first-hand how bringing people together can have a huge impact on strengthening online relationships by providing a tangible space for connection, empathy and support.
In your experience, what are the 5 things each of us can do to help solve the Loneliness Epidemic? Feel free to add a personal story, if relevant.
Create community: Find a group of people with whom you share a common interest, whether it’s your occupation, education, hobby, or purely for networking purposes. There are all kinds of meetups happening every day with people around the world — seek them out and join in! And if you can’t find a community that fits your interests, create your own!
Show up as your genuine self (in person and online): Each of us is unique with our own experiences and perspectives. This individuality distinguishes one business from another, but it’s also what makes each of us interesting. So don’t be afraid to be yourself. Vulnerability and openness can actually bring you closer to others by encouraging them to reciprocate authenticity.
Take breaks: Please, everyone, do yourselves a favor and take breaks throughout the day. Not only will it help with your overall productivity, but it’s so important to have a healthy work-life balance that’s custom to your own unique needs.
Be kind to yourself (and unplug!): Instagram and other social media platforms are incredible tools for freelancers and small businesses to grow their customer base and get their stories out there, but you must rid yourself of unhealthy comparison. One way to do this is to unplug every so often and reconnect with your realworld surroundings.
Turn strangers into friends: Move beyond your circle and spark up a conversation with a stranger. Humans are designed for connection and you might be surprised to discover that people have a genuine interest in who you are and what you’re all about.
Poet Heidi Wong: Resilience is about learning from the challenges you’ve faced and applying those challenges to new situations in order to thrive
For me, resilience is about learning from the challenges you’ve faced and applying those challenges to new situations in order to thrive. My dad, who’s one of my role models, would always tell me “if you’re not scared, you’re not doing it right.”
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Heidi Wong, a poet, artist, philanthropist, and content creator. Throughout Wong’s life, she has been no stranger to hard work, resilience, and ambition.
At only 10 years old, Wong began her record setting streak of national art competition wins in China that continued for six consecutive years. At 15, she released her first poetry anthology. At 17, she raised over 43,000$ for cancer research in China by auctioning off one of her paintings. Now at 21 and with no intention of slowing down, Wong has been published in countless magazines, shown her artwork worldwide, and authored another poetry anthology titled The Blue Velvet Dress Says I Told You So.
With a unique written voice and an equally strong color palette, Wong has definitely proved herself to be a multi-talented young artist. Today, Wong continues to dazzle the world by setting an example for her quarter of a million fans as an iconic figure of confidence, artistry, and female power.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I’m a poet and artist from Hong Kong. I was raised in Beijing, but I also spent quite a bit of time in New York growing up. I now live between Hong Kong, Beijing, and New York City. I’m also a student at Hamilton College, majoring in Creative Writing and Art. Being a young synesthetic woman of color, I try to represent my experience in my work by encapsulating personal events through visual and narrative storytelling.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
This one’s the most recent story I have. This past summer I was thinking about the past six or so years I’ve spent posting my art and poetry on Instagram and began to wonder whether people like my work because it truly touched them, or because other people seemed to like it too. Gaining an audience on social media is mostly a ripple effect. One person like it, shares it, then before you know it people are talking about your work and you’ve got a following.
I had already applied and been accepted to the NYU Writers in New York summer program, which is essentially a group of young poets workshopping each other’s poems in a mock-MFA setting. I thought during this program, I’d try something different.
My career has always been a huge part of my life and identity. In my college, a lot of people know about what I’ve done before they know who I am. I wanted to turn that around and see if my work could stand on its own two feet. Because social media intensifies the correlation between the legitimacy of subjective experiences such as poetry with quantifiable “likes,” I wanted to eliminate people’s tendencies to adapt a herd mentality as much as possible and discover if just my words on the page were enough. That led to my promise to myself: during the summer, no matter how stressed about work I was, no matter what news I received, I would not talk about my career. This included, of course, my Instagram, my book deal at the time, etcetera.
It wasn’t the easiest. Because we spent so much time together as a tight knit group, there were details I had to work around. For example, after class when everyone would go to lunch together, I’d often have to make an excuse and run off to take a business call, speak to my publisher about my upcoming book, or find time to make content. (This didn’t always make me feel the greatest. A part of me definitely felt guilty, so I was quite relieved when one of my classmates pulled up my Instagram and confronted me during a group lunch. Thankfully everyone understood my intentions and we all laughed about it later.)
But allowing myself to distance my identity from my productivity forced me to dig deeper and the parts of myself that are valuable yet separate from my career — the details I had gotten used to dismissing as unimportant: I either binge watch reality TV or horror movies, there’s no in between. I had a rottweiler puppy when I was a kid, and when he passed away I wrote him a farewell letter and buried it in my back yard. I think winging out my eyeliner and getting my cup of cold brew from the café next to my apartment in East Village are absolute essentials to start my day. Listening to The Killers reminds me of childhood. Playing piano calms me down. The most heartwarming outcome from this was by showing other people these parts of me, I got to appreciate myself more too. I learned that I am valuable and interesting beyond my productivity, which is something I’m still reminding myself every day when things get overwhelming.
I’ve also had a lot of other interactions that made me think. I remember meeting someone at an event who worked for an agency. Since I was interested in learning more about the role of a literary agent, I came up to talk to them after the event. Long story short, I asked if they would be open to new queries from poets and was entirely dismissed. They even mentioned that they would only be interested if the poet “had a significant social following,” insinuating that a 20-something poet would be unlikely to gain “a significant social following” or be ready for representation. I kindly thanked them for their time and rejoined the group.
Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to prove myself to be “just as good as the adults.” But it’s truly been awhile since I’ve been dismissed like due to my age or assumed inexperience. I went home that day reflecting on this, and some days I still do. I don’t know how I can convince others that age does not equal experience or lack thereof. All I can do is serve as an example to other young creatives that anything is possible if you put in the work to turn your ideas into reality.
Other than that incident, the main takeaway from that summer was that poetry doesn’t have to be lonely. It showed me another beautiful side of being a poet — the community of like minded people and the connections you make in person as well as online.
Some may find it surprising that I’m an introvert. Most of my creation process, regardless of medium, happens in my art studio alone or in my college dorm room with my typewriter and a notebook. But Writers in New York was something different. I still wrote my poems alone in silence or with classical piano music playing in the background, but the workshops were much more interactive. Every poet in my class had their own distinct voice, and I learned something from everyone from getting to know them, hearing their stories, then workshopping their poems. And when I got a compliment, I knew that it wasn’t because poem had reached “x” amount of likes on Instagram or because the commenter above them liked it too. The feedback was more real, more personal, more intimate. The critiques were too.
This experience taught me to be more open minded and self aware, but most of all it reminded me that poetry is supposed to be shared, talked about, pulled apart and put back together, turned into light hearted jokes over coffee, read aloud in front of a crowd or to a group of like minded people in a small classroom — it’s a shared experience of true vulnerability.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I think a lot of my followers have realized this, but recently I’ve become quiteobsessed with Shakespeare. I remember reading the bilingual picture book version of Hamlet as a kid and analyzing Macbeth in my IB Literature class in high school, but it wasn’t until Professor Bahr’s Shakespeare class that these plays came to life. Lavinia made me feel less lonely. Lady Macbeth made me feel strangely powerful. Iago intrigued me, Othello moved me, Richard II enlightened me.
There were times I’d read a monologue and have to sit with myself for a second, thinking, “Oh my god, this is perfect. This is what I fell in love with.” I was a child again, reexperiencing the kind of sheer excitement I felt when my mom finally agreed to tell me a bedtime story. It was the joy I felt sitting alone in the library with twenty books in my lap after escaping from my middle school tormentors who made fun of my dreams to be “a real writer one day.”
Throughout the years, life became busy. I became overwhelmed, distracted, all over the place. Like many college students, it’s difficult to find time to read, and when we do it’s often filled with the stress of meeting a deadline or finishing an assignment. Before Professor Bahr’s class, I had almost forgotten the feeling of home that literature brings me, so I am infinitely grateful that she brought that back into my life.
As someone who came to college certain in what I wanted to pursue, I often found it hard to engage with classes I didn’t see a clear use for in my future. I found myself gradually losing my sense of purpose as a student who did learn new information but could not apply it to my life and thus remained uninspired. But Professor Bahr’s vast knowledge and enthusiasm sparked a kind of intellectual and creative enlightenment in me that I didn’t know was possible. Now my friends would watch me jolt up from my seat and my eyes light up when I talk about Titus Andronicus. I’ve begun answering texts with Shakespeare quotes and casually dropping Shakespeare references in everyday conversations. I’ve written new poems and painted new paintings inspired by Titus Andronicus, King Lear, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I think the best educators don’t just present knowledge, they help students elevate knowledge into wisdom, inspiration, and innovation. As a soon to be alum of my college, I must say I feel a sense of comfort that Professor Bahr will remain here to cultivate the next generation of informed and influential writers.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I’ve noticed that resilient people have an insane amount of adaptability to them. Resilience in Chinese translates to “tánlì,” which literally means “elasticity.” During the darkest points of my life, my primary motivator was to resist the common saying “it gets better.” I told myself it might never get better. Neither I nor anyone else can control the future; however, I control myself. Therefore, I must make sure that I become stronger, so I will be okay regardless of whether it gets better or not.
For me, resilience is about learning from the challenges you’ve faced and applying those challenges to new situations in order to thrive. My dad, who’s one of my role models, would always tell me “if you’re not scared, you’re not doing it right.”
Resilience isn’t about having no fears; Resilience is about pushing past your fears and sometimes even running towards them.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
When I think of resilience, I think of my parents. They’ve been hustlers together from the beginning and are embodiments of resilience. Their ability to not only stick by each other when they were in a financially destitute situation, but to pull themselves out of it in order to give us a better life is so admirable.
My mother even taught herself Japanese and left China to pursue her masters at Tokyo University, and worked in a factory along the way to support herself. After graduating and working multiple jobs in Tokyo, she eventually returned to China and began launching small businesses with my dad.
Even within my lifetime I witnessed my parents growing together, working together, and staying resilient time after time. They’ve given me everything I have today, including the opportunity and freedom to pursue my passions — something they never had as young adults in financially difficult situations. They’ve instilled within me resilience, ambition, and a hunger to improve myself and the world even just by being around them.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Since I’m a writer I think it’s only fitting that I share my writing story! I was in a bilingual kindergarten, but since my parents don’t speak English, it was a huge change when I transferred to an International school with English as the primary language. I remember going to the library the first time and the librarian asking me to spell my name. I couldn’t. Everyone laughed and called me “stupid,” which was an insult that stuck.
Even as a first grader I felt humiliated, more so by the fact that I was the “new kid,” and now the new “stupid” kid. People jumped on the bandwagon: I was bullied in elementary school for being “stupid” as a result of my inability to speak English as well as the other kids, then bullied in middle school for being “crazy” enough to think I could ever be a writer, then bullied in high school for being “crazy” because of my mental illnesses. It’s a lot for sure, but throughout it all I had the unshakable gut feeling that writing was my purpose, so that’s what I followed.
Eventually, by going to the library every day after school and reading almost every book I could find, I taught myself English. Goosebumps by R.L.Stine was my favorite series. Then, I graduated to Stephen King novels, then to poetry. By the time I was in fifth grade, I was confident in my calling as a writer, which only made people think I was emore out of my mind. I was bullied so badly for my writing that even when I felt comfortable sharing it, I made an anonymous Instagram account (@hwpoetry) and posted poems under the pseudonym (h.w.). Funny enough, that same Instagram account is now @heidiwongofficial.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
My synesthesia is something I’m pretty open about now, and I usually talk about it in a lighthearted way, but my relationship with it wasn’t always so positive. For the first fifteen years of my life, I thought everyone could see colors in words and numbers, and feel colors associated with emotions. It wasn’t until I learned about synesthesia in a psychology class at my summer camp that I raised my hand and said, “wait, you guys don’t all have this?”
Every synesthete experiences their synesthesia differently, but for me, 45+55=100 makes absolutely no logical sense in my brain because the colors don’t line up. 25 and 52 are the same because the color for each number is the same, and those colors don’t have an order in my head. I’ve caught myself many times flipping to the wrong page in class when the professor writes down a page number on the blackboard! However, I’ve never experienced reading as black ink on a white page. Every word has a color, and when I’m reading, I feel like I’m surrounded by colors. The colors aren’t physically there, but I feel them. It’s the same with people — each person has their own color, and sometimes it can change depending on how I feel around them.
I thought everyone experienced the world like I did because I had never known otherwise, so naturally I got a lot of strange looks and “she’s crazy” comments I couldn’t find a reason for. (As a child everyone would attribute my “I don’t like them because they’re green!” type of comments to my overactive imagination, so I never thought twice.) My attempts to understand what could possibly be “wrong with me” compounded with my mental illnesses created a dark and confusing time.
My years of being consumed by my mental illnesses were also a huge setback, perhaps more than anything else. A part of me still wants to apologize to anyone who knew me then, especially the trusted adults who tried to help despite my constant stubbornness, because it must be so difficult to watch a child go through something like that. After recovering, I began channeling my synesthesia into poetry and painting instead of trying to suppress it. Incidentally, that was also the time I got my first tattoo — the word “resilience” down my left forearm. I thought that was fitting for this interview!
Now I feel much more at peace and have even started to appreciate how my brain functions differently than others’. If anything, overcoming that part of my life and thriving despite it allowed me to gain the confidence I have today. I taught myself to love who I am — dress how I want, pursue what I love, actively combat my fears — even if it makes others uncomfortable. Going against a culture that perpetuates self-hatred and self-deprecation was a constant cycle of reconditioning myself, but in the end it’s so worth it.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
There is one memory I have that I still look back on. When I was in art school, we had a short period of time to submit our pieces for nationals after the theme was revealed. Our class only met on weekends, so this meant a lot of time outside of class to finish our projects and an insane amount of work in class as well. I remember walking in one day and seeing this girl sitting in the corner with a giant piece of Canson paper and a cast around her arm.
Even the instructor tried to convince her to withdraw for the year — she could just compete next year. But she just sat there silently for the next six hours drawing nonstop. I don’t even remember her coming outside for breaks, but maybe that’s just how I remember it. She was much older than I was at the time, so I assume she was getting ready to apply to the China Academy of Art, which made the results of this competition infinitely more important for her future.
We later learned that she had some type of sports injury. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I can’t imagine the pain she had to push through. I don’t even remember her name, but I’ll never forget seeing her in the corner holding her pencil with a cast around her arm. When I’m close to giving up or when I feel like my dreams are too unrealistic, I think of her.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Using your losses as the greatest motivator towards success. I didn’t win the first time I competed in the National Art and Calligraphy Competition of China (what I now shorten to “nationals.”) Not even close, but eight year old me sure did give herself a hard time for it. I think I got the equivalent of a “notable mention” award. I was so livid and disappointed in myself that I made my parents frame the award so I could look at it every day as motivation. This might sound aggressive, but it worked. A few years later I finally got the hang of things. By the time I quit art school to pursue expressionist painting and poetry, I had seven awards framed, including my most treasured — the notable mention that brought on the next six wins.
Learning that when you win, you gain what you originally envisioned, but when you lose, you gain a lesson. Expecting, embracing, and appreciating the value of your “losses.” By “expecting your losses” I definitely don’t mean expecting to lose when you’re pursuing something. I mean expecting that losses are inevitable and a necessary stepping stone towards success.
Adapting an “if this fails, I will fix it” attitude. I do this a lot when I’m painting, but it applies in a larger picture as well. I think a lot of artists can relate to the fear of messing up your work if you don’t do something perfectly — painting a stroke wrong, your underpainting being out of proportion, doubting your abilities, whatever it might be. I sometimes wonder how many great ideas have been squashed by the fear of failure. I like to tell myself whenever I have an idea — the kind you feel deep down can work but just sounds insane when you say it out loud — to try it first, and if it fails, I will fix it. Most of my confidence comes from believing in my ability to fix things. Giving myself the freedom to try has resulted in some of my best work.
Learning to value your own company and “necessary loneliness.” There might be days you’re sitting alone in the library with twenty books in your lap, or tightly clutching a pencil in the corner of an arts studio pushing through the pain. Maybe you’re the only person who understands your pain. There are days, experiences, hurt, betrayal that must happen to you. It must happen to you because one day you will look back and see them not as roadblocks, but as catalysts.
Building your “tánlì,” no matter the circumstance.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
There are so many! Of course, there are all my favorite writers that would take forever to name, but I’ve always wanted to meet Lady Gaga and Mark Zuckerberg. I feel like they’re so different from each other yet represent the two parts of personality perfectly — the loud fashion loving artist and the innovative entrepreneur I’m trying to cultivate in myself too. We also all went to the same summer camp at different times, so I feel like I’ve been idolizing them since I was a teenager!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
My Instagram is @heidiwongofficial and my twitter is @hwpoetry.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Big Ideas That Might Change The World: “A new framework for navigation and autonomous behaviors for vehicles that move, fly, or swim” With Jeff Alholm of Digital Aerolus
When drones are no longer limited to flying only outdoors, when robotic avatars can make intelligent and human-like decisions, when machines can perform dangerous tasks instead of people, the world is a safer place. And, we’re helping build that world.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Alholm, a six-time CEO with a successful track record of accomplishment in the technology industry and startups. Jeff’s ventures have raised hundreds of millions in investment dollars and created many billions in exit valuations. His technology teams have developed dozens of patented inventions.
Jeff co-founded Digital Aerolus, Inc, developers of autonomous technologies, and currently serves as the company’s CEO. Digital Aerolus combines artificial intelligence with advanced mathematics to create software for vehicles that fly, drive, dive, or swim. The company’s first commercial products using these technologies are the Aertos industrial inspection drones.
Jeff led the development of many technology products and their underlying IP/patents, including:
Millimeter wave scanner — whole body imaging systems used in airport security, military, medical, and surveillance applications
Smartphone — the first smartphone; based on Apple’s Newton platform, CTIA’s Product of the Year for 1996
Wi-Fi 802.11 — the underlying MAC technology and chipsets for the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard
Pulse Oximeter — technology for devices that measure and monitor blood oxygen levels
Capnograph — instruments that monitor the concentration or partial pressure of CO2 in respiratory gases. Physicians use capnography to assess patient ventilation during anesthesia; capnographs are required in all U.S. medical operating suites.
Thank you so much for joining us! Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I spent my early engineering days at Child, a computer-graphics startup that created one of the first computer graphic workstations. This experience was a life-changer: the team was small, and loaded with bright university students, young engineers, and visionaries that worked tirelessly to create cutting-edge tech. I’m still proud of that experience. It continues to frame my motivation to build lean teams of brilliant people that invent technologies and create new products.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’m a story collector, so I have many stories. I’d like to share this one:
Larry Tesler was a pioneer in the computer industry. His work made computers easier and more natural to use, and as a result they became more accessible to millions of people. I was fortunate to meet Larry as a young man, and what he said and did affect me. Larry’s death earlier this year moved me to call one of my mentors to thank my friend for his investment in me, and for introducing me to Larry. Last week, I found myself at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). In the SRI lobby, I stood looking at their history display, struck by how many times exceptional people and inventions from SRI and PARC (Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center) have collided with my life. Maybe it’s not a well-known fact, but for the first handful of years that the world used WiFi/802.11, all its chipsets ran a special-purpose processor we created from ideas we learned from Tessler, Thacker, Metcalf and others at PARC. The multi-dimensional mathematics Digital Aerolus uses now in its Aertos drones retain elements from Child’s early work in computer graphics.
I collect experiences as well as stories, and all of them in aggregation have shaped my life and my career. I’ve been fortunate in the extreme to have intersected with so many exceptional people who have worked to change the world — and succeeded. There, that’s my little footnote in history.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Seymour Cray was of the fathers of supercomputing, and his philosophy has shaped my work. I identify with Seymour in many ways.
Cray was from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He loved to sail, and he built his own sailboats. At the end of every summer, rather than storing his sailboat for the winter, Cray would burn his boat, and then spend the winter creating a new and better one in his workshop; at least that is often repeated story. He insisted on looking forward, living in the present and not in the past. It can be tempting to live by looking in the rearview mirror or by comparing to others, but like Seymour I find these approaches to be unproductive.
Seymour Cray was soft-spoken and he valued his midwestern roots. But that did not stop him from always trying to find a radically different approach to solving a problem. Cray said: “One of my guiding principles is ‘don’t do anything that other people are doing.’”
Back in the early days, one of Child’s founders shoved Alan Kay’s Ph.D. dissertation into my hands and instructed me to read and memorize Kay’s “Dynabook.” In 1972, the Dynabook dissertation proposed an advanced tablet computer system that was nonetheless simple enough for a child to understand. My boss instructed me to dedicate my life to fulfilling its promise. Especially within my work developing, Wi-Fi and smartphones, I believe, have contributed to that vision.
Kay wrote, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”. I took that concept to heart, and I continue to let it guide my work and my life.
Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change the World”?
At Digital Aerolus, we’ve created something radically new: a framework for navigation and autonomous behaviors designed for vehicles that move, fly, or swim.
The framework has two components: first, we’ve reinvented the underlying mathematics. We believe that our Folded Geometry Code represents an entirely new calculus for managing platform movement in translational and rotational space. FGC is especially effective when platforms move in constantly changing environments, encounter emerging obstacles or threats, and must manage reams of dynamic data from an array of sensors. Secondly, we designed our overarching autonomous system we call the Mind of Motion Framework to use this calculus. We based MMF on models of how the human mind works, and it manages moving platforms in a more predictive, less reactive way.
In the early days of an emerging technology industry, it’s typical to try to “force-fit” existing technologies towards solving a new problem. Autonomous mobility has been no exception to this. Here at Digital Aerolus, we instead took a step a step back to examine the first principle fundamentals, and to look for ways to navigate in 3-D space that extend and transcend the traditional approaches.
The industrial drones we created to capitalize FGC and MMF are turning heads today. They fly semi-autonomously, and navigate stably and predictably with minimal drift, without using GPS, optical flow, LIDAR, or other externally referencing sensors. As we add external sensors, FGC and MMF manage all inputs and project probabilities — processing like a human mind does. FGC and MMF seamlessly fuse various inputs to map them in our multi-dimensional mathematical space.
Our team has worked hard to design these systems and invent these technologies. We protect them with patents, and we’re proud they’re now serving our customers in the marketplace.
How do you think this will change the world?
Our autonomous system equips vehicles to look at the world differently — in a predictive, and not just a reactive, way. We believe this approach will make the world a safer and more efficient place.
The Mind of Motion Framework is particularly powerful: it quickly processes avalanches of input data to predict potential threats and then to effect changes based on a quickly-changing environment and threats. MMF integrates complex operators of all orientations, accelerations, velocities, probabilities, interactions, and noise. Then, it projects how the host vehicle should behave. MMF is managing the world continuously in real-time, coherently and concurrently, for vision, autonomous behaviors, various sensor data, and flight/drive operators. It maps the probability of interactions and collisions for all projected objects, including the platform, and projects a probabilistic cloud of interactions based on real physics. Other approaches to autonomous navigation management are simply at a disadvantage.
This is truly transformative. When drones are no longer limited to flying only outdoors, when robotic avatars can make intelligent and human-like decisions, when machines can perform dangerous tasks instead of people, the world is a safer place. And, we’re helping build that world.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
In the 19th century, the Luddites burned down factories and destroyed textile machines to protest that the mechanical looms were taking jobs away from people. The fear that robots might replace people has deep historical roots, and today’s autonomous technology is raising that fear again.
Aertos industrial drones explore places that people simply shouldn’t enter, performing inspections in challenging locations safely and more efficiently than any competing option. We fly inside nuclear reactors, deep in underground mine shafts, through tunnels and culverts, under bridges dense with signal-defying steel and concrete, and into other environments that were until recently beyond the reach of any vehicle.
This capacity, with its growing sets of autonomy and artificial intelligence behaviors, is enabling new jobs and opportunities. The personal computer revolution left some stenographers unemployed, in the same way that Ford and Firestone disrupted wagon wheel makers. Harnessing the power of any innovative tool disrupts the status quo. But, doing this catalyzes people to think differently, and creates new opportunities that none of us can predict.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
We’ve experienced several fulcrums and tipover points.
The first arrived years ago when we studied the current framework for motion and autonomy and realized how broken it was. Traditional models of motion models are based on century-old math — composed in a world that could never conceive today’s world. Historically, descriptions of body motions predicate upon 7 dimensions: the 3-D axes (x, y, z), plus yaw, pitch, roll, and time. Add the various velocities, accelerations, state noises, and interactions required by a modern navigation system, and dimension management increases threefold — or more. Yes, traditional methods can manage all these dimensions. But, the edge limits loom closer than you would think. For example, watch a conventional UAV try to fly underneath a highway bridge — if you care to risk it. When it loses its GPS lock and external sensors, it effectively falls out of the sky.
Einstein and his contemporaries managed similar dimensional problems in general relativity by representing them with tensors. Yet, tensors turn out to be poorly suited for a world that needs machines with autonomous behaviors. So, the tipping point was realizing we’d need an entirely new ground-up framework to deal with the complexity modern navigation systems would require. We decided to start at the base of the pyramid, down at the level of the foundational mathematics operators. We hoped to start there, to design a system with inherent stability that didn’t reference external sensors, and then design a test vehicle around it. If it could turn on instantly and understand where it was in reference to where it’s going, we’d have a scaffold ready for us to integrate our vision of autonomy. So initially, because boats and cars are expensive, we built a very unique drone.
Another A-Ha moment was realizing how powerful our Mind of Motion Framework was likely to become for all autonomous platforms. We conceived and designed the MMF for power and flexibility. Still, on one recent day I watched one of our pilots fly a Digital Aerolus UAVs for another real customer with a challenging practical use case, and the results struck me like a sledgehammer. Once again, companies and investors have spent hundreds of millions of dollars chasing problems without attending to the foundational issues. We started with the foundation, and that strategy is paying off.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
The AI and autonomy space is awash with noise and wild speculation. Frankly, we see lots of unrealistic “snake oil sales” that won’t resolve the customer’s needs. When our customers see what we’re already doing and genuinely understand how our FGC and MMF system works, they have their own A-Ha moment and realize the fundamental advantage our technologies offer.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
I’m the father of six kids and six startups. I could spend a whole interview on just this question!
So, since I’m a Winston Churchill fan, I’ll go with 5 repeats of “Never, never, never give up or give in.”
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Businesses are best when people come first. Treat the people on our team how you want to be treated, with great value and the highest respect. The Golden Rule is a pretty basic rule, but it’s still the best.
I also believe that good things arrive to those who prepare themselves. Charles Duhigg reminds us in “The Power of Habits” that successful companies like Microsoft or Intel fully expect the challenges and problems they find along the way. We must continually construct habits that will embrace unexpected challenges and successfully address them. Doing this defines us, and the companies we lead.
I also admire the somewhat-obscure “Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership”. Here, Joseph Jaworski teaches us the habit of remaining aware of the world around us, of stepping back and observing, and of educating ourselves to be more aware and prepared. I like to treat every interaction as an opportunity. In a similar way, I like how philosopher/theologian Dallas Willard recommended viewing our lives as a “Divine Conspiracy.”
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
The upcoming autonomy revolution is far, far more than just cars. Partner with us!
Partnerships: Recognize the ones in your industry that are making a significant impact and reach out. Work with them, offer their services, or simply sponsor an event together. Focusing on consumers over competition is an excellent way to reassert yourself in your market. Nike has been working athletes for decades but more recently they have shifted their focus, rarely highlighting their own products but highlighting the athletes themselves, the diversity seen in the game and the power of the audience.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Adjani Jensen a Freelance Digital Marketing Specialist. She works with entrepreneurs, small businesses, and corporations to establish and publicize cohesive and compelling brand identities. As a former SEO specialist and current Social Media Strategist, Adjani believes in the power of a strong online message. By building a community around the brands with which she works, Adjani has helped several companies establish themselves as authoritative thought-leaders in their industry.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I enjoyed working with startups and have seen first hand the importance of cohesive branding and marketing. There is a lot of excitement in a startup and a lot of ideas. It is an especially daunting challenge trying to distill that into a brand with a singular message and focus. Even more daunting is the task of putting that message out in the public, conveying your excitement and simultaneously displaying why this should mean something to them. I have also worked with large corporations who HAD to rebrand because of missteps and a lack of viability and I thought I can use their mistakes as a cautionary tale for smaller business. It’s imperative to always have your branding very clearly in mind so small but necessary adjustments can be made regularly without something catastrophic happening.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At the first startup I worked for I relied too heavily on large events and overestimated my presentation skills. We had a great product but no message. So I learned that simply showing a product, as good as it may be, to a group of people outside of our immediate circle, will never work. I saw very quickly how much marketing is like a journey and branding is what convinces you to take that first step. I quickly learned the importance of strategy, dedicated marketing materials, and follow-up.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
It’s still a work in progress but I know the point at which I felt comfortable “pushing back” against traditional and (occasionally) outdated ideas of branding and marketing. I worked with a non-profit startup who had a great idea and had found a truly rewarding niche but they just couldn’t gain traction. I came in to help with their website and quickly saw the problem. Too many ideas and not enough plans. Learning the value of strategy was where I really started to see success. Building a plan and not being rigidly consumed with the plan is key. Harnessing creativity is never easy but it is necessary and once I learned that I was able to build some really strong messaging for those I worked with.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’ve been working a lot with the fashion industry, specifically sustainable fashion. I’m working on some branding guidelines for stylists and models, looking to promote themselves on their own terms and join this really exciting new space. Sustainability needs to be more than a buzzword and my hope is to guide people beyond the fad. There are also countless issues being addressed by the broad term of sustainability. I think now that we have identified it as the next necessary thing we need to break it down and find a focus within the concept in order to really have an impact.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
As a freelancer, I hate saying no to projects. Clients equal relationships and that’s really how you build business. But again (broken record time) you may need to refocus. Take a break, not from all work because we all need to make a living but choose times throughout the year to be more selective. Whether it’s sticking to one industry, or sticking to one product or mission, that consistency is what will save your sanity. For example, for me, February and September equals fashion months. I work on all fashion all the time. They are extremely hectic times but that focus can actually be refreshing.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Branding vs. Advertising
Branding is a presentation of your company to your audience. Your brand draws from your mission, your vision, your actions and products, and your interaction with your consumers. Advertising is presenting the need for a product and service and a solution (you) to that need. If your brand is in alliance with your consumer’s ideals there is a greater likelihood that when a need arises they will choose your product. Brand marketing is more about building relational connections over time while product marketing is filling a specific need at a specific time.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
From a sociological point of view, our natural inclinations revolve around trust and trustworthiness. We are wired to trust so when trust is taken advantage of or broken it is a momentous and considerable loss. Conversely, building trust, while certainly being an investment of time and resources, will help you to see returns that are exponential. Building a brand is like building a relationship so while general marketing and advertising may sell a product, branding is going to build a following, a relationship with consumers, old and new, and this is what allows for viability and longevity.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
There is necessary rebranding and opportunity rebranding. Necessary is when there has been some misstep on the part of the company and a new narrative is needed to not only address the problem but signify growth.
Then there’s the case of a company who is foreseeing stagnation of some sort and feels the best way to remain relevant is to rebrand. This kind of rebrand may highlight new leadership, opportunities, or products.
The key takeaway is both signal growth, whether it’s physical or intellectual. Showing the public that you can learn and apply what you have learned is a necessary step in any business.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a brand makeover? Why?
There is a company that I worked with that had been in business for upwards of 30 years. They were able to maintain a place in their industry by being aware of changing trends and revamping their product offerings as needed. However when it came to their branding, each time they would address their branding it was always with reluctance. For example, anytime they would “rebrand” it involved a website update, but they never committed fully to a new design. They would always maintain the old sites and include a link to the previous versions. I don’t recommend this. First and foremost it is a lot of unnecessary effort that can be put to better use. It’s also showing your customers that you can’t decide what your future is going to be. Any type of rebranding will be a leap of faith. And educated leap of faith. But a leap of faith nonetheless.
Your brand is who you are, what you stand for, and your goals for the future. If you can’t commit whole-heartedly to a new vision, skip it.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
1.From service to expert by utilizing social media- At this point everyone has seen the necessity for social media but knowing you need it and using it well are two very different things. When reestablishing your social media presence it’s important to stand tall and position yourself as an authority in your industry. I’m not just a carpet cleaner anymore, I am an expert that you know and can trust and this is what I have learned from my years of experience. Here are tips, how to videos, articles from other industry experts, etc.
2. Show your growth- Be transparent about past faults and present specific and targeted ways to fix it. Gucci- black face sweater. A huge number of people are involved from design to production to presentation and NO ONE raised a red flag. Not acceptable. This wasn’t just a bad idea, it was a failing on the part of the entire workforce, one who’s knowledge did not and could not represent what they don’t know. Solution: Inclusivity. As more than a buzzword. New policy, and new division and committed aly whose concern is outside of the good of the company, looking for the good of community and society. (Dapper Dan)
3. Education Connection- Do more than troll college campuses for interns to run errands and do grunt work. Parsons X Teen Vogue Fashion Essentials Certification- Teen Vogue went from monthly print, to print and digital, to social media guru and continues to find ways to stay, not just relevant, but at the center of conversation. Teen Vogue is not just for the teen subset, it is now defining what is need-to-know or essential for the industry as a whole.
4. Focus on what’s working- Older example, but Dunkin Donuts turned into essentially a coffee house because that was where the growth opportunity was. Convenience stores have now turned to fancy gas stations. Retail fashion market is changing its narrative away from rampant consumerism by embracing fashion rental services.
5. Partnerships- Recognize the ones in your industry that are making a significant impact and reach out. Work with them, offer their services, or simply sponsor an event together. Focusing on consumers over competition is an excellent way to reassert yourself in your market. Nike has been working athletes for decades but more recently they have shifted their focus, rarely highlighting their own products but highlighting the athletes themselves, the diversity seen in the game and the power of the audience.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
I think Netflix has taught some really strong lessons and succeed exponentially where others have failed. At the inception Netflix was providing a convenient solution to movie rentals and sales. It expanded to add streaming and then again to add media production. The company shifted with industry demand in a (seemingly) seamless way that kept customers happy and invested. And these were not small tasks they were taking on. The streaming video model itself is a behemoth especially when trying to produce a platform that is cohesive worldwide and that works on such a huge variety of technologies. I’m sure they had hiccups but as a consumer since early on I did not see them. I also noticed as they went through different phases of their development but, again, I didn’t notice it’s effect on quality. It was simply like they were growing up. I think this shows the importance of balance between perfecting your niche and moving on to what’s next. I think a company should always have one entity focused on the future, whether that’s simply research or actual development of new ideas.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I love the new shared workspaces that have taken hold recently. I would love to see an enhancement in that model. Provide additional financial support and resources for soloprenuers, small businesses, and those who have retired but still have this incredible body of knowledge to give and the willingness( and occasionally the need) to work past retirement.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Maya Angelou has been my inspiration most of my life. Her poems “Phenomenal Woman” and “Still I Rise” are so powerful and really have spoken to me throughout my career. Specifically there’s a line that sticks with me:
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like life, I’ll rise. (Original is air; in a live reading Maya updated it to life which I absolutely love)
Life is hard and unexpected things often cause some form of discomfort. It’s important to expect a certain amount of distress but not the point of pessimism. It’s a fact of life but life as a whole is good. So when these trials inevitably come along we can make it through and come through the other side stronger.
How can our readers follow you online?
I can be found on Social Media : FB- Adjani Jensen Web Design IG- @every_day_armour
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
“Resilience is when you can’t imagine anything else except a positive outcome”, with Dr. Charles Sutera
Resilience is when you can’t imagine anything else except a positive outcome. Resilience is not intrinsic to a person, it is situational. Resilience is why unknown Buster Douglas could overcome an undefeated Mike Tyson a month after Douglas’s mother passed away. It is why Hellen Keller became the first blind-deaf person to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Dr. Charles Sutera is a national leader in high-profile smile makeovers, TMJ treatment, and IV sedation dentistry. Since graduating from Tufts School of Dental Medicine, he founded his practice Aesthetic Smile Reconstruction in the Boston Metro region, and established a patented dental product called The Exact Contact used by other dentists across the globe. He has completed training with the top specialists in their respective fields including TMJ training at University of Kentucky with Dr. Jefferey Okeson, IV sedation training at Montefiore Hospital in NYC, direct mentorship with renowned anesthesiologist Dr. Kenneth Lee in Los Angeles, and cosmetic training with porcelain veneer pioneer Dr. Larry Rosenthal. With a unique skill set, Dr. Sutera has established himself as an expert in revision of botched dental procedures, and as a powerful dental expert witness for law firms across the USA and Canada.
Thank you for joining us! Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I was a bit of a renegade. When I graduated dental school, I had this belief that someday I would be the best in the country at helping patients.
Nearly all of my classmates went immediately into residencies or specialty schools — except me. I wanted real world experience and lots of it. I moved to Maine, one of the most underserved dental communities in the country.
Those first few years of my career I worked more hours than I ever did in my life. It was also the first time I ever made a significant income. What I did with that initial income is what truly primed my success.
I became obsessed with learning, and learning from the best. I began reaching out to all the top specialists in the country, writing hundreds of emails, making dozens of phone calls, and numerous inquiries to the biggest names in dentistry. I had a very simple request: I wanted an opportunity for direct mentorship either in their practice or one of their courses.
I shamelessly reached out to all the heavy hitters in the dental industry, the actual founding fathers of modern dentistry, and published authors of the textbooks we learn from in school.
Surprisingly, many of these leaders were open to mentoring a young, ambitious dentist. Just weeks after graduating, I flew to Salt Lake to train with one of them. It was like the education equivalent of rocket fuel. So I did it again. And again.
For years, I reinvested everything I earned into flying around the country to train with the most renowned dentists in their respective specialties. If they were a top specialist in the country, I was probably directly mentored by them very early on in my career. No other young dentist trained like this.
What do you think makes your company stand out?
I don’t think there’s anything worse than being ordinary.
There are 200,000 dentists in America. Each of them is talented in their own ways, yet even if a patient loves their dentist, most patients probably consider their dentist interchangeable. It’s just a service business right? Not for me. To me, dentistry is an identity business.
