To Kill a Giant: Leading David against Goliath

March 28, 2011 By 10 Comments

I was fortunate in many ways to “grow up” in my career within a “Giant.”  The $750 million dollar business unit I led had major competitors, but we were the leader in our industry.  Given that the products I was responsible for were all FDA-regulated, our marketing revolved around the art and science of relationships…and pricing.

In our industry, the excitement always came from promising medical advancements rather than competitive movements, or from outside the industry as with Greenpeace’s unsuccessful attempt to “take down” my product line that I chronicled here.

So, I was thrilled when my executive colleague Stephen Denny mentioned to me a few months ago that he was writing a book entitled, Killing Giants.  I was anxious to read about and learn from a variety of experiences on the “other side of the fence.”

In the book, Stephen addresses concepts that include how to fight a war of nuance, how to create a culture of speed, how to polarize on purpose and even how to fight dirty.  But my favorite chapter in the book is called, “Seizing the Microphone.”  I connected completely with the way Stephen introduced the concept:

Revenue doesn’t equal personality, nor is market share equivalent to emotional connection.  You don’t have to accept that you’re not big enough to be the industry spokesman, so naively grab the microphone and speak up for the whole industry.

I love that!  It resonated with me on such a personal level because so often I find myself wanting to send an emotional message out into the universe and I stop myself thinking, “It’s not my place.”  I know marketers – especially in risk-averse environments – do the very same thing with their brands.

Stephen’s message is make it your place.  Your audience is waiting.

What I found especially powerful about this message in Killing Giants is it comes with great responsibility:

When you choose to seize the microphone you commit to understanding your customer better than anyone else.  You get them and they get you.

Stephen then goes on to share stories of brands and CEOs that do a brilliant job with this, including:

  • How GoDaddy seized the mic at SuperBowl XXXIX and effectively became the conversation in the domain name registration space
  • How Miki House lives its vision not just through the clothing it sells for children, but the way it has seized its microphone to advocate for children’s culture
  • How Fiskars created passionate believers and a movement by being passionate believers in a highly commoditized business.  This is one of my favorite stories Stephen chronicles because of my respect for the Brains on Fire team that helped bring this movement to life.

Through these stories Stephen shares some of the key lessons these companies – and their leaders – have learned while seizing the microphone in their industries, my “Favorite Five” being:

  1. Big visions empower big voices
  2. Social means personal
  3. Authenticity, leadership and market stewardship all matter – and it starts with the CEO
  4. You can make yourself indispensable my making yourself impossible to miss
  5. If your industry is dominated by giants who are focused on each other, go talk to your customers

To learn more about how small companies and small brands can compete against the giants in their industry, and in particular how the leaders of these companies use decision making strategically, please join Steve Woodruff and me as we welcome Killing Giants author Stephen Denny as our guest-host to Leadership Chat this Tuesday evening, March 29th at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.  We’d be honored to see you there!

As always, a transcript of the chat will be available the following day on our Leadership Chat website, and we encourage you to peruse it for leadership gems if you are not able to make the live chat.  Leadership Chat happens every Tuesday evening on Twitter at 8pm ET – if you cannot make it this week please feel free to join us in the future!

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You can find me on Twitter at @LisaPetrilli and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lisapetrilli. I look forward to seeing you there!

To hire me as a Leadership Consultant, Marketing Strategist or Social Media Concierge, email me at Lisa@CLevelStrategies.com.

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Order Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry wherever you buy books:

In the US: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM! | Borders | Indi Bound | 800 CEO READ

In the UK: Amazon | Waterstones

In Australia: QBD | Emporium Books | Angus & Robertson | Big W Entertainment | Boomerang Books | Booktopia

In New Zealand: Mighty Ape

In South Africa: Loot

10 Comments Filed Under: #LeadershipChat, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Question We Should All Be Asking Our Customers

January 25, 2011 By 13 Comments

By Lisa Petrilli

I was fortunate last week to have the opportunity to interview a customer of one of my clients – a business owner whose asset is his intellectual property and his process for using the IP to help his own clients succeed.  I had a list of questions I wanted to ask him to better understand his company’s services, but when I sat down next to him and looked him in the eyes none of those questions felt right.

