Maybe there’s something we’re missing…
It’s healthy to believe we can replicate others’ success in leading change, or in achieving business results.
We can, and the approach is a good one.
But there is something we need to remember…
There is a missing element…
And that is the esteem in which we (or our exemplar of success) are held by our market, our audience or our constituency – whatever the most appropriate collective word is for the people we intend to influence.
One word for that relationship between a business and its market, or a person and their following, or a change agent and their community is “brand” – a kind of label summing up the relationship. Brand is something we can develop, of course, but only over time.
If you think about it…
Brand really refers to something that exists in the audience, not in the business. And if you want to study a brand, you need to talk to the market.
And…
When we take action in expectation of a result…
Members of our audience weigh our action in its own right, yes, but then they factor in their beliefs about us; how they perceive our standing and credibility; in other words, our brand. And then they decide: Yes or no.
Same action, different brand leads to different result.
So…
What’s your sense of your brand?
How might it be affecting your results?
And how might you develop it differently for the future?