So how do you create an identity in dentistry?
First, I worked hard to develop a skill set that is unique in the industry. I completed post graduate education programs in the fields of dental anesthesiology, smile aesthetics, dental implantology, TMJ and oral surgery. I believe that multidisciplinary expertise and knowledge allows for the highest level of dental treatment, reconstruction, and maintenance.
Second, our mission is to inspire joy and hope. You’d be surprised how many patients feel intimidated, judged, or not heard when they go to their dentist. In my practice, we want every patient to feel comfortable, well cared for, and understood. We listen with compassion and learn about our patients, their fears, their hopes so that we can make them as comfortable as possible.
And, third, we feature a concierge-type dental experience: We offer freshly brewed tea or coffee, weighted blankets, and even the patient’s choice of movie to watch in our cinema-style operatory during their procedure. Because we recommend them, we give every patient a sonic toothbrush to take home instead of the cheap traditional toothbrush every other practice hands out.
So what’s ordinary in the business of dentistry?
Dentists opening multiple locations. Increasing revenue by capturing patients from neighboring towns; that’s ordinary. A phone call on a Tuesday morning from a patient willing to fly across the country to see you. That’s extraordinary.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I have been blessed with a family that has been my beacon of hope. If there was ever a time where I would lose faith in what I was doing, my family would be right there with positivity providing the spark I needed to keep moving forward.
How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is when you can’t imagine anything else except a positive outcome. Resilience is not intrinsic to a person, it is situational. Resilience is why unknown Buster Douglas could overcome an undefeated Mike Tyson a month after Douglas’s mother passed away. It is why Hellen Keller became the first blind-deaf person to earn a bachelor’s degree. And resilience is why a black man from Atlanta who suffered from depression most his life could inspire a civil rights movement that changed the course of history in the 1960s. It has everything to do with the investment into a greater purpose. When a person is truly committed to achieving a particular outcome, any pain during the process of getting there becomes irrelevant. That’s how magical things happen. Resilience is not inherited. It is acquired.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
My father and my family are incredible models of strength and resilience. When I was 7 years old, my dad was diagnosed with acute leukemia. At that time, there was only a 5 percent chance of survival. For my family, the process was nearly hopeless, but in our minds, the only outcome we could consider was positive. That’s what resilience means to me. Resilience is when you can’t imagine anything else — -except a positive outcome.
In the end, my dad beat the odds, and I later found myself working at the same hospital where he was treated. Everything came full circle
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway?
You know, there really haven’t been people in my life discouraging me. When you’re trying anything new, seeking extra opinions can cloud your thinking. I tend to filter out distractions and just follow my heart.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever?
I think many people would see my father’s fight with leukemia when I was a child as a setback.
Can you share that story with us?
For three years while my dad was fighting leukemia, I would watch him make work calls from a hospital bed to try to provide for the family, and I would do homework with other kids in the hospital only to mourn their passing a few months later. That experience taught me so much about life in general. I developed a different mindset compared to most my friends. Schoolwork was the most simple part of my life. How could I complain about being in school when I saw other kids suffering with leukemia who never complained?
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
When I was 7 years old, there was a career day at my elementary school. I enthusiastically proclaimed that I wanted to become a dentist. It was love at first sight, and I was hopeful, committed, and excited. I still have that school project framed on my desk, but that same week, my dad was diagnosed with acute leukemia. My life changed in an instant.
If you are fortunate to never visit a leukemia ward for a loved one, you are lucky. From age 7 to 10, I lived in one. It was the most remarkable example of hope and empathy I had ever seen. In a cancer ward, there are no personal agendas, there is no selfishness — the whole focus is on healing and caring for others. It’s a beautiful appreciation of life that should be replicated across all careers. Those are the principles that would become so powerful for me later on. That is where I feel my career began.
Those days permanently branded me. I realized being a dentist wasn’t enough. I wanted to push the boundaries. I dreamed of revolutionizing dentistry with comfort, empathy and complex treatment possibilities the field had never seen before. When your childhood is spent wondering if your loved ones will make it through their next medical procedure, you build a tolerance to the complex and a hope for the best.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Become less impressed with how things are and more involved with how things could be
I always go back to the fear and uncertainty around my father’s leukemia. At the time, the way things “were” was very bleak. But we didn’t focus on the 5% survival rate; we focused all our energies on what “could be.” We believe he could beat the odds and he did.
Become obsessed with the things that inspire you
It doesn’t matter what it is. You never know where that inspiration and obsession may take you. Did people expect 7-year-old me to actually become a dentist? Probably not, but here I am.
Become obsessed with the outcome of those things
Process is important and has its place, but your focus should be on the outcome. Don’t get so focused on the “right” process that you lose sight of the end goal. My goal was to become the best and offer patients something more than standard general dentistry. If I had followed the standard process, I would either have gone into practice as a general dentist after completing my residency or gone on to a single specialty residency. I wanted to bring together several specialties and I wanted to learn from the best, so I did. There was no process for doing that, but it didn’t matter. I knew what I wanted to achieve, so I created my own roadmap.
Appreciate yourself, respect others
Everyone struggles. Everyone has doubts. That’s just the human condition. Appreciate what you have and what you have to give. When you do that, I think respect for others follows naturally.
Believe. In yourself, in possibilities, in hope. It was a risk reaching out to the best dental specialists in the world for further training instead of going into practice like most of my peers. But I believed that it was the best way to achieve my goals and went for it.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
My first impulse is to say: “smile again.” I’m not only talking about the physical act of smiling, though, of course, I specialize in reconstructing smiles. It’s so much more than that. People carry a lot of shame and anxiety around dental problems. You can see it when they come into the office, head hanging down, even their posture telegraphs low self-esteem. And for some people it’s a real “Catch-22” — they’re ashamed of their dental problems and, at the same time, they’re ashamed of thinking about doing something for themselves. They don’t think they deserve it because their self-worth has suffered so much. But reconstructive dentistry doesn’t only repair your smile; it can improve your health, your confidence, and your ability to thrive. So, from that perspective, I say to patients…you’re worth it, and more importantly you deserve it. I love seeing patients after treatment, head held high, projecting a level of confidence that was just missing before.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
Roger Bannister. In 1954, he became the first person to run a 4-minute mile — a feat that had previously been considered impossible. And then here’s what happened: within a few years, 20 more people ran a 4-minute mile. I love that story because it shows that you just have to believe you can do it, and you can. Roger Bannister showed the world that it could be done and pretty soon, others were doing it. So often, it’s not impossible; it’s just that people believe it’s impossible.
The Future is Now: “Blockchain systems that can scale while retaining the decentralization that makes these systems more secure” with Michelle Chuang of Asensys
Asensys paves the way for the promise of the decentralized web to be fulfilled — an internet that benefits users and everyday consumers because everyone owns and controls their own data and they also have the ability to earn value in exchange for their data. Companies will also benefit by not having to bear responsibility for securing consumer data because the decentralized network will handle all data storage. The sourcing of products will be more transparent. Consumers will be able to easily trace the origins of goods they are purchasing to make sure the company and all its affiliates are using ethical practices. Additionally, the governance of these internet systems will be in the hands of users rather than corporations.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Chuang, COO of Asensys. She comes to Asensys with over 20 years of experience in marketing and customer engagement and has led key initiatives for companies such as Starbucks, Chevron, and Staples Inc.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have worked in marketing for more than twenty years with a history of building successful brands. To do this successfully requires effectively conveying a company’s purpose to its primary audience. Through my experience working with such household names as Starbucks, Chevron, and Staples Inc., I’ve witnessed how technology has changed the way we live, interact, and experience. This shift is reflected in the way companies tell their stories and connect with customers. Some of the greatest technological changes can be witnessed in transportation, information exchange, social media, and e-commerce verticals, but the change is pervasive across industries. Ultimately, the most disruptive technology platforms are those that have made a difference in people’s everyday lives. The most revolutionary technology of this decade and beyond is blockchain technology. Like the internet, it is destined to change the way we live, interact, and experience the world. I joined Asensys as COO because I recognized the potential for blockchain systems to transform the digital landscape for the better. Asensys has the talent, innovative thinking, and backing from leading technologists to bring its solution to the masses and form the foundation for the next iteration of the internet: the Web 3.0.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There have been countless stories that have made my career rewarding. As it pertains to technology, I was most fascinated when Google first rolled out their retargeting program that allows them to serve up ads based on user search behavior. I had heard about it through an industry article but I remember when I first experienced it first-hand. I searched for a pair of nude pumps and the advertising banner of that specific pair of nude pumps followed me for days. I called it the “nude pumps that haunted my wallet.” Of course, the story had a happy ending for Google and the shoe company. I ended up buying that pair of shoes, along with many other styles of nude pumps; evidence of the success of re-targeting.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Asensys introduces a breakthrough innovation in distributed computing that will allow blockchain technology to scale to meet the needs of the ever-expanding digital economy. Blockchain technology allows for increased transparency, security, and control over one’s own value, which manifests across so many industries. For example, social media platforms depend on the contributions of users in the form of content creation, curation, and promotion, but users gain little more than Likes in return for performing these essential functions. In a blockchain-powered system, users could be earning tokens in exchange for creating great content, sharing posts, and being a tastemaker of interesting articles, videos, photos, and memes. Blockchain technology can help to keep interpersonal communication that occurs through messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp secure and private. Additionally, in the age of Internet of Things (IoT), everything from our ca,r to our in-home assistant, to our fridge is connected to the internet. These smart devices have access to highly sensitive information about who we are, pertaining to our health, fitness, and the private conversations we have in our homes. Blockchain technology can ensure this data is owned and controlled by people, not the companies behind the products. With so much data creation and a lack of secure systems to store and share it, data breaches like the Equifax hack will continue to occur with more and more frequency. We need to harness the power of blockchain technology to improve data security. The problem is that blockchain systems have had difficulty scaling while retaining the decentralization that makes these systems more secure than centralized databases. The Asensys system solves this scalability problem with its novel structure created by our founder, Dr. Brendon (JiaPing) Wang.
How do you think this might change the world?
The reasons for blockchain’s scalability problem are myriad, but what Asensys realized is that these legacy blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum are unnecessarily over-redundant in their design. Through extensive research and modeling, our founder, Dr. Brendon (JiaPing) Wang invented Asensys to dramatically reduce over-redundancy and effectively solve blockchain’s scalability problem. We are able to achieve this by introducing the novel concept of Asynchronous Consensus Zones, which essentially “divides and conquers” all network tasks. We also introduce proprietary systems to increase security and efficiency of the system to ensure the scalability necessary to meet the needs of the modern digital economy can be realized.
Asensys paves the way for the promise of the decentralized web to be fulfilled — an internet that benefits users and everyday consumers because everyone owns and controls their own data and they also have the ability to earn value in exchange for their data. Companies will also benefit by not having to bear responsibility for securing consumer data because the decentralized network will handle all data storage. The sourcing of products will be more transparent. Consumers will be able to easily trace the origins of goods they are purchasing to make sure the company and all its affiliates are using ethical practices. Additionally, the governance of these internet systems will be in the hands of users rather than corporations.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Technology is only as good as the people behind it. I am very much concerned about the repercussions of rampant data collection. As of now, our methods of securing data and sensitive information are ineffective to non-existent. If we fail to safeguard our information, we are putting ourselves at risk to identity theft, scams, and manipulation. This is why I’m so interested in blockchain technology’s capacity for securing data and granting control to users. If users control their own data, they can decide which data is safe to share and with which entities. For example, they may want to share health information collected from a fitness app with their doctor while keeping those details from advertisers and other third parties.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
A few years ago I started to learn about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Of course, as soon as you begin to comprehend the potential for AI, terminator-inspired fears arise, but the more I learned about emerging technologies, the more confident I became that technology could be leveraged for good. When I joined Asensys, I began to understand the power of combining the forces of AI with blockchain. AI works best when applied to giant data sets. Mass data collection and storage of sensitive information could put peoples’ personal details at risk. That’s where blockchain comes into play. Blockchain technology can be deployed to secure the large data sets that AI depends on. We need the transparency and auditing capabilities enabled by blockchain technology if we are to invest fully in an AI-driven future in which automation plays a role in every aspect of our lives, including the way we work, communicate, shop, and learn. Since joining Asensys, I’ve become even more affirmed in my belief that emerging technologies have a great capacity to change the world for the better.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
The question of how blockchain technology will achieve mass adoption has been a driving force behind new startups and projects in the tech sphere for the past decade. One of the major roadblocks to mainstream usage has been the scalability problem, which Asensys addresses with its novel blockchain infrastructure. As a team, it is now our challenge to spread the word to developers and users about the value of the decentralized web. As usability improves and people recognize the benefits of increased transparency, security, and self-governance, I believe we will see a switch from the current internet to the decentralized web of applications comprising the Web 3.0.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We continue to tell the truth about the benefits of decentralization. We make sure people are aware of the inadequacies of our current internet system: namely, that users lack ownership over their own data and their personal information is constantly at risk to hacks. Additionally, we need more accountability and transparency from corporations and companies. There are millions of people who lack bank accounts and who could benefit from a borderless store of value and means of payment. Asensys can help build a better future that addresses these inadequacies with its blockchain system designed to meet the needs of the modern digital economy.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My husband is my best friend, mentor, and biggest supporter. He is a successful entrepreneur, starting one of the premiere packaging manufacturing companies in the nation. I greatly admire his ability to guide his company in an age where constant innovation is a requirement. He has led one transformation after the next, demonstrating great resilience. He is fond of saying, always give your best and never let any excuse come between you and your goal, and I try my best to live out that advice each and every day.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As a woman in tech and in leadership, I understand the importance of being a mentor to young female professionals and supporting them in fulfilling their potential. There is especially a need for more female voices in the blockchain sphere, which remains mostly male dominated. Diverse teams tend to perform better, and so the blockchain community as a whole should be making a bigger push to incorporate more women and people of different backgrounds (it will ultimately benefit their own productivity!). I’ve also been an active member of STOP, a non-profit org that fights human trafficking in Asia. Most recently, I was a board member of CIELO Community, a local non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurship in underserved communities within OC.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Over the course of my career, from Starbucks to my current role as COO of Asensys, I’ve learned these 5 lessons:
Focus on your purpose
Listen to your customers
Be ready to pivot
There are no shortcuts
Be ready for more change
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Be an advocate and early adopter of emerging technology. We have the capability to change the world for the better by harnessing the power of technology, but we depend on early adopters to spark big shifts. If everyone was open to new ideas, we could enact real change that much faster.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything” is a quote attributed to Alexander Hamilton. For me, this message has resonance because we are given so many choices in life and without a core set of values guiding us, there are so many traps that can lead to unhappiness and a lack of fulfillment. Especially as someone working in the tech sphere, I believe it is important to stand up for your values, because if you do not, what is the reason for innovation? You lose that light leading the way to a better future.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
If, like me, you believe technology can be harnessed to build a better future, you will appreciate the Asensys mission to form the foundation for a decentralized web that empowers users with more control over their own data and value, leading to a more secure and transparent digital economy.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
To stay up-to-date on Asensys news and developments, check out our website and follow us on social media.
Perfection is an illusion, we are all humans who are destined to mess up a couple of times. But after each misstep, you have to remember that it’s not your fault. Stop letting your feelings of shame and guilt override your spirit. It’s okay to let yourself feel upset, but don’t stay there. Every minute you spend regretting the past is a minute you take away from practicing for your future.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Mechlinski. Joe Mechlinski is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and social entrepreneur who believes that an engaged workforce is the key to unlocking human potential. To transform the purpose of business and revolutionize workforce engagement, Joe founded SHIFT, a collective of businesses spanning consulting, executive membership, and venture capitalism.
SHIFT has been recognized by the Baltimore Business Journal as one of the “Best Places to Work” for five consecutive years and by Inc. Magazine as a national “Inc. Best Workplace” for three consecutive years.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events have drawn you to this specific career path?
Growing up, I learned my most significant business lessons from my father, who was always loyal to his company and maintained great friendships with his coworkers. At one point, his company conducted major layoffs, but he was fortunate enough to be kept on board.
Although we felt lucky, he had a difficult time seeing his former coworkers experience the hardships of unemployment. While they searched for jobs, they had to settle for unfulfilling work to simply pay the bills.
This unhappiness led to them to disengage from their families, community and personal development. Without seeing a purpose towards their work besides making ends meet, their relationships suffered.
Through his experiences and perspective, I recognized that our relationship with work has the power to transform our quality of life, for better or worse.
Shortly after graduating from Johns Hopkins University, I founded SHIFT, a management consulting company, to help organizations connect with their passions and purpose, improve work culture, and boost employee engagement and performance.
Eighteen years later, we’ve added two businesses to create a collective that encompasses our belief that business has a direct impact on our communities. In 2014 we launched SHIFT Society, an exclusive membership group that brings together business leaders and entrepreneurs of purpose-driven companies. Then, in 2017, we established SHIFT Ventures, a venture capital company to invest in entrepreneurs with innovative businesses serving societal needs.
Can you share your story about “Grit and Success”? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
In 2011, I decided to take on a new endeavor after facing a few challenging years. Leading my company through the “Great 2008 Recession” was tough, but it was even more disappointing to see other companies experience the same hardships, or worse, shut their doors.
What I discovered in that vulnerable time period was that business growth doesn’t have anything to do with outside circumstances, like the industry, economy, or government. It’s all about the people behind the work, and how you invest in their happiness. This moment of clarity inspired me to write my first book.
But here’s the thing. I knew what I wanted to say, but I struggled writing my ideas down and putting my thoughts together. As a new author with limited writing experience, literary agents told me no over and over again.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Every time I felt defeated, I thought of my father’s positive spirit throughout each tricky time at home and at work.
Even though rejection is not easy to swallow, you need to keep believing that you’re worthy and deserving. If you’re doing anything that goes against the grain, rejection is unavoidable. As long as you’re comfortable with failure, you can do anything.
Instead of giving in, I spent a year learning how books get sold and what makes a book successful. I gathered my insights and interviewed c-suite executives from different companies to offer readers diverse perspectives.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
After months of searching, I finally found a publisher. The book, Grow Regardless, was an overnight success. I was suddenly invited to conferences, book parties, and readings across the nation. It made the New York Times bestsellers list, and I was interviewed by national outlets, like Bloomberg and Fox News. Although these milestones were an honor, it’s not what I find successful about this story.
This book was originally meant for small businesses to compete with big businesses. Small business owners heard me loud and clear, what I didn’t expect was hitting home with big players, too. Companies such as Microsoft, New Balance, and John Hancock resonated with my messages about creating a culture of empowerment and equity, and engaged us to work with them.
This experience taught me what grit is and isn’t. It is about believing in your ideas and fighting for them to be heard. But it’s not about achieving the definition of success you’ve been picturing in your head.
Of course, continue making your dreams a reality, but be open to what opportunities come up along the way. Don’t be afraid of the audiences you end up attracting, because they are a valuable part of your story. I didn’t know it at first, but our company was destined to grow beyond what I originally had in mind. We’ve evolved into multiple businesses that support companies big and small, all because of Grow Regardless.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
Don’t have an opinion about experiences you haven’t had yet.
I love the saying, “You have to go there to know there.”
We all live in a bubble in some respect. That’s not the problem. The problem is we stay there. We don’t know what we don’t know, so be open to learning new opportunities and having new experiences. An important note about developing grit is to not become obsessed with what your success will look like. You will get there, but it’s never the exact picture we paint in our heads.
For a real-life example, I think about the entrepreneurs in SHIFT Ventures’ Conscious Venture Lab. Our entrepreneurs think a little differently about capitalism because they believe it’s a tool for societal good. They now have fantastic ideas for innovative business models that are positively impacting their industries, but they had to let go of their pre-programmed opinions to make this change.
Without their ability to dive into the unknown and ask “what if?” questions, they wouldn’t have found their success today.
If you don’t know something, go learn something.
Big ideas rarely come with an instruction guide. When I started SHIFT, I had no experience running a business, but I quickly realized that everyone is learning as they go. Whatever you’re pursuing, you’ll find someone else is trying to do something similar, so take it as an opportunity to learn from them.
Last year, I had the pleasure of interviewing Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, for my podcast with HRCI, Inevitable: The Future of Work. She debunks the theory that talent determines success, explaining that talent can often be a distraction for long-term success. Everyone is born talented, but few continue developing the talent in the face of failure.
You could have the athletic abilities of an Olympian, but quit after your first bad game or score. It’s about changing how you view and rebound after failure or adversity in your pursuit of your goals. Continue learning about what you did wrong and how you can improve for next time.
Remember that you will make mistakes, but you are not a mistake.
Do you think there is anyone out there who is perfect? No.
Perfection is an illusion, we are all humans who are destined to mess up a couple of times. But after each misstep, you have to remember that it’s not your fault. Stop letting your feelings of shame and guilt override your spirit. It’s okay to let yourself feel upset, but don’t stay there. Every minute you spend regretting the past is a minute you take away from practicing for your future.
After every major setback, I recommend giving yourself a timeframe for how long you want to feel upset. It could be an hour, a day, or a few weeks, but make sure you don’t let negative self-talk rule the conversation in your head. Then, make a plan of action for how you will tackle the problem the next time.
Do the work. Roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches.
At a first glance, it’s easy to look at famous celebrities, politicians, or CEOs and think that their lives are easy, or they just stepped right into their positions of power. But that’s not the case.
Behind every success story is a person who used their grit to move past tons of rejection, sort through piles of paperwork or research, and forfeit hours of sleep and quality time with friends/family to keep working. They did the hard work to get where they are. Work is intimidating for everyone, but I suggest ignoring your doubtful thoughts.
Instead of avoiding work like the plague, just take five minutes to start an assignment. I guarantee once you get past those five little minutes, the rest will start to feel a lot easier. The only way to do anything is to just do something.
Have humility and appreciation throughout the journey.
Again, hardships are not optional throughout your career. The only way to heal, and get better, is to hurt.
As I was recording my first podcast, Shift Happens, there were so many little things that went wrong. We faced common problems such as sound issues, tracking subscribers, finding new guests, and figuring out the promotion schedule.
But instead of stressing over the small details, we learned to have fun in the process. We were able to laugh at ourselves and find humor through the hiccups. I also learned the importance of building genuine connections, and thanking everyone who helped us launch. Now we have a fantastic network of recommendations, and a strong community of support.
Don’t forget work can be fun, and your stories of trials and triumphs will be great to share one day.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
Yes! My wife, Erica, who is the friend, sister, and partner you need on your side. She sees me, hears me, and understands me. She gives me the confidence to be who I am, but doesn’t let me fall into bad habits.
We have two great kids, and she helps me become a better father every day. When I was on my speaking tour for Grow Regardless, I completely failed to be attentive to my family’s needs at home.
Instead of letting it go, she didn’t. She called me out on it, and I’m so thankful for that wake-up call.
Because while I was enjoying my success, I forgot that an important part of any success is balance. Grit does not just apply to your work life, it applies to how you treat your home life too.
Using my grit, I was able to move past the shame I felt and become better and more involved with the people I care about.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
At SHIFT, we’re obsessed with looking at things a little differently. Capitalism is one of those ideas. Instead of viewing capitalism as a source of profit, we believe it can incorporate purpose to elevate society.
This is why in 2017, we partnered with the Conscious Venture Lab to form SHIFT Ventures to invest in dozens of entrepreneurs who are introducing new technologies and business models that are serving societal needs and underserved populations. Last month, we graduated our fifth group, and are proud to say the majority are owned by female and minority founders.
Each year, we host a four-month accelerator program to help these entrepreneurs develop their business plans alongside elite mentors. The program concludes with a pitch demonstration in front of local and national investors to provide them with strategic feedback and valuable connections. Upon graduating, our participants have reached major milestones including opening new store fronts, attracting new investors, receiving national press attention, and one even secured a deal on Shark Tank.
I plan to continue this momentum at SHIFT with each new project or client we take on. We are constantly evolving, but I believe our success stems from the positive changes we are constantly adding to the world.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
This year, we are staying focused on preparing ourselves, our network, and our clients for the future of work and digital transformation.
To get ahead of these trends, I partnered with HRCI last year to launch my second podcast, Inevitable: The Future of Work, to speak with thought leaders about our rapidly shifting workforce, and how we can adapt our people management skills alongside advances in technology and automation. A year into its initial debut, the podcast has achieved a 5-star rating, released 32 episodes, reached 1,200 subscribers (and counting), gained 24,000 downloads, and honored 7,751 HRCI general recertification credits.
Our annual event, SHIFT U, hosted by SHIFT Society, will be another strategic initiative this year. Designed for business leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs, our 2020 event will center around futurizing the workplace and disclosing innovative methods for keeping up with advances in technology, digitization, automation, and organizational trends. Last year, SHIFT U 2019: Complicated Conversations attracted more than 150 leaders from across the nation and featured speakers Richard Saul Wurman, founder of TED and Steven Kotler, bestselling author and leading expert on high performance. We are excited to continue bringing in dynamic thought leaders for our event this fall.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
If you’re having a bad day, or going through a difficult business stretch, please remember one thing: the negative inner voice and dialogue in your head is only a small part of you. That’s just your ego, and be cautious while listening to it.
Be careful who you listen to, including yourself. See if you can change the voice to say something a little different and more positive.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Getting employees to go all in at work. Seek out their passions, truly fall in love with the work, and show up each day totally engaged. It’s this kind of shift our workplaces, communities, and world needs.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”
At SHIFT, we believe work and life are intertwined. The amount and quality of effort you put towards each task is constant. That’s why it’s so important to do work that fulfills you — it extends to every other aspect of your life.
I practice this at home and work by switching around one word: Instead of saying, “I have to…,” I’ve changed it to “I GET to…” This has completely changed my perspective, and increased my gratitude towards every single task.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow updates from SHIFT and myself here:
Carla Williams Johnson: “Here are 5 strategies that a company can use to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”
Create a Culture. Know the feeling you want persons to have while doing business with you and live that. Remember what I said about the multibillion dollar brands? You can do the same by establishing and adhering to the guidelines you set for your business and ensuring you and your team live it every single day.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Carla Williams Johnson.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Carla Williams Johnson. Due to her unique understanding of media and her imaginative approach to marketing, she founded Carli Communications, which offers advertising and marketing advice to entrepreneurs and business owners who are interested in building a business in the ‘real world’. Her philosophy is to help you M.A.P out your business through (M)arketing, (A)dvertising and (P)romotion in order to A.M.P up your business through (A)ction, (M)otivation, (P)rogress. She has also conducted thousands of advertising campaigns and has secured publicity for hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs, thus allowing them to authentically connect with their customers in an ever-changing environment.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Having worked in the field of marketing, advertising and communications for over fifteen years with some of the top advertising agencies, I made my entire life building the dreams of others. Here I am, working my fantastically fabulous ‘buns’ off while others built their dreams and made money on my strength.
My colleagues would always say I should open my own business because I was so talented with such great ideas. A voice inside me said I could do it but fear is such a powerful thing, especially fear of the unknown.
In 2016. I was working a traditional 8–4 and was extremely unhappy, physically sick and unappreciated. It was so bad that I was on an entire month’s sick leave. One morning, as I stepped into office, I was summoned by the Human Resources Manager who informed me that my job was now redundant. After sacrificing to stay in job I hated, here I was being told that I was no longer needed, curiously enough, I felt like I was finally free and I was extremely relieved. I felt like it was God saying that this was my time to shine, on my own.
It was then that I finally decided to believe in myself, trust my gut, and listen to that little still voice inside my head that said: ‘You could do it, don’t worry, you’ll be alright!’
After all these years of companies standing on me, it was time for me to stand on my own. I decided it was time to get paid for my knowledge and expertise.
So here I am, a young single mother, with no job, no plan of action, no money and no clue what to do. I was a bit scared, but a lot determined and decided that I needed to get focused.
Thankfully I had the support of my family and my health slowly improved. I just knew the universe had my back and I decided that God was in control of my destiny. I fell back on what I knew I was good at and I did to make money for other companies. I started to meet people, expand and make connections.
Sometimes I made no money at all and sometimes I barely made enough to cover my bills. There were days I cried long tears and almost lost it because I knew I was working hard but I persevered using the tools that were provided to me.
I went back to my marketing roots as that was all I had to keep going. I used my gifts, talents and abilities to help others grow their business and after months and months of being persistent and consistent with my efforts, the universe again answered my prayers in 2017. I landed my first major client, then like an avalanche of good luck, I was getting numerous calls for interviews and to be featured in local and international publications.
Could you imagine? In just a few months I went from not having a job to being recognized on a global scale. That, I believe, is the reward for using your God given gifts, talents and abilities. I used mine to help others and I didn’t let fear, self-doubt and less than stellar results my first year get in the way of me rising to my dreams, instead, I trusted in the universe and believed that God will give me what I need, when I needed it, once I continued to work hard and believe in myself.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Funniest…..well at the time it wasn’t funny but now I laugh because I definitely learned my lesson. When I first started my business, I would meet with potential clients at their offices regularly. Not a fan of driving, most times I would take my significant other with me……(and I would tell persons he was my driver)
Anyways while at a meeting with a gentleman, we got into a discussion about what was best for him and how he should proceed. He had gotten some bad advice before and I really didn’t want him to keep wasting money on promotional packages that weren’t working.
Now, I’m not saying that he pushed back and argued with me because I was female but he gave off this ‘know it all’ vibe and literally challenged everything I was saying……..to which my boyfriend said “Listen, Carla knows her stuff and whatever she says to do, just do it! You won’t regret!” Eventually I did book the client, but unfortunately his misogyny started to show and just couldn’t work with him anymore.
I learned pretty quickly that just because someone can pay for my services doesn’t mean they’re my ideal client. Sometimes I have to say no for sanity sake. I saw the signs and I still pursued thinking that my knowledge and expertise would win him over, but all it did was encourage him to comment on how my legs looked every time I had to pick up the cheque.
From then on, I always understood that it’s a relationship I’m building with clients so I have to ensure that our values are aligned.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Funny you should say “Tipping Point” as it’s actually one of my favorite books by Malcolm Gladwell, but I digress. I remember coming to the conclusion that my online look didn’t match the personality of my brand. My website, my social media were all over the place and really did not convey the message of who I was and what my brand was about. I decided to invest in a Brand Stylist and that was the best thing that I could have done. She really tied everything together, gave my brand credibility and, as such, helped me be more attractive to my ideal clients. Business began to soar and I started to get a lot more publicity in the form of request for interviews.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes indeed….do we entrepreneurs ever stop working? lol
Without giving too much away, I will be developing a program specifically for the introverted entrepreneur which will assist them in building and promoting their brand in the real world. I have found that more and more introverts are moving towards entrepreneurship; however they need a little help with focusing their energy into things that would help them grow and flourish without losing themselves in the process.
This program will definitely help them understand and execute the various components of marketing their business so they can get the results they want.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Schedule self-care like your life depended on it…because it does. There are times I get so focused and engrossed in what I’m doing that I forget to eat. It’s crazy!!!! I had to learn the hard way that being unkind to my body and not giving my brain time to recharge can have terrible consequences. Being a marketer means you have to always think of the best ways to connect with your customers and you cannot think creatively or strategically if you’re tired all the time, so do yourself and your business a favor and take a break every once in a while.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Branding is the emotional connection that your business makes with your customers before they even do business with you. Many of the multibillion dollar brands that I have personally worked with such as Coca Cola and Burger King have made their brand identity very clear and, have done an excellent job of establishing the culture of company. More than just a fancy slogan, these brands have embodied the very essence of what they stand for and evoke a particular feeling whenever you see, hear or purchase from them.
Advertising is what brings the people in. It gets your messages out to the right people, at the right time, on the right medium and encourages them to purchase. Advertising is how people get to know about you, your brand and what you’re selling. This can be through the use of social media, traditional media publicity, sponsorship or direct marketing.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Simple answer, marketing is the lifeblood of a business. Without marketing, no one will know who you are what you do and therefore will not be able to purchase. Building a brand that gets seen and heard is extremely crucial as the world is becoming so noisy with customers are being bombarded with so many messages. A marketing mix that incorporates both online and offline forms of advertising, that’s specific to your brand can work wonders, particularly if your branding is on point so it can be easily recognized by customers.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Building a brand isn’t just about what you do but how you are viewed by others. If your current design doesn’t quite capture the true essence of who you are it may actually be working against your marketing efforts.
Remember, your logo and other visual representations of your brand including fonts, images and colors should reflect your brand’s personality and what your customers can expect from you.
Other reasons companies should consider rebranding are:
Mergers & Acquisitions: as two companies are now coming together, a rebranding may be in order to be easily recognized by customer;
Technology/Innovation: If the company’s main product/service is technology based then as technology evolves, so too should their branding;
Repositioning or Growth: If the company has grown or now needs to be positioned to attract a new market segment, then a rebranding will be in order.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
If you already have an established brand or one that’s easily recognized by your target then unless you fall into the categories above, rebranding will be a no-no. Don’t change just for changing sake, rebranding should be part of an overall strategy. Also, if the business is pretty young then rebranding may not be the best idea. Take the time to see how the brand is evolving before making a decision that can cost you in more ways than one.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
1. Establish your Brand’s Personality
Just like you, your brand has a personality, and, like you, your brand will attract a certain type of individual. Think about the people you hang out with or that you consider friends. Why are they attracted to you? They are attracted to your values, how you speak and what you stand for and how you make them feel. Same way your business will too. There are simple ways to find your brand’s personality.
Get as descriptive as possible and imagine the attributes your brand will have if it were an actual person. What do they look like?
How old?
Level of education?
How does he/she speak or interact with others.
Casual or professional?
Funny and playful or serious?
Stylish and fashionable or plain and practical?
Outspoken or reserved?
Dynamic or stable?
Predictable or surprising?
Get specific!!
2. Determine your Audience
Get crystal clear as to who you are talking to and who your target audience is. If you don’t you will waste both time and money chasing people who aren’t really sure if they want to work with you and this is the fastest way to get ‘burnt out”. Once you are clear on whom you serve, your audience will be naturally attracted to you!! Dig deep and create your client avatar, give them a name, description and write out the daily life of your ideal audience from the time they wake up, to the time they go to bed.
Look at their:
Demographics Age, gender, income, education level, geographical location. social grade, employment, living circumstances, culture, religion, family and social relationships
Psychographics Mindset, how they think, personality traits
Behavioral patterns Leisure/lifestyle activities (like to entertain, do any sports, spend time with friends, go to the movies, like to cook…)
3. Conduct Market Research
You need to know if your product or service is needed and by who. This can help with brand positioning. You need to get out there and ask questions and verify any assumptions. You also need to know who your competitors are and what is the going market value for what you offer. The more information you have, the better equipped you will be to make the necessary decisions that affect your business.
4. Define your Unique Selling Point
Understand what sets your product or service apart from the zillion and one other products just like you in the world. Do not think for one second that there aren’t others who are realizing that there’s need for a particular service and, just like yours, are working on providing just that. Plus the world is a much smaller place because of the internet and there is somebody, somewhere, selling the same thing as you and they’e just a click away. Figure out how you can stand out from the rest and focus on that.
5. Create a Culture
Know the feeling you want persons to have while doing business with you and live that. Remember what I said about the multibillion dollar brands? You can do the same by establishing and adhering to the guidelines you set for your business and ensuring you and your team live it every single day.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
One that stands out to me is Old Spice. For years it was seen as a brand for mature men and while that may have worked when they first launched, the brand started to become stale and outdated. I’m sure sales would have plummeted and, with new products on the market, the brand was not top of mind. The swagger campaign changed all of that. All of a sudden everyone was talking about these television ads and Old Spice was on everyone’s radar. Their online and social media expanded and soon they started to attract a younger audience and was once again back on top.
The marketer in me loved the creativity of the ads but deeper still, I loved how the brand was able to reposition themselves to not only become relevant to their existing target but was able to get a whole new demographic to purchase.
They were able to do a 360 degree rebrand campaign that resonated because they took the time to do their research. They looked at the target, their competition and understood what needed to be done, and they did it all by saying true to their brand’s personality and their brand’s message.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. ?
I honestly feel that men are ‘groomed’ (for lack of a better word) a particular way and therefore they are ‘expected’ to act and react in situations that can be really unhealthy for them and the people around them. Society still expects them to be a certain way which is counterproductive to how the world is progressing. If I could I would create a movement to address this because while women are becoming empowered, men are still being held to the same outdated stereotypes with their worth measured by an old-fashioned value system. I think helping these men unlearn some of the traits they were exposed to can truly help the world become a better, less violent place.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My absolute quote is from Maya Angelou “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
I live my life by this because it reminds me to never stop learning, growing and improving
How can our readers follow you online?
I invite everyone to Make the Carlicomm Connection
Vitaly Pecherskiy of StackAdapt: “Here are 5 strategies that a company can use to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”
Revisit your messaging — Take that same feedback and measure it against your key marketing messages. Are they in sync? If not, consider tweaking your messaging to include the value propositions and adjectives that your customers are using to describe your product and service. While you’re at it, make sure your messaging still addresses your customer’s problem. If your messaging is all about YOUR company, rather than the customer problem, you’ve got a brand issue.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Vitaly Pecherskiy.
Vitaly Pecherskiy is a co-founder and chief operating officer at StackAdapt, one of North America’s fastest-growing advertising technology companies. Vitaly also has the distinction of having been named to Marketing Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list.
