As Lawrence sifted through his mail last fall, a plain black and white envelope caught his eye, and anxiety began to well up. It had his name in the clear plastic window and was clearly official business. His first impression was that this was a letter from the IRS. But closer inspection made him realize it was from his bank – which he also happens to be CEO! Once the anxiety passed, he quickly sent the envelope to the marketing department initiating a slew of changes including face-lifts to envelopes and the addition of bowlfuls of green Hershey Kisses (the bank’s signature color) in all their branches…

Imagine driving down a highway on a sunny day.  Listening to the radio, your knees steadying the wheel as one hand checks your blackberry and the other holds a non-fat latte,  all while going about 75mph.   Two years ago, that’s pretty much what our economy looked like.  But while we all had our heads down, something happened.
Pretty quickly, that sunny day turned dark and stormy.  Suddenly, we found ourselves slowing down, dropping the phone, setting down the latte, and white-knuckling the steering wheel.  In the face of uncertainty, logic tells …

The success of our new economy will largely rest on how well companies start honest, open dialogues with their consumers. Period.

No more wordy positioning briefs. No more boardroom marketing speak. No more talking at the consumer. No more conferences on whether social media and marketing matter (BTW, they do.). Success begins with honest open dialogues, and honest open dialogues begin when one person listens and the other gets a chance to speak. Today, it’s the consumer’s turn – and companies that want to thrive in this economy better start listening – or at the very least, start getting used to shutting up a little bit.

To “Bing it” or “Google it”. That is the question.

We live in a hyper-connected world where information is accessible at any time and any place. And it’s spawning a whole generation of consumers that are more intelligent, more conscious and more aware than ever before. Consumers have surpassed traditional marketing attempts to influence their behavior, and are reshaping the landscape to fit personal values, goals and objectives.

The constant struggle to reach the simple and profound message to reach your audience.

I keep a little post it note with these words at my desk at all times:
Leadership:

Be Ethical
Be Competent
Build Relationships
Maintain A Vision
Communicate: Constantly, Effectively, Clearly

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