Brand Stewardship: One Is A Lonely Number

Office Space

Company Big Box has a sales department, a legal department, an accounting department, a marketing department, an engineering department, a research department, a vendor relations department, etc. While they all drink from the same water cooler, many employees don’t have an occasion or necessity to really interact. To understand how their own work relates to anothers, and how all the pieces fit together for the good of the whole.

People might get their information from the intranet or newsletter or from their manager. But the speed of work–of expectation–can inhibit the type of collaboration that can truly inform and inspire an employee into a steward.  One who internalizes what the brand aspires to be, and whose word and deed epitomize incremental milestones toward that achievement.

Value What You Have

Now isn’t that an opportunity cost?  Fifty, a hundred, or more trusted folks whose collective efforts comprise and give life to your brand—and operational negligent isolationism, ignorance, or personal insecurities create environments where those with deep (albeit potentially narrow) perspectives don’t have a way to connect the dots.  I’ll suggest that’s akin to knowing who some of your best buyers are, and intentionally choosing not to mail/call/email/wait on them.  Kinda ridiculous, huh?

We Already Have A Process For That

That’s my point.  Focusing on marketing (because that’s my background, how I can be categorized), think about the possibilities should they sidle up to research more.  Be welcomed.  They may learn (beyond some “TPS” type perfunctory quarterly reporting) about some pre-beta app that has potential to be a threat to one of their own core products.  A good relationship could provide marketing with some valuable insight, the time to maneuver, and an impetus to counsel product development.

I realize my scenario is a bit simplistic, but I truly feel that in many cases, this type of common-sense logic is all that’s needed in order to support bigger strategies.  In this case, the research group might finally feel validated for some of their more forward-thinking powers of intuition.  Product development might actually be able to be proactive with their feature mix, rather than reactive (and possibly reverse-engineer in the face of a competitive response).  And marketing could be more of a lynchpin than (in some cases) a posterboard cut-out.

Thinking Anew

Clearly, what I describe is but one small way that a culture of shared responsibilities, shared assets, and collective value can begin to shift the dynamics from “a company I work for” to “a company I represent.”  Representation implies leadership, confidence, and deep understanding, perceptiveness.

Everyone’s a Brand Manager

At the end of the day, a whole bunch of smart, talented, and motivated people probably peel out of your office complex.  They cleared a few things off their task list, completed gathering some requirements, filed a motion and wrote some documentation.  But if they’d been enlightened and encouraged to collaborate, if there had been an internal sense of community (the basic premise of social media), could they each have been part of a bigger whole? And seen their role in your brand’s success? Been inspired to embody the brand?

I’d like to think so.  A company with stewards instead of employees on a payroll is one to watch.