The StackAdapt Creative Studio helps agency marketers and ad buyers deliver value to their customers through digital branding that revitalizes, revamps, refreshes, recharges, upgrades and re-energizes customer brand.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My start in the ad tech industry was unexpected — and maybe a bit unconventional. I studied Finance in university and moved to Toronto to pursue a career in investment banking soon after graduation. My job-hunting strategy was pretty bold — I would walk into business towers and get into the elevator with respectable-looking folks and literally give them an elevator pitch and my resume, explaining why I would be a good addition to any team. Three weeks after moving to Toronto I had a job, but not in finance. After walking into a small company and asking to speak to the CEO, I landed a role at an ad tech startup that specialized in Facebook advertising. The company was in the right place at the right time, before Facebook’s Ad APIs were easily accessible, making them one of only a handful of Facebook partners at the time. After the company’s rapid growth and acquisition, I joined a trading desk at an agency where I met one of my two co-founders. Seeing the poor state of ad tech, we knew there was an opportunity to create better software to help brands and agencies drive business outcomes through programmatic advertising. In 2014 StackAdapt was launched with Ildar Shar, CEO, and Yang Han, CTO. We’ve been rapidly growing since and crossed the 170 employee mark last month.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we started StackAdapt we had no resources to create marketing materials, so I took on a graphic designer role. Looking back at those old marketing materials makes me cringe. The worst part is that I thought I was pretty good. Maybe that’s why it took us longer to hire a designer than we should have. I don’t design anything now and it’s probably for the better.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
I think the tipping point of my career success was tied to the success of StackAdapt. That success actually came as the opposite of listening to other people’s advice. It came from being more like StackAdapt and less like any other company, and from doing more of what made StackAdapt successful. Doubling down on what works is our motto.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
A big focus for us at StackAdapt is scaling our Connected TV offering. According to eMarketer, people in the US already watch more digital and internet-connected TV than traditional, linear TV; however, Connected TV only accounts for 1/10 of ad spend. That means that the advertisers are not where consumers’ attention is. Using programmatic advertising technology to deliver hyper-relevant TV advertising and measuring exact impact on things like store visits or purchases on the website, is gaining more and more traction with advertisers using video, and we expect the adoption to continue going up over the next several years. It is inevitable that Connected TV will surpass traditional TV in turns of ad spend. It’s only a matter of time.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Marketing is one of those functions that varies between different companies. While it may be tempting to be on the next hottest channel to reach new users, set a percentage of budget or, more importantly, time, to experiment, but continue doubling down on what works. Focus on 20 percent of activities that drive 80 percent of results. Marketers frequently underestimate how scalable some channels actually are and go chasing the next shiny object.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
To me, the difference between brand marketing and product marketing are the metrics that you try to impact. Brand marketing builds awareness, product marketing builds purchase intent.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
In the age where consumers have a virtually unlimited assortment of products to choose from, it takes more effort for brands to generate sales. Take Search Engine Optimization (SEO), for example. As a new brand, it is virtually impossible to rank high on its main keywords without putting in, potentially, years of pursuing a “long-tail” content strategy. Most brands do not have the luxury of taking that time to generate sales organically. They instead elect to invest in paid marketing initiatives to generate brand awareness that would then lift their brand searches in a search engine.
It is hard to expect people to buy the product after a single click without having any previous exposure to the brand. The consumer buyer journey today reflects the stiff competition in virtually every product category. Before buying, consumers look at the brand’s reviews, visit them on Instagram and read users comments, judge the credibility by a brand’s activities on their blog, and media coverage. All of these play a role in building assurance that the product they buy will deliver on its promise and justify the money spent. Investing in paid media is important to create an ongoing communication with each potential customer that is going through the above validation process to select their product.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Generally, I would consider a rebrand only if things are trending downwards because rebrand is somewhat counter to our motto of doing more of what works. That said, some companies outgrow their brand and should consider a redesign to better reflect their current reality. However, given how many failures of brand relaunches there are, I think it’s better to go with “brand optimization”, so to speak, rather than a full-blown rebrand.
A full-scale re-brand is exhaustive — it’s a budget and time drain on companies. When a company hits growing pains, lagging sales or customer attrition usually brand gets blamed first because the perception is that brand is easy to ‘fix’. It’s only after companies go through the work of re-messaging and re-branding that they realize that brand wasn’t the problem in the first place.
Brand optimization is a more iterative process that makes sense with scaling businesses, especially in crowded or high-growth markets. It’s a process that allows a company to take its brand framework, and break it down into bite-sized chunks that can be tweaked, tested and measured over time. Brand optimization is a more modern approach that continues to build brand, rather than tear it down and start from scratch. The latter means a company is willing to sacrifice the digital cache they’ve built, which isn’t often the best choice.
Recently we refreshed our brand to graduate StackAdapt from “start-up” to “grown-up” and better reflect the level of clients we partner with. We started by doing a visual audit of our brand to determine what works, what doesn’t and why not. Then by leveraging some of the best practices extended to our own clients and their creative assets and campaigns, we started to map out a blueprint for the StackAdapt brand refresh. The lowest hanging fruit was the visual design elements that could help our brand be readily identifiable — colour palette and font family — redefining our brand guidelines and then ensuring and reinforcing consistency in their use. This was the least intrusive, but most impactful exercise that enabled us to implement a phased approach to our brand refresh.
As a technology company, we often see brands struggle in making their creatives fresh and engaging. Sometimes it can just take an injection of some data-driven and creative best practices to supercharge a brand through creative assets and ingenuity.
It is also important to determine the degree that your brand needs a refresh — identify and build on your strengths, reinforce the brand elements that your following is familiar with and loves, and apply some creativity to it. In fact, you don’t necessarily need to change your branding itself, rather upgrade the messaging and how you present your brand’s image.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
If your brand is successful and growing, a rebrand can make it more difficult for more people similar to your existing customers to understand the value you deliver. I would advise against a rebrand if things are trending upwards.
It comes back to companies pinning down why they think they need to rebrand. The issue has to be diagnosed before the right remedy can be prescribed.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Any efforts to upgrade a brand should start with a deep understanding of why customers buy your company’s product. Great strategies to re-energize the brand are the ones that directly speak to the target customer, the ones that spotlight successful uses of the product, the ones that celebrate the customer and the values of the company that built the product in the first place.
Here are some tips at a broader brand level:
Do a market litmus test — audit what your customers are saying about your company and its products or services to understand why they’re your customer. Look at customer surveys, online review sites and talk to your customer-facing teams. Correlate that feedback and measure it against your brand promise — does it align?
Revisit your messaging — Take that same feedback and measure it against your key marketing messages. Are they in sync? If not, consider tweaking your messaging to include the value propositions and adjectives that your customers are using to describe your product and service. While you’re at it, make sure your messaging still addresses your customer’s problem. If your messaging is all about YOUR company, rather than the customer problem, you’ve got a brand issue.
Audit your creative — collect as much data on creative performance as possible and benchmark it against conversion data and the customer feedback you’ve already gathered. Again, make sure the creative makes sense for your customer’s challenge, your product and service and its market.
Audit your marketing strategies — this goes back to time and budget investment in areas that make sense for your company’s brand growth. Make sure you’re focusing 20 percent of activities that are driving 80 percent of results. And make sure those activities align with steps 1–3.
Create a brand guide (if you don’t already have it) and a brand scorecard — the scorecard will become the basis of your iterative brand optimization efforts. Brand scoring isn’t one size fits all — as a company you need to determine the metrics that matter to your brand’s growth and own them as success measures. Either way, the scorecard should track, measure and regularly report on earned media growth (PR and reach), customer satisfaction, and paid brand initiatives like digital marketing and programmatic — all on a quarterly basis. The brand guide is important to help document your brand elements and messaging and why they’re important — and help everyone in the company stick by them. The guide is also a great starting point to assess when you’re thinking about a brand refresh.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
A brand that comes to mind is Audi. Audi boldly advocates for a more sustainable future with their new line of all-electric vehicles. You may have seen them in Avengers movies — they look fantastic. What I admire is that they launched these cars at a time when Tesla, arguably the market leader, was struggling on public markets and the future for electric cars seem murky. Perhaps, the way to replicate that success is to look at the fundamental market trends and take more risks!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
One topic that I am interested in is education. I believe more resources need to be allocated to fund schools to provide better education, raise children as critical thinkers, and make them better prepared for the rapidly-evolving world. I would love to see the world in which even the most successful individuals see a way to derive value and make money by educating the youth.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I don’t have a famous quote that comes to mind that I live by. I am focused on developing my own philosophy of life. That is not to say that I don’t look up to other people for inspiration — I try to look for the best in people and adopt it as my modus operandi. I am a big fan of Jack Ma (Ma Yun), co-founder of Alibaba. His story of being the only one of 24 people that got rejected from getting a job at KFC, then getting rejected ten times from Harvard, and eventually becoming one of the world’s wealthiest men is inspiring. What I know now is that one should build up an incredible tolerance for failure should they wish to succeed.
Bryan Jimenez: “Here are 5 strategies that a company can use to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”
Deliver your brand promise throughout your entire organization. Many businesses focus on transmitting messages through advertising, yet neglect more important aspects of message transmission, like the customer experience. Great brands make a commitment to understanding and delivering their brand promise at every customer interaction point in every department of the organization, via corporate brand awareness and personal brand awareness. Brands do not spring up accidentally from holes in the ground, they are strategically designed, and every single point of the customer experience needs to be designed and optimize to deliver the brand promise. Do this to keep your organization’s reputation better than your competitors, keep your customers happy and coming back for more, and keep your revenues increasing.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Bryan Jimenez, the founder, brand strategist & creative director of the brand consulting firm Archimedes Strategic Branding, where he builds brands, creates breakthrough branding and strategically crafts memorable multimedia branded experiences. He’s also the host of The Archimedes Effect podcast and a burgeoning public speaker on topics like overcoming adversity and sparking breakthrough innovations.
Bryan has worked extremely hard to get ahead, virtually starting at zero in a dysfunctional home in an impoverished neighborhood in the heart of one of US’s most dangerous gangs. His will to overcome adversity has sparked a lifelong love affair with seeking and executing unorthodox creative solutions. His first creative position was in a small graphic design and print studio in Ontario CA in 2005. After only one year, his employer offered to partner with him and he became co-founder of a publishing & advertising business in 2006. He discovered MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) around 2010 and utilized them to bolster his understanding across multiple domains, taking courses from the world’s top universities offered through Coursera. In 2015 Bryan was invited by Coursera to their exclusive Coursera Partners Conference, after learning of his inspiring personal journey and his firm determination for overcoming adversities. This supplementary education helped him lead innovative, strategic and creative branding collaborations for well-known brands like Harley-Davidson, Pepsi, US Department of Energy, Wacom, TEDx, and others. In October 2017, Bryan helped break the Electric Vehicle World Hypermiling Record, helping to demonstrate the power of collaborative ingenuity even without massive corporate funding. Bryan continues working hard helping organizations by revolutionizing their branding, improving customer experiences, sparking greater internal innovation and creativity, and consulting on breakthrough innovation.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Before I even knew about the word brand I had a keen interest in design and in business, since I’m both a left-brain rational thinker and also a right-brain creative. I grew up poor and never really fit into the authoritarian public school system, but being curious by nature I have always been hungry for learning. After high school I stumbled my way into the field of graphic design, learning as I worked. Shortly afterward my employer offered to partner with me to launch a publishing and advertising business, my introduction to entrepreneurship. I was extremely excited to work hard to make that business succeed, being also eager to learn as much as possible from this new experience. As a designer who was now also involved in running a business, I started to notice that there was a huge disconnect between the designer’s objectives and the business objectives. This realization sparked in me the desire to understand, and possibly solve, this challenge. I understood that the disconnect would be somewhere in the realm of marketing, so I started to read books on marketing in order to try and decipher this mystery.
A major turning point for me was when I took a marketing course authorized by University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and offered through Coursera. It changed my entire perspective on how design relates to an organization. I had heard the word “brand” mentioned for years, but its meaning and importance now became very clear to me, as well as the relationship between design, business, and communications in marketing. Through my multidisciplinary approach I had discovered effective solutions to many common marketing, branding, design and business challenges.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest marketing and branding mistake I made when I was first starting was to create branding and designs without gathering data about the brand, the target audience, and the business objectives. This would be unthinkable for me today, which is why I look back and I chuckle a bit and shake my head. Here’s a lesson we can learn from that: Branding is not merely art. Art can be created for no purpose, just to exist and look aesthetically pleasing. Conversely, branding, being a form of design, is explicitly designed to accomplish purpose. This means that even though a piece of purposeless art can be used inside of a branding project, branding and design are not simply art. Branding is a form of design, and design is a form of commercial art. This means that, unlike art, branding and design exist for the purpose of fulfilling commercial objectives. Essentially what I’m saying is that if your branding and design team has little or no understanding of the target audience, which is required for accomplishing the commercial objectives, and they have little or no understanding of the business objectives, then they are not engaged in branding, they are in reality creating meaningless art that will have little to no impact on your business. This was a profound realization for me in my early days. Branding should not be arbitrary nor purely subjective, it must be designed deliberately and strategically.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Similar to what I mentioned before, the tipping point came when I understood that effective branding can only be created when there is a clear understanding of the business, the brand and its objectives. Without clarity in these areas the branding efforts will ultimately fail. Branding is a form of communication, and without clarity of the business, the brand and its objectives there is no clarity of the messaging needed to accomplish those objectives, neither then can there be clarity of the branding that is needed to communicate said messaging. That understanding made me change the way I approached branding. Now I have a proven strategic brand methodology, a formula, for repeating success in branding, in building brands, for improving existing brands, and for re-energizing brands so they can reach the next level. This allowed me to start consulting as a Brand Strategist where I run brand strategy workshops that can supercharge businesses.
A great takeaway lesson is to really understand the difference between branding and brand, and their importance. There are a million popular opinions of what they are, most are incorrect and only cause confusion. I always give this recommendation, check good authoritative sources. For matters of brand, I often defer to the American Marketing Association and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
What is brand? ISO standard 10668 defines brand as “a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos and designs, or a combination of these, intended to identify goods, services or entities, or a combination of these, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits/values.” In other words, brand exists in the mind of the customer. Brand is what the customer thinks about your organization based upon their combined experiences with your organization and products & services. Brand is sparked at the very center of an organization’s purpose, extends outward to be expressed at every single level of the organization, and is finally born inside the mind of the customer. Brand is not the logo, nor is it the company itself. Brand is the intangible perception of an organization.
What is branding? The American Marketing Association defines branding as “a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” In other words, branding is the communication of unique aspects of the brand.
Another takeaway lesson is to understand that you can’t have good branding unless you understand your brand, and also that your branding team can’t craft good branding unless they understand your organization and it’s objectives. Poor branding is an indication that an organization doesn’t have all it’s ducks in a row, or worse, that they don’t really know who they are. That’s why many organizations discount branding as merely a form of artistic curiosity that is kind of necessary but can ultimately be handled by an entry level graphic designer. They psychologically project their own lack of understanding about their brand onto the branding team and onto their efforts. Great organizations don’t think or act in this way, they understand that brand is an intangible that can be considered to be the most important strategic asset in the organization.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m very excited about the new podcast I’m hosting called The Archimedes Effect. It’s inspired by one of the greatest minds and outliers in history, Archimedes of Syracuse, and reveals aspects of his revolutionary mindset, one that helped him break seemingly impossible barriers, hence making him one of the world’s most important innovators. The phrase “The Archimedes Effect” is a term I use to signify the impact of his multi-disciplinarian, heterodox mindset. The podcast focuses on topics like innovation, outliers, creativity, complex problem solving, heterodoxy and related domains in all fields. It’s a blend of curated commentary, conversations and interviews, so far in audio-only, but my team is experimenting with formats for adding video very soon. Good content is paramount so I’m always on the lookout for interesting new guests, and we still have room for a pair of new sponsors.
I think “The Archimedes Effect” podcast will help people tremendously. Think about it, domain-specific knowledge in our world has become one of a hyper-specialized mindset, to the extreme point that we have formed countless information silos in the most important institutions of business, academia, science, technology, and in the public sector. The result? Long-form thoughtful discussion between disparate domains has become rare, outliers are being demonized and barred from institutions, important breakthroughs are being mis-characterized and tossed out, and revolutionary ideas are being born but are not being understood or appreciated so they are mocked and ignored (only to be re-discovered 50 years later). One solution to this problem is the application of the multi-disciplinarian, heterodox mindset that catalyzes The Archimedes Effect.
The greatest breakthroughs in history are always brought about by outliers. The Archimedes Effect podcast aims to help people benefit from the power unleashed by an unorthodox, divergent, outlier mindset. Hyper-specialization did humanity a lot of good in its time, and it was great for the industrial revolution and for the assembly line and such, but for the information age we need to be able to look at the big picture and connect the dots. Mountains of data mean nothing if they are not well understood. Information becomes more valuable when it is placed in a larger, overarching context and infused with deeper meaning. I think this is how the next major breakthroughs in science and technology will occur, by utilizing the mindset of Archimedes. The Archimedes Effect podcast is available right now on all the major podcast platforms.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Burnout can be such an antagonist to productivity and can be physical, mental, or both simultaneously. For dealing with burnout I’ve created my own mental happy place where I can go to recharge. I love music so I have a few Spotify playlists ready for dealing with mental burnout, my favorite for this being my “Skillfully Soothing Guitars” playlist. These help me relax and melt away stress so I can get back in the game, remain positive and bounce back with vim and vigor. Another thing I have found helpful is to simply unplug and take a break. Productivity is very important to me, so I had to develop the strength to pull away from a task in order to take a break. At times all I need is to take a short walk, and it can be surprisingly refreshing!
OK, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
First of all, in my view marketing itself is not limited to conveying messages, branding and advertising. Marketing is about adding and delivering value to stakeholders and customers. That being said, to me difference between brand marketing and product marketing is quite clear, as well as their relationships to each other. Brand marketing essentially deals with an organizations attempts to adding & delivering value and conveying messages, through branding and experiences, in order to influence how their customers perceive them (keeping in mind the previously mentioned definition for “brand”). Product marketing essentially deals with adding & delivering value and conveying messages, through branding and experiences, to promote product/service, educate customers about the products/services, and/or influence customers to prefer their product/service above their competitors. Brand marketing and product marketing are both tasked with maintaining positive brand perceptions by delivering on the brand promise, conveying positive messages wrapped in positive customer experiences which are wrapped in valued products/services. They differ in this important way, brand marketing does not focus on talking about the products/services, instead it focuses on adding real value and perceived value to the brand. Product marketing must do the same and additionally talk about the products/services. Product marketing should not deliver a compelling advertisement then deliver a poor product, equating to a poor experience. This is called “polishing turds”.
To sum it up concisely, at the top level is brand marketing, and nested inside is product marketing. The purpose of brand marketing is to strengthen positive brand perception, and the purpose of product marketing is to strengthen positive perception for both the products/services and for the brand.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
A well formulated brand can achieve a greater competitive advantage than its competitors. Some examples of organizations that understand the importance of brand building and thus invest accordingly are Apple, Amazon and Nike. Just take a moment to think about how far beyond their competitors they are! The reason this is possible is because the process of building a brand involves understanding the organization from a deeply strategic perspective, including discussing the vision, mission, organizational capabilities, audience needs, unique value proposition, differentiation, positioning, messaging, communications, and so forth. The brand building process creates an environment where insights, opportunities and competitive advantages can spring forth to be discovered and implemented, many times climaxing in one or several A-HA moments.
A well formulated brand can achieve higher levels of profitability. Acquiring deep knowledge of the brand allows organizations to know very clearly who they are, who they need to hire and partner with, what they are doing, when to do it, where they are, where they need to be, why it matters, and how to move forward. This in turn provides the brand with the information needed to craft superior value products, services, experiences, and messages that drive their customers to do business with them instead of with their competitors. This preference wins them larger market shares, creates strong customer loyalty which can greatly increase customer lifetime value, and can increases their price elasticity which can even allow for price increases. All these things in turn can nurture growth and expansion into other related or unrelated markets, bringing in previously inaccessible revenue streams.
A well formulated brand can build a large community of loyal fans. This used to be limited to celebrities, but in the age of social media now brands can build large fan bases. In my opinion this is a next-level way of doing business. It’s one thing to sell products and services, but it’s quite another to have your brand resonate so deeply with your audiences that they become your fans and brand advocates. “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand” said Howard Schultz, former CEO and chairman emeritus of Starbucks. Consumers have become increasingly sophisticated, having access to endless streams of information via the internet and access to their peers via social media. One key ingredient for building a brand is authenticity, and customers are more averse than ever about aligning with organizations that come off as inauthentic, salesy, or fake. Psychologically, customers prefer brands that are aligned with their own values, and these types of humanized value alignments make it easier for consumers to become fans. Fans can be like a captive audience and can act like your brand’s army of unofficial defenders, community managers, moderators, event planners, content generators, influencers, advertisers, referral drivers, traffic drivers, customer service reps, etc. Such a large community of fans can also bring with it a wealth of customer data, providing your organization with new information about your audiences preferences and behavior, as well as serving as a fertile playground for new ideas, new products and new services. Brand communities can also have a type of built-in PR opportunity apparatus, since brand loyalists share with each other tips & advice, success stories, and testimonials. Having a brand community also drives a self-perpetuating mechanism that reinforces the perception of high brand value, both for existing customers and for potential new customers, hence helping to continuously drive engagement and conversions. Authentic brands are also able to turn their own employees into loyal fans and brand ambassadors as well.
A well formulated brand could also develop into a lifestyle brand. This aspect of brand building can be an important one since it has the potential to reach non-traditional revenue streams. Strong brands can extend the reach of their brand’s mind-space into other compartments of their audience’s minds, potentially accessing financial resources that were previously inaccessible. This in turn allows a brand to develop new products and services that are outside of their main product offerings, ones that revolve around the audience’s lifestyle. The success of a brand’s lifestyle products can be accelerated when combined with a loyal community of brand advocates. Strong lifestyle brands can open up a hugely successful brand stores, usually online, where their loyal fans can purchase the gear they need to show off their support for their favorite brand. The gear normally consists of imprinted promo items such as branded t-shirts, water bottles, embroidered caps, and so on. Some top brands, like Adidas, add dynamism for their branded gear using temporary pop-up stores, creating excitement, exclusivity and high demand. Building a lifestyle brand can be a great way to bring in previously inaccesible revenue streams and continue to drive brand loyalty.
A well formulated brand can recover from a crisis. “To err is human”, said the English poet Alexander Pope. Mistakes are an unavoidable part of the human experience, but organizations normally would rather avoid or prevent them. Brands have some recourse from the damage caused by a mistake, a circumstantial crisis, or even something like a recall. Brands develop, nurture and cultivate a good reputation along with good will, these things being an integral part of brand building. When a problem arises, the fans of a brand may very well be disappointed or even upset for a short time, but when a brand is humanized and is infused with authentic human values and demonstrates humanized transparency, it becomes much easier for customers and fans to forgive and forget. “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
A well formulated brand can achieve long term sustainability. Just to clarify, I’m not referring to environmental sustainability, I am referring to an organization’s ability to sustain itself for a long period of time. We’ve all known of organizations that start off great but then end up fizzling out. Even though some factors are out of our control, we can have much influence on sustainability. Think of the factors I just mentioned, they can all contribute significantly to an organization’s sustainability, and many of these benefits arise from the process of building a brand.
Hopefully I have clarified just a little bit how the benefits of building a brand extend out to much more than simply general marketing and advertising. This is not an exhaustive list of all the brand benefits, there are more reasons as to why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, but it would require me to write a book on it, which may be an upcoming project. We’ve all heard the proverb: “Work smarter, not harder.” I believe in both working hard and working smart, and building a brand is the smart thing to do. Is it a requirement to build a brand to stay in business? No, it’s just harder. Is it a requirement to build a brand to be a great organization? I can confidently say that the answer is an emphatic yes! In order to build a great organization, building a brand is a minimum requirement.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
My philosophy is that there really is only one reason to consider rebranding, when the business reasons require your organization to signal a change in your strategic direction. What this means is that the organization is essentially letting the world know that there has been a significant change in the way they do business. What type of change? A company could consider rebranding in order to signal that the organization has repositioned or changed markets. Perhaps there is a need to signal that the organization has a new business strategy and a new brand promise, perhaps with new products & services. There may be a need to signal that there was a merger or an acquisition, now needing to align the new brand portfolio in order to create internal brand alignment, alignment with customer perceptions, and alignment of the customer experience throughout the newly formed organizations. There may be a need to signal that they are ready to go international, at times changing names or visuals based on cultural, competitive or regulatory considerations. There may be a need to signal that it has modernized the way it does business, usually in the form of eliminating outdated visuals, updating machinery, processes, and strategies. There may be a need to signal that it will rebuild it’s reputation under a new name and image, usually followed through with a serious commitment to improving previous mistakes. There may be a need to signal that it is differentiating itself from another closely related competitor, at times done to avoid copyright violation lawsuits and legal injuries.
I must say, the term “rebranding” has a very curious problem. Due to globalization, the internet and the popularity and accessability of Photoshop, rebranding has entered the popular lexicon while being highly misunderstood. Many tend to gravely oversimplify what rebranding is and are not familiar with what a proper rebrand entails, nor the business considerations that underly it. In other words, the tendency is to conflate bad rebrands with good ones, as if they were they same. The tendency is to mentally shortcut and conflate a rebrand as if it were the same as getting a snazzy new logo by an amateur, self-proclaimed graphic designer on a certain low quality online platforms. Popular conceptions of rebranding are wildly misled because they tend to focus on the least important aspects of rebranding, the aesthetics or visuals, while failing to take into consideration the most important aspects of rebranding, the why of the complex business reasons driving it forward.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Let’s keep in mind that rebranding is not some creative artistic endeavor, it’s part of a strategic business process, and like any other important strategic business decisions there can be potential downsides. Rebranding can go wrong when it is enacted for the wrong reasons or when it fails to address the real issues that need to be solved. Once again, brand is considered by many business leaders as being an organization’s most valuable strategic asset. If a rebranding initiative is not carefully strategized, valuable brand equity can be wasted or destroyed, which can significantly affect business performance.
I would, and have, advised certain companies to not proceed with a “brand makeover”. Just as a side note, I’m not in love with the term “brand makeover” because it lends itself to oversimplification and confusion, making the rebranding process seem mainly aesthetic, when in reality it is mainly strategic. I’ve helped many Directors, CEO’s, marketing directors, and business owners over the years, and I often hear many reasons why an organization wants to rebrand, but I’ve found that many of those reasons are simply invalid and can even sabotage a rebranding initiative. Assertions like “we just need a refresh” or “we need a better logo” are quite popular assertions, but they carry inside of them a fatal flaw — they are not reasons at all, they are only subjective descriptions of superficial symptoms, and in reality externalize the fact that there exists a deeper, unarticulated root problem in the organization that is either unknown or is being ignored. When I hear these types of superficial assertions, it becomes immediately clear that there is a need to find and understand the underlying root that is driving the change in strategic direction.
Logic tells us that knowing the problem is the first step in solving the problem. This can be very challenging for company insiders since it requires being able to see things from a different perspective, an objective outsider’s perspective. Sometimes I’m brought into an organization as a consultant for the sole purpose of separating the real issue from the illusory issues, or to separate the critical issue from the non-critical issues. This problem solving and analysis of root causes can help to prepare the groundwork for executing a rebrand successfully, addressing the real and important issues driving the strategic change.
Another cautionary tale, many organizations leave it up to their graphic designers to determine whether a rebrand is needed, but this can be a big mistake. If they are not familiar with brand management or brand strategy, the graphic designers may most likely see themselves as artists. Why is this a problem? Because art can exist for art’s sake, ars gratia artis, without any overarching purpose, without regard to any business objectives. Both branding and rebranding do not function in this way, their purpose is to consider and drive forward the business objectives and should be decided upon based on compelling business reasons. Similarly, rebranding should not be evoked in order to satisfy the subjective whims of a business owner, director, CEO, marketing director or graphic designer. Rebranding can be a transformative business move, it simply must be done thoughtfully.
OK, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Deliver your brand promise throughout your entire organization. Many businesses focus on transmitting messages through advertising, yet neglect more important aspects of message transmission, like the customer experience. Great brands make a commitment to understanding and delivering their brand promise at every customer interaction point in every department of the organization, via corporate brand awareness and personal brand awareness. Brands do not spring up accidentally from holes in the ground, they are strategically designed, and every single point of the customer experience needs to be designed and optimize to deliver the brand promise. Do this to keep your organization’s reputation better than your competitors, keep your customers happy and coming back for more, and keep your revenues increasing.
Be customer-centric, not product-centric. I’m always surprised when I talk to business owners that still insist on operating their businesses in a completely product-centric way, completely focused on advertising features and discounts. When I inquire as to who their customers are, I get blank stares. “The customer is the boss” said A G Lafley, CEO of the multi-billion dollar Proctor and Gamble, one of the most celebrated CEOs in history. Product-centric businesses focus on delivering products and filling only tangible needs, as if it were 1985. Customer-centric brands focus on providing products plus experiences and fill both tangible & intangible needs. Contemporary customers want a great quality product, they want a pleasant experience, they want to know they’re getting great value, they want to be pleasantly surprised, they want to experience shareable moments, they want to be part of a like-minded community, they want to feel that they are contributing toward making the world a better place, they want to feel appreciated, they want to feel cared for, they want to feel peace of mind, etc. Let’s get to know our customers more intimately, not just collect giant data sets that are later misinterpreted and hacked. They’re the ones with the purchasing power and they’re looking for organizations to give their financial resources to, and they will be more likely to choose the brand that puts them at the center. Want to build a great brand? Great brands are customer-centric.
Modernize your image. If your brand identity looks outdated, it is outdated. Your customers, competitors, and potential strategic partners could get the idea that your business looks outdated because it operates in an outdated way with outdated tools and outdated processes that may not be the best choice for them anymore. It’s a simple case of psychological association. If I say “tomato”, you might immediately think of “red, round, and ketchup”. These concepts follow in your mind instantaneously because they are closely related to “tomato”. If people, when thinking of your organization, think “outdated”, you can be assured that other negative concepts like “irrelevant, old, and substandard” will likely pop into their mind as well. This can especially impact organizations where customers expect you to be up to date with the latest in tech advances, such as in science and technology, where outdated is an instant buzz kill. Upgrade your brand image by bringing it up to today’s visual standards, it’s a way of getting your customers to understand that you’re on the ball and that you have a renewed commitment to your brand.
Have the courage to innovate. Innovation can re-energize a brand when it’s nurtured and allowed to develop. No one wants the same old thing all the time. Here’s some news for you, if you don’t innovate, one of your competitors will. Here’s a little story that happened to me several years ago. I did some work for an company in California that was in market that had been stagnant for around 5 years, offering the same old thing year after year. This company had also fallen prey to comfortable stagnation and had managed to marginalize the only other creative thinker they had left. One of the first observations I made when I did some research in the front lines was that I noticed, literally on day one, that there was a product that their audience really wanted but nobody was creating. Again, I noticed this on day one. I brought it to the CEO, who seemed fairly level-headed and intelligent, I was surprised to get as a response: “That’s not the way this market works.” I was quite shocked, since this unfulfilled customer need seemed pretty obvious to me …but maybe he was right, I thought, maybe I just didn’t understand the market yet. Fast forward a few months, I’m still doing some work for this company. The other creative thinker and myself were discussing the future of the industry and potential applications and possible extensions of the existing brand portfolio into other theoretical domains, and we begin to discuss the seemingly obvious question “what really is the product that’s being sold here?”. It was at that moment that suddenly everything clicked, the need I had observed on day one now connected clearly with the new understanding of what the product really was. It was a breakthrough, we had just discovered the next major disruptive innovation for that market! I called a meeting with the CEO and proceeded to explained the situation and the potential implications and benefits, again I was surprised to get as a response: “That’s not the way this market works.” He then proceeded to belittle me and my lack of formal education. I was flabbergasted since everything seemed to me to be pointing in that direction. Fast forward another several months, the company’s strongest competitor launched a new product they were claiming was innovative, and it turned out to be virtually identical to the disruptive new product application I was discussing months earlier behind closed doors. The result? The new product completely disrupted the industry and the market shifted. This competitor company, by launching this innovative product, essentially supplanted 80% of their competitors products within around 6 months, because there was no need for the old products anymore, there was now a far superior option on the market. That was the first time I had helped uncover insights that led to an opportunity for disruptive innovation, and I was correct! The moral of the story, listen to your people. This company had the future under their very nose but was too arrogant and mentally inflexible to know it. Get your existing team to contribute ideas, hire new thinkers to get different perspectives. Again quoting A G Lafley, CEO of the multi-billion dollar Proctor and Gamble, “Innovation is everyone’s job.” Re-energize your brand by having the courage to innovate, before your competitors do.
Be authentic. I was working with a company recently that used a particular phrase as its brand promise. The problem? It was really nothing more than an inauthentic sales pitch to try to trick their customers into believing that they actually cared. This doesn’t work, don’t be that guy. Consumers are more sophisticated than ever before, they can smell a lack of authenticity, and they now have the internet at their fingertips, and the power of social media, and the power to penalize brands and publish to the whole world if you’re being fake. The solution? Be authentic, be real, and actually live your brand promise. The benefits include real humanized connections with your audience, leading to loyal fans, higher sales and tons of repeat business.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
In late 2018, DuPont revealed a new brand identity. I quite liked the old logo, but the new brand identity is much bolder, the look better identifies DuPont in its market position, making a bold statement of where it currently is and certainly also making a bold promise for maintaining its positioning in the future. Perhaps it’s just me, but in the new brand identity I see an homage to DuPont’s early history. DuPont had it’s genesis as a chemistry and material-science company, initially producing explosives, gunpowder in particular. Soon thereafter DuPont famously invented well-known polymers such as Neoprene, Nylon, Teflon and Kevlar. What is often not commonly known is that DuPont was a key player in the now infamous Manhattan Project which brought the world its first nuclear weapons. DuPont had graduated from synthetic rubbers to plutonium production. What I saw right away in the new DuPont logo refresh is a bomb internally powered by DuPont chemistry. Although it may be unlikely that this is the exact visual desired to be included in their new brand identity, as a bit of a history buff myself, it’s what I saw at first glance. The refreshed DuPont logo visually implies order, structure, and stability. It seems to have a nice footprint and a silhouette that allows it to be versatile across traditional and digital mediums, company-wide and across continents. The typeface chosen also carries in it the interesting dichotomy of both modernism and heritage, pleasingly reminiscent of a conservative Art Deco sans-serif typeface. The ends of the logo mark also cleverly serve as visual elements that can be utilized in branding efforts independently from the totality of the logo mark. The new DuPont identity is bold, simple and appropriate, keeping its brand identity memorable while preserving the long-standing brand equity that keeps it contemporary and further making bold promises for the future.
In order to replicate the success of a brand makeover like that of the DuPont brand identity refresh, one must have a crystal clear idea of what the company stands for, a clear understanding of its heritage and a clear understanding of its trajectory into the future. I help craft vision and mission statements as well, and these can go a long way in helping to encapsulate the essence of an organization’s goals and future trajectory. This particular brand identity refresh wasn’t particularly dramatic in nature, and this is an important factor that I want to emphasize. Rebrands need not be complete makeovers. That’s why I like the latest DuPont rebrand so much, because it maintains its basic shape, effectively and intelligently conserving valuable brand equity, and makes nuanced yet bold adjustments that don’t change the look, but instead change the feel of the brand identity, all while simultaneously preserving heritage. Brilliant!
DuPont is a $130 billion empire, and even though the changes in the brand identity were subtle and nuanced I can guarantee that the rebrand was taken very seriously and was treated as a million dollar investment. My advice to you if you are thinking of a potential rebrand, don’t skimp. Don’t resort to logo contests, my goodness they make me cringe. Logo contests are possibly the worst way to rebrand, because it’s really just a pretend rebrand. Look for professional graphic designers with understanding of brand strategy, or hire a creative agency or brand consultancy that know how to build brands and understand the business implications.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We’re in a time where institutions have become hyper-rigid and have become more focused on their own self preservation rather than on the advancement of new ideas. If I could inspire a movement it would be a movement to unite more heterodox iconoclasts, neurodivergent, multi-disciplinarians, outliers and unorthodox thinkers for participation in frank global discussions of new ideas. As I mentioned earlier, the greatest breakthroughs in history are always brought about by outliers. Like the experience I related earlier, I’ve experienced my own share of being marginalized and belittled for expressing unorthodox ideas, only to later have my ideas proven to be correct, ideas that would have been very beneficial, but instead were squelched by those with a lack of vision and insight. Iconoclasts like myself need a new kind of platform where we can discuss revolutionary ideas and connect with those that would like to see them tested, improved and implemented for the benefit of all mankind.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” ― Dr. Seuss. I have proven the veracity of this quote in my own life. Countless times I have discovered that simple straightforward answers can be found under giant piles of clumsily used phrases, misunderstood terminology and technical jargon. I didn’t fit well into the mold the public school system made for me, and I thought I was the problem. I grew up thinking I was pretty dumb and that I wouldn’t be able to learn much. I had questions, but I got strange answers. I had doubts, but when expressed I received condemnations. I knew it was very possible, even likely, that the problem was simply me. On the other hand I also began to suspect early on that there was a possibility, however small, that I wasn’t the problem and that I was surrounded by a form of mass delusion. So I started to research and reading, not just watching Youtube videos. I have a collection of the world’s most influential books in my library, from Herodotus to Plato, Marcus Aurelius to Bacon, Hegel to Dostoevsky, and many more. One of my deepest realizations was that of understanding that we in fact live in a type of analog to Plato’s cave, where, like the Dr Seuss quote implies, simple things are occulted and confused by things that only appear complex. It’s quite similar when thinking of rebranding and building brands. Once the needed steps are clarified and understood, the main ideas are actually quite simple. I have found that what makes things difficult sometimes is that some simple things can have several facets to them, giving them an appearance of complexity. This is where many find it challenging, keeping track of many simple variables that appear intimidatingly complex.
Many complex ideas have very simple premises that underly them, and many seemingly unrelated ideas have very simple and related interconnections that tie them together. Having enough general knowledge of multiple domains allows one to see how the dots connect, even when others cannot see the interconnections, usually because their vision is overly narrow or hyper-focused. This is one of the ways I am able to see future trends, new innovative solutions and non-obvious insights and opportunities. Combined with my proven methodology for complex problem solving and for brand building, I’m ready for anything.
Be humble and passionate. I learned this from my parents. My mother has always been a hard-working, dedicated person. My father was also an entrepreneur. He set an example for me, in that he pushed himself to achieve professionally, but kept a low profile and remained humble on his talent and authority and in his interactions with people.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Frédéric-Charles Petit Chief Executive and Founder of Toluna.
Frédéric’s mission is to revolutionize the way brands and consumers engage with one another, with the ultimate objective of transforming the market research industry into a real-time, mass market and social experience. Today ITWP helps companies anywhere in the world make clearer business decisions by bringing brands and people together via its streamlined research platform and the world’s largest social voting community, Toluna.com.
Frédéric, and his team, acquired several companies over the course of Toluna’s development, and has grown the company from one individual based in Paris, to a global company of more than 1,200 staff in 21 offices on 4 continents.
Frédéric is an industry visionary, and speaks often among industry leaders about the transformation of market research, impacts of automation and more. Frédéric holds a Master’s degree in comparative jurisprudence from New York University and a diploma in advanced studies in international economic law from the Sorbonne in Paris (D. E. A.). He practiced as a French lawyer in the corporate department of Allen & Overy’s Paris office, before establishing Toluna in May 2000.
Thank you for joining us! Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I started my career with the aim to be a lawyer, and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and at NYU, in New York. I went on to become a lawyer because I thought law could be entrepreneurial; I had visions of creating my own law firm and building a practice. But, I quickly become fascinated by “the new economy” and the growth of startups in New York. It was the beginning of the dotcom era and it had a huge impact on me. I knew that what I really wanted to do was start a business reflective of the new times. I was very excited about the internet and the fact that I could start a business right now, which was unique.
Then the dotcom bubble burst. All my friends were in law firms, and they all said we think it’s great what you want to do, but why don’t you come back — aka B to C, back to consulting, and B to L, back to law. I was very stubborn and believed that consumer opinions would change the interaction between brands, consumers and ecommerce, transforming the market research industry into a mass market and social experience.
It wasn’t a great time to think this, though — it was the winter of the internet economy in Europe, and honestly… it was awful. I had a sense of responsibility in terms of commitment to the investors. They had trusted me with that fundraising and my role was to fight very hard to survive during that period. And we had a strong belief that our vision was right. I knew that online was going to change the research industry, yet everyone I met with during this time said to come back in another ten years. It was very tough, and the way you survive those moments is to regroup, stay focused on a very few items, and change your business plan. You also change your ambition. In some ways, it’s a day of reckoning — what you wanted to achieve versus what you can achieve within the period.
I was fortunate to have a handful of people along the way who were very supportive. I remember I was all set to move forward on launching a massive advertising campaign aimed at getting people to join the Toluna panel community — the people who opt in to offer their expertise and opinions as panel members. When the ad agency I chose came back with its recommendation — it was: don’t do anything right now. I was so fortunate to have met these people who helped me save the company money during a really tough period.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It’s not really a funny story, it’s more of a guiding principle.
We had just acquired a company and I’m sitting in the office with one of the business managers from the new company. It’s Friday and the phone is ringing, and this person in the office doesn’t move. I say are you going to answer the phone? He says “yes” but that “we” need to educate the client that they can’t call us after hours. I said, “no, wait a minute, I’m not teaching the client any such lesson.” A client looking for help at a time when most people are transitioning into the weekend must be working on something important. We want to be the partner who is there for him or her. If we are there for them at 6 p.m. on a Friday night, he or she will be there for us on Monday at 9 a.m. It is a simple value — delight the customer.
That moment taught me the value of culture and the importance of having a shared culture. You can be different, you can operate differently, but the fundamental set of values needs to be the same for success. Peers and colleagues need to share the same fundamental set of values for success. It may not be obvious during periods of growth and when the market is strong. But, when the market is tight and all hands are needed on deck, and there are no shared values, that’s when — as the English would say — it becomes a sticky wicket.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Most times when people quit their jobs they actually “quit their managers”. What are your thoughts on the best way to talent today?
I think that the challenge for the industry right now is to understand that the world has changed, that the code for what a research company should be and what type of staff a research company should hire has changed and that we need an influx of fresh energy. If I were a graduate today, and wanted to go into a research, I would show how I was different from the “traditional researcher,” and by that I mean we need people who understand the formality, the rules of research, and the foundation of research but we also need these people who we call data scientists, engineers — people coming from different backgrounds.
In talent acquisition, I want to hire the person knowledgeable in research that I would not want to see sitting across the table from me when competing for new business. There is so much competition for traditional researchers who are analytical, data-driven and understand specific industries. I try to attract employees with fresh energy — a less traditional workforce. I look for people from outside the industry with different backgrounds who can offer new and different ways of doing things.
How do you synchronize large teams to effectively work together?
Our company is based on a foundation of six values: meritocracy, teamwork, integrity and respect, embracing change and being bold, informed decision making and delighting clients. The values don’t just hang on the wall. They unite the employees and help people excel in good times. During difficult periods, when things are not going in the right direction, values help people regroup and course correct.
Here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your personal experience, what are the “5 Things You Need to Know to Successfully Manage a Team”. (Please share a story or example for each, Ideally an example from your experience).
Meritocracy. Regardless of an employee’s background, it’s critical to give people the opportunity to grow and build a career, irrespective of location or skill set. Recognizing and rewarding talent is one of the most important things that we do.
Act as a team. Work together as a team, which delivers results through common goals and shared values. It’s not just about being one team, but one team that succeeds.
Integrity & Respect. Treat colleagues, clients, partners and customers with respect.
Rapid, informed decisions executed without delay. Make sure that your team is well informed to make the right decisions quickly.
Delight your clients. In our industry, it’s all about exceeding client expectations, so you need to ensure that your team is on the same page. That is why, at Toluna, we aspire to always be available for our clients — answering the phone, going to see them and understanding their businesses. We take it to heart that we are in a service industry.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Be Bold. Be a person and a CEO who makes bold, brave moves. Think big and embrace change. People who take calculated risks will do better than those who are too safe.
It was a bold move when we entered the research industry, known for projects that could take months or even years. And we said that technology would change this. It is about automating the repetitive processes for gathering people’s opinions. It’s also about scale — reaching hundreds of thousands of people in different countries and time zones. And it is about doing it quickly with mobile apps and virtual focus groups. All this is obvious now. It was a bold move at the time. We revolutionized the industry.
Know Your Clients. Know what they are thinking and anticipate their needs before even they know what they want/need. If you are constantly with your clients, trying to understand their pressures and challenges, you are deepening your knowledge of their industry and their competitors’ business models and products, then you can never lose.
Celebrate. Enjoy and reflect on success. Too many times, companies are focused on the negative or what’s next. Take some time to reflect and celebrate. Toluna will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year and we are going to ensure we recognize that achievement across every level of the business. Every single employee is going to be commended for their passion, skill and commitment in getting us to where we are today. It’s a team effort.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
In industries such as consumer packaged goods, healthcare, media & entertainment and tech, companies use research to make informed decisions, uncover new opportunities, speed products to market and answer essential questions that impact bottom lines.
My idea is to launch a real social network. A network for social good. I would name it OneDay.org. Instead of just making financial contributions, what if we all used our skills to help good causes? All of us and any of us can change the world in one day. People donate money but the most valuable gift is time. As someone who spends endless time in planes, trains and on the road, I know that time is our rarest currency.
OneDay.org would provide professional services to charities. For example, a charity needing help could connect with a marketing specialist for a campaign or an accountant to help strategize cashflow. OneDay.org would be a network of professional people with skills and attributes, who would donate their time, creating a network of billions of hours of people’s time that would be granted to charities. Just giving one day of your time can change the world.
I’m also obsessed with the idea of using research for good. At Toluna, we do that through two important sponsorships:
Women In Research (WIRe) — WIRe champions diversity in the marketing research industry by arming women with the tools to develop professionally, build connections and stay inspired. They believe in the positive impact of women in business with a mission to advance the contributions and voices of women in research, both for themselves and for the greater good of the industry. Toluna sponsors several research projects for WIRe including their annual member survey to ensure the organization is meeting the needs of its members; and Women In the Workplace to identify milestones and changes in perception in how women are advancing professionally.
ESOMAR is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the value of market, opinion and social research and data analytics. We’ve been providing ethical and professional guidance and advocating on behalf of its global membership community for over 70 years. Toluna helps ESOMAR in its marketing and fundraising efforts.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Be humble and passionate. I learned this from my parents. My mother has always been a hard-working, dedicated person. My father was also an entrepreneur. He set an example for me, in that he pushed himself to achieve professionally, but kept a low profile and remained humble on his talent and authority and in his interactions with people.
Thanks to my father, I aspire to challenge myself constantly, every day. By that I mean something is lost the minute you become complacent. You no longer have the desire and the appetite to grow and change.
Humility and passion are tools that serve you throughout your career. It’s possible to be humble and proud of your accomplishments. It is a fine line, but both can be accomplished.
Rising Through Resilience: “You must believe that resilience can be developed over time” With Author René Michele
Believe — You must believe that resilience can be developed over time, and you must believe in yourself and your ability to become the very person you most desire to be. The reason I am enjoying a successful, thriving life today, is that it began with my belief that I could build the life I had always craved.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing René Michele, founder and CEO of Renemichele.com
René is a passionate, solopreneur, and a stand-out transformational recovery coach for female survivors of child abuse, gender violence and sexual assault. She embodies her brand in every way possible, openly sharing her own intimate and dark stories of a life that spiraled out of control as a result of experiencing twenty-six years of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, commencing in childhood.
From addictions, suicide attempts, bankruptcy and failed marriages, René fought her way back from the brink to become a published author, global speaker, consultant and highly sought-after coach for professional women, CEO’s and lady bosses who themselves have experienced abuse. René’s unique and powerful depth of vulnerable transparency has earned her admiration and respect from professional peers around the world and led to her 2019 appointment as Australian Ambassador for National Association Adult Survivors Child Abuse (NAASCA).
René’s mission is clear. “I want to save lives; survivors of abuse and trauma need to know they are not alone, through community and connection, we can heal and live from victim to victory.”
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Growing up in small country towns throughout New South Wales Australia, life was simple. I spent the majority of my days riding horses, playing with my three older sisters, bouncing on our outback trampoline and reading Enid Blyton’s, The Faraway Tree. Little did I know, that at the tender age of ten, my entire world would implode. Within the blink of an eye my father whom I adored left our home under a cloud of improper and unfounded accusation. As a result of his sudden absence, my mother developed a significant alcohol problem and before long, was drinking heavily on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the result of my mother’s drinking led to her make very poor choices, including bringing strange men into our home. It was not long before these men began to abuse me, physically, verbally and sexually. My sisters and I were not close in relationship or in age, and I feared, even as a young child, that my mother would be unable to emotionally cope with what I was going through, therefore I kept the abuse a secret.
As you can imagine, to be a child and feel as though you have to hide the most painful and terrifying thing you have ever experienced, wreaks havoc on your emotional and mental health. I lived in constant fear and self-loathing. I blamed myself for the abuse that I suffered, I felt naughty, shameful, and broken and this led me to merely exist day to day, rather than truly live.
For many years I struggled to cope — attempting to take my life on three separate occasions, the earliest at age ten. I felt utterly hopeless and destined to fail. The turning point in my life came at age twenty-six when I fell pregnant with my first child Cassidy. When she was born, I vowed to never allow her life to mirror mine, and to this day, I have kept my promise. The vow I made to my daughter ignited an inner fierceness within me that was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and it enabled me to embark upon a personal journey of self-discovery, transformation and healing. It also unleashed my true purpose, to help fellow survivors of abuse shed their limiting beliefs, overcome shame and rebuild their identity to become a person of confidence, value and limitless potential.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
In 2019, my memoir Battle Scars Are Beautiful from Victim to Victory was released and has now reached four out of seven continents around the world. To write a book and become a published author is a dream come true for me, as books were a large part of my coping strategy during my childhood. They provided me with a safe and alternate reality where I could immerse myself into a world of make believe. A world where the monsters that haunted me at night disappeared, and the folk of the faraway tree whisked me away to land of magic and fairies.
Writing my book was the first time I had ever put together all the details of what I endured, delving deep into my innermost thoughts and emotions during what were some of the darkest times of my life. The outcome however surprised me and my publishing team who cautioned me that I may hit a proverbial, emotional wall of sorts during the writing process, however the exact opposite occurred.
What I learned, or what was confirmed for me should I say, was that there is an undeniable strength in vulnerability. As humans, we are all fallible, no one is perfect or immune from making mistakes. Therefore, when we share our faults, our weaknesses, our truth with one another, we break down barriers to exclusion and disconnection, to inequality and bias. The greatest lesson learned through sharing my story with the world is that in sharing the lessons learned through experiencing and overcoming our greatest pains and tragedy, when done so in servanthood and love; true and lasting hope, inspiration and transformation can occur.
The journey of becoming an author added yet another layer of profound healing to my recovery journey. It was a beautifully cathartic and releasing process that allowed me to truly appreciate exactly what I had achieved throughout my life, and for person I have become.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Renémichele.com is the only coaching service in Australia solely dedicated to helping professional women, lady bosses and CEO’s who have experienced abuse, rebuild their lives and live free, healed and whole. My unique point of difference continues, through my person centered, trauma informed coaching model which provides a bespoke experience for each client.
Women from all over the globe, including France, Spain, Russia, America, Canada, New Zealand and of course Australia, have sought me out specifically for my personal lived experience of overcoming prolific abuse, coupled with formal qualifications in applied social science, complex trauma and counselling.
One particularly powerful and moving moment for me was receiving an email from a gentleman who had been consuming my LinkedIn content and videos for months. He finally summed up the courage to contact me and shared with me the tragic story of his wife who had passed away the year before, having never worked through the pain of the years of child abuse she endured, also in secret. He believed she died of a broken heart. His message ended by thanking me for sharing so openly on social media not only my story, but the keys to my healing and lessons learned along the way.
He explained that it was refreshing to see me discuss such a sensitive and often taboo topic, with sincerity, honesty and passion, and for making help so accessible to people. He ended his email by telling me he wished his wife had found me while she was alive which brought tears to my eyes yet reaffirmed to me my purpose. It is messages like this that continue to motivate me beyond words to continue to speak out and never doubt myself or the importance of my mission.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
As cliché as this may be, I am truly grateful to my partner of six years, Ash. Our paths crossed when I was at one of the most fragile stages in my adult life. I had just escaped an incredibly destructive marriage and was desperately trying to recover emotionally, in addition to supporting my children as they struggled to understand why their parents were no longer together. I felt weak and consumed by self-doubt.
As a friend, he reminded me to look inward and once again utilise my strength and resilience which at that point in time I struggled to identify. Since that time, he has become my fiancé and has cheered me on every step of my entrepreneurial journey. He continues to applaud my courage and independence and keeps me accountable by kicking me up the butt when needed. He is incredibly humble and one of the most resilient people I know. Ash was the person who told me I had what it takes to go into business in the first place, and then took it one step further by insisting on financially supporting both my solo business venture and the publication of my book. I owe this man not only my heart, gratitude and love, but a level of thanks that I cannot articulate but will spend the rest of my life demonstrating.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience to me, is defined by the unquenchable desire, strength of mind and resourcefulness to face, tackle and overcome adversity. Resilient people are problem solvers and are willing to look for creative ways to make the best of a bad situation, to look for the silver lining if you will. They also possess a growth mindset, the humility to accept responsibility for their actions, and are not afraid to ask for help when they need it. Resilience doesn’t always come naturally and is most definitely a skill that can be developed over time. With the right mindset and commitment to personal growth, anyone can develop resilience to become a person who learns from every setback and refuses to give up on themselves.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Nelson Mandela endured incomprehensible suffering yet rose above them all to become president of South Africa. To me, his life is the epitome of resilience, and he undoubtedly remains one of the most influential leaders of our time. Advocating against apartheid in South Africa, Mandela was fiercely opposed to racial segregation and supremacy and would not change his views or back down from what he believed to be right, no matter the physical and personal threats he received from opposed political forces.
Eventually, he was Imprisoned for his stance and actions to oppose the white minority government and spent eighteen years in prison on Robben Island and a further nine years under house arrest in South Africa.
When I was a young woman, Mandela’s plight to never back down for what he believed, no matter the cost, brought to my attention for the firs time, the power of purpose; as fuel for unwavering commitment to fight for a cause greater than ourselves.
Imprisoned in a cement cell with no bed or plumbing, and forced to do hard labor, Mandela’s resolve held fast and he refused to give in. In 1990, he was finally released from prison and eventually led the negotiations to end apartheid, the very mission he had set out to achieve from the beginning.
Three years later in 1993, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1994 was elected president of South Africa. Mandela never stopped fighting for what he believed in which was global peace and social justice, right up until his death in 2013 — he was ninety-five years old.
I will forever admire his resolve and consider thoughtfully what so many people have given up throughout history so that we and the generations to come may enjoy a better world.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
I was told since childhood that I would amount to nothing by the men who abused me. They told me I was stupid, unlovable, and unwanted, that no one would ever care what I had to say and that my thoughts and feelings didn’t matter. Today, my voice, thoughts and ideas around effective healing and abuse prevention, intervention and support strategies are sought out by specialist recovery services, community agencies, charity organizations, advocates, and media all over the world.
By refusing to be limited or defined by negative mindsets and words, my story has shone the light on the truth, that resilience is born out of life’s greatest trials and challenges.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
In 2014, I arrived at the difficult decision to leave my then husband. For fifteen years I felt trapped within our narcissistic, abusive and highly manipulative marriage. My children were eight and twelve years old at the time and had begun to exhibit emotional behaviors that I immediately identified as the result of his increasingly erratic verbal outbursts and hostility towards me. The home was no longer a safe or nurturing environment for my children therefore I sought specialist psychological and legal support, who each consulted with police and together created an exit strategy to enable my children and I to leave the home as quickly and safely as possible.
What surprised me was the toll this decision had upon my mental health. I was overcome with guilt for breaking up our family, as my childhood came back to haunt me. In my mind I had broken my vow to my children to not allow them to have a life like mine, which included family dysfunction and divorce.
Of course, this was not the case. I was exhibiting the common emotional effects and self-blaming behaviors experienced by domestic violence victims, and in seeking help from a domestic violence specialist I worked through these flawed beliefs enabling myself to stand firm in my decision, develop greater assertiveness and move forward with my life. This experience has also equipped me with a deep understanding of the distorted perceptions experienced by domestic violence victims together with the effective processes for interpreting and overcoming them. The entire experience brought my children and I closer together and provided us with a harmonious, happy life, free from the chaos and abuse we once endured.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
Most definitely — my entire childhood has contributed to building my resiliency. Every time I was abused, violated, beaten or bullied, a piece of my heart and soul was shattered. There were times I truly felt like I couldn’t go on, when I believed it would be better if I died, and on three occasions I attempted to take my own life. As I mentioned earlier, my first attempt was at age ten. The depth and gravity of pain that a ten-year-old child must feel to want to die — is inconceivable, yet the truth is, it was my reality.
To look back now on how far I have come since then, speaks volumes to the fact that anyone of us can bounce back, overcome our past and create the most beautiful, abundant, thriving life. I am living proof!
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Believe — You must believe that resilience can be developed over time, and you must believe in yourself and your ability to become the very person you most desire to be. The reason I am enjoying a successful, thriving life today, is that it began with my belief that I could build the life I had always craved.
Look at every perceived failing or mistake as an opportunity to learn — This is gold! I learned some of my greatest lessons from failure. When my marriage ended, I realised I had neglected my own self-care for over a decade, therefore I adopted daily routines of gratitude journaling, exercise, clean eating and consuming personal development resources via podcasts and a range of books. This perceived setback unleashed a healthier, stronger, more assertive me and was a major, positive turning point in my life.
Identify your personal and unique strengths — This is where journaling can be an incredibly helpful tool, as well as speaking to trusted family members, friends and colleagues. Take a strengths inventory and assess what you love, what brings you joy and what you are naturally good at. This can help you to grow in confidence and identify areas that are important to you, and that may require improvement.
Learn the art of self- forgiveness — This was hard for me as I carried a lot of deeply buried shame from my childhood abuse having carried it alone and in secret for so long. Once I learned and believed that I was not responsible for what I experienced, I had to process and let go of the past, which of course took time, and lots of repetition. Resilience is developed by letting go of what you can’t control, being accountable for what you can and for reminding yourself of this fact over and over again. Repetition is key, so be kind to yourself and keep at it.
Admit and acknowledge your limitations — We are all human and have limits, so the sooner you learn to accept this fact, the sooner you will release unrealistic expectations of yourself to always have the answers and do everything right. We all need help throughout our lives, that is the beauty of connection and collaboration, so never be afraid to reach out for assistance if you need to.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be the “Sherises” movement. A global gathering of women — action takers who despite the abuse they have experienced in life, gather together via regular retreats, conferences, workshops and events with the purpose of being empowered, and empowering one another, through the sharing of tools, strategies and hacks for empowered, autonomous living beyond their past. The movement would seek to have real, crucial conversations and reduce the stigma associated with abuse, target isolation, loneliness and any other barriers to social connection, acceptance and healing for survivors. Events would include guest speakers, break-out sessions and facilitator training options for women who would love to learn how to host their own Sherises events in their hometowns.
A global movement of women rising beyond any and all limitations inflicted upon them by abuse, to become unstoppable, love filled, resilient, world changing human beings.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
Without a doubt, Lisa Nichols. I have been captivated by both her personal story and her powerful storytelling skillset since I discovered her online two years ago. I have followed her and consumed her videos, masterclasses and Mindvalley content as I am wholeheartedly committed to shaping and delivering my story to elicit the greatest change and transformational impact upon an audience as I possibly can. She is the definitely the queen of the “dip theory,” and with what I have already learned from her, I have effectively strengthened my stage presence, delivery and audience engagement tenfold.
Firstly, the data shows that companies with above-average diversity on their management teams make more money. A study from the Boston Consulting Group showed that these companies reported 19% higher innovation revenue — 45% of total revenue versus just 26%. Additionally, Forbes noted how firms high in diversity makeup are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the national industry means. A more diverse company isn’t just an ideal — it’s a practical solution.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rahim Fazal.
Rahim is an entrepreneur and an ardent follower of Emerson’s dictum to “always go where there is no path and blaze a trail”. He’s been named one of the Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 by Inc Magazine, one of the Top 40 Under 40 by SF Business Times, as well as one of the Top 25 Digital Thought Leaders by iMedia. He was the youngest student ever accepted into his MBA program without an undergraduate degree, and was invited to The White House to receive an Empact Award from Startup America and the Kauffman Foundation.
After graduating from business school, Rahim moved to Silicon Valley to start Involver, a social media company that brought the first marketing applications into Facebook for Fortune 500 brands like Nike, Best Buy, Target and MTV. In the summer of 2012, Rahim and his team sold Involver to Oracle. Now, he leads SV Academy, the first tuition-free, online vocational school transitioning non-coders into high-growth sales careers.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
My life changed the day I got fired from McDonald’s. It was the worst. It was my first job and I didn’t know what I was doing, but I needed that paycheck. My manager let me go because he didn’t think I was working hard enough. I might have given a few free McFlurries away to my friends. If you get fired from McDonald’s, it’s hard to get a job somewhere else. So, my best-friend and I started thinking of businesses we could start that require any help from anyone. Those conversations turned into an online company that helped small businesses setup websites. We sold that before graduating highschool and made a good amount of money for a few teenagers. Crazy.
After that, I somehow managed to persuade the dean of Western University’s Ivey Business School to let me into the program, meaning I was the only student ever to get my MBA without having an undergrad degree. After completing the degree, I moved to Silicon Valley and started Involver, one of the first enterprise social media management platforms. After six years and millions of users, Involver was acquired by Oracle in 2012, and I joined the company as part of the Global Leadership Team. With all the hands on experience I’d gained in SaaS, I launched SV Academy, with my co-founder Joel Scott, to teach people with no tech background how to sell technology. Rather than focusing on the level of education or years of experience, we wanted to focus on the students we believed would work the hardest, and give them the opportunities they deserved.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
Oh, man. I was CEO of Involver at the time, and we’d begun planning to expand internationally. I had been in contact with the CEO of a large company we were doing a major partnership with for months, and he eventually came to our San Francisco office to meet in person. When he arrived, I went out to meet him in the lobby. He was with his translator, and we’d begun having a pretty interesting conversation. After some time had passed, he told me he needed to get going. I was a bit confused by the abrupt ending, so I asked him where he was headed. He replied, “I’m waiting to meet the CEO.”
I still have some laughs remembering his expression when I re-introduced myself, but honestly, that conversation became pretty symbolic to me of the bigger problem with Silicon Valley and the lack of diversity that we have. Most interactions are saturated with bias. There are constant expectations people have of what a CEO looks like, what someone who works in tech looks like. Whether conscious or unconscious, he didn’t recognize me as his peer, his equal. I believe that talent is broadly distributed, but opportunity systemically isn’t. People who come from underrepresented backgrounds and differ from the expected mold have to work several times harder than everyone else just to be taken seriously.
There are young people trying to break into the industry seen as not having experience; there are older people raising their children and returning to their career or people returning from military service and being seen as not able to keep up with younger talent. Too many times, people are seen as not enough because of their background and/or age, and what SV Academy is trying to do is prove them wrong — that you can be enough. Silicon Valley isn’t a restrictive mold, it’s an endless, open canvas.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Here at SV Academy, we offer a tuition-free, fully online, skill-building and mentorship program that trains and transitions job seekers into full-time technology sales roles. We give individuals in underrepresented groups a way into the tech industry without making them learn to code or pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition for a degree or certificate. By actively recruiting, training and placing non-traditional talent in positions who would not have entry points otherwise, we’re really working to solve tech’s diversity gap, which ultimately improves tech companies’ diversity and sales performance.
For example, there’s this amazing woman, Sasha Green. Phenomenal student and an extremely hard worker. In the middle of her studies for her MBA, she and her family became homeless, yet against all odds, she completed the program with flying colors and got her Masters. But that wasn’t enough; in spite of her grit and determination, she faced rejection after rejection. The reality is, it’s hard for a woman of color to break into the tech world. Even when compared to the private sector, the scale of underrepresentation of women and minorities is staggering, and it only gets worse when you look at managerial positions.
The sad truth is, a lot of these companies just don’t see women of color as leadership material. It was during this struggle that Sasha found out about SV Academy, and of course, she excelled throughout our rigorous fellowship program. We helped her cultivate the foundational skills she already possessed and showed the companies in our employer network what we already saw in Sasha: that here was an immensely talented and capable individual with a lot of potential.
After graduating from the program, Sasha connected with our network and found a sales role with an IT healthcare firm and was promoted within a year. Having cut her teeth in the fast-paced sales world, Sasha has now come full circle and now helps run the Admissions and Community Success team at SV Academy. Her first-hand experience working in the industry drives her to be a catalyst for change. Sasha shows that underrepresented communities not only belong in the tech industry but can thrive when given the proper resources.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We recently launched our new Collegiate Program with Arizona State University and Florida International University to help more people jumpstart careers in technology without having to learn how to code. Through this program, SV Academy can now connect ASU and FIU graduates with full-time offers at top tech companies like SurveyMonkey, Palo Alto Networks upon completion of our fellowship. The program will also offer 12 months of on-the-job training, mentorship, and access to our extensive career networks.
These universities were the perfect inaugural partners; ASU is a leader in online education and one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the US, and has shown a significant commitment to increasing access to learning through online courses, while FIU has a hugely diverse student body and graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the continental U.S. Both universities believe in our unique approach to helping underrepresented talent transition into the tech industry and stand behind our value-add, and we’re excited to expand our reach to even more hardworking graduates across the country.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
It’s important to understand that individuals are all unique, with their own history, background, experiences, aspirations. We all operate as a system, but this system shouldn’t be something that wears people down into homogeneous cogs. Everyone works best in a work culture that appreciates the distinctive gifts they bring to the table and appreciates them on a very human level. That’s what I think all CEOs and founders need to realize to help their employees thrive.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders about how to manage a large team?
Surrounding yourself with the right people is the most important factor when you manage a large team. Create a circle of leaders and peers that represent the same values and expectations that you have for yourself and your company. As a CEO and/or Founder you can’t be everywhere, so you need to trust that you have someone that represents your vision and will help execute that vision. Finding the right people that can embody your company’s mission is invaluable. Being able to collaborate with one another, and supplement each persons’ unique skill sets is key to the continued success of your business.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Firstly, the data shows that companies with above-average diversity on their management teams make more money. A study from the Boston Consulting Group showed that these companies reported 19% higher innovation revenue — 45% of total revenue versus just 26%. Additionally, Forbes noted how firms high in diversity makeup are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the national industry means. A more diverse company isn’t just an ideal — it’s a practical solution.
You’ve also got to factor the connections you make with consumers. Diversity isn’t some fantastical concept. It’s reality, and people want these companies to reflect their life experiences. If companies show that they can understand and reflect what everyone — and not just a part of that population — goes through, it really builds trust.
Diversity increases productivity in the workplace, too. Fostering that environment of inclusion really boosts workplace morale, and employees feel more committed to the company and work harder knowing that the people they work for care about these issues.
Additionally, with diversity in the workplace comes fresh ideas. You’ve got people from all walks of life bringing fresh material to the table, drawing on unique experiences to breathe fresh life into the company. Diversity helps to stave off that creative stagnation.
Similarly, a company that’s accepting of all people is obviously going to attract a larger pool of talent. Glassdoor found that over two thirds of jobseekers care about workplace diversity when looking at potential employers. If you neglect diversity, you neglect an immense number of talented and qualified potential employees. And that’s something we’re really trying to show here at SV Academy.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
That’s our mission at SV Academy. To leverage the resources and the connections we’ve built to shed a light on these amazing students, to make it impossible for tech companies to ignore them simply because of their name or how they look. To give these students a way to achieve a stellar education regardless of their background or financial situation, and to help them find a way to really play to their strengths and show the world just what they can do.
Everybody, regardless of their nationality or background, deserves a fair shot at the American Dream, and where they come from shouldn’t revoke their right to that opportunity, and I think that’s something that’s always worth fighting for.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?
Adam Grant said, “Don’t just follow people because you agree with what they think. Follow them because you’re intrigued by how they think — and how they make you think.” It never helps to surround yourself with an echo chamber. There’s one way to build your company: do what’s easy, hire the people in your network, and focus on nothing more than achieving transactional revenue targets and keeping people expendable. Or, you can be different: take a risk on unknowns and open yourself up to a diverse spread of individuals who think differently, and approach problems and ideas from different angles. The more we acknowledge diversity of thought and opinion, even if it’s at odds with your own, the more we can really foster and develop creativity, innovation and intellectual honesty.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
From age 18–23 it was a journalist who wrote a story about me when I was in high school and sold my first startup. His name was Tony Wanless. He was the same age as my parents, but I was able to develop a relationship — as peers in addition to a mentor/mentee relationship — and not just the authority structure that was usually in place for me at the time with “adults.”
In my mid 20s, it was Carol Stephenson, from the board of General Motors, who accepted me to the Ivey School of Business without a college degree.
During Involver it was Steve Walske. He believed in me when no one else did.
Most recently, it was Reggie Bradford. He was the Senior Vice President of Oracle Cloud and the initial backer of SV Academy. He was also a competitor of Involver, my last business, for 5 years before we were both acquired by Oracle and ended up on the same team after acquisition. Sadly he passed last year; he will always be a great role model to me and my family.
Brand Makeovers: “5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image” With Eric Michael
You need to zoom-in and zoom-out. Or, in other words, you need to look at where you’ve been, where you’re at now, and where you want to be. Is your current branding the magic carpet to get you there? If not, why?
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Eric Michael. For more than a decade, Eric Michael has lent his creative voice and vision to the development, direction, and deployment of more than three-hundred-fifty individual brands, people, and organizations around the world. It’s through his signature, hands-on approach to project completion that design, messaging, business, and reputation management strategies are paired with unparalleled precision and a highly-competitive, totally unique method of deployment.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Absolutely, thanks for including me in this conversation.
I found my way into the brand development space a little differently — a little more authentically — than most. The journey for me started on the heels of my high school graduation, in 2008; I had graduated with a certification in graphic design and digital communications from a trade school and audaciously began accepting freelance clients immediately. One-off logo and web design projects left very little room for longer-term security so, about two or three years in, I started introducing retainer services (hosting and website maintenance packages, ad brokering, etc.). That really changed the game from a business perspective. Clients who would usually stay 2–4 months were staying for years and years. (Some of them are still with me.)
Things changed again when non-clients began approaching me (literally courting me) to represent them as their publicist. I guess they liked my writing and social acumen and saw something else in me that I hadn’t before: a unique, fearless, and tenacious approach to media engagement. I focused solely on PR for three to five years, until snapping out of it and realizing “just wasn’t for me.” But, like everything else, I knew there was a lesson there.
Spending that time in the Public Relations space gave me a whole new perspective on overall corporate communications and really laced a new level of consciousness into my design work. I was no longer striving to meet a modern-day aesthetic or trend set by the public but rather making a nod to an overall story and complementing a larger narrative. My work has never been the same. And, once I hit that place of awareness and stride in productivity, things just really took off — for the better.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One time, very early on in my career, I had been working on a website for a general contractor in my small hometown suburb of Philadelphia and accidentally put my phone number on his site instead of his. So, for like a week or so, I was getting all of these calls about general contracting gigs and could not figure out why. Then, one day, someone left a voicemail asking for the client by name and it didn’t take me to long to realize after that what was happening.
I was mortified but the client thought it was hysterical. And, the good news was, I had ten to fifteen warm leads to hand-deliver to him. That was also probably the first time I saw first-hand the results that my work brought to my clients. Those calls were so annoying.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Of course. The moment I began outlining my terms of service and setting personal boundaries with my clients (2017) and actually holding myself to those standards, the game changed entirely. I had clients calling me at 9p on a weekend “just to talk,” associates texting me in the middle of the night about assignments. And, if I’m honest, I found some pride in being a source of support for those people. But, living like that and working around the clock got me absolutely nowhere; it was unhealthy, unproductive, unfulfilling, and your efforts go completely unappreciated.
There’s a lot of social media hype around finding your worth but very little instruction on how to do it or the equation necessary for maximum fulfillment. But, let me tell you, that’s it right there: Devalue yourself the most, hit rock bottom, and come back stronger, more intentional, and a greater force than you were before.
I think it was a perfect storm of circumstance in the establishment of terms and boundaries, new business development practices, clearer goals, and a stronger team of associates that really changed things for the better.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
There’s always something in the works. The Studio is currently going through a little branding “refresh,” to position ourselves a little more clearly in the competitive market. By the time this goes to press we’ll be ‘Eric Michael & Associates’ rather than the curious, autonomous “powerhouse” of a seemingly individual force. The reality is — and has been for quite a while — that it’s not just me here doing things independently. There’s a team of support that brings our projects to life. (It’s always nice to drink your own champagne every once in a while.)
In the industry: I’ve somehow found myself in a field of cannabis (quite literally) and I’m having so much fun cultivating and readying these brands for the global marketplace. We’re currently working on six cannabis brands throughout the country. Three of them are local to the Philadelphia area and that’s a big deal as PA is often a relatively conservative state. Other clients are spread across the entertainment, fashion, wellness, travel, and hospitality spaces — all launching (or being re-introduced) in 2020.
On the personal front: We’re trying to tie up and release season one of Unpacking It (the podcast) which had almost immediately identified itself as a labor of love. (If you’re contemplating a podcast, I’d sincerely recommend having a strong team to support the efforts — or a great therapist.) I am also hoping to take my work with budding freelance creative talent and turn those efforts into self-guided online workshops for a more “round the clock,” comprehensive, and just generally more effective approach.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Figure out your terms of service — the general guidelines to which your practice flows — and set clear, appropriate boundaries with your clients. If you feel like you’re being walked all over it’s probably because you’re allowing it. If you feel like you’re always chasing the check, it’s definitely because you’re allowing it. For every problem, there’s a fix.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
The best way to describe it is to think of branding as the foundation of everything. The messaging you set in your brand development and introduction to market initiatives will be amplified throughout the lifespan of the organization. You can tweak this as the brand evolves, of course, but don’t think of a minute that you’ll ever paint over it completely. Advertising is the amplification of who you are, what you do, and (most importantly) why you do it.
For instance, Nike implores the world to “Just Do It.” Their advertisements motivate, inspire, and show you how.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
I have this conversation with people all the time. (Most of the time it’s not even prospective clients, those people already “get it.”) People tend to get hung up on the overall spend and it’s not even about that. Regardless, you’re going to spend those resources — the time and money of yourself and others — doing what needs to be done, because it needs to be done.
You see, it’s less about the question of, “should I,” and more about the “when will I?” You need to brainstorm your verbiage. You need a mission and corporate and product positioning statements. You need boilerplates and social bios, product listings, and the like. It’s just a matter of when do you want to do that (sooner? or later?) and who is going to do it (an amateur or a professional?).
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
If there’s a disconnect of any kind, you want to begin exploring that. Sometimes it’s as simple as refreshing the messaging. Sometimes it’s an overhaul, complete with market research and messaging workshops, design time, and so much more. If your product, service, or overall company isn’t communicating or resonating with the intended audience you’ve got a problem. But, *grabs the S and the cape* I can help.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Of course, it’s a gamble. You need to make sure the intention is correct and that you’re doing all of this at the right time, speaking to the right people, and following the right strategy.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
You need to get serious about business. Some businesses — be it their location or consumer or road to success — can coast steadily just being “another shop on the corner.” A serious business knows the power of powerful branding.
You need to zoom-in and zoom-out. Or, in other words, you need to look at where you’ve been, where you’re at now, and where you want to be. Is your current branding the magic carpet to get you there? If not, why?
You need to play (if not start from scratch) with messaging. Don’t be afraid to carve out a day (maybe a weekend) to sit down and complete a messaging exercise. I have one that I do with clients but there are hundreds on the internet. You don’t necessarily need shamen (or sales team) to tell you when it’s time.
Then, in the same way, mentally play with the identity. It’s healthy to recognize and want to emulate those “that are doing it right.” (If you don’t have a source of inspiration there’s something wrong with you, in my opinion. Own it.) They may be doing it right but you’re doing it differently — and better, hopefully.
Finally, don’t do it on your own. Find a skilled support team that can complement your efforts. There’s a reason cobblers make shoes and doctors perform surgeries. We’re best at what we know. If you’ve never built a brand from scratch you’re definitely going to need support along the way. And, I can’t emphasize that enough.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Champion. Champion is a great example of what happens when you strategically and properly re-brand, without putting too much outward pressure and hype into it; especially for an older brand. They were in a really interesting position, not doing terrible (financially or in the marketplace) but able to identify room for growth. They didn’t change the logo — you’ll notice. They just changed what it stands for and how they present it — physically and otherwise. Playboy is another brand I’ve admired as leadership has changed.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
This might sound a little unorthodox, coming from a city-dweller, but I wish someone could find a way to Überize (read: streamline and popularize) kindness and compassion. The world really (really!) needs it right now. On the business front, however, I think more people need to lean-in to the struggle and share a more realistic, less curated, and perfectly imperfect representation of what’s going on in their boardrooms around the world. Show the losses and not just the profits. Collectively, we need a reminder that we’re not the only ones riding the struggle bus.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Brené Brown woke me up long before I heard her say, “You know the irony of charging for your time? When I do something for full-fee people are respectful and professional. When I do something pro bono, when I care about the cause, people are so respectful and professional. When I do something because I feel pushed, pressured, shamed, or guilt-tripped into doing it I expect people to be appreciative in addition to exhibiting both respectfulness and professionalism; yet 90% of the time they are none of the above. This is the question: How can we expect others to put a value on our work when we don’t value ourselves enough to set and hold uncomfortable boundaries.”
That was the moment I said, “never again,” to a lot of people. (A LOT. Of. People.)
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @xEricMichael — and y’all can explore the blog, podcast, and upcoming courses at MrEricMichael.com.
Brooke Elder: “To rise through resilience create a morning routine that involves personal reflection, meditation, and visualization”
Create a morning routine that involves personal reflection, meditation, and visualization. This has been the number one thing that has helped me when I am faced with a challenge. Being able to know what you want, know it so deeply because you think about it every day has really been the key to my success.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market. I had the pleasure of interviewing Brooke Elder.
Brooke Elder believes that true authenticity, paired with proven strategies, can yield massive results and great fulfillment. She is a 7-figure business owner who also homeschools her four children. Brooke started her business just 3.5 years ago and quickly grew it to 7-figures in only 18 months. She has had her share of ups and downs; between health issues and balancing mom and business owner responsibilities, she’s learned that having tenacity is essential for her success in all aspects of her life.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory
I started teaching first grade because I have always loved teaching. However, not long after my teaching career began, my income was cut in half. I discovered that while I still wanted to help teach others, I needed to supplement the significant loss of profit, which is why I turned to network marketing. My husband worked nights, so I had to find creative ways of marketing and building my business outside of regular daytime hours. I decided to utilize Facebook before it was a valuable marketing tool for companies.
I wanted to grow my business, but there weren’t a lot of courses on how to do that through network marketing. Back in 2010, it seemed like utilizing Facebook as a networking tool was frowned upon if you weren’t using it per the “status quo.” Since I like to prove that I can do hard things even when people say I can’t, I made every effort to stand out, and I set myself apart by learning everything I could about online marketing.
At this time, I also had created an online training center for the company I was working for. It trained my team and other teams throughout the company. At one point, I had over 10,000 people attending training at the center, which prompted me to think about potentially making training others into a business where I could be my own boss. The idea spurred what is now Social Tenacity.
It took almost filing for bankruptcy and one horrible failed business venture to propel me toward creating Social Tenacity. After I invested in a coach, I achieved my goal of having a 7-figure income in just 18 months.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I’ve found that the success to my business includes having people around me who are both smarter and more educated than I am. When I first started my business, I wanted to hire people who could alleviate job responsibilities and who could do the things I didn’t love doing. I would often hire people just because I liked them and I thought they would do a good job. I quickly learned that just because I liked someone, it didn’t mean they were a good fit for the company. While hiring potential employees was challenging at first, now I know how important it is to put people in my path who put the needs of the business first. Unfortunately, I’ve had past employees take advantage of their positions and authority at the expense of the company.
I’ve learned that a business is only as good as the people who run it, which is why I only hire people with integrity and those who aline with my business ethics.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Social Tenacity stands out because we empower women to use their gifts, strengths, and talents to help others in their life journey. I believe that our experiences in life are given to us to improve the ones behind us.
One of my clients is now able to assist other mothers who have children with special needs using her business and network marketing as the vehicles to induce positive change.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I’ve been very blessed to have different mindset coaches who’ve helped me view things differently and get past Imposture Syndrome or those feelings of “I’m not good enough.” Thanks to them, I know how to get past my feelings of inadequacy, to see my strengths and potential. It’s nice when others remind me of my good qualities when I have a hard time seeing them.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
To me, resilience is all about tenacity, which is why I named my company Social Tenacity. Having resilience means knowing what I’m scared of and being willing to lean into that fear and use it for personal growth. When I’m afraid to do something, I’ve trained myself to believe I can achieve it. I won’t let fear keep me from what I want most.
Ironically, fear and excitement run on the same neuropathway in our brains, meaning we can choose to be excited about a certain situation even when we may be scared out of our minds. My five-year-old daughter is a wonderful example of someone who chooses excitement over fear. Recently, while standing in line for a “scary” ride at Disneyland, she said, “Mom, even though I’m really scared to go on this ride, I’m going to choose to be excited.”
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
When I think of someone who embodies resilience, I think of Walt Disney. I look up to him for following a dream that was way bigger than himself. No matter what other people may have said to discourage him, he didn’t give up and persevered.
Everyone told him that creating a theme park was a big waste of time, but now Disneyland is a household name and more significant than anyone could have imagined.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Anytime someone tells me that I can’t do something, I have a duty to myself to prove them wrong. I like to show people up.
When I first started my business, I hired a coach and told her that I wanted to have a million-dollar business by the time I was 35. She knew my situation and said, “Well, I don’t think you can really do that.”
Achieving this goal became my mission. I didn’t let my circumstances stop me, and I hit my goal within two days of my 35th birthday.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
We put all of our life savings into a car dealership we were sure would be successful. When everything told us things were terrible, we wanted to believe it would get better. I got to be an excellent problem solver every month, trying to figure out how we would scrape by. While things didn’t turn out how we would have expected with that business, we ultimately learned what business we did want to be in.
Without failing at selling cars, I never would have had the guts to go for my dream and start Social Tenacity.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
From a young age my mom would say I was very stubborn and independent. I remember when she took me shopping for school clothes to start Kindergarten she picked out some outfits for me. She help up the first one to see what I thought. I looked at it and boldly said, “You can buy it, but I’m not going to wear it.”
I have always been very driven and wanted to accomplish anything I set my mind to. That passion and self-awareness really helped me throughout my life to show up with a confidence that help build my resiliency muscle in my life.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Here are five steps I think will help some become more resilient.
Identify something you’re scared of and do it. I had a fear of fish, I know strange. When I was 2 years old I fell off our family’s sailboat and I swear fish were sucking on my toes. I have been afraid of fish ever since. When I started this business I wanted to prove to myself that I could do hard things so I put my feet in a lake where there were about 100 carp all in one place. I only did it for 5 seconds, but because of that experience I can now lean on that when things are tough because I can do things I am scared of.
Train your brain to be excited by anchoring your belief. This is one of my favorite techniques. What you do is think of something that really excites you. For me it is standing in line for Tower of Terror in Disney World. I feel the excitement just thinking about it. Then I squeeze my fists to anchor that feeling. Now any time I feel scared or I feel like I can’t do something, I squeeze my fists and that feeling of excitement comes rushing through my body and then I can move forward with excitement instead of fear.
Surround yourself with people who believe in you. You are the sum of the five people you surround yourself with. You really can’t afford to surround yourself with people who are not helping you become the best version of yourself.
Work on your mindset and have tools available to you that will help get past your inadequacies. Life in general is going to make you stretch and becoming a business owner expedites the process. Having tools and people to talk to has been a game changer for me every time I feel an up-level coming on.
Create a morning routine that involves personal reflection, meditation, and visualization. This has been the number one thing that has helped me when I am faced with a challenge. Being able to know what you want, know it so deeply because you think about it every day has really been the key to my success.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The movement or belief that I’m trying to create now is that network marketing is the gateway to entrepreneurship. There are so many awesome things available in the marketplace as the result of network marketing. Sadly, there is a negative stigma associated with networking marketing, and I want to change that. My mission is to change the way women think. I want to help them believe that while they may be network marketers, they can still be authentic and unique too. They can show others who they are through their gifts, talents, and strengths and help make a difference — the real reason beyond the products they sell.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
Neil Patel is someone I would love to have a private breakfast with. I’ve followed him for many years and devoured every bit of content I could. When I first started my network marketing journey, I learned a lot from his online marketing strategy.
Survey your customers to discover where you are missing the mark. We did a campaign with one of our software-as-a-service clients and asked the very simple question: “how can we serve you better.” The result was astounding. More than 80% of customers responded that they wanted more tutorials on how to use the software in innovative ways. They wanted “ideas” that would help them in their business and to make the most of the software. This data was so important because an order had just come down from management to the marketing department to increase sales promos. We changed that to webinars that demonstrate services and incorporated their sales messages into the webinars. They saw a dramatic increase. Ask your customers what they want. It sounds simple, but it’s very effective.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Shannon Lavenia.
Shannon is a high-energy, fun, and dynamic speaker, coach, and entrepreneur who transformed her life from bored, broke high school teacher to online business and branding expert. Her story is one of overcoming adversity to live an incredible life, having survived and thrived through being an orphan and beating Stage 3 breast cancer. She is the founder of Brand Builder Design Studios, the voice of the Booming Business Podcast, and creator of the Brand Builder Course Collective. Shannon is family-focused, operating her business with the philosophy of family fun first while still creating incredible results and serving her audience with results-driving expertise. Shannon uses her energy, experience, and expertise to create obsession-worthy brands for her clients and coaches her students in the creation of fun-fueled, passion-fulfilling, wildly profitable businesses. She’s an expert at business expansion/life balance and demonstrates how to implement systems and easy, results-producing marketing strategies that get her clients the results they’ve yearned for while enjoying life to the fullest. You can learn more about Shannon and access her free training and resources at https://shannonlavenia.com
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thank you for asking. In 2015, I was at a point where I was looking to streamline my business and pretty much re-invent myself. I had spent 13 years in the direct selling industry and had just experienced another company shut down. Over the years, I had been asked by literally thousands of people how to generate leads online for their businesses. I incorporated my love of teaching with my knowledge of online marketing and launched a course called Brand Builder. From there, I started Brand Builder Design Studios to meet the need for done-for-you branding and marketing services. It’s taken off and has been more successful than I had originally anticipated.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
OMG! Originally, I did my branding myself. I loved bright colors and so did my branding in these splashy, bright colors that I thought were really cool. My niche, however, was entrepreneurs looking to scale from the $100,000 mark to the seven-figure mark. Instead, what I began to get were a lot of requests for marketing tarot card businesses. I was also getting a lot of requests for “free” coaching. Some clients wanted to exchange “future predicting” services for branding. I realized that my marketing was way off kilter and speaking to the wrong audience. I got really into surveying and began to study what colors my ideal audience resonated with and rebranded myself. My business instantly began attracting the correct clientele. We use these survey processes in our business now for all of our clients.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
My tipping point came relatively early on in business. By my second year in business we were knocking on the 7-figure sales mark. For me, that tipping point was caused by learning and applying. I came to the table knowing that I had no experience or real knowledge in sales or marketing, so I bought courses, books and attended events. I was a consummate student and was always putting myself in the environment of people more successful than myself. By doing this, I gleaned a lot of useful data that I applied in my business. I’m also always analyzing the data. I look for what is working and what isn’t working. I do more of what does work and less of what doesn’t. That’s been my ticket to success.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! We have a few projects in the works that will give people access to our exact marketing pipelines and processes. This will make the learning curve much smoother for people because they won’t have to learn as much to get results and generate leads. We are also in the midst of a relaunch of our Booming Business Podcast. I’m very excited about the line-up of A list guests we have coming to our audience.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
This is an excellent question. I wrote a very popular e-book entitled “How to Balance Your Life and Boom your Business.” Personally, I believe it all boils down to making smart choices with how we spend our time and planning our time. Some people call it time management, but I don’t think managing time is the reality of it. I know it’s a combination of smart planning and making wise choices throughout the day. If a person is constantly pulled in a gazillion different directions, they get burned out. If they waste time scrolling through Facebook when they can be doing other productive things, that creates stress. So, having a daily battle plan that tackles the actual project steps that will produce positive outcomes, and aligning that with time for family and for personal self-care, plus a sprinkling of “no” to things that are unimportant, and you’ve got a formula for positive accomplishment and less stress. This is why I’m an advocate of project and profit planning. Once one knows the steps to achieving the profits they want to drive in, they can then allocate time daily to completing those projects.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
The purpose of brand marketing is to make one known. If you think of the well-known, often spoken about formula of “Know — Like — Trust”, brand marketing is the fundamental methods of getting known, getting liked and building trust. Product marketing is done with the purpose of having someone buy. A great example for the distinction between brand marketing and product marketing can be seen with Ford’s advertising plan. Ford Field is in Detroit and is the home of the Detroit Lions. However, people aren’t buying Fords because their name is on the stadium. It does build recognition, maybe endears Detroit Lions fans to Ford and increases trust. Having their name on stadium also makes a statement about the size of the company.
What has someone drive a Ford out of the showroom are the advertisements, incentives, past experiences, reviews, and skill of the sales person. The incentives and ads drive the potential customers into the dealership where they are then sold by the salesperson. The ads and incentives are product marketing. However, if the consumer doesn’t know, like and trust the brand Ford first, they will be a lot less likely to respond to the product advertising and walk into the showroom.
The two methods are vitally intertwined and important. Product advertising is less effective is the consumer doesn’t have some familiarity with the brand. Branding alone won’t drive in sales. It’s why companies pay athletes millions to endorse their products; it increases know-like-trust. That combined with the direct product marketing is a guaranteed win-win to roll products off the shelves.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Having a brand increases a person’s trust for the company and their willingness to purchase the products. The best known always wins. That’s why product endorsements are so powerful when you are utilizing influencers. It’s a great way to get exposure of a brand to a large audience which increases their familiarity with it. It also increases trust because a trusted authority has endorsed the brand. Once that is accomplished, it’s important to keep the product in front of the audience and that is done with targeted ads placed correctly in the areas where these consumer are likely to be viewing.
Aligned with that is reputation management. I’ve seen companies invest in paid advertising and influencer marketing but neglect their online reputation when it comes to reviews. That leads to a waste of resources. The company might then believe the influencer didn’t do their job but in reality, it’s the bad reviews that countered their efforts.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
First, let’s talk about what rebranding is, because it’s commonly only associated with changing colors and a new logo. A brand is far more than the colors and the logo. A brand includes the communication, both visually and verbally from the company to the consumer. Rebranding can be very strategic in several situations and can be disastrous in others, (ex. Netflix/Quikster). The first thing someone should do when considering a rebrand is survey their brand amongst their current demographic. If the logo and brand name are largely recognizable and draw a favorable opinion, there shouldn’t be a change. Surveying can identify what consumers like, don’t like, want and expect. Meeting the wants and expectations is the basis of brand growth. However, if their brand is no longer recognizable or draws a negative opinion, it would be important to rebrand and launch this with a powerful marketing campaign. Rebranding would be more about the messaging and slight transformations in the look and feel, if needed.
Brands that have successfully rebranded and transformed into new markets without changing their look are Target, McDonalds, and Burberry. These brands were able to change the public opinions of their businesses and brands without making dramatic changes to their look or feel. Burberry crafted gorgeous new products and campaigns featuring hip celebrities to recreate their luxury brand and break into new markets.
Be wary of brand advisors who want to change a logo, colors or a site just “because”. Any changes should be backed by actual consumer research. Another reason for rebranding could be that the type of clientele that are attracted to the brand aren’t ideal for growth. That could mean the messaging, colors, logo, etc. are appealing to the wrong audience. That would advise a change, but again, doing research to find out what would appeal to the ideal audience before launch is essentially important.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Yes, there can be downsides of rebranding and there are countless stories of this from major companies like BP Oil and Pepsi. First it can be expensive depending on who’s doing the brand strategy and the size of the company rebranding. If it’s a large corporation it could amount to millions just to make the changes in logo, messaging, etc. It’s a gamble. Tropicana once rebranded their orange juice containers and their sales dropped 20%. This all boils down to making decisions based on assumption and opinion instead of data. In these cases, it’s hard to believe they used test groups to evaluate if they even needed a change and if people would positively respond to the change. Change for the sake of change can be devastating.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Focusing on upgrading and re-energizing a brand is so important and the correct direction to put attention. It doesn’t mean rebranding. It may mean remessaging or targeting a new niche. Here are my five recommendations to re-energize a brand.
Survey your customers to discover where you are missing the mark. We did a campaign with one of our software-as-a-service clients and asked the very simple question: “how can we serve you better.” The result was astounding. More than 80% of customers responded that they wanted more tutorials on how to use the software in innovative ways. They wanted “ideas” that would help them in their business and to make the most of the software. This data was so important because an order had just come down from management to the marketing department to increase sales promos. We changed that to webinars that demonstrate services and incorporated their sales messages into the webinars. They saw a dramatic increase. Ask your customers what they want. It sounds simple, but it’s very effective.
Share successes. Take time to interview your customers and feature them to your audience. This is one of the easiest ways for a small business to gain brand recognition and trust. Do an interview, post and boost that post to an online audience of ideal customers. Personal successes with your products are so important. People find common ground with real people who are seeing real results with what you offer.
Deliver Exceptional Service. One of the first things we do when working with clients is go through their internal flow lines. We almost always identify a breakdown point that is limiting their growth and sales and a lot of times it has to do with how they deliver their service. It can be anything from cheap packaging to wait times for customer service reps. We once helped a small business that had launched skincare products rewrite their instructions and create online tutorials. The result: Their return rate and customer service calls plummeted. If you look and listen, you can find what customers want that they will deem exceptional.
Another example I can give is the onboarding process we have at Brand Builder Design Studios. We honed this process over the years based on client feedback. It’s so smooth and simplified, our customers love it. It’s enabled us to charge a premium price, get paid for our services up-front, and serve a higher level client.
Get Personal. The online surveys only provide a small amount of usable data and it has to be quantifiable. The qualitative data is even more valuable. It’s the language someone uses to describe your product, what it does, why they like it, what they’d like more of that is the “secret” to exceptional branding and marketing. Get on the phone with customers. Call them, thank them, ask them what they want, need, how you can help. You’ll identify trends that can up-level your brand instantly.
Use Influencers, Reviews and Referrals. These things all work amazingly well. There’s simply no excuse to have bad reviews online and they kill sales. People trust reviews. Yes, you can sit around and blame the cranky, but the truth is, you should have been prepared for them in the first place. Be cause for the opinion base of your business online by being prepared and delivering exceptional products and services. Use referral marketing that is incentivized to grow your brand. ButcherBox and CauseBox do this very well, offering incentives for referrals.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
In my opinion, Burberry did an exceptional job. When I was growing up in the 80s, Burberry was a gangbangers clothing of choice. That was the age of spandex and neon and Burberry was frumpy and old. When I was in my 30’s it became much more popular to a higher end clientele. I attribute this to restyled products that were promoted by popular celebrities in higher end advertisements.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to create a platform where people can share their stories in a way that moves and touches others. I believe that everyone has a story that can impact and influence others in a positive and creative way. I’ve often stopped to talk to random people, including homeless people, and I have heard the most incredible stories and gained so many valuable life lessons. The life lessons from people who have lived extraordinary lives are laden with practicable wisdom.
The other, and totally unrelated, has to do with a movement I want to initiate entitled “Don’t buy pink.” I will be launching it in September before Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What few people realize is that when they buy pink, very little or none of those dollars spent goes towards curing Breast Cancer or helping women going through treatments. People have the most beautiful intention to help, but their money isn’t making the impact it should be making. I want to put a network together of amazing organizations that support Breast Cancer Patients with things they need and also fund Breast Cancer research at universities that people can donate to instead. I’m in the process of establishing the 501c3 non-profit to do this.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My grandfather used to say, “Work with your brain, not with your back.” He helped me realize that ideas can be the most profitable and powerful things we’ve got. It’s what we do with those ideas, bringing them to fruition that matters and makes a difference. It helped me think bigger about what I could accomplish and that my ideas and thoughts mattered. I became the first person in my family to graduate college and go on to have my own business.
Evaluate weakness: You must be honest with where you are, where you have come from and the battles you must overcome. Weakness is only an opportunity to grow.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Billy Boughey author of Culture Reconstructed and founder and president of Elevate Experiences.
Billy Boughey is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, author and host who has led events for Delta, Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A, FIFA, Disney, and many other notable organizations. He is the Founder and President of the Atlanta-based company Elevate Experiences that helps brands tell their story through remarkable events. Billy has been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, Inc, Bold TV, and has a TEDx talk titled: How to lead like a freestyle rapper. As a former pro athlete with the Philadelphia Phillies, Billy brings a fresh perspective to leadership and culture. Pick up the January 2020 book released titled: Culture Reconstructed on Amazon and learn more about Billy at billybspeaks.com.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Every life has a story and I am grateful for mine. I was born in Atlanta and love to support all the teams in my great city. My parents divorced at a young age, mom worked three jobs to get by, and I was a turn-key kid that was marked by my fear, hustle, and a speech impediment. Growing up, sports and music were my identities and that carried through my high school, college, and professional experience. I played baseball all the way to the professional level and learned to freestyle rap, DJ events, play the guitar, and sing. I started a business in 2012 called Elevate Experiences — we help brands tell their story by creating remarkable experiences. Eight years into my Elevate journey, I wrote a book about culture to serve our clients better and have travelled the world speaking, entertaining, and inspiring others to live out the best story they can.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I got to rap on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and it led to six figures worth of business because of the bravery I exhibited. Jimmy was generous to let me rap on the spot and the producer of the show introduced me to the idea that not everything needs to be planned out in advance in order to be successful. There are many stories in my career of taking risk, but this is the biggest one that paid off the most.
What do you think makes your company/brand stand out? Can you share a story?
We listen first…
Our process at Elevate is to listen, design, and then produce. I believe that beginning with your ears leads to better solutions for your clients. The event creation industry is ever changing and the people that lean in and listen first will win in the long term. We had a client that wanted to leverage hot air balloons into the lessons we were teaching about world-view and it was a challenge to pull off. Listening to the client’s goal allowed us to safely and successfully pull off this activation and it taught me to press the limits on experiential learning.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There are so many people I am grateful for as the belief in others is what has pushed me to be the leader I am today. One in particular is David Hoyt and he gave me multiple chances on various stages and in front of leaders that I wasn’t “qualified” to be in front of, but he saw something great in me. Because of his belief, it has grown my career and set me on a trajectory of passion and impact.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
You can’t lose, you can only learn. Approaching life with a “fourth-quarter mentality” is how I roll, and I believe your approach will breed resilience only if you begin with this mindset. Resilience is the ability to see the glass half full at all times through rose colored glasses while reality and failure (although known) are not accepted as the final answer. Some characteristics of resilience are the ability to be punched in the mouth, spit out the blood, then turn back and smile. Being positive in pain and speaking a preferred future when it isn’t easily seen is important as well.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
The X games champion Shawn White is the first person I think of. He has transcended the sport and stood the test of time through countless injuries. Tiger Woods is another one that came back from personal and professional challenges to win another PGA tour championship. Talent carries both of these athletes but having a resilient mindset in the midst of failure, pain, and bad choices have carried them through.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
I was told by my stepdad that I would never play professional baseball and that became my fuel for 2 decades. It all culminated as I teared up and I signed my professional contract with the Phillies. Not every chip on the shoulder is bad and honestly not all anger is bad either. Denying our feelings is not what winners do, winners take the impossible and turn it into the quite possible challenge in front of them if they believe and take action.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
I hurt my elbow my Junior year of college and was told I would never throw a pitch again from a mound. From that point, I exercised, focused on healing and came back a much more focused and grateful pitcher which moved me to be captain of my team and signing a professional contract.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Evaluate weakness: You must be honest with where you are, where you have come from and the battles you must overcome. Weakness is only an opportunity to grow.
Find an advocate: Hold your friends close but hold “freedom speakers” even closer. A freedom speaker is someone who will tell you who you can become and remind you of the vision you have for yourself.
Pick one plan: Don’t scatter and try a bunch of things, pick one plan or one system for your resilient path.
Kick ass: Take consistent action, move, grow, achieve, stop waiting, be more, and having obedience in the same direction is the mark of a winner.
Celebrate, rinse, & repeat: Make sure you celebrate your milestones, rightfully process your accomplishments, and then get back to work. Consistent work, celebration, and recommitment back to that same work will show fruit over time.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would challenge people to chase that dream they think about. I would spend my days igniting ideas and fueling people to achieve the success they see out in front of them. Regret is the worst thing ever, and I would start a movement to chase dreams and give back to those around them that are stuck in their complacency.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I want a breakfast/lunch with Justin Timberlake to talk about music, creativity, collaboration, fatherhood, and legacy.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @billyboughey, or on Facebook @iambillyboughey. Readers can also sign up for my newsletter at keepitfresh.vip.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Jon Pardew of CCRM: “When executing early doesn’t pan out, learn from mistakes and improve for the next time”
…when executing early doesn’t pan out, learn from mistakes and improve for the next time. There’s almost always a next time. I’ve done this by building an informal “advisory board” in my executive team at CCRM. When one of us missteps, we debrief and assess, pivot, and execute again — this keeps us accountable.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Pardew, CCRM’s President and Chief Executive Officer. In this role Pardew is responsible for executing the company’s strategy, leading the CCRM team, and ensuring the company achieves its stated Mission and Vision.
Previously, Pardew was a Managing Director at St. Charles Capital, a Denver based middle-market investment banking firm. In his role as Managing Director, Pardew led the firm’s Healthcare practice focusing on mergers and acquisitions, financings and joint venture transactions involving provider groups across the healthcare industry.
Prior to St. Charles Capital, Pardew held several leadership positions in both business and the United States Army. Pardew holds an MBA from the University of Colorado and a BA from the Virginia Military Institute.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Growing up in a military family we were on the move a lot. I went to several different schools and we were never in one place for more than a few years. I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and pursue a career in the military, where I enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute and graduated with a degree in history. Once I graduated, I became a Lieutenant in the Army for four years of active military duty followed by four years in the reserves. After completing the required amount of service, I went into operations at General Mills where I worked at a plant as a team leader. I decided I wanted to go back to school and pursue a Master’s Degree and received my MBA from the University of Colorado. From 1999 to 2013, I worked as a middle market investment banker primarily focused on services and healthcare transactions. That ultimately led me to Dr. William Schoolcraft, the founder of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (CCRM), where I’ve spent the past six years as CEO.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Storytelling is always hindsight analysis. Upon reflection, my career arc has truly been about leadership and learning. In the military and in my first role with General Mills, I was focused on operations. After being introduced to finance, I decided to make a career change and went back to school for my MBA. Finding a job in finance without any prior experience proved more difficult than I expected. When I interviewed for a job with middle market financiers, it was like trying to open a locked door. But I remained persistent and eventually landed an interview with Marshall Wallach, who at the time was the founder and managing partner of the Wallach Company, a leading middle market investment bank in the Rocky Mountains. Based on common experiences that we shared, including time served in the military, we quickly connected. Even though I lacked finance experience, he gave me a shot — he saw my potential to learn and lead, and that created the next few chapters of my career. If it wasn’t for Marshall, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
The same thing happened when I was appointed CEO of CCRM — I was seen as a finance guy, not a CEO. For a while, people saw the last thing I had done as the only thing I knew, not the totality of my experience. Becoming a first-time CEO is humbling. I’m constantly pulling from a career of experience while continuing to face new challenges. The greatest lesson I could share is that if you set out to lead, you will enjoy a lifetime of learning and opportunities.
At the beginning of your career, it looks like a “triangle” — in that there are many paths early on, but fewer later. If you can continue to learn and build your skillset to make that triangle look as much like a square for as long as you can, you’ll have more opportunities to excel. It’s critical to always be open to new opportunities and training no matter what your position. I was in operations, but realized that I was being pigeon-holed, so I went and got an MBA to broaden that career triangle and became a finance professional. The lesson is to develop a broad skillset and be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come your way. Leadership experience and skills being the most crucial to best position yourself for future success.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
CCRM was founded by Dr. William Schoolcraft over thirty years ago as a small fertility center in Colorado. Today, we now operate 11 fertility centers with 24 offices across North America. CCRM is known for its pioneering science and technology that drives our leading outcomes in the industry. CCRM has some of the highest live birth rates globally. This is largely due to Dr. Schoolcraft’s dedication in ensuring CCRM’s clinicians, embryologists and staff are all armed with the best techniques and practices to deliver the best care to our patients. The fabric of our company is really the science, but our technology is only as good as the people on our team. A company won’t go very far without great people, and we have a fantastic organization from top to bottom.
One of my favorite CCRM anecdotes occurred within the first few weeks of my tenure at CCRM. At a dinner I attended, Dr. Schoolcraft opened a letter he received from a patient’s son, which he then shared with me. The former patient’s son was now 18 years old and described how he was a recent high school graduate, going to college on an academic scholarship and listed a series of community achievements. He ended the letter thanking Dr. Schoolcraft, because without him helping his parents 18 years ago he wouldn’t be here. I sat back and was struck with how powerful a moment it was not only for Dr. Schoolcraft and CCRM, but also for me. I am thrilled that I can even play a small role in helping people get access to that level of care that has such a positive impact on society.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I don’t think there’s one person or one experience I can specifically call out, but rather a mosaic of experiences and people that I’ve worked with or for that I’ve learned a tremendous amount from. The military and lessons I learned during a very formative period in my life helped shape who I am today. I take away more than I can ever give back with regard to the interactions with people I’ve worked with over the course of my career. For me, it’s been collaborative effort — it’s taken a city rather than a village.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I think it’s the ability to absorb, learn from and pivot off of adversity, whether that be your career or life. Nobody gets through life without dealing with adversity, it’s just how you’re able respond to it that helps you learn and grow from the experience.
I think poise in the face of adversity and the ability to calmly and collectively make a rational decision in a difficult situation is what makes someone resilient. A poised, open and pragmatic style who is flexible and possesses the ability to adjust. And obviously pure determination — you have to be determined and tough to be resilient.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Lindsey Vonn. She’s one of this generations most elite athletes. What makes her successful is her resilience to power through injuries, as well as career and personal adversity. If you haven’t seen the HBO documentary about Lindsey Vonn’s life, I highly recommend it. She is the epitome of resilience, in my opinion.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
When I joined CCRM as the CEO, CCRM was comprised of two fertility centers — one in the Denver-area and the other in Houston. The plan was to replicate the success of our Colorado clinic and lab and expand across North America in some of the most competitive markets in the fertility industry. Many thought we would fail or at best, be limited in our opportunities.
Part of the challenge was replicating the IVF lab, which is an incredibly complex facility with stringent regulatory and quality standards. From the air quality to equipment to staff training, every detail matters and there is no room for error. Even though we had limited resources and a small team, through the pure tenacity of our dedicated staff and our confidence in the CCRM brand, we have been able to achieve what everyone else believed was impossible.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I was a military brat growing up. We moved every 24 to 36 months and I went to countless schools over my youth and even spent time overseas. If I were to point to one thing that has helped build self-confidence and resiliency, it’d be that upbringing. I couldn’t ask for a better childhood and it was a real blessing to have, especially at such a formative time for me. I learned how to be flexible, adaptable and confident. I didn’t find moving around all the time to be really difficult or upsetting at all, either. It was kind of normal because you’re running around with a bunch of kids in similar situations. It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized I had a different experience than most of my peers. But I benefited from it from a worldview perspective and learned to engage with a very diverse community.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Resilience to me is about three things. First, execute. CCRM is growing at an extraordinary pace. My style has always been to trust my team, say yes, go, do — sometimes earlier than what feels comfortable. On the whole, that worked out well.
Second, when executing early doesn’t pan out, learn from mistakes and improve for the next time. There’s almost always a next time. I’ve done this by building an informal “advisory board” in my executive team at CCRM. When one of us missteps, we debrief and assess, pivot, and execute again — this keeps us accountable.
Last, it’s about sharing that lesson, so others don’t have to fumble through. I find sharing my stories helps others find their own pattern of resilience. And I’ve said this many times, but it’s worth repeating. It’s not as bad as you think; it will be better in the morning.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I pride myself on being a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, which often surprises people since I’ve never actually lived in Pittsburgh. A big reason why I love the team is because of the Rooney family, which founded the Steelers in 1933. Beyond building a team that would go on to win six Super Bowls, the Rooney’s created an organization committed to its mission, its community and its people. I hope someday I can leave a similar mark on our organization, community and industry. I would be honored to sit down with a member of the Rooney family, as both a fan and as a CEO.
Practice gratitude. Find joy in the smallest things. Start noticing things that make you smile throughout the day, different ones all the time. Train your brain to treasure the little moments. I have written down three things that I’m grateful for every night for the past decade. There’s science behind it. Whether you name things you’re grateful for while you’re scooping your coffee into your coffee maker in the morning or as you have your first few sips, morning, evening, doesn’t matter — just start finding things that sink you into a state of being grateful.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Elisabeth Cardiello, Founder of Caffe Unimatic, Brave Conversations Over Coffee and co-founder of Legacy Out Loud.
Elisabeth was probably the only six year old in Brooklyn with her own business cards. After college, business school and a four year stint in the finance industry, this native New Yorker dealt with loss, found herself and her passion, more loss, learned the meaning of post traumatic growth and embraced her pull to create. She started Caffè Unimatic, the coffee company that you may recognize from the Netflix documentary “Coffee For All.” She’s the co-founder of Legacy Out Loud, an educational platform and methodology designed to build confidence and resilience in young women. Most recently, she brought the two together and is the host of Brave Conversations Over Coffee®, a leadership development / team building workshop series that’s part coffee tasting and part communication training to inspire transformational bravery in communication (to support trust, connection, creativity, leadership and mental health) in companies, at colleges and in the community. She always knew she found herself in the world of coffee to use the platform to make a bigger difference. She’s a two time TEDx speaker, has spoken at UN conferences, given keynotes, Congressional briefings and when you hear the way she talks about coffee and it’s power to be a catalyst for change, she will inspire you to be more intentional about your most consistent morning ritual. Her family is still wondering where that shy 9-year-old went…
If you love coffee, our readers will receive some serious coffee love if you head to the Caffe Unimatic website, adopt a Unimatic and use the code “readerlove” at checkout.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Sure! So, I was probably the only six-year-old in Brooklyn (maybe in all of NYC), that walked around with business cards in her “purse.” My dad was an entrepreneur from Italy, and that was just how we rolled. He was a bit older than the normal Dad and I was more of a sidekick than a child. While his cards just said his name, beneath my name was a title — mine said: “Owner.” Looking back, I had no idea how impactful that simple affirmation would be. Only now do I realize how abnormal that (and the rest of) my childhood was. He and I would sit at the breakfast table for hours, talking about ideas, people, psychology, business, creativity, the why’s of life — things that I realize now are wildly rare to chat about with a 7, 10 or 13 year old. We’d take ideas from concept to national, to international, through every stage of business, over coffee (or for me, milk with a spoonful or two of coffee before I was old enough for my own mug). Sometimes he’d come home with a business issue and ask my opinion. If I gave him ideas, he’d actually put them into practice. We started a bunch of businesses together. I had my first product on shelves at 13 and he even convinced a board that he was on to let me take part in a meeting or two. Looking back, it’s pretty wild that my life started, over coffee.
At the time, I’m not sure the word “entrepreneur” existed, and if it did, it surely wasn’t popular or “cool.” It would have been way more normal for him to have a corporate job, but he never did. Ever since he came to Brooklyn from a little town in Southern Italy, called San Pietro al Tanagro, when he was 12 years old, he did a myriad of things — all on his own. There was a cookware company called United Cookware, a cosmetic company, an advertising agency, a talent agency, a restaurant and athletic club — the guy seemed to dabble in everything. But he didn’t just start businesses, he also did things that seemed to have a huge impact on others. For some period of time at least, he was in Intelligence with the US Army. One of his mentors was a man by the name of Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the book on the power of positive thought (around the time of Napoleon Hill). Because of his influence, my Dad would be called in to teach positive thinking to the NYPD. When he’d describe this experience, someone would retire, return their badge and gun and seemingly their identity along with it — which is totally understandable for someone whose whole life was devoted to protecting and serving. But his role seemed less about just “thinking positively” and much more about helping people remember who they were through hard times and the infinite potential they had within them. Note: these were also the kinds of conversations that I deemed “normal.” Only in my adult years did I realize that the things I absorbed from him shaped how I saw the world, how I communicated and how I processed what was happening around me. I never knew that he was quietly teaching me things like how to put myself in someone else’s shoes and drop into empathy, hostage negotiation techniques, the psychology of sales and relational communication, or things that are now part of the field of positive psychology and brain science. What I did know was that genuine human connection, communication, human potential and the whys of who we are made me infinitely curious. I thought everyone was having these sorts of conversations around the table and hearing things like “what the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve” every day… but, they weren’t.
So after college and business school, not head-over-heels in love with any of the businesses that we’d started together, I did the thing that any driven, type-A, New Yorker does when they don’t exactly know what they want to do: I found the hardest possible job to get, and went for it. At that point, it was in the finance industry. I worked at a big bank for a year and then at a hedge fund for three. I think I was trying to prove something to myself and trying to “fit in” — something that never came all that naturally. Finance was what everyone wanted to do, so I figured I “should,” too. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy, but since I didn’t have an idea for my own thing yet, I plugged away — until one Fall day, when I was 26, when we lost my Dad.
We were a family of three, so I took over as husband and father overnight. Sidenote: my Mom was (is still) the most amazing Mom. I was really lucky to grow up with all of the love and support that I did, but she was never a business person. So, all of those mornings spent at the table, talking about life and business needed to be put into practice, immediately. Looking back, those conversations were what prepared me for the storms I’d have to weather in the coming years. Those conversations over coffee were the reason I didn’t break. They were my fuel to get back up and put one foot in front of the other.
Losing him was the turning point. It was when I realized just how much I took for granted, that what I was doing wasn’t fueling me and that filling his shoes was not going to be an easy task. Writing and giving his eulogy changed the way I thought about life. I realized how much he had done, the way that he impacted people and that I wasn’t giving myself the chance to accomplish any of the things that I wanted to be or leave behind in the world. I wasn’t putting myself in the situations where I would be able to leave the kind of legacy that I wanted. I went on to write my own eulogy (yes, I acknowledge that’s odd, but in the moment, it felt like the only logical next step). That was what changed everything and I think that’s probably where the rest of my story begins…
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career?
There are so many stories worth sharing but I’d say the most interesting is the origin story of my coffee company, Caffè Unimatic. (P.S. This story is told really beautifully in the Netflix documentary, “Coffee For All” and the TEDx talk “How a Coffee Pot Changed My Life”). After losing Dad, I’d written a business plan to start a coworking space (this was before they were popular). I began cleaning out my Dad’s old office in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, thinking I’d do it there. P.S. This meant that I literally went from working in midtown at a hedge fund to jumping in and out of a dumpster for six months. This place was like a 1960s timewarp. There were remnants from a bunch of his businesses and enough furniture to redecorate the Bowery Hotel, just collecting dust. More old stuff than you could ever imagine, just sitting in silence. We were selling things — garage sale style — we were donating things, we were throwing things away in any way possible. I even became a regular at a scrap metal yard, and judging from their looks, I might have been the only woman to set foot on that property, perhaps ever.
Thing is, I realized pretty quickly that my Mom needed to sleep at night and me attempting to start a business wasn’t the best next step when she needed to pay the mortgage. I was creating these fun problems to solve, but I had real problems and no plan B. Both my safety net, and the person who reminded me that “what the mind could conceive, the mind could achieve” disappeared. (I should probably also mention that about a year and a half after losing Dad, in the middle of this mess, Hurricane Sandy hit my Mom’s house with what was said to be a 9.5 ft. wave. It displaced her — well, us, as I moved home to help — for over a year). For 4+ years “after Dad”, something was always falling to pieces and yours truly was the last (well, only) line of defense.
Long story short, I made the decision to shelf my business plan and lease the space (my Dad’s last words to me were “take care of your Mother,” so there was really no deliberation there). Fast forward to about three weeks after making that decision, we were still cleaning out the space, now for the new tenant. I found the key that unlocked a door that my Dad had always referred to as the inventory closet. I expected to find old makeup or something… Well, when I opened the door, I was met by a wall of boxes, floor to ceiling, of something he helped create half a century ago. It was a coffee pot, called the Unimatic. It was an improvement on the percolator that was popular at the time (ca. late 1950s). He’d helped create it and bought the patent on it. Truth be told, it was the only way I knew how to make coffee, because it was the only thing we ever used in our house. Plus, it was my 5th grade science project, so clearly, I knew it inside and out! Since his cookware company had started to carry a little bit of everything for the kitchen, and since he would say that American coffee “tasted like dishwater,” he did a ton of research and came up with the Unimatic. These little gems were “conceived in Brooklyn and born in Italy” (I even found the paperwork from the factory in Parma that made them). I didn’t think much of seeing the pots at first; I figured, “cool, wedding presents for a year… next.” I imagined that we’d throw them in the car and be done with the closet… I was wrong. That door didn’t lead to a closet. It was the door to a warehouse, full of these original, Italian-made Unimatic coffee pots, ~5,000 of them! They were perfect, just waiting to be discovered.
It was one of those moments where your life flashes before your eyes. All I could see were pictures of those moments we spent together at the table, over coffee. That coffee pot was the reason we’d linger. He’d always cite it as the reason to stay, “don’t leave yet” he’d say, “we’re almost finished with the coffee” and (because of the way it works), “it’s still hot, just stay for one more cup.” And so I would… those moments, those stories, those lessons, those memories, wouldn’t have been possible without the Unimatic. If you could hit rewind and play on the coffee pot that lived at our house growing up, she could tell you all of our family stories. She could replay all of those mornings that we spent dreaming and creating. The Unimatic created those moments, and without them, I wouldn’t be who I am… I didn’t know what I was going to do or how, but what I knew for sure was that if I could give the opportunity for those moments to ~5,000 other families, I was in. It was as if he was saying, “thank you for doing the right thing and taking care of your Mom, now… let’s do this! Let’s infuse some Italian values into the world and keep families around the table, together.” And so, it became my mission to find each one of our original, limited edition, Unimatics a new home.
This all sounds great, but I was constantly (silently) battling imposter syndrome, because my ego kept telling me that although I resolved to make something out of this crazy discovery, none of this was “mine.” I didn’t “do” anything but move them without injuring myself (thanks, Crossfit). I knew that my Dad’s story was cooler, that this was his, and that for me to feel any ownership, I had to find a way to expand it and make it mine. I’d have to add things to it. The most obvious thing being coffee. My Dad always said that the Unimatic brewed the most perfect cup, but I was curious, did the coffee have anything to do with that? So, I researched coffee and found that technically, you’re supposed to roast your coffee for the way that you’re going to brew it and here in the states, we don’t do that. It’s one of the reasons why coffee can taste bitter. I decided to see if we could create coffee that was optimized for the way the Unimatic brews… and we did! People constantly call our blends “the smoothest coffee ever!” — which is fantastic, because that’s exactly what I was going for. So, that’s how Caffè Unimatic got its start.
All that said, from a personal perspective, I think what I was needing in the beginning wasn’t something fully of my own. I think some part of me liked the fact that all this was his and that I’d get to keep him around — or at least be able to talk about him, for good “reason.” I’d learn later that my drive to keep talking about him was actually something that would help me get through grief. The field of Narrative Medicine tells us that sharing your story is healing and we know from trauma therapies that some of the basis of moving through the hardest bits of life is often supported by sharing your story. I wish I could say that I did all this knowing the benefits, but in all honesty, I was just following gut feelings about what I needed to survive (and be sane enough to handle the things I needed to).
Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I’ve learned so much (and continue to), but a few key things rush to mind immediately:
“What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.”
Play the long game. Make decisions based on the long term impact they’ll have, not the short term gain. Basically, do the thing that you’ll look back on in 10 years and smile about. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.
Listen to your intuition. It’s always speaking to you, or trying to. The more you listen to the voice within, the more you trust yourself, and hence, the more you end up trusting others. When your foundation is solid, aka when it comes from something deeper than your ego, you’re more able to accept yourself and others in their imperfections and failures — because, reality is, we’re all going through something.
Ask yourself the hard questions early and often. Who do you want to be? What do you want to give? What do you want to leave behind? And: are you on a path to do any of that?
Know what your values are and try to turn them into actions everyday. They won’t always be popular or make “sense”, but they help you put one foot in front of the other.
After you list out your values, and start paying close attention to the things in life that embody them, fuel them and further them. In hindsight, I can say that it makes perfect sense that I ended up in the coffee business. When you step back and look at my values, coffee embodies all of them: connection, communication, inspiration, hope, daily positive forward movement… but through the dashboard, I saw none of that.
You can’t follow someone else’s map. They’ll offer it. They’ll mean well, but we’re here to calibrate our own compasses. No one can do that for you. It’s not for the faint of heart, but reality is, this being human thing is hard, and the only way out is through.
The greatest stories of your life will make no sense as they’re happening. You’ll need help. Ask for it. Keep moving forward and thank people along the way. And if you forget the last time you thanked someone, do it again.
Fulfillment doesn’t come from “things”, it comes from purpose. There was a period after I found the Unimatics, that we were still cleaning out the space for the new tenant. Because I had something to work toward, something that I believed the world needed — giving other families those moments at the table over coffee — jumping in and out of those dumpsters was more fulfilling than any of the other things I used to have that signified “success.”
That little voice that tells you that you’re not good enough, ask it why. Mine would constantly chatter in the background saying that my story wasn’t as cool as my Dad’s (and I’d be the first to agree), but I decided to let that little voice push me. One of my values is originality, and I needed to honor the fact that I wanted to start things, not just be part of them. So that voice, for me was helpful, not because it was right, but because it was guiding me toward creating, and there was value in that. It pushed me to create a line of coffee and our Brave Conversations Over Coffee® tasting and communications workshop series that we host for companies and colleges. That little voice was like a trail of breadcrumbs that navigated me toward things that wanted to be born. It sent me down the harder road, but in that, I found a way to keep him here, at the table, where we spent so much time dreaming, and now I am bringing teams and companies back to that same table, too — to take brave steps forward, over coffee, just like we did at home.
What do you think makes your company/brand stand out? Can you share a story?
I think our origin story really set us up to be different. Because we think a lot about legacy, we’ve always been driven to use the global platform of coffee for a greater purpose. Now, we get to use it to ignite the conversations that we are needing to have and foster human connection and resilience. Plus, the Unimatic and our blends do make a simply remarkable cup of coffee… We like to say that we’ve perfected coffee! 😉
This all started because I wanted to share something that changed and supported me and keep my Dad’s legacy alive. I had no idea that along the way, people would start seeing their story in our story and in the same way that the Unimatic became my symbol of hope and taking positive steps forward every morning, they made it their talisman as well. You wouldn’t believe the letters I’ve received, sharing such personal stories tied to our little coffee pot. These letters say things like “the Unimatic is part of my healing. It gives me the energy to get up every morning and start again, to rebuild from nothing.” That was from a woman who courageously shared that she suffered horrible domestic abuse and how her coffee, and now, her Unimatic symbolized a new day and a new chance to rebuild life and family. Other letters have said, “the Unimatic saved our family. We’ve been through trauma and tragedy and when we put that pot on the table and told your story, we were finally able to talk about our own. And then, we laughed together, in a way that we hadn’t in years. You saved us and we are forever indebted to you for sharing your story and these last Unimatics with the world.” Then there was a gentleman who told me that he was going to name his Unimatic “Grace” after his grandmother, so that he could have coffee with her every morning, like I do with my Dad. One of my favorites is from an officer in our military who wanted to deepen he and his wife’s tradition of coffee, show the kids the power of ritual and find a way for them to “have coffee together” while he was deployed… And these are just a handful, I cry at least once a week because of the notes we receive. It’s crazy but we’ve somehow found this magical way to make a “thing” part of people’s families and moreso, to remind people of what’s important on a daily basis. I’m proud of that, and I think my Dad would be, too.
Our reason for being has served to inform all of our decisions. It made me want to know the humans drinking our coffee and adopting our Unimatics. I wanted to know the families that we were keeping at the table. I wanted the Unimatic and our coffee to stand for something more, to inspire people to see their potential and that they can get through anything every morning as they sipped. So, we do things like include handwritten notes with our monthly coffee subscriptions or when anyone adopts a Unimatic coffee pot. I figured that even though I don’t know them, these people are letting us in to one of their most intimate and sacred moments of their whole day. I never know what I’m going to say to any one person, but I just write what comes out. It’s been interesting how many times I’ve gotten, “you say exactly what I need to hear.” It’s a joy to know that we’re doing something that resonates and might leave someone in a better frame of mind. I think that sets us apart, too.
This company has been a continuous process of creation and letting go in every sense of the word, from the pots themselves, to metaphorically navigating grief, to our logo and packaging, everything meant a little more and took a little more thought and emotional labor. One of the byproducts of doing something bigger than you is how it nudges you to look within and grow in yourself. I began Caffè Unimatic to keep my Dad’s legacy alive, and in building the company, I actually began to lay the foundation of my own. Exactly none of it has been easy, but all of it has been worth it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Again, there are too many to name, but there are a few that I feel were heaven sent…
The first is Robert Galinsky. Not long after I discovered the Unimatics, I happened to read an article in The New Yorker. It talked about this guy who was writing something called “Coffee: The Musical.” My brain immediately thought: wouldn’t it be cool if the Unimatic had a cameo appearance on Broadway?! The article made the mistake of telling me where this man would be that upcoming weekend; he and the cast would be performing some of their preliminary songs at something called “Coffeefest” at the Javitz Center. So, I resolved to scout out Coffeefest and stalk this poor guy. Worst case scenario, I didn’t find him, but I learned something about my new industry… sounds logical, right?
Fast forward, I showed up at the Javitz Center, Unimatic in hand and actually found Robert! I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I’d been so excited to just find him that I hadn’t gone any further in my head and literally word vomited the story without blinking or taking a breath. Interestingly, he paused and said “could you do that again?” and filmed me with his iPhone. When I finished, he shocked me. He said, “that’s fascinating, of course the Unimatic can have a cameo, but can we talk about writing part of that story into the script?” I was floored, and we’ve been friends ever since. He went on to write a book called “Coffee Crazy” to fund the musical. Since I was quoted in it, he looped me into his book tour/performance schedule. We’d travel around NYC; the cast would sing and I’d make people Unimatic coffee and tell my story. Now, he’s that person that I can trace just about anything magical back to, think “Six Degrees of Galinsky.” He’s like a heartbeat, pumping so much good into this world. (I hope this gets printed simply so I can publically state that about him). At a time when I could have felt very alone, he always made sure that I was included, supported and celebrated; I’ll be forever indebted to him.
Funny, I can actually trace the second person back to Robert as well. One evening on the “Coffee Crazy” book tour, the producer of TEDx Fulton Street heard my story and asked me if I wanted to give a TEDx talk (can we say, dream come true?!). The second person I couldn’t have gotten this far without started as my speaking coach for TED, and over the years turned into more of an Uncle to me. His name is Brad Boyer. He’s famous for helping people tell better stories onstage or in the boardroom. He helped me with both of my TEDx talks and with all of life in between. Everyone needs someone who reminds them of who they are. He’s watched me grow up in a sense, navigate challenging situations and emotions in life and business. When people enter your life and choose to show up for you (when they don’t have to, but purely because they choose to) that’s a true gift. When things feel like they’re falling apart, I know that I can call him. And just that knowledge makes it a little more ok for me to leap and take risks and keep putting one foot in front of the other when I’m walking squarely into the unknown. I couldn’t ask for a greater mentor and friend.
The third person I met totally by chance (although I’m sure I can probably find a way to trace it back to Galinsky). He’s an author of one of the world’s most popular blogs and more than 20 best sellers. The way he talked about human dynamics, marketing and well, most things reminds me of the perspective that my Dad would bring. I’ve never known anyone else to possess that same way of seeing the world. His name is Seth Godin. I met him in a conference, and gave him a business card (which, admittedly, are kind of wacky and memorable), so a couple years later at a different conference, I went to say hi and he remembered it, and me! A few minutes later, I was sitting in my seat minding my own business, when someone asked a question about branding (Seth was doing audience Q&A) and all of a sudden he said, “where’s Elisabeth? Wherever she is, you should go find her, because Elisabeth owns a coffee company and the way she talks about coffee makes me want to drink it — THAT’S branding.” I died. Right there in my seat, frozen. A couple days later I found myself sitting across from him answering questions about childhood, coffee, the why’s of what I wanted to build. Since then he’s been someone who has challenged me and cheered for me, called me out for being in the resistance or hiding from the real work. He’ll tell me to save the good stuff to tell him later and ask me to start by telling him all the things that aren’t working, so we can sort through them together. He’ll remind me of my superpowers and of how important my mission of inspiring and igniting “Brave Conversations Over Coffee” is. He’s one in a billion and even after years, the fact that he makes time for me still floors me.
There’s something that happens when someone reaches out, makes time, truly listens and reflects back that it’s safe to trust yourself. It’s astonishing how many people we sometimes need to remind us of who we are when times are hard. If I had to find a silver lining in the challenges I’ve faced, it’s these three and others like them. One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received is the ability to allow people to show up for me (I spent a long time thinking that I had to go it alone). I’ll never be able to repay any of them, so all I can do is pay their wisdom forward and help as many others as I can.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience?
Well, since I’ve actually studied resilience, I am cheating a little here, but I’ll tell you the story of why I ended up studying this topic and actually building a curriculum around many of its principles… it’s also the reason why Brave Conversations Over Coffee began.
I didn’t know what resilience was when I was actually putting it into practice. After losing Dad, and Hurricane Sandy, I was in survival mode and often following my gut instincts more than having any real sense of knowing what I was doing. What I didn’t realize, however, was that during those conversations over coffee that my Dad and I had around the table growing up, he was actually teaching me resilience. He never used any of the terms that I’d find in textbooks, but when I realized that I could finish people’s sentences on the topics of things like positive psychology, hostage negotiation, mindset strategy or relationship building, I started digging. The way he described things didn’t help — he said he “taught positive thinking” but he wasn’t telling people to “just put on a happy face,” quite the opposite actually. He was addressing the links between the way we think and our identity and potential. He’d say he was a “specialty salesman” not an entrepreneur, but “sales” or at least the way sales is thought of today, seemed like the opposite of what he was doing. He was dropping into empathy and building trust and relationships, the human way. The terms he used perished in the 1950s, so I often found myself in a labyrinth of discovering what I knew.
People would routinely ask me how I knew how to turn something so terrible in losing a parent and a home into something positive — I’d shrug and say, “I guess I got lucky.” Until one day, when a dear friend of mine, who just so happened to have a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology told me that it was imperative that I stop giving that answer because I was doing both the person who asked and myself a disservice. She said that I was “textbook” — that I (somehow innately) did everything that she taught when she was teaching mental resilience to the US Army. I went on to learn that what she was talking about, what I had done, was actually the exact opposite of what happens in PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. I didn’t even know that there was an opposite to it, but there is. It’s called PTG, post traumatic growth. In PTSD, something really hard happens, we are flooded with emotions around the incident, our systems can’t metabolize it all at once and so we shut down parts of ourselves. We put ourselves in a bit of a box, so to speak, so that we don’t constantly need to relive that trauma, but in numbing parts of ourselves, we hold ourselves back from living a full life. Alternatively, in PTG, we allow that hard thing to stir up all the emotions that it does. We let ourselves feel those feelings and we let them give us purpose, we let those feelings fuel our forward movement. We let that challenge be what pushes us forward. Kayleigh told me that in listening to my stories, it seemed like my Dad had instilled things in me that I was able to access when times got hard, things I didn’t even know I knew or had in my back pocket. This is actually a big part of the reason that I co-founded Legacy Out Loud and built a methodology designed to build confidence in young women. The goal was to close the confidence gap and empower young women to dive into entrepreneurship and for that, they’d need resilience.
I started combining theories like PTG with other research and learning more about neuroscience and what was happening in our brain when we were in states of stress or safety. I learned things like where our emotions come from and how we can stop trying to control our surroundings and focus on controlling how we respond to it. Note: it’s important to remember two things: 1) that I was a human development geek, even during college. When everyone else was writing their thesis on Sarbanes Oxley and Economics, I was writing about how humans develop traits of leadership and 2) We lost my Dad to aneurysms on his aorta, caused by decades of heart problems and high blood pressure. I needed to know what stress did to our body, how to regulate it all without medication and how to hack that system. I dove headfirst into building this methodology and figured that if I could absorb skills of mental resilience when I had no idea what was happening, I could (and should) find a way to give that to others. I’ll never forget my conversation with Kayleigh and her saying that since I had a platform in coffee, that if I was able to impart even a fraction of this knowledge through something as universal as coffee, that I could potentially help a lot of people… game on.
I think one of the most important things we need to know about resilience is that it’s a choice. We get to choose how we respond to things. Are we going to let something hold us back or push us forward? We have no control over situations, but total control over how we show up to them. Will we allow them to unravel us or will we use them as fuel? Will we allow ourselves to feel through the hardest emotions in service to that which we most care about? I didn’t know where this journey was going to lead, but I did know that I wasn’t going to waste my time on this earth, I was here to do something meaningful, to build something. I didn’t necessarily need to know what it was in the beginning, I just needed to start taking steps toward what felt good.
What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I think one of the main characteristics of resilient people is perspective. When you can zoom out and see something without creating a story around it (a story that will make it seem like it will ruin your entire life for the rest of eternity), you can start to process things. When I wrote my Dad’s eulogy and then wrote my own, I was able to zoom out and really see a bigger picture of life. That helped me course correct and find purpose, and the purpose helped me feel more confident putting one foot in front of the other.
Another characteristic of resilient people is faith. It doesn’t need to be religious faith, just a belief that the universe doesn’t revolve around you, that there is something bigger. When you think you’re in control of everything, that’s only a recipe for disaster. Whether you believe in God, the Universe having your back, Mother Nature, the goodness of others, the energy of love — it doesn’t matter, but if you can allow yourself to rest in surrender, you allow your cognitive brain to pause, which is so necessary to get out of fight or flight.
So much of navigating the challenges of life is in getting comfortable living in the question mark, but doing that with grace isn’t always easy. Cultivating grace means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. For me, it helped to have a physical practice that was making me mentally tougher (as well as boost endorphins). Being a college athlete, movement is quite important to me and I was lucky to find Crossfit right when I needed it most — which by today’s standards, was pretty early on. In my case, having something to train for gave me structure, which was helpful as well. When cultivating resilience, I think we often want space, but when given too much space we can easily spiral. So, for what it’s worth, having some sort of structure was helpful in my journey and in the journeys of people I know.
When you ask yourself the hard questions early and often, you learn what your values are. When you know your values, you start trusting yourself more. Resilient people tend to know who they are (usually because they’ve peeled themselves up off the ground). They are able to catch themselves in their own unhelpful mental loops or stories and because they’ve met themselves at their worst, they appreciate things that others often overlook.
One of the most important characteristics of resilient people is that they are grateful. They find things, often tiny things, to be grateful for. Whether it’s because they have renewed perspective or because they are in the process of proving to themselves that pain isn’t pervasive or perpetual, that other things can exist while pain is still present, they find ways to sink into gratitude..
Resilient people generally have found tribe, someone or ideally, a group of people that they can turn to if life feels like it’s falling apart (or when life is going well). Not because these people will fix anything or change any circumstance, but just because they will witness you in your journey and remind you that you belong, that you are brave, and that you will keep moving forward and can turn to them at any time. Also, resilience is cultivated by sharing your story. (You are seeing the dots connecting to Brave Conversations Over Coffee® aren’t you?) When we feel seen and supported by others, we can often navigate struggle with more grace and ease.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Honestly, I can’t choose one person. I think every single person on this Earth right now is resilient. I think we are all going through something that most people don’t know about. Maybe it’s internal and maybe it’s external. Maybe people know about it and maybe they don’t, but we’re all doing our very best. I just wish that there were more tools available, I wish that post traumatic growth was something that we talked about (hence Brave Conversations Over Coffee and Legacy Out Loud). Since we’re all going to fail and get rejected and have our hearts broken (especially entrepreneurs), I wish our schools taught us more about how to cultivate resilience.
Think about it, we never learn about some of the most basic things, like: where our emotions come from, the process of self inquiry and reflection. Instead, we’re taught that crying and having a tantrum is bad, that emotions aren’t meant to be seen or heard, that we should put them in a box and close the lid. And then we wonder why there are people acting out, why people are using violence to take what they need, because we’ve deprived them of being allowed to feel pain or have a safe place to have the conversations that need to be had. Wouldn’t you have liked to learn what rejection did to our brains when you were a teenager? Wouldn’t it have been cool if school had taught us how to get out of a negative thought spiral? So when I think of resilience, I think everyone right now has the capacity to be resilient, I’m just trying to spread the tools.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
I mean, my whole story is an answer to this question. And inasmuch as I wouldn’t wish to go through it again and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, I do wish my Dad could know me now. They say the end of the grief cycle is gratitude, and although I’ll never be grateful for my Dad not being able to walk me down the aisle or know my kids one day, I am grateful for the woman who was built by these experiences.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
For a while, when I was attempting to run both Caffè Unimatic and Legacy Out Loud, everyone told me that I couldn’t do both (which wasn’t incorrect) and that a coffee company and an education company that built confidence, resilience, leadership and communication skills didn’t make any sense together. I found myself totally unable to let go of either, there was something more… I knew it, I just needed to find it. Luckily, I had a couple of mentors who reminded me of my own words (from my second TEDx talk, “The Most Powerful Question You’ve Never Considered”), when you know your “why” and your values, and you turn those things into daily actions the “how” figures itself out. Steve Jobs didn’t know that an iPhone was in his future, he just valued design and technology and believed that those two things went together — then he created the reality in which they did. It took a while, but finally, I rose to the challenge that Seth gave me, which was “find an architecture by which you can do both.”
That’s how Brave Conversations Over Coffee® was born. I believed that coffee was the perfect familiar and universally understood platform to be the basis of deeper connection and conversation. They say that when you cross something you’re good at, with what the world needs, you’ve found your purpose in life. Well, how many conversations in the world right now aren’t being had? Right, I know. We were never taught how to have these conversations, and what better way to learn than, over coffee. Plus, if there’s anything that I have 10,000+ hours of practice in, it’d be this. We’re over the moon to be hosting this offsite experience for companies and colleges that want to further a culture of trust, bravery, inclusion, creativity, engagement and mental health. This initiative proved my Dad right, “what the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve…”
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Practice gratitude. Find joy in the smallest things. Start noticing things that make you smile throughout the day, different ones all the time. Train your brain to treasure the little moments. I have written down three things that I’m grateful for every night for the past decade. There’s science behind it. Whether you name things you’re grateful for while you’re scooping your coffee into your coffee maker in the morning or as you have your first few sips, morning, evening, doesn’t matter — just start finding things that sink you into a state of being grateful.
Be brave with yourself first. Make a practice of self inquiry. Ask yourself the hard questions: who do you want to be? What do you want to give? What do you want to leave behind? And actually start answering them. Get to know who you are. Get to know your values. Create a relationship with yourself. Start to appreciate yourself, flaws, failures and all. Try to talk to yourself in a way that you would talk to loved ones (we can be quite mean to ourselves).
Listen to your intuition, gut, whatever you want to call that inner knowing that creeps up and whispers in your ear from time to time. Even if that just means taking note of the things that come to you, do it. The more you build confidence in listening to yourself, the closer to taking action you’ll be. The goal is being able to rely on your instincts and not constantly looking outside of yourself for a map or “the answer.”
Be brave with others. Cultivate tribe. Have some Brave Conversations Over Coffee. Start sharing your story with others and let others share their stories with you. One of the most important things you can do for someone in struggle is listen, just listen. If you want to know how, there’s a link in my bio.
Remember PTG. You have no control of circumstances, only over how you respond, so will you let life hold you back or push you forward? Surrender to life but be fierce in choosing how you meet it. Victor Frankl’s quote comes to mind: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Ask yourself what decision you’ll smile about in 1, 5, or 10 years.
Move. I couldn’t not include movement. It’s scientifically proven to aid in resilience, plus it gives you structure, endorphins and makes you healthier.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
How many conversations aren’t you having?
Our world is at once supremely connected and supremely disconnected. Think about it, whether on the geopolitical level, or within companies, communities or even around our tables at home — we aren’t having the conversations that matter, because we were never taught how; and it’s impacting our work and our wellbeing. So, the movement that I am inspiring is called Brave Conversations Over Coffee®. It genuinely feels like I found myself in the coffee industry because I was meant to utilize the platform to create widespread change. Now, we (at Caffè Unimatic) are so proud to be using coffee as a tool to inspire transformational bravery in communication to support trust, human connection, innovation, inclusion, and mental health in companies, schools, communities and families by bringing humans together around the table to take brave steps forward… over coffee.
We believe that “Brave Conversation” is key in unlocking the shift we need to remedy the complex and deeply rooted issues that we face today. We can march, we can fight, we can petition for legislation but change will only be organic, widespread and sustainable when we are able to genuinely want the person sitting across the table from us to be well, no matter how different they, their backgrounds, and their beliefs are from us and ours. Sharing ourselves and truly understanding others is the next necessary evolution in our culture and holds the key to our path forward.
Since coffee is the global symbol of connection — to others, to ourselves, to the days of our lives, and to the world we serve, I believe it has the power to spark change on a daily basis. As you know, I think a lot about legacy, and to us coffee also a totem of inspiration, hope and positive forward movement. The Unimatic was always the centerpiece of our family table, as if she was “hosting” our conversations and witnessing our bravery. At every meal, she invited us to linger, sipping coffee while we listened, while we shared, while we learned. Those stories, those conversations are what made me brave, made me curious and made me whole. Now, her legacy is getting to host, witness and inspire yours…
We are also proud to be paying-it-forward, with a percentage of corporate workshops funding Brave Conversations Over Coffee in the community. We’ve brought together diverse groups such as: 9/11 survivors, first responders, the Muslim community and students to take steps forward toward mutual understanding, over coffee.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
The first person who popped into my head at this question would be Oprah. I admire so many things about the way she shows up in the world and it would be an honor to sit at the table with her, and maybe even have a brave conversation over coffee! 🙂
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram @caffeunimatic (I share a new #braveconversationovercoffee question or tip every weekend, join on on the journey to being braver together, over coffee!)
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes — why do they keep coming back? This helped me figure out which aspects of the brand needed revitalizing and which aspects needed to stay. People kept coming back to Grumpy’s because of the community it cultivated. This defined the messaging we wanted to push when rebranding the restaurant.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Daniel DeLeon.Daniel is the President & CEO of Grumpy’s Restaurant & Grumpy’s Restaurant Franchisor, a traditional Americana diner located in Jacksonville, Florida. Before taking on Grumpy’s, Daniel has grown six local and diverse businesses from the ground up. After owning multiple franchise units for various food concepts, Daniel continued pursuing his passion for the restaurant industry and worked on the franchisor side with Restaurant Brands International. When he found Grumpy’s, he saw all the potential the well-loved local brand had and decided to grow the business. After a top-to-bottom rebranding and renovation, Grumpy’s has launched its franchise opportunity and has big plans for expansion. Because of his hard work and expertise, Daniel was voted as one of the most influential restaurant CEOs in the country by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I graduated college, I had dreams of becoming an Investment Banker and took a job with Merrill Lynch as a Financial Advisor. I quickly realized my entrepreneurial mindset would drive me to want and do much more and ultimately open my own business. In 2007 I opened my first franchise business and that set the course for the rest of my professional life.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first purchased Grumpy’s Restaurant, I quickly realized I was doing things a bit backwards. I was trying to create a logo and marketing content to appeal to the masses. Ultimately, I should have focused on our core values, mission and vison and worked outward from there. I learned that developing our brand the right way easily set the tone and path for all things marketing and branding.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
I don’t think I can honestly say there was an exact tipping point, but I defiantly became more successful as I gained more experience all while I continued my learning and education. A huge takeaway for me was to always be evolving, innovating and learning!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Right now my biggest project is growing Grumpy’s. It’s become such a local staple in our community and I know that, now that the brand is freshly rejuvenated, new areas would welcome us with open arms. We have multiple new locations in development and are already eyeing new markets for where to go next. One of the biggest components of our brand, from the very beginning, was that it is a welcoming place for everyone. We say we serve a hungry man’s portion at a working-class price; we always want to make sure that anyone is able to come in and enjoy our food and hospitable atmosphere. I think Grumpy’s helps people feel a part of something — our waitstaff know all of our regulars and they even have their own personal mugs. We have a local veteran group that comes in every week and we get to watch people become lifelong friends before our eyes. It’s all about community and family here.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
You need to go into an industry you love. Even then, it can be tough sometimes, but my passion for the restaurant business has always pushed me to keep going. It’s nice working in an industry that is so diverse, because if you do get burnt out with one type of restaurant, there’s always going to be a million other concepts out there waiting for you. When you find the one that’s a perfect fit for you, you’ll know.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Advertising gets the word out there about what your business is, where it is, what it sells, but branding is more about the experience you get when you walk through our doors. People know Grumpy’s to be a feel-good, hospitable place because our branding emphasizes that. Everything from the comfort food menu items, to the amazing staff who build relationships with the customers, to the affordable prices shows people that we want them here. An advertisement might show you how good our food looks, but in my opinion, good food means nothing if the person serving it isn’t going above and beyond for you.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
When I took over Grumpy’s, the brand was on the brink of closure. Even though the food was delicious and the restaurant’s history made it an important aspect of the community, the lack of branding and innovation caused the restaurant to slowly lose a lot of business. When we revitalized the brand, we brought new fresh energy into the business that people already knew and loved, and it completely changed the way our community viewed Grumpy’s.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Rebranding is not something any business should take lightly. It’s a long road to get there and you have to be really confident in your vision for the brand. Companies may consider rebranding if they feel their messaging is falling flat or if there are many pieces do the brand that to not integrate and promote similar messages. Speaking with the restaurant specifically, we noticed that Grumpy’s menu was way too limited. We wanted people to feel welcome at Grumpy’s, but the menu didn’t depict that because there weren’t necessarily options for everyone. Now we have expanded the menu and added creative items that are classic options with a twist, to keep things fresh and inviting.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
While doing a brand makeover, I think people need to be cautious of going too far. If there are things your brand lacks, you can implement them, but to completely change every aspect of your business can often be too much, and you may lose a lot of your current clientele in the process. We knew going into rebranding Grumpy’s that it was an old brand in need of sprucing up, but we never let go of our traditional roots. It’s more about refreshing your brand instead of completely changing it.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes — why do they keep coming back? This helped me figure out which aspects of the brand needed revitalizing and which aspects needed to stay. People kept coming back to Grumpy’s because of the community it cultivated. This defined the messaging we wanted to push when rebranding the restaurant.
Visualize your business after rebranding. What about this change will bring in fresh faces? You have to determine how to keep your current customers happy while also bringing in new people. This is why, as I explained earlier, you have to make sure you’re not going too far, but far enough that people can really see the changes.
Add menu items or products that have a purpose. I decided that Grumpy’s needed to stay true to its traditional no-nonsense breakfast menu, but we could put a spin on classic items to spruce it up. We get experimental with our waffles specifically and have created flavors like fruity pebbles, red velvet, and strawberry cheesecake to get people excited about the food, without it reaching too far off-brand.
Create a better environment. Many diners typically have an old-fashioned, greasy spoon feel, but they don’t have to. Our atmosphere is fresh, well-lit, and modern, making customers feel comfortable when they walk inside. A good environment creates positive energy from both the customers and the staff.
Don’t try to change your brand’s history, embrace it. Grumpy’s has been a staple in the community for many years before I stepped in, and to try to erase that history after building such a loyal following would be unfair. Even though the business needed a lot of help, we had to stay loyal to certain aspects of the original Grumpy’s.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
I started my franchise journey in the quick serve space, not with this brand, but I have recently seen Subway rebrand themselves after years of bad press and falling sales. They rebranded their logo and are re-position themselves as a fresh and healthy restaurant. We are yet to see how well this will turn out, but I think they have done a good job thus far.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
To me it would have to be a movement around feeding the less fortunate.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
This quote by Inky Johnson perfectly and quickly hits home to everything in anyone’s life. Its not about doing something in life, its about doing something the best way you possibly can in life.
5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image, with Kelsey Specter of Wild Side Design Co.
Storytelling is essential to brand success. Humans are social creatures and, as Tyrion Lannister so eloquently points out in Game of Thrones, story is the thing that unites all of us, regardless of background, education, ethnicity and life experience. Story is universal.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Kelsey Specter.Kelsey is a brand strategist, designer, entrepreneur and digital nomad. She is the founder of Wild Side Design Co. and several other companies spanning from e-commerce retail to financial markets. At 18 she traded college for adventure and bought a one-way ticket to Brazil with $600 to her name, where she ended up starting a business (and another, and another…) She now spends her days conjuring up new business ideas and breathing magic into them in her dreamy little São Paulo studio.
She has been named to the Top 40 Brand Designers of 2019 by bestselling author & icon The Brand Stylist, Fiona Humberstone, and her designs have been featured in best of design showcases on Divi Design Showcase, Mindsparkle Magazine, Awwwards and more.
Kelsey is a lover of adventure, open skies, and the 1970’s because she’s a flower child at heart (and because of the music, obviously). Her mission is to help the trailblazers of tomorrow, those determined to challenge the status quo, make a difference in the world, work and adventure on their own terms, and live to do what they’ve been told is impossible.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Well, this is best answered over at least a glass of wine but I’ll give the brief version! Basically, when I was 18 instead of going to college I bought a 1-way ticket to Brazil with $600 dollars in my pocket and a dream of making an adventure for myself. It was pretty scandalous at the time because I had graduated first in my class and was expected to take that traditional path of college, a “stable” career and so on but it was important for me to prove to myself that I could make it on my own.
Since I had no formal training or experience, and no funds to invest in a business idea, I looked for opportunities to make a living for myself from my laptop. My now-husband and I went into business together learning to make websites, mostly through Google and trial and error! We got our first clients by going door to door to local businesses and sending cold messages to Facebook offering web design services. At the time, I barely spoke Portuguese so it was a real learning curve on all fronts! From there, with our first clients we slowly grew the business. But the biggest leap came when I had the idea to create a niche agency for women entrepreneurs to break into the American market, where clients were willing to pay more for the same services we were selling in Brazil. I invested what little money I had left into Pinterest ads and landed my first American clients.
We slowly expanded our services beyond websites to brand design, where we gained most of our popularity and fame. In the past year we have also delved into brand strategy as we realized that the majority of our clients struggled when it came to positioning themselves competitively in the market; they needed much more than just a new logo!
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This one is pretty embarrassing! When I was first starting with brand design, I had to design logo for a teacher’s blog. We wanted to include an icon of an apple in the logo. The design I came up with was like a cross-section, where you could see the seeds inside and whatnot. However, when the logo when live we got a lot of people saying that it looked like female genitalia! Needless to say, I was mortified and quickly updated the logo.
However, it was a valuable lesson is getting a second opinion on whether or not there may be a different interpretation that you are missing. As an artist, when you look at your own work sometimes you get so caught up in your vision for it that you can forget that it’s other people’s interpretations that matter most. When it comes to branding, a design is only successful if it effectively conveys the message you are trying to get across.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Absolutely! In the beginning, we had this generic, agency-like feel. There was nothing really special about our messaging and positioning — we had a lot of success getting work outsourcing from other agencies than from businesses directly.
The tipping point came when I had the idea to nichify down and focus on one specific audience, in this case branding for creative women entrepreneurs. And then I took my marketing to the place this audience spends the most time looking for inspiration: Pinterest. This combination really launched Wild Side!
The takeaway is to not be afraid to get super specific with your marketing. Don’t worry about repelling people who don’t resonate with your message — they aren’t the right kind of clients for you anyways. Those who DO connect with your messaging will be 10x more enthusiastic because of how confidently and consistently you uphold your values. Those clients will really feel seen, understood and at home with you and will become your most raving fans.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Actually, yes! I just launched my very first online course, Passport to Pinterest, teaching the Pinterest marketing techniques I used to grow my account from 700k to 7million viewers in less than 1 year. We do a lot of Pinterest management for clients, and I have people asking me all the time for tips or if Pinterest would work for their industry and so on. I wanted to take all that knowledge and wrap it up into a DIY formula that anyone could use.
A lot of people are frustrated with Instagram and Facebook lately and the changes in the algorithm that are making it really pay to play. I’ve always taken a very anti-Instagram approach and have been very vocal about it, and to be honest people have been speaking up left and right and agreeing and engaging with this topic (much more than I ever imagined)! I think a lot of people feel this way, especially those fellow introverts who don’t want to have to take and post pictures of themselves all the time. There’s this huge pressure to be posting about yourself and it’s refreshing to have someone say, hey you actually don’t have to do this, and you’re not alone. It’s kind of a relief!
Pinterest is still a relatively untapped market with huge potential for organic reach, and in my course I wanted to focus on a holistic approach to the subject. What’s lacking in a lot of social media courses out there is the means to actually track results from your efforts. That’s why I decided to cover other non-Pinterest things like conversion tracking pixels, website KPI’s, sales funnel basics, A/B testing and even brand storytelling. I want people to be able to see their Pinterest strategy through from end to end, and that’s more than just pinning X number of times per day. It’s about measuring and tracking your results and telling a consistent brand story across all platforms.
This holistic approach is similar to how I approach all of my client work — everything is interconnected!
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Burnout is very real, especially when you are self-employed. I like to say, you are the last line of defense! Even if you have a team, if something goes wrong you are always the last man standing and the one who has to make things right at the 9th hour!
For me, cultivating an office/work environment that makes me happy is so important. I spent a lot of time living a more nomadic lifestyle, where I would work sitting on my bed or at the kitchen table, so never really had a designated “work” space that was separate from my “home” space. The biggest change for me was when I got a separate office which became my designated work zone and started building my team. I finally got to choose decorations and design the space in a way that makes me happy and excited to work every day. It seems silly, but surrounding yourself with people and things that bring you joy increases productivity and decreases overall stress. Now, I have clearer boundaries between “work” and “play” which were seriously lacking before!
So I recommend, even though it’s tempting to work from home as a freelancer or online business owner with a remote team, to cultivate a “work” space away from home at least a few days a week if possible — even if it’s just a local coffee shop or coworking space.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Great question! In a nutshell, branding is what other people think about your business, the overall story you tell and how people connect to you on an emotional level. At Wild Side, we work a lot with brand archetypes, which is basically the 12 Jungian archetypes as applied to branding & marketing, focusing on universal human desires, needs and emotional connection.
So a skincare brand, for example, may have an Innocent archetype, appealing to our desire for simplicity (the simpler/easier times), our feelings of nostalgia for “the good old days” and/or our emotional connection with values of honesty and wholesomeness. This is the brand story that makes up public opinion. A good example of this archetype in use is Ivory Soap, and you can see and feel these values permeate the brand — from visual identity to photography to voice and messaging. We find that archetypes are a much truer representation of a brand than psychographics are, because they connect us as humans through common values, not just physical characteristics such as age, location or gender.
So if brand marketing (branding) is the story, product marketing (advertising) is just one chapter or excerpt of the story. Each individual advertising campaign should always stay true to the story as a whole, as in not introducing any irrelevant characters or storylines, but has the freedom to express itself as a part of that larger picture. Just like in a book, each chapter has its own mini plot line that fits into the overall story arc. So when we work with brands on individual campaigns, we always make a point to take into account the overall brand story and positioning so we don’t create an inconsistencies, and so we don’t change the overall “story” or perception of the brand in the eye of the consumer. This is what we call being on-brand!
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Nowadays, more than ever, consumers are being drawn towards brands with similar values. With so many product options on the market, people are choosing to buy from companies that resonate with their personal outlook on life. the modern consumer is more informed than ever. For example, there are hundreds (maybe thousands!) of options for shampoo. But now, as a consumer you are looking for more than just a hair wash. Now, you are checking whether the brand is organic or eco-friendly, whether it uses recyclable packaging, whether it’s tested on animals or not, whether it contains chemicals like sulfates or parabens, whether the ingredients are fair trade or it’s manufactured in the United States…and so on and so forth. It’s not about the shampoo — it’s about the brand values.
And branding extends beyond just product advertising. It’s about associating yourself with certain values so that you become synonymous with certain ideals in the mind of the client. Whether that’s organic/all natural, luxury/exclusivity, excellent customer service, or being ahead of the trends…by positioning yourself as a brand with a story to tell, you build loyalty with your customer base. In a recent study by Fundera, the results found that 56% of consumers stay loyal to brands that “get them,” and 89% of customers are loyal to brands that share their values. When it comes to retention, customers are looking for more than just a product — they want an experience and a story to connect with on a deeper level.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
This is a great question. We actually get this a lot at the agency, since most of our clients come to us with an existing “brand” so to speak (in most cases, not clearly defined) looking to rebrand. The first question we ask is what the goal is with such a rebrand — what do they hope to accomplish? In most cases, the company started out going in one direction, usually in a pretty generic fashion, and as it began to grow the owner(s) started to recognize a particular audience or niche that showed more potential.
For example, a local boutique may start out selling all kinds of gift items, but as time goes on they recognize that their bestsellers are actually their metaphysical items like crystals, smudge sticks, tarot cards etc. at which point they may decide to rebrand themselves to focus on this particular niche and audience. This is an excellent reason to rebrand, especially when there is actual data to back up the decision. We always recommend doing market research prior to any rebrand in order to test viability.
In general, the main reasons we would recommend rebranding are:
-to better appeal to a specific audience that you are currently not reaching;
-to align with a change in offerings or products that are not aligned with your current branding;
-to build/clarify a specific brand message/story in the absence of one;
-to update/modernize your brand in the face of a changing market and trends;
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Yes, absolutely. It’s much harder to rebrand an established brand, because there is already a pre-formed image or story in the mind of the consumer. They are used to having a particular experience, and to seeing a specific combination of visuals when it comes to the visual identity especially. I do believe in the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality when it comes to larger brands.
In “The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes”, authors Mark and Pearson talk about how brands that stay consistent to one archetype over time see more long-term success than brands that are inconsistent or flip-flop between archetypes.
Rebranding, when done incorrectly, can confuse the consumer and actually negatively impact your overall brand image. With established companies, when set on a rebrand it’s vital to maintain the essence of the brand and only change the minimum amount of aspects to achieve the desired result. For example, if a company is looking to update or modernize its brand in the face of a changing market, I would recommend a refresh of the visual identity within the parameters of the existing brand — maybe a cleaner version of the existing logo, with a more modern font, etc. The same goes for messaging, colors…the story should always stay the same, with changes being made only to the way that story is expressed to make it more relatable to the changing market and audience.
Only under very rare circumstances would a complete rebrand/repositioning be recommended for an established brand, and that’s simply because you risk losing all the traction and rapport you’ve spent years gaining with your current audience. Unless, of course, your goal is to reach a completely different audience altogether! But again, that’s a case by case basis.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Absolutely!
Define/redefine your brand values — When it comes to branding, people always think about the visual side of things — logo, colors, fonts, etc. the strategic side is often forgotten because it’s just not as sexy or enticing as designing a logo. However, brand values are really the foundation, the cornerstone of any brand.
Many of the clients that come to us are actually looking for clarity more than anything — they have too many ideas, too many offerings, too many audiences, and they need help defining the ONE thing, the values that they should focus on. Before spending time and money on a visual refresh, consider focusing internally on your brand values and how you want people to connect with you first. Do you value organic ingredients? Accessibility/affordability for all? Highest quality regardless of price? What makes you stand apart from your competitors?
Implement archetypes — Storytelling is essential to brand success. Humans are social creatures and, as Tyrion Lannister so eloquently points out in Game of Thrones, story is the thing that unites all of us, regardless of background, education, ethnicity and life experience. Story is universal.
Our methodology to build brand story is using brand archetypes, because they serve as a framework for human psychology and the universal ways we relate with the world around us. There are only so many kinds of stories, and all of them come back to basic archetypes. Is your brand a Hero? A Lover? An Explorer? A Jester? What story are you telling? We find that just one archetype is often too shallow or one-dimensional to paint a true picture of the brand story, so we always combine two archetypes in a unique blend. The Wild Side brand, for example, is a combination of The Explorer and The Mage, mixing the need for self-expression and the belief in making a dream into reality. More than just a design studio, we take visions and ideas and manifest them into reality for our clients.
Modernize your logo & visuals — This is the most obvious of the list, and the most “exciting” because it’s the most tangible. When it comes to a rebrand, though, I don’t recommend throwing the existing visual system out the window. It’s important to evaluate what is and isn’t working about what you have now, because it has gotten you to where you are now (so you’ve been doing something right!).
The new identity shouldn’t stray too far from your current identity or you risk confusing the consumer. Continuity can be maintained most easily through color (if you have a specific color associated with your brand already i.e. Tiffany Blue) and the logo. If you have a logo icon already, instead of starting from scratch consider revamping or modernizing the existing design. For example, when Google rebranded, they kept their color scheme while opting for a new sans-serif logo font to make the brand feel more modern. All in all, they kept the essence while making the brand more relatable for the new generations.
Tell a story with imagery — This is especially important when it comes to social media. The way brands connect with consumers is becoming more and more visual, as users tend to read less text and consumer more images & videos. If your brand doesn’t have a clear strategy for visual storytelling through photo & video content, this is an opportunity for you to refresh your brand without a whole redesign. Consider ways you can tell a story or evoke an emotional connection through your content.
A brand I think does an excellent job of this is Spell Designs, an Australian clothing label. They’ve grown their business from a cult following to over 1Million followers on Instagram, and much of it thanks to beautiful imagery and storytelling. Their account showcases photos of women wearing their pieces in dreamy locations around the world, on faraway beaches, sun-soaked European terraces, exploring exotic jungles…each image is a story in itself, and the overall tale is that Spell is a brand for jetsetters, nomads and modern bohemians. Buying a piece is like buying a ticket into that dreamy lifestyle.
Expand your brand with collaborations — When your brand is well established but you simply want to branch out, maintaining the original while expanding your reach, this is a creative and under-utilized strategy. With the rise of influencer marketing, each influencer has become a brand in and of themselves. They have a unique voice, style, story and engaged audience. By strategically partnering with influencers (or other brands) with specific values that align with or stand adjacent to your own, you can aggregate values and potential buyers to your brand by proxy. A sort of “fan exchange” can take place between your brand and that of your collaborator, while at the same time you expand your overall brand image in the direction of the collaborator’s values.
For example, I also own an ecommerce brand that sells planners and agendas called Smart Planner Co. Our products are all very unisex, professional and “black and white” so to speak — no frills or fluff. We’ve positioning ourselves as the go-to productivity planners, exactly what you need and nothing more. But, this year we are looking to expand our horizons into some “prettier” products, a more indulgent line of colors and florals for the more artistically inclined. Rather than rebrand our company as a whole, which would undo all the traction we’ve gained so far, we will launch our “limited edition” line as a collaboration with another artist already known for this type of style. In this way, we “borrow” the artistic authority of our collaborator while expanding our audience to their own followers. It’s a win-win scenario.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
One of my favorites in recent history is the comeback of Polaroid. In a time that things that are “old” are suddenly “new” and retro is the new cool, it seems like many brands are trying to fit into this “new vintage” trend. When it comes to Polaroid though, they don’t have to try to be vintage — they are the originals!
With the revival of Polaroid through The Impossible Project and subsequent rebranding to Polaroid Originals, they were able to maintain the true essence of the brand, the retro roots in all of their glory, while making it just modern enough to bring it to the 21st century. They didn’t try to reinvent themselves or to change their story — they simply stayed true to who they have always been, while shifting course ever so slightly to stay up with design trends. And there’s something enticing about being original in a world of so many copycats and spinoffs!
The takeaway from this is to not let yourself be influenced by other people’s opinions, trends and ideas — staying true to yourself and your brand values even throughout a rebrand is essential. What is trendy today won’t be tomorrow, and brands that stand the test of time are those that are authentic to themselves despite the changing tide of opinions around them.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Some of the greatest value I have experienced in the past few years has been from the cultural exchange of living in another country, of learning a different language from my own. There’s so much richness and wealth of experience when it comes to experiencing other ways of life and thinking. With each new language comes a whole new set of cultural nuances in the way you think and relate to the world. I find that so magical! It opens your eyes in ways you never thought possible.
If I could, I would create a global network and cultural exchange connecting people from all backgrounds, languages, socioeconomic statuses and belief systems. If every person could spend even just a few months experiencing a different way of life, a different set of beliefs and values than those they are used to, imagine what it could do for us as humans. We might find ourselves slower to judge others and more open to hearing other points of view, more accepting of other beliefs because we realize that everyone’s perspective is subjective to their experience.
It does sounds a bit idealistic, but hey, I’m a dreamer!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote, and I’m not even sure where it comes from, is “one year from now you’ll be happy that you started today”. Whenever I’m in doubt about getting started, or get too stuck in my head about making something “perfect” or waiting for just the right timing, this always comes to mind. A few years ago, I put up a list of free fonts as a graphic on my blog with a quick email opt-in link. I never thought it would be such a big deal. 2+ years later, this same pin gets more than 1M impressions per month on Pinterest and generates nearly 100 email signups per day. I’m SO glad that I put it up when I did, looking back now. So yes, this is absolutely true to my life!
I would like to see our country fundamentally rethink our approach to education. I believe that the vast majority of subjects taught in schools are a total waste of time for the students and that some of the most important topics are the very ones that are almost never imparted to children.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Evan Nierman.
Evan Nierman, Founder and CEO of the international PR and crisis management firm Red Banyan. Throughout his 25-year-career, Evan has provided invaluable crisis communications counsel to top business leaders, government officials, presidential candidates and private individuals. Those dedicated to accomplishing their goals — and delivering the right messages at the right time — rely on Evan and his unrivaled team at Red Banyan to Press the Truth.®
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Prior to forming Red Banyan, I served as Director of Communications for a fast-growing, highly scrutinized start-up. I represented the company and guided the CEO through interviews with top-tier media, including dozens of international, national and local print, TV and online outlets. I started in D.C. working at the intersection of politics and policy and had the opportunity to see firsthand how stories are shaped in the media. I very quickly learned that some organizations are more effective than others at capturing and adequately telling their stories. Tapping into the power of the press is one of the most powerful ways to influence opinion. I went to work at a D.C. firm for high-stakes and crisis PR because the impact of that kind of work is immediate and makes a big impact. However, I quickly learned that while the clients were amazing, I felt that they should be treated differently. I decided that one day I would start a firm where we eschewed a transaction approach to business in favor of forming long-term relationships. I distinctly remember one evening at dinner saying to a colleague, “One day I am going to have my own firm, but we are going to do things very differently.” Years later I took the leap and made good on that pledge to myself. Starting Red Banyan was one of the best business and life decisions that I have made.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Our first company logo was truly abysmal. We went through two other iterations before arriving at our current brand and logo. Honestly, when I look back at our very first logo, I am mortified. It was a sinister-looking tree that appeared to have blood dripping from the branches. The lesson I learned was to pay attention to every detail when it comes to your own marketing and branding. In our world, the clients have always come first, but communications companies especially cannot afford to neglect their own PR and branding.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
Business done right involves the CEO or other leadership team members constantly seeking the next tipping point. Red Banyan has not even scratched the surface yet in terms of what we will accomplish. For 2020 the goal is to rapidly encounter and leap over our next tipping point as a company. My mentality in business and in life is this: if you are not growing then you are dying. I am not a status quo type of person and I refuse to accept mediocrity. My professional and personal life are about wanting more and always striving to get better.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are currently looking at ways to take our service offerings and make them more accessible to a wider subset of the market. Our current pricing structure is not a fit for many organizations, so we are exploring ways to provide added value to more companies and organizations. This will allow us to dramatically increase the number of businesses and people whose lives we are able to change for the better.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Read more books. Listen to more podcasts. Most importantly: stop talking and start listening. Marketers, in particular, often love to hear the sound of our own voices. But real learning happens when you actively listen to the person in front of you. New ideas and new inspiration come from listening, not talking. Active listening is one of the most underutilized skills in the realm of communication. And if you need any validation, then feel free to ask my wife of 17 years, who will agree with that assessment!
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
There is a fundamental difference between how you create a transactional experience with an immediate call to action, which is the route most often pursued when advertising a product, versus branding. The mechanics of how you advertise is flexible, whereas with branding (where you are in essence also selling ideas or issues), you try to tell the story of what you sell and the story behind who is doing the selling. Branding requires organizations to build awareness around their product or offering while at the same time shaping how the public sees you.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
As Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” What that means is that people want to buy products or services from companies that they like and trust. Therefore, telling your story and creating affinity and brand loyalty over time will yield far greater results than making one transactional sale with the customer relationship based on an exchange of goods and services for a set price and nothing more, nothing less. Companies need to make sales to stay in business; it’s a critical piece but it cannot be the only one. They also need to pay close attention to how they articulate their brand and seek to build loyalty among their customers. That is how you cultivate repeat purchases. Trust is at the core and that is what brand marketing is all about. You want customers to trust you and believe in you as well as the product or service you provide.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
If a company is failing to convey the proper look and feel, or if the impression they are making isn’t the right one then it is time to rebrand. A rebrand can be done in a situation where something is not working and is flawed, such as Red Banyan’s first logo, or it could be done simply to modernize and upgrade the company’s image. Even the most iconic brands in the world, responsible for producing the logos, commercials and earworm jingles that get stuck in our heads, often find ways to update and put fresh looks on their brands. Rebranding is something that should be thoughtful and careful, but it does not need to be such a painful experience that companies avoid it.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
There definitely can be. PricewaterhouseCoopers sought to rebrand itself as Monday and then retreated quickly due to the backlash. Rebranding can be updating and modernizing, tweaking and improving. It does not necessarily have to be an overhaul where you are throwing the baby out with bathwater.
Some of the strongest brands in America have gone through rebrands. A good example is the fast food industry. These are challenging days for many of them as people are becoming more health conscious in their food choices. Some iconic fast food brands have adapted, updating their logos, the look, feel and décor within their restaurants aimed at creating a different dining experience. Big brands that have stood the test of time tinker successfully with their branding when they make it an incremental process. When you have built brand equity over time you don’t have scrap everything, but a fresh take is often a good thing.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
Share with care and post with purpose. This is a key social media strategy. Social media is a powerful tool which can be used as a force for good, or the quickest way to destroy a brand.
To “share with care” is to avoid revealing information that can threaten your safety or negatively impact your personal or professional brand, such as posting inappropriate content.
When you “post with purpose” you carefully consider the strategic objective behind your content. Digital footprints are permanent and the posts we share continue to live on even if deleted.
Press the truth. Spurred in large part by the ubiquitous nature of social media and growing global access to the internet, there are more ways than ever for businesses to engage with the public and drive their messages. Sitting back or employing outdated communications best practices will not suffice.
When you press the truth, you take bold action that puts your brand front and center. Earlier stage businesses with less-established brands can quickly develop them with bold PR strategies that define themselves, set the tone, and tell their stories before others do so.
Employ three Ps to upgrade your organization and brand and keep them thriving.
Prevention. Think constantly and actively about how your organization presents itself. Prevent negative reflections on your brand through disciplined communication.
Preparation. Have a crisis PR plan in place at all times in order to get ahead of any potential threats to your brand.
Practice. Brand discipline requires practice. Members of your organization must constantly work to communicate your messages and ensure that your brand is shining through clearly and positively.
Always think about your reputation. It’s something that must be cultivated and carefully protected. The core values of your company should be reflected in all that you do, including your marketing and communications.
Use social media. This will help ensure that your story reaches your audience. Rally your PR team and social media managers to craft content that is truthful and authentic.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Mailchimp, whose brand has evolved as their products have evolved. The company released a new brand identity alongside a fresh design system. After their primary stage as a start-up, they homed in on what made them unique and brought that across with quirky appeal.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would like to see our country fundamentally rethink our approach to education. I believe that the vast majority of subjects taught in schools are a total waste of time for the students and that some of the most important topics are the very ones that are almost never imparted to children. Some examples of classes that I think would be wildly more valuable than the average school’s core curricula: personal finance, negotiation, interpersonal communication, entrepreneurship and public service. I’m inspired by thought leaders such as Anna Julia Cooper and John Dewey, who look at bring a more hands-on experience to education and strive to create more opportunity for the kids who need it most.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Not too long ago I had the opportunity of the lifetime to meet one of my personal heroes, Benjamin Ferencz, whose photo hangs on the wall of my office. Ben is the legendary last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor who made his mark on history when he successfully secured courtroom convictions against 22 Nazi perpetrators of crimes against humanity. And better yet, I got to share this experience with my son, Gabe. Ben has a personal philosophy that he shared with us that has shaped the foundation of both his personal and professional life: “Law not war.” He’s not just a hero of the Jewish people, but of all people and this personal philosophy of his is a life lesson in justice and humanity.
The Future Of Retail: “Retailers will have to adjust to using subscription models” With Sanaz Hajizadeh of Happy Returns
When it comes to utilities and non-fashion items, retailers will have to adjust to using subscription models. Today, with the world at the tip of our fingers, people are looking for ease and convenience. Imagine toothpaste could show up at a customer’s door, right as they squeezed out the last drop from the tube. The idea of planning extensive lists in advance and making extra trips to the store would be eliminated, freeing up the minds and schedules of consumers to focus on more important things.
As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sanaz Hajizadeh, the Senior Product Manager at Happy Returns. With over a decade of experience in companies ranging from Aerospace to Media and Publishing, she most recently served as Product Manager at SpaceX. Before that, she worked as the Product Owner and Senior Business Analyst at Univision Communications Inc.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Like anyone just out of school, I was looking for a job. But not just any job, I looked to establish my career in a field that would provide me the satisfaction of solving meaningful problems on a daily basis and the ability to work creatively in collaboration with smart people that would have a positive impact on society now and in the future. Those goals shaped my career in technology and took me to many different jobs and companies, from building a brand-new software to support digital advertising at Viacom to optimizing engineering processes at SpaceX. These days I quench my thirst for solving new problems and improving existing solutions in the eCommerce world. At Happy Returns, this means reshaping how the industry thinks about retail returns: as an opportunity for shoppers, retailers’ businesses, and the planet!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
One of the most interesting moments of my career was when I actually felt how my abstract decisions for software could shape the future…and I mean felt, not just knew. Let me explain…I was at a SpaceX test launch pad in McGregor, TX watching the quality engineers test the Falcon 9 Booster using our updated software. One minute we were outside in sunny weather, the next minute the sounds of 9 Merlin engines roaring, a rocket trying to free itself from the captivity of cables and the gallons of water being used for cooling the platform immediately vaporizing and converting to mud rain tore through the air. I have never experienced such awe…all being controlled from the software that I was part of designing.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
To be honest, I still make mistakes, but I always find a way to laugh about them and learn a lesson. When working at MTV, I had to launch a really big, high visibility product that everyone was waiting for. On the day of the launch, I wanted to do one last round of checks before the release and I saw some random data in the system. I panicked, called a team emergency meeting and set up a war room, all while trying to hide this from my boss, worrying about the project and my job at the same time. Fifteen minutes in, as all the engineers were trying to figure out the issue, one pointed out that I wasn’t looking at the right environment and that we were in our test environment instead of production. It was very stressful at the time, but now it makes me smile. I have since practiced not to panic at the small sign of a problem, but to take a deep breath and look for signs pointing towards a real problem. If there is a problem…I determine how big it is before calling everyone in to help. I make sure I have alternate plans to be able to easily provide the next steps instead of hiding the problem.
Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Yes, 100%!! At Happy Returns, we are transforming the retail / eCommerce returns industry and making the process easier for customers and more sustainable and headache free for retailers. We are using machine learning to improve the customer’s experience and accelerate the product turn around back to inventory. Using this technology, we are able to offer higher exchange rates to our retailers than the rest of the market.
Retailers such as REVOLVE, Rothy’s, Draper James and Everlane are seeing revenue and profit protection via exchange rates as high as 33% and improved customer loyalty. Happy Returns also helps retailers reduce return shipping costs by 20% by consolidating shipments while using enviro-friendly reusable packaging to ship returned goods in bulk to sorting hubs.
Happy Returns is also addressing waste reduction by offering online and omnichannel retailers and offering their customers easier and more eco-friendly ways to manage returns. We recently launched a first-of-its-kind cardboard-free returns program. The program is designed to stem the tide of cardboard waste by offering cardboard-free returns to its retail customers.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I am not a big fan of the work-life balance concept. I know it’s controversial but hear me out: In this day and age, everyone is always connected, so your work is part of your life and separating them in the name of balance is doomed to fail. But you can be smart, find a job that provides growth opportunities, one that you can enjoy and that helps you learn, just like friends and family do. That type of job can make your personal life more enjoyable and give you more confidence, so work doesn’t feel like a drag on your personal life. At the same time, it’s important to know your limits and when to disconnect and recharge, like the days you say no to seeing friends because you want to read a book in bed!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Among the many people who helped me along the way, Alessandro Brun is someone I think of often. As one of my graduate professors, Alessandro prepared me for the corporate world and its challenges. Thanks to his guidance and support, I was able to publish my first book, “Does The Gaining Worth The Compromise?,” penned during my time at Lamborghini (where I was a supply chain engineer), which focuses on the impact of mergers and acquisitions in the luxury branding space.
There’s no doubt about it, mentors are important people that advocate for you and help push your career forward. I have been very lucky over the years to have had amazing support, and now I’m confident I can be a support system for others.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I constantly try to be someone that would make those I looked up to proud. As a female immigrant who moved to the United States with no family and little financial support, I dealt with many obstacles, including language and cultural barriers. I have established myself as a thought leader, and now that I have access to resources, I am trying to make this path easier for others. Through attending women’s leadership conferences and meet-ups, joining various mentorship programs and partnering with career influencers and coaches such as strive.co, careerpunk.com, I hope to help others achieve their goals.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main question of our interview. Can you share 5 examples of how retail companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to shop?
Retail is a very broad concept, ranging from shopping for groceries at your local store to have products delivered to your doorstep through same-day delivery services. Retail is also a global phenomenon with different trends in various cultures. Here are some of my ideas, based on my experience in the markets I’m familiar with:
When it comes to utilities and non-fashion items, retailers will have to adjust to using subscription models. Today, with the world at the tip of our fingers, people are looking for ease and convenience. Imagine toothpaste could show up at a customer’s door, right as they squeezed out the last drop from the tube. The idea of planning extensive lists in advance and making extra trips to the store would be eliminated, freeing up the minds and schedules of consumers to focus on more important things.
Retailers will have to adjust to growth in fast fashion in developing countries. However, retailers also must anticipate backlash in more affluent countries as people become more aware of the environmental footprint things like fast fashion have: increased water usage and reduced sustainability and recyclability of materials.
A major generational trend we see now is that people value experiences over things, so stores must adapt by becoming more immersive. By immersive I don’t mean just Instagram-able pop-ups, stores in the future will hold less inventory and will serve more as a concept and experience for the customer. This trend is also a nod to the fact that millennials are gaining more and more purchase power, and data shows they’re burned out and don’t want things as much as they want balance and convenience.
When it comes to retail, people shop on a spectrum, some focus on consumer trends, while others only buy exactly what they need, most people, however, are in the middle. The sharing economy will expand into retail to scale the trends in a more sustainable way. The future will bring more rental options not only for weddings and evening gowns but even for everyday outfits. Wouldn’t it be cool if suddenly your neighbor’s closet was yours to choose from for that happy hour you don’t have anything to wear too? There will be more sustainable, high quality but affordable products to satisfy the minimalist and utilitarian crowd.
This might need more than 5 years, but with all the personal data about shoppers collected on the internet, smart companies will not only recommend what to buy (which they already do) but will discourage you from buying something that they know you will return. If a company knows your shoe size is 7, and they know the particular shoe you are purchasing runs small, they will alert you with a message reading “Buy 7.5, for the best fit!” At Happy Returns, we are building towards something like this.
As a retailer, you have to deal with many challenges, from product design to inventory management and logistics, all while competing with giants like Amazon and Walmart. For this reason, we will see economic growth across the platform in the next few years. Each retailer alone won’t have the resources to compete with giants, but they can find success by combining resources. This is exactly what Happy Returns offers to retailers. As an individual retailer, you don’t have the economy of scale that Amazon has to offer free in-person returns nationwide, but as a member of our club, you get that power and so much more.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We have the entire world right at our fingertips, we have access to the latest medical knowledge, updates from across the globe, and we can even have food delivered right to our doorsteps in minutes. Generations before did not have access to this power, and to be completely frank, we are all kind of drunk on it. We have failed to consider the long-term ramifications of this technology on the environment and society.
I get it, we value time as the most important asset we have, and we constantly try to use it efficiently. In order to reduce our carbon footprint, however, we must visualize the future, and understand we might have to take some different, not-so-easy steps to consciously make an effort towards sustainability. These can be things as simple as waiting two days for a new product instead of same-day delivery or shopping local to reduce environmental shipping costs. This is why I love working at Happy Returns, we make a conscious effort to reduce waste, by using reusable boxes and encouraging in-person drop-offs instead of shipping.
Rising Through Resilience: “Why you should listen to and get to know your team personally & professionally”with Mark Scrimenti
Listen to and get to know your team personally and professionally — their individual strengths, weaknesses, passions, career aspirations, hopes and fears. Share yours with them as well. You’ll be better equipped to encourage and support each other when facing inevitable setbacks.
In my work as a coach and consultant, I speak with business leaders across multiple industries about their most significant challenges. One common theme continues to emerge — rapid change and disruption are the new norm in business, and the only constant is the demand for resilience. At the heart of resilience is the ability to adapt and recover quickly from adversity. I am certain that more than intelligence and talent, resilience is the single most important trait required to succeed in today’s highly complex market.
My “Rising through Resilience” interview series explores the topic of resilience in interviews with leaders across all walks of business.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Scrimenti, who is a business operations executive, entrepreneur, and writer with 20+ years of experience in software product development, marketing, and customer service. He is a passionate customer experience advocate and researcher, who specializes in scaling technology, teams, and processes for sustainable growth and profitability. Mark has transformed a $40 million ecommerce company into a $140 million growth engine in eight years. He finds creative inspiration and gains strategic insight by talking to customers on a regular basis.
Thank you so much for joining me! Can you share your backstory with our readers?
I started my executive career as a Content Director and UI/UX designer for a B2B ecommerce platform and knowledge exchange startup in the transportation and logistics industry.
From there, I founded my own Web design and development and digital marketing business. On the side, I also built and ran a non-profit social media platform that connected volunteers with service opportunities and organizations.
Next, I took what turned out to be the first in a series of leadership positions at an ecommerce technology company that ran multiple online retail sites in the music gear business.
During my 12 years there, I built teams, scaled operations, and led product development, marketing, the contact center, HR, and facilities. As the operations lead with P&L responsibility, I grew sales from $40 million to $140 million in just eight years.
Ready for my next challenge, I served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer at a SaaS startup in the healthcare space.
What are the top three factors you would attribute to your success?
Learning and communication skills I’ve always had a growth mindset. I also love learning and enjoy synthesizing complex information, distilling it into simple terms, and translating it for different audiences. This has helped me jump into new contexts and solve complex problems I’ve never faced before.
Grit As a leader, I’m willing to step outside my comfort zone and take risks to advocate for others as well as values I believe in. I also have the patience and perseverance to do the methodical, often tedious work necessary to achieve excellence or effect meaningful organizational change.
Empathy I’ve become a better leader by listening to others first and seeking to understand their perspective, motivation, backstory, and particular pain. Empathy has helped me work through conflicts and adapt to different cultural needs, key to building authentic relationships based on mutual trust and respect.
What makes your company stand out from the crowd?
As I’m in an interim position now, I’m thinking of my last company, where I spent 12 years in different leadership roles.
What made that company stand out was the culture and the people. Almost everyone there was a musician so the place brimmed with music and creativity. At the same time, we were a technology company founded by a musically-gifted, social scientist with an exceptional talent for data analysis and modeling, amongst other things.
As the VP of Business Operations and Customer Experience, one of my primary goals was to build a culture that tempered a bias for action with a commitment to disciplined testing and analysis.
Over time, I helped create a data-driven culture where everyone understood the value of experimentation and iteration. Though the marriage of these two perspectives created friction at times, we built a remarkably healthy business on this foundation.
By the time I left the company, we had revenues approaching $1 million per employee and near 20% year-over-year growth for several years running. Happy owners and shared success makes for a more fulfilling workplace.
How has your company continued to thrive in the face of rapid change and disruption in your industry?
Here’s my Top 10 list:
Talking directly to customers to find out what really matters to them.
Identifying areas of strength — and building on them — while also shoring up weaknesses.
Marrying qualitative and quantitative data to identify new opportunities for innovation and growth.
Taking calculated risks to stake out competitive advantage in areas we think we can win — for example, by extending our own credit line to customers via no-interest payment plans to fuel growth.
Testing everything and continuously refining/improving performance, based on rigorous, insightful analysis of the results.
Building a scalable, operational infrastructure that maps to customer journey touchpoints.
Developing reliable predictive models for critical business functions such as fraud detection and order financing.
Collaborating across disciplines to create flexible product roadmaps that align with long-term business goals.
Refining strategy regularly to maintain an optimal balance of predictable profit, acceptable risk, and sustainable growth.
Thinking in terms of customer lifetime value (LTV) and continuing to deliver the best possible value and customer experience over time.
According to a recent KPMG study, resilience is the underlying trait of most successful businesses. How would you define “resilience?”
I define resilience as the ability to bounce back from failure, disappointment, or loss, and reemerge with renewed energy and focus. First, you have to do the work necessary to learn what you can from the experience, grow stronger, and adapt. Then, you can take on new challenges or approach the same ones from a different angle. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of perspective — for example, seeing everything as a learning experiment and turning a “failure” into a pivot.
When you think of tenacity and endurance, what person comes to mind? (Can you explain why you chose that person?)
Nelson Mandela, who endured 27 years of imprisonment for fighting a corrupt system, yet never lost faith in his vision for a freer, more just and democratic South Africa. After his release from prison, he worked with his former oppressors to peacefully dismantle apartheid, affect racial reconciliation, and transform his country for the better without succumbing to bitterness, resentment, or cynicism.
On a personal level, my Austrian-Romanian grandmother, Mutti, was a tiny woman with enormous courage, wit, heart, and toughness. She managed to keep her family alive through harrowing circumstances at the end of WWII, yet always kept her sense of humor, despite suffering tremendous personal hardship and loss through two world wars.
Was there ever a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? (Can you share the story with us?)
I remember showing up for my first Little League practice when I was 11 years old. Back then, I was one of the smallest guys on the team, quiet and unassuming, and I had a cheap, little red mitt from Sears. An older kid on the team, who was one of the stud players in the league, took one look at me and groaned, “That guy’s on my team?”
Over time, his attitude changed. Why? He saw what I could do on the field. We finished 7–7 that year, yet made it to the playoffs. Underdogs all the way, we did the impossible: we won the championship in a close contest.
I made two game-saving catches in left field, which got featured in our local newspaper. From that season on, the stud player became my champion and my friend. When I got to junior high, he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. It felt great!
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? (Can you share that story with us?)
2012–13 was a tough year for my family. My wife started having health problems, and my father was diagnosed with cancer. He died five weeks later. Around the same time, our five-year-old daughter began struggling with anxiety issues. It was heartbreaking to watch, and it took a lot of time and energy to find her the proper care. Meanwhile, the company was going through some difficult growing pains.
Not long after my father’s funeral, my 360 review came back with some challenging feedback. People had noticed my recent absences and wanted more of my time and attention. Some were unhappy with the way things were going and wanted me to do something about it. Even though I was still having a hard time personally, I took the opportunity to confront the feedback head on, learn from it, and model the behavior I wanted other leaders on the team to embrace.
So I called a team meeting to share what I’d heard from them, explain my takeaways, and state how I intended to act on them. Some closest to me rushed to my defense; I assured them the feedback was OK, and thanked everyone for it. I also addressed some recent grumbling between teammates. The meeting set a tone for vulnerability, honesty, transparency, accountability, and directness that, over time, became more of the norm.
That year marked a turning point for me as a leader. I grew stronger and more focused. Those whose confidence, trust, and respect I’d earned through this process drew closer to me and became my inner circle. It also became clear who wasn’t on board with the leadership culture I was trying to create, and over time, I found different options for them.
The next year, I followed through on my promises. While my performance was already good, things really kicked into a higher gear once I got all the right people in place.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? (Can you share a story?)
My junior year of high school, my parents sent me away to military school. While I wasn’t happy about their decision at first, I became determined to make the most of my experience there. So, I buckled down, got straight A’s, earned a number of achievement medals, beat out the starting second baseman on the varsity team, and made a best friend from overseas.
Plus, I didn’t take crap from anybody. At the end of the year, the school offered me a full scholarship to return for my senior year. They were going to make me an officer, because they said they wanted more leaders like me. I chose to return home for senior year instead, but the experience gave me an appreciation for systems, structures, and routines, which I learned to internalize through self-discipline. It also broadened my perspective and helped me to recognize the opportunity in every apparent setback.
One of the things I respect most about the military, aside from the sacrifices required, is the decisive leadership it forges. Indeed, I can trace the focus and decisiveness I bring to work as a leader every day back to my military school experience.
What strategies do you use to strengthen your resilience? (Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. Please share a story or an example for each)
Trying new things and seeing new places — e.g., learning to play guitar, traveling overseas.
Practicing healthy habits and self-care — e.g., exercising regularly, eating well, going to bed early, keeping an organized physical and digital workspace, taking time off, nurturing creativity, practicing spiritual disciplines, enjoying outdoor activities.
Stepping out of my comfort zone, inviting critical feedback, and intentionally cultivating relationships with people who are different from me.
Reading broadly and journaling insights.
Giving, serving, and helping others in need.
Practicing gratitude and having grace for myself and others.
Cultivating a close-knit, safe, and reliable support circle.
How can leaders create a more resilient workforce?
Listen to and get to know your team personally and professionally — their individual strengths, weaknesses, passions, career aspirations, hopes and fears. Share yours with them as well. You’ll be better equipped to encourage and support each other when facing inevitable setbacks.
Help outline long-term career paths for the employees you value most, even if they might eventually leave the company to achieve their goals. Try to align their talents and aspirations with the company’s long-term vision, and encourage a sense of ownership in a shared future.
Build a values-based culture that nurtures holistic well-being including work-life balance; physical, emotional, and spiritual health; autonomy, flexibility, and openness. Take time to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate your accomplishments together.
Foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring, leadership, and professional development. It’s worth being intentional and persistent about this. Any additional costs involved will more than pay for themselves by creating a stronger, more resilient, and vital team.
Advocate for your employees and show that you value them first as human beings. Understand what’s most important to them and make sure to recognize them in kind. Risk leading the way in effecting positive cultural change that aligns with core values, communicating your vision every step of the way.
Take time to process setbacks and disappointments as a team. Acknowledge the elephant in the room and talk about it. Share your honest thoughts and feelings, and invite others to do the same, while ultimately guiding them towards acceptance, learning, and constructive next steps.
Guard against/redirect/weed out cynicism in yourself and others. Don’t tolerate backbiting, finger-pointing, gossiping, infighting, or rudeness, no matter who it comes from. Work out conflicts directly and with everyone involved in attendance. See resolutions through to the end.
Instill a growth mindset, and develop a culture of experimentation. Encourage everyone to ask lots of questions. Permit people to make mistakes and learn from them.
Extensive research suggests that people who have a clear purpose in their lives are more likely to persevere during difficult times. What are your goals?
To serve others well, with integrity and kindness.
To engage in fulfilling work that has a positive impact on the world.
To make authentic connections.
To share gratifying experiences in community.
To grow and help others grow in ways that enrich lives with joy and meaning.
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry S. Truman
Thank you so much, that was very interesting! How can our readers get in touch with you?
5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image, With Joel Krieger of Second Story
Building a brand is foremost — not an “in addition to”. Marketing and advertising are a means to gain awareness and drive sales. If more companies invested in stronger brand experiences, they wouldn’t need to spend exorbitant sums on ads. People make decisions based on emotion. And experience — not interruption — is how to positively influence those emotions. Advertising is mostly noise we try to avoid. But a great brand experience is something we welcome into our lives.
As a part of my series about brand makeover, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Krieger. Joel is chief creative officer of Second Story, a design studio focused on immersive, multi-sensory interactive environments. Working across cultural and brand spaces, Second Story designs new experiences that defy labels, elicit emotion, and spark action.
As head of Second Story, Joel leads the studios’ three locations in Portland, Atlanta, and New York. His work merges graphic and experience design, visual effects and programming with industrial design and architecture. Endlessly fascinated by the art of collaboration, Joel brings together radically different ideas and people for the ultimate creative mash-up.
His design work has been recognized by Communication Arts, HOW Design, the Society of Experiential Graphic Design, FastCo Design, The Webby Awards, IxDA, and The American Alliance of Museums. Joel is a regular speaker at forums like the Experiential Marketing Summit, MuseumNext, and AIGA. Joel also serves on the advisory board of The Ocean Experience Project, an immersive entertainment attraction focused on ocean conservation and activism.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Around the time that digital media’s over-whelming noise and isolation started to take its toll, I became very interested in our physical environment — and its power to bring people together. Creating these kinds of spaces requires a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary practice, which I love and have always been super curious to explore further.
Bringing these passions together, I joined Second Story in 2013, co-founding the Atlanta location and then serving as executive creative director for all three studios (New York, Atlanta and Portland). Now, as chief creative officer, I guide the studio’s vision, which is all about creating physical environments that invite people to interact together. Coupled with emerging technologies, these site-specific experiences are the most powerful channel to influence brand perception.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Too many mistakes, I’m sure. But the most humorous have come from drowning in brand immersion. It’s vital to step inside your client’s perspective to see the brand from the inside. But you must also come back up for air and unlearn everything to see with fresh eyes. One way to balance yourself is having fun playing anthropologist — observing and experiencing real situations and customer moments to collect insights. Only from these foundational experiences do the wildly unexpected ideas emerge.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
From a craft standpoint, my background is more visual. But motivating myself to get better at articulating ideas through writing was a game-changer on every front — with co-workers, managers and, of course, with clients. When you embrace writing as a communication tool, it helps your thinking become sharper, more concise and focused — even if ideas are ultimately shared verbally.
Another tipping point: finally getting comfortable pitching ideas to clients. This has everything to do with calming the nerves. When you stop being so attached to the end result, it frees you to communicate with greater confidence and ease. This doesn’t just lead to better outcomes, it’s also far more fun to work this way.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re wrapping up work on the Australian Center for the Moving Image — reopening in Melbourne by early summer. It’s the most visited moving image museum in the world, spanning film, video games, animation, digital culture, and art. This is a great rebranding example, driven completely by the space itself and its reimagined experience. Our efforts will help people understand how we use moving images to construct reality and make meaning. Media literacy is really important considering the current trends of deepfakes and fake news.
Second Story is also evolving our experiential workshop, Make Some Room, which explores unconscious bias in the workplace. Iterating on this project over several years, we’re now taking it to the next level to serve a large-scale audience. This experience has proven emotionally potent and transformational. I tend to shy away from buzzwords like that, but this project really touches participants in a profound way — which translates to greater empathy and understanding in the work environment.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
We live in a culture that celebrates the grind. But success is not based on the hours you put in (brute force). Rather, it’s how meaningfully you spend your time. Cut out the noise of excessive meetings, emails, notifications, and interruptions. Spend more time thinking and making. By doing less and focusing more, you can do everything better.
In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between branding and advertising?
Advertising is how most companies communicate. It has completely saturated our world, everywhere we look. We see thousands of ads each day and ignore most. It’s inherently interruptive, appearing when we’re trying to watch a video, read an article, take a taxi or a flight. Advertising is also the underlying business model that subsidizes many of the free things we take for granted (like much of the internet). A great brand experience, which drives word-of-mouth and gets amplified via social, is a far more effective way to convert new customers than interrupting. I’m hopeful that we’re starting to shift beyond this outdated advertising model.
A brand is the collective perception of a company. It’s ethereal, existing only in the minds and hearts of people who experience it. Companies can influence their brand through actions — but they don’t own it. Similarly, our impressions of people are developed over several encounters based on observations, interactions and behaviors. Think about the most memorable person you know. They probably have a unique personality, which can only come from a strong sense of self and how they relate to others. It’s the same thing with businesses.
If a company was a person, what adjectives would you use to describe them? What character traits would they possess? The strongest brands have authentic personalities, expressed consistently in all their actions. Yes, tangible elements like names, logos, and taglines are important. But those exist only at the surface. Just like your name and clothes, these things aren’t who you are. Branding goes deeper — it’s an experience you live. What’s it like to go into a company’s store, buy their products, or interact with customer service when something goes wrong? All of those experiences (and many more) make up a company’s brand.
Can you explain why it’s important to invest resources into building a brand, in addition to general marketing and advertising efforts?
Actually, building a brand is foremost — not an “in addition to”. Marketing and advertising are a means to gain awareness and drive sales. If more companies invested in stronger brand experiences, they wouldn’t need to spend exorbitant sums on ads.
People make decisions based on emotion. And experience — not interruption — is how to positively influence those emotions. Advertising is mostly noise we try to avoid. But a great brand experience is something we welcome into our lives.
What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
A company might need repositioning to standout in a space that’s grown crowded with competitors. The business may have fundamentally changed to the point where its brand perception no longer represents who they are. Perhaps they’ve merged or been acquired. Whatever the reason, true rebranding is only possible when led by a comprehensive change in experience.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Unless you’re ready to evolve and change some fundamental aspects of who you are and how you act, you’re not ready for a rebrand. An organization must be introspective about their behavior and experience. A brand makeover can’t just be skin-deep with a new logo, tagline, and photography. You need to reimagine the experience of both your employees and customers to really reinvent yourself. Otherwise, it’s all just posturing and positioning.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please share an example for each.
Do the unthinkable. Would you encourage people to buy less of your product? Patagonia did with Worn Wear — helping people get more mileage out of the stuff they already own. You can repair, share, and recycle your gear. This is a company that really knows who they are. And it shows in every bold action they take.
Zig when others zag. While everyone else jumps on the Black Friday bandwagon, REI closed their stores with #optoutside. Sure, there was advertising based around this — but they had to DO SOMETHING first, in order to have something to talk about.
Be a Verb. What happens in your space beyond commerce and transactions? Lululemon and House of Vans are great examples of vibrant community activity within their physical footprint.
Take care of your employees. Your employees are the closest interaction point to your customers. How you train and what roles you offer them has an outsized impact on the brand experience. Just stay at a great hotel, and you’ll remember the difference it makes.
Exist for a reason. There’s much talk about brand purpose these days. But if it’s not baked into your business model, then it’s not really a purpose. People respond to brands that stand for something beyond profit-making. Patagonia is a clear leader in this category, but also companies like Ecosia, with purpose at their core — a search engine that plants trees with every search you make. Personally, this has totally shifted me away from Google. No amount of marketing could ever have achieved this.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
From a traditional branding perspective, Pentagram’s work for MIT Media Lab is stellar. They designed a beautiful system of grid-based glyphs for the lab’s 23 research groups. It’s flexible enough to support the organization’s innate diversity and complexity, yet so simple and refined.
From a brand experience standpoint, Virgin, lululemon, and the Ace Hotel all standout. Not sure if these qualify as a brand makeover — they likely have always been this way. Everything they do has a unique and authentic take. You can feel their identity in every experience detail. These brands are extremely thoughtful about how they show up in their physical environments and types of “happenings” that take place. How do you replicate that? Think about your physical footprint as your most powerful brand asset. Pay attention to the details — every little encounter adds up.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Most of the major problems in the world can be traced back to a single, underlying cause: we’ve become fundamentally disconnected from nature, and from each other. We spend most of our lives indoors staring at glowing screens, lonely and isolated from the natural world. There is a collective longing for a return to community and healthy communion with the earth. To help people see themselves as part of nature — not separate from it — would create a seismic shift for the better.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did — but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image, With Mardis Bagley of Nonfiction
Branding builds consumer preference and loyalty — independent of the product. Apple is a great example with their extensive products and services that share a similar design language. From their first consumer touchpoint through their entire product line, you are acutely aware of their brand. Their entire communication connects together to create a strong, cohesive brand. This builds preference, when a customer seeks out your brand because they love all your other products. And loyalty, when a customer will buy only your product, which ultimately leads to brand evangelists and word-of-mouth advertising.
As a part of my series about brand makeovers, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mardis Bagley. Mardis is co-founder and creative director of Nonfiction, a San Francisco-based product design firm focused on the future of humans. Mardis has extensive experience in branding, graphic and industrial design. He began his career crafting brand stories and digital experiences, before expanding to physical products and transformational experiences for clients including Nike, Facebook, Logitech, Dell, Intel, Chevron, Jiffy Lube, Corning, Symantec, and countless mid-sized and startup companies. His direct efforts have garnered millions in sales and venture capital funding. Mardis also teaches sustainability and social impact at the California College of the Arts.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I grew up the son of a carpenter and nurse. When I was five, I found a screwdriver and removed all the screws from the door handles in the house — locking my parents in different rooms. I helped my Dad lay a concrete foundation when I was eight. I was assisting on construction job sites when I was 10. And roofing houses and welding my own go-kart when I was 13. By 15, I was rebuilding car engines. By 16, I rolled my car end-over-end. It’s an understatement to say I was hands-on. While I could have walked into an architecture or carpentry career pretty easily, I chose my own path.
My design career began in graphic design and branding. I was quickly elevated to art director at a small branding firm — building websites, animations and interactions. But I always missed the tactile feel of making things. I returned to school for industrial design and got a slew of real-word experience, before launching design firm Nonfiction.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was developing a brand of medical products geared toward the elderly. One of my colleagues proposed a beautiful name that loosely translated to “autumn, or late in the season” and captured the essence of our elderly clientele. I focused on building the brand, including products, packaging and physical materials. In the final hours before launch, the client called about a critical name change. While they had trademarked the product name and domain…they just discovered it was far too similar to a high-end adult pornography website! Based on the clientele’s age and direct-to-consumer shipping strategy, their clients would undoubtedly go to the website for more information and likely hit the adult website. There was no saving it at that point — it was no joke and expensive because the physical products had already been created. But it was also utterly hilarious.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
My tipping point came several years into my career when I ventured into freelancing. I was contracting with various agencies where I was brought on as a “hired gun.” It forced me to jump from one diverse project to another. I had to deep dive into projects quickly and create results. I found it exhilarating. It also allowed me to work alongside many different people with unique styles. I learned to say “YES” to every opportunity. Many will work out, some may not. But there will always be something to be gained.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I design many products in the transformational technology field. This is a category focused on making deep, behavioral changes in people’s lives. Most recently, my company Nonfiction launched the world’s first FDA-approved, non-invasive solution to help reduce essential tremors, a condition that affects dexterity and movement in over seven million people in America alone.
We’ve also been designing neuro-priming devices to help athletes perform better by stimulating the motor cortex. And we’re currently creating products related to anxiety/stress, depression, migraine, chronic pain, dementia, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, memory, sleep quality, autism and epilepsy.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Beyond keeping projects diverse and staying challenged, I would advise to travel — a lot. Absorbing the eccentricities and nuances of other cultures is invaluable. It might fuel ideas for your next project or play a role in connecting with clients and consumers. It may simply help you be a more considerate and compassionate person.
Taking a break from work to reboot doesn’t necessarily require two weeks off, sans phone. I love fun unconventional breaks like themed get togethers, such as “monster parties” where guests pull words from hats and handmake representative stuffed toys like “grumpy Gaga”, “hairy hillbilly”, “STD robot” using glue guns, felt fabric, and sewing. Or “director’s appreciation night” where we pick an admired movie director, dress up, drink and party as our favorite character. It’s super creative and keeps your mind out of the office.
To each his own, but these allow me to recharge creatively without client pressures.
In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between branding and advertising?
Good marketing means you’ve reached your target audience, connected deeply and are selling products. On the other hand, good branding is an alignment between the brand’s philosophy and consumers interests. As Jeff Bezos said, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Branding is the representation of your company values. Metaphorically, it’s the lighthouse amidst the storm of advertising. The storm takes on different forms and attitudes depending on the atmosphere. Advertising is something that needs to be updated regularly. But branding is something that shouldn’t change often. It sees through the storm to guide consumers and internal stakeholders toward a familiar vision.
Can you explain why it’s important to invest resources into building a brand, in addition to general marketing and advertising efforts?
Branding builds consumer preference and loyalty — independent of the product. Apple is a great example with their extensive products and services that share a similar design language. From their first consumer touchpoint through their entire product line, you are acutely aware of their brand. Their entire communication connects together to create a strong, cohesive brand. This builds preference, when a customer seeks out your brand because they love all your other products. And loyalty, when a customer will buy only your product, which ultimately leads to brand evangelists and word-of-mouth advertising.
What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Relevance, the industry and competitors have moved on. Its products may have changed. It needs to stay desired and appropriate. A brand makeover could encompass an entirely new image, refreshed for the times and consumer demands. For instance, Sysco foodservice’s 1969 brand was originally focused on delivering products and services in an efficient manner. Its logo, sharp-edged box and capital letters, spoke more to shareholders than its clientele. But the redesigned brand incorporates a fresh leaf mark and commitment to sustainable business. Their new tagline “At the Heart of Food and Service” represents their commitment to enriching their customer’s experience with passion and integrity. It’s a great example of revamping a brand for today, while highlighting and keeping their heritage and core brand intact.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
We’ve seen rebranding programs fall flat, like the rebranding of GAP in 2010. The logo with the 80’s blue square was so badly received that people thought it was a marketing stunt. It turns out it was an attempt at crowdsourcing design. Just for the record, crowdsourcing is a bad idea. But oftentimes, rebranding fails when there’s a misalignment of core consumer groups. You never want to leave them behind. They are your brand evangelists. You want to elevate them to the new vision, while inviting new users to your brand.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”?
Create something unique — don’t follow trends. Stand out from the crowd. If the industry is creating clean white brands, then go dark. If the trend is to go blobular, then you go rectilinear. Being extreme and niche can lead to some wonderful products and kickstart trends.
Don’t overcomplicate things or try to be too literal. Not every element in your brand has to have deep logical meaning. Sometimes things are memorable because they are beautiful.
Simplify your message — but don’t be boring. Create emotional content that connects with the consumer on a visceral level. The best, most effective ads are minimal. Their message is quick and easy to understand. Calm meditation app has a great logo, with elegant visuals and a focused intent (literally).
Be a little mysterious. Don’t give it all away. Create a question that challenges assumptions. These types of communications are actually calls to action. They drive consumers to investigate more.
Look at your brand as if it were another brand altogether. When I was working on rebranding Jiffy Lube, our team challenged leadership in a series of workshops to look at JL as if it were a Starbucks, a Ritz-Carlton, an Apple store and so on. How might this change the customer experience? What would the storefront, the graphics and voice sound like?
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Old Spice deodorant was faced with a rapidly changing landscape and AXE deodorant was quickly gaining market share. Old Spice decided to reinvent themselves. They threw out the stodgy old brand your grandfather connected with, and refreshed it with a fun, youthful campaign. They introduced a cheeky verbal identity to guild the brand language.
They took huge risks by celebrating the “art of being a man” in an over-the-top manner. The campaign was coined the “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” and highlighted a James Bond-like superhero that could do almost anything, even if completely ridiculous. I’ve always said desperation leads to innovation. In this case, Old Spice was desperately losing market share, so they took a chance on something completely different.
Old Spice was given many awards for creativity, and their market share has grown by double digits every year since. Not to leave their original consumers behind, they rereleased Old Spice Classic with an elegant packaging refresh that is speaks to the classic man.
Refreshing a brand named “Old” and “Spice” is quite the feat. Everything is possible with good branding and marketing.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
End single use plastics and packaging. We all love great design and see the obvious connection between the out-of-box experience and sales, but the packaging industry needs a refresh. Why do we need corrugated cardboard boxes to protect cardboard boxes in shipping? It’s excessive. Clamshell packaging keeps your product from bouncing around in shipping and resists theft, but it would be ideal to have less plastic based options. Should companies be required to design packaging for a second life? Could it be a planter, a lamp, a storage solution, etc.? Is there a way to deliver packages without boxes altogether? Can we 3D print our products locally and pick them up without the need for packaging? There’s a lot of room for improvement in our current thinking.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
This quote is at the core of what we do at Nonfiction. It’s not about the product or service, it’s about how the consumer feels at the end. This puts the consumer experience first. As a methodology, I start with the end goal first, then work backwards to align stakeholder interests.
Rising Through Resilience: “First, get in touch with your purpose or passion in life with” Dr. Ed Barry
First, get in touch with your purpose or passion in life. Oftentimes this can happen early on — kids gravitate to things that they really enjoy doing. But I think the problem for many kids is that they don’t stick with it long enough to really appreciate what their skills are in that particular enterprise and then they move too quickly on to something else. The more confidence you build in your abilities, the more the more success you will achieve early on in life.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ed Barry, a board-certified chiropractic orthopedist and certified laser pain management physician with over 35 years specializing in lower back and lumbar spinal problems.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I was born and raised in New Jersey. I went to undergraduate school in New York, graduated with a degree in English and taught for three years after graduation. However, during my teaching years I became very interested in science, so I took science courses, including biology and chemistry, as part of my postgraduate coursework. Even though I was originally an English major, science was always an interest of mine.
At this time, I was also doing a lot of running. And, of course, like most runners I suffered many injuries. I received treatment from a physical therapist who was very innovative and off the beaten track in terms of his techniques. I was fascinated by the way he was able to resolve a lot of the injuries without medication or any invasive techniques. This made me want to learn more, so I met some chiropractors to look into what they actually did. I was fascinated by the focus of their work, which was basically the structure of the human body — the muscles and the joints that govern the motion of the body. It was a very natural approach.
So, after three years of teaching I decided to make a change. I applied for chiropractic college to satisfy that interest and the desire for another challenge. I attended the National College of Chiropractic which, at the time, was considered to be one of the best colleges in the field. After graduating, I started a local practice in South Jersey and developed it over the years.
As time went on, I started looking for a new challenge. I’m always looking for a new challenge. That’s when I became very interested in the science of laser treatment — using high intensity lasers to treat the same problems that I treated chiropractic, but only much more effectively. And so, I made a critical decision to withdraw from that practice, sell it and open up a new practice, devoted entirely to the practice of lasers. I used high intensity lasers to treat these very challenging conditions. I was learning an entirely new science. It was very innovative, and my practice became very successful.
During that period of time, I specialized in lower back problems, lumbar spine disc problems and degenerative arthritis. I was fascinated by the active exercises that were given to patients who were treated with specific protocols I used in the practice. This was a technique that involved active and passive flexion and traction of the lower back. In my office, I used special tables to treat patients with these conditions, but there wasn’t anything on the market to duplicate that for patients receiving treatment at home.
For years, I thought about a solution to this problem. I came up with some ideas that I took to engineers, but we never were able to create a design that was practical. Then, several years ago, I met a local engineering team in Philadelphia. They were able to come up with a workable design that met all of my criteria, a design that would be safe and easy to use in the comfort of your home. And that design is what became known as the Lift.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
It was the transition from the traditional practice of chiropractic into the laser practice. It was a leap, and it was challenging because not too many practitioners really understood laser. Most discouraged me from going down this path.
Also, you’re not going to get reimbursed for laser by insurance carriers. But I felt that laser was so unique and effective that if patients were properly educated, they would gravitate to it. So, I developed a patient education program and did presentations on a monthly basis. I talked to patients and presented them with an essential understanding of lasers and testimonials from patients I treated.
It was very effective, and patients were responsive. This was probably one of the most rewarding aspects of that practice — treating patients to get them better faster and give them the relief they were looking for without drugs or medication. I felt like I made a meaningful contribution to shifting this treatment paradigm.
For me, the biggest lesson was overcoming the fear of the unknown. If you believe strongly in your principles, you can pretty much overcome all of the obstacles thrown in your way.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The Lift is a truly unique device, in the sense that is the first device to combine the two movements, flexion and traction, which are proven to be most therapeutic for people suffering from common lower back problems. A specialized table allows patients to duplicate those movements comfortably in a supine or lying down position. They can do repetitions and reproduce these movements, which are very dynamic. The purpose of this is to get more blood supply into the disc to heal faster and separate the joints to alleviate pressure from degenerative changes and disc problems.
The only device that I’ve seen on the market, probably in the last 30 years, is the gravity inversion swing where people hang upside down. And while traction can be effective for older patients, it’s really impractical for them to be hanging upside down because of various conditions like high blood pressure, heart problems or vertigo. The Lift is a device that is much easier to use, and it’s more dynamic in terms of movement.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I always think of my dad who was a successful builder and developer in the 50s. He was a second generation entrepreneur after his dad, also a builder and developer.
My dad was very independent and even with very little education, he had tremendous ideas in terms of development. He was in the process of creating a unique development here in South Jersey around an area of freshwater lakes. He bought the property, but since he was unable to get financing the entire enterprise collapsed.
However, since he had the property — a small home situated on the lake — we moved and lived there for three years while he was trying to reconstitute some business. Watching him go through that transition and build up a business was probably one of the best examples of resilience I’ve ever witnessed. Before he retired and passed away, he developed apartment homes and several nursing homes.
My dad didn’t have anything going for him except his own experience and his own knowledge gained from that experience, to continue in his pursuit.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is a willingness to fail and to expose yourself to failure. In my experience, you learn more from failure than you do from success. And once you transition it makes you much stronger.
I always think of a quote by Deepak Chopra. He says that to the unskilled surfer every wave is stressful, but to the skilled surfer every wave is an exhilaration. I think that’s very true about exposing yourself to stress. You don’t really learn anything by not exposing yourself to stress. And if you’re willing to do that in a new enterprise or a new endeavor, you’re going to get to that point of exhilaration, which really equates to success.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
The professional golfer Lee Trevino always struck me as someone who is very resilient. When you think of a professional golfer, you think of somebody who has been born and raised in Country Club environments and played golf in college, but Lee Trevino was different.
He is Mexican American, raised in a broken home, by his mother and his grandfather. One day Lee’s grandfather gave him a couple of balls and he started hitting them. Then, he started working as a caddy in golf clubs. Every day when he was done caddying, he would go out to the driving range and hit 300 balls. Lee developed his swing without any professional golf instruction, and even though it’s the most awkward unorthodox swing that any professional golfer has ever exhibited, he was able to win six major championships. Throughout his career, he beat Jack Nicklaus in a major championship and had a very successful career. It was all on his own — just his own personal determination to excel at something that he loved to do.
I would say Lee is a very good example of resilience. There was no reason for him to pursue this type of career, and yet, that’s what he chose to do. He was determined and even though the path was unorthodox, it was the right path for him.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
When I started talking to people about this company, they would tell me the odds of succeeding are very slim. After working on this for so many years and coming up with failed prototypes, they asked me, “why don’t you just retire and enjoy life?”
I really believed it had potential, and it was through that persistence that I was able to find the engineers who made it happen. The electrical engineer who looked at this concept got it instantly. He understood the principle and within a week he came back to me with a rudimentary design that I knew would work. If I had let the idea go, we never would have gotten to that point.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
I had a cousin who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer several years ago. Throughout the first year of his treatment, it seemed like he was starting to recover. And since he’d never flown in a plane before, I decided to take him for a trip to Cape May. I was an experienced licensed pilot at the time, and they have a Naval Air Museum there so I thought it would be a great experience for us to fly there together.
As we took off, I had what they call an alternator outage, which means you have no power, and I had to land the plane. Everybody was alright, but it really shook me up. He insisted up until the day that he died, that it was the greatest adventure of his life.
But I felt I had let him down. It took me a long time to get the plane repaired and then regain confidence in my skills as a pilot. I was able to recover and now I’m flying on a regular basis and doing volunteer work for an organization called Pilots and Paws. We rescue animals from kill shelters in the South and bring them up to permanent homes in the Northeast.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
When I was growing up at our house by the lake, I was able to swim, fish. hike and sail every day. It was like being in Boy Scout Camp, and during that period of time I developed a real sense of independence and self-reliance that really helped me later on in life. It gave me skills that I would later be able to use in my practices and also now in developing this equipment. I learned that you have to rely on your talents and have confidence in yourself.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
First, get in touch with your purpose or passion in life. Oftentimes this can happen early on — kids gravitate to things that they really enjoy doing. But I think the problem for many kids is that they don’t stick with it long enough to really appreciate what their skills are in that particular enterprise and then they move too quickly on to something else. The more confidence you build in your abilities, the more the more success you will achieve early on in life.
But that’s not to discourage any individual from developing something or discovering something later on in life. I didn’t start surfing until I was in my 40s, and I didn’t start flying until I was in my late 40s. These are two things that I’ve developed over the years and have been the most rewarding experiences. I remember wanting to fly when I was younger, but I just either never had the time or the resources to pursue it.
On that note, another step would be to remember, it’s never too late and you’re never too old. If you’re just willing to do it, just take the first step. There was an interesting book review in the Wall Street Journal, in which the author, after speaking with people in nursing homes, found one of the biggest regrets was not taking the time to do something they always wanted to do in life. And now they feel it’s too late.
So, don’t be afraid to try something. The sooner you try, the sooner you’re going to be able to make that discovery. Then, you have to stick with it. If you’re really focused and it gives you joy, you’re going to stick with it regardless of the obstacles that are thrown in your way.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In the field of medicine, I would like to see a refocus from pharmaceutical intervention and surgical intervention to natural and conservative methods like physical therapy and chiropractic.
I believe those methods have tremendous benefits for people, but the world of medicine always seems to be directed in the other direction. I’d like to see that refocus, and I’d like to see more methods that can be used effectively — backed up by research — that will allow patients to take their health and recovery into their own hands. And I believe the Lift offers patients a good method of achieving that, at least in the realm of lower back pain.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
Yes, Dan Pederson. He’s a retired Admiral and founder of the Top Gun program for the Navy. There’s a book about him, Topgun: An American Story, and it’s an incredible story about resilience.
When he was commissioned to start the program, he didn’t receive any funding, just an air base in California. Working with very little resources, he managed to become a tremendous success. He built innovative procedures that were taught to naval aviators, making them some of the most successful pilots on the planet.
Another individual I would like to sit down with is Kelly Slater. He’s in his 40s now and still competing for World Championships in surfing. He’s won the World Championship more than any individual and keeps himself in excellent physical condition. Kelly has really set the bar for the modern era of surfing.
I also wouldn’t mind sitting down with Lee Trevino. I think that would be a very interesting conversation, learning about his background, what he’s encountered and how he’s succeeded.
Brand Personality: If your brand were a person, how would you describe them? Daring? Conservative? Friendly? Aloof? Take the time to identify and describe the personality traits that your brand has and compare them to your desired traits. Are they in line with where you want to be? Knowing these traits will help you make decisions about everything from whom you hire, to how you craft your emails. We worked with a client to develop a coffee café that took great coffee seriously. So seriously that we would refuse to sell coffee to go, as the brand felt that coffee should be savored, enjoyed, and not rushed, the antithesis of the to-go concept. Don’t be afraid to have standards.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Mark Natale, the chief executive officer of Smarthinking Inc. At the young age of six, Mark stumbled upon the band KISS and their album ‘Destroyer,’ then from that moment on, he’s been all about brands. Mark leads the creative side of the business, asking important brand questions like, “What does the brand stand for?”, “How is the brand different?” and “Why does the brand matter?” This love of brands gave birth to Smarthinking, a factory for brilliant brands. Formerly, Mark served as the executive vice president for American Leisure Corp. where he oversaw the operations of more than 60 residential, commercial, and corporate fitness centers located in New York. Mark’s keen eye for detail and a unique view on branding have shaped him into the innovative thinker that he is today. In addition to being an expert in the branding industry, Mark enjoys reading up on the latest trends in architecture, collecting concert posters, and spending time with his wife and kids.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I grew up in Binghamton, New York, about three hours north of New York City. My hometown was reasonably small, and at times, it felt too small for me. I went to work in New York City after college and had the opportunity to work for some of the city’s most prolific real estate developers. At that time, I was able to work with people who were focused on developing incredible experiences for their guests and being involved with what allowed me to speak my mind and make contributions that were meaningful and unique. The process of creating these brand experiences came very naturally to me, thinking about what would be captivating and how we could create connections through those experiences.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We always like to make our clients stand out, and sometimes, the content that comes out of that can surely give you a laugh. For instance, we were developing a brochure for a modern, high-end day spa in New York City and led with, ‘There’s nothing like a gentle pounding to calm the nerves,’ to describe a massage. It was eye-catching, to say the least!
Apart from that, we leave the funny business to after hours.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
My “tipping point” came to me when I had an employer approach me about an article that they had been asked to be a part of for The New York Times. They stated that they wanted to use my ideas for the article, but I would not get the credit. “Your ideas, but my name” was how they phrased it. At that moment, I understood the significance of my contributions within the realm of branding. That’s what brought me to venture out to open my own agency.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are currently working on some incredible projects in Spain, Mexico, the United States, and, most recently, Africa. Sitting from our office in Miami and working on projects around the world, with such a cosmopolitan clientele, is one of the most exciting parts of what we do. Being able to tell all these diverse and varied stories is a bit like a dream come true.
How will that help people? For me, the takeaway is not to limit yourself. If you had told me that we would be doing so much international work two years ago, I would not have believed it. But we have worked hard to put ourselves in the position to win these jobs, and we could not be happier.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Be very selective in your client choices, and be sure that their goals are aligned with your goals. The work that you end up producing will be challenging, and you want to be sure that your clients share a similar vision of your relationship. The business that we are in is similar to that of a personal trainer in that you are there to get a client to have a vision, push their boundaries, and ultimately get them in fighting shape. Be sure that your client roster is filled with people who understand and accept this dynamic. Otherwise, they’ll be sitting on the couch eating potato chips while you are waiting at the treadmill, ready to kick it into high gear.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
We see brands as the foundational story of your business. In short, the brand is why you matter in the marketplace. What will you be famous for, and why should people align themselves with you? These decisions about brands strike at the core of a person’s identity, so you need to appeal on that level. This elemental development lies at the heart of what you call “brand marketing.”
“Product Marketing” is then the strategies and tactics that you employ to promote that brand properly and its products that it offers.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
As previously stated, without a comprehensively developed brand and brand strategy, you are basically drifting in the wind. You must ask yourself: who are you, what do you do, and why does it matter? And also, what will your brand be famous for? These are all questions that you need to define as an organization, so you know how to proceed. Skipping this work basically puts you out there randomly, trying to make sense of why you matter in the marketplace.
We see this a lot when we begin certain projects. The business is taking shots to promote itself haphazardly, designing customer experiences and marketing materials without a true directive. They are creating things solely for the sake of creating something and doing more harm than good.
A properly developed brand acts as the guiding light for all of your business efforts. Not only advertising and marketing efforts, but really all of your business efforts. A brand is a story that your business tells the world every day through a variety of mediums. It should dictate the products that you make, the experiences that you create, and the way your staff interacts with the customers, as well as each other. The list of items that a properly defined brand can affect can go on ad infinitum, creating not only value for the company, but also efficiencies that would be otherwise misspent.
For example, we recently met with a prospective client in New York City about updating their brand, and to break the ice in the conversation, I asked, “so what don’t you like about your brand? Is it the logo or…?” Before I could list the other aspects to consider, the client interrupted me and stated, “let’s not discuss the logo. We spent $75,000 to create it, and we all unanimously hate it, but we spent the money, so we are sticking with it.” I thought to myself, what a terrible way for everyone to start such a promising project. Hating the product, spending the money, and having to grin and bear it all along. A properly developed brand will ensure not only creative excellence and market position, but it will also help you define the purpose, increase your efficiencies, and eliminate waste.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
Rebranding is a monumental undertaking and needs to be carefully considered before assuming the endeavor. We think rebranding should be done if you feel:
Your brand does not correctly reflect the product. In other words, why you exist and why your brand says you exist are not in alignment with one another.
You are expanding your scope of the business, and your brand is limiting that department from growing.
You need to stand out from your competitors.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
We like to think, don’t fix what’s not broken, and truthfully there is no one rebranding strategy for all. A decision to rebrand should fall on the company’s business objectives and the direction they’d like to take. If you’re on the fence on whether or not you should rebrand, we advise that you conduct a marketing audit of your company and then identify the areas that need support. It is only after this self-analysis and reflection that you will understand whether you need to rebrand or not.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
At Smarthinking Inc., we don’t see brands purely as tactical executions, so I don’t think I can comment on 5 strategies that are surefire successes. That seems too short-sighted to me. We see brands as comprehensive systems that work in an interconnected fashion with so many aspects of your organization: sales and marketing, product development, human resources, the list go on.
If you want to focus on aspects that can better your brand, take a look at these components:
Brand Personality: If your brand were a person, how would you describe them? Daring? Conservative? Friendly? Aloof? Take the time to identify and describe the personality traits that your brand has and compare them to your desired traits. Are they in line with where you want to be? Knowing these traits will help you make decisions about everything from whom you hire, to how you craft your emails. We worked with a client to develop a coffee café that took great coffee seriously. So seriously that we would refuse to sell coffee to go, as the brand felt that coffee should be savored, enjoyed, and not rushed, the antithesis of the to-go concept. Don’t be afraid to have standards.
Brand Tone Of Voice: How does your brand sound in both the written and spoken format? Is it cheeky? Serious? Seductive?This is a huge opportunity to differentiate your brand, so take the time to define your tone of voice and then teach this to your team.We developed some advertising for a fitness center client in New York City, and our ads stated, “Did you know? 72% of today’s illnesses result from sitting on your ass?” It was the perfect ending to an actual fact that encapsulated the brand’s tone of voice: irreverent and fun.
Brand Promise: At its core, what does your brand promise the consumer?You should be able to succinctly encapsulate this in a couple of words. Smarthinking Inc. built a spa in the wilds of Western Idaho named The Cove. The brand promise for the Cove was “a collection of spa experiences based on adventure.” That concept then helped guide us for so many of our significant decisions needed to build the brand. For example, we built the pools out of 90,000 pounds or local granite boulders and lined the lobby with 60, 25-foot Douglas fir trees. It really helped us create a unique concept.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
In 2019, we saw Taco Bell bring to life its brand in an ultimate way — through a pop-up hotel where every element of the property was reminiscent of its brand pillars — from Taco Bell-themed throw pillows to pool floats in the shape of hot sauce packets. This wasn’t necessarily a “Brand Makeover,” but it was the most significant expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to date in order to cater to millennials — a key audience for the brand.
Throughout 2020, we will most certainly see other brands try to capitalize on this experiential marketing strategy for their own businesses. To succeed and differentiate themselves in today’s robust market, it will be essential for brands to take on a symphonic effort. It is so much more impactful when the whole symphony plays together versus one instrument. That’s why brands now more than ever will need to focus on so much more than a slick tagline and exceptional materials — it will be about creating living, breathing experiences that immerse the customer in a story.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would want everyone to understand that no matter where we are individually from, we essentially all want the same things from life: friends, connections, security, inspiration, fun, peace, etc. Different people may express that in different ways, but mostly it is all the same desire. If we could all just realize that, there would be a lot more understanding and personal happiness in the world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“All limitation is self-imposed.” — Icarus
You really have to take the time to understand what you want out of a situation and how you can make that happen. Once you do that, you have to ask yourself, “Is this the best I can do?” Chances are you can do better if you believe that you can.