So, instead, I simply asked, “what are you passionate about?”

Words cannot convey how quickly his face lit up and his body relaxed…it was as if I’d just watched stress evaporate.  He was literally illuminated with delight for being given the opportunity to talk about what he was passionate about. 

As you might guess, he’s very passionate about his business.

Of course, our discussion eventually evolved to focusing on his services, but it evolved from a place within himself where he felt connected to his passion for his company’s vision.  The energy of our conversation reflected this connection and his driving passion.

So what did I discover from a strategic marketing perspective by asking this question?

1. What he’s really selling; what his company is really about on its most meaningful level

We’re all working toward something much deeper and more meaningful than we sometimes realize, and I was able to get to the heart of what that is for him.  Beyond his services he gets great satisfaction from helping people perform at the level they are truly capable of performing at.  But I realized while listening to him that what he is most passionate about actually goes a layer deeper…his true joy comes from watching people transform their lives.  This was a striking revelation for me.

2.  A story

When people talk about their passion there is usually a story behind it – or because of it – that will surface.  As this gentleman talked with me a very poignant experience he had with a client popped into his mind and he openly shared it with me.  It helped clearly and soulfully illustrate what’s most rewarding about his company and how it brings him real joy.

3. A much deeper connection

Anytime I make a deeper connection with someone it enriches my life.  Now I can build on this customer connection in a way that will benefit both of us personally as well as professionally, and will benefit my client as well.  I could not have gotten to this point if I’d fillowed my original list of questions.  I simply couldn’t have.

4. A marketing plan

By the time my interviewee finished talking about what he is passionate about (and yes, he did stop hesitantly several times and ask, “are you sure this isn’t corny?” to my reply, “no, it’s brilliant”) it was clear to me how I could create content that would more vividly depict his vision and his company’s brand via stories.

As we know, great brands are great stories well told.

5.  A whole new approach to interviewing customers that I’m now eager to experiment with

The interview was an excellent reminder for me of how deeply people engage when talking about their passion, and how much they naturally reveal about themself and their business when given the opportunity to share with a genuinely engaged listener.

Do you ask your customers what they’re passionate about?  How do they usually respond to the question? If not, will you try it?  Please let me know in the comments section - I’d be honored to hear and learn from each of you!

Please subscribe so you don’t miss a post…Subscribe Here to receive posts in your in-box automatically. To receive posts via “READER” Subscribe Here - thank you – I genuinely appreciate having you as a reader!

Photo is Passion by _Imaji_.

13 Comments Filed Under: Executive, Marketing, Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Everything Communicates: 3 Critical Questions Your Company Must Answer – Now!

December 16, 2010 By 5 Comments

By Lisa Petrilli

Originally written for Blue Focus Marketing and republished here for my readers…

Everything communicates.

Gary Grates, President and Global Managing Director of Edelman’s Change and Employee Engagement Group, reminded the CEOs who were gathered for this month’s CEO Connection Boot Camp of this fact.

We’ve all heard it before but it bears repeating and it resonated quite strongly with me upon hearing it again in that meeting.  Why? 

Because in this digital age of 140 character tweets by well-known brands that get agonized over, and Facebook pages with often carefully-selected photos, it’s easy to become so hyper-focused on what we’re communicating about our brands that we can lose sight of the larger picture: What does the way we serve others as a company communicate to the world at large?

So, as we enter the holidays, which I see as a beautiful opportunity for reflection on our own personal vision and our corporate vision for 2011, let’s step back from the trees and take a fresh look at the forest.

As leaders, ask yourself these questions:

1. How do you communicate the positive things you do?

When you donate money to a charity what’s more fulfilling – sending out a press release announcing you’ve donated with the intention of persuading people to think positively of you, or inviting some of your friends to join you for a day to raise money for that charity, knowing word of your actions will spread in such a way that others are encouraged to get involved?

If you chose the latter, then:

  •  resist the temptation to announce in corporate-manner all of the company’s socially responsible actions
  • get comfortable relinquishing full control of your messaging and even more so with the idea that your customers and fans can tell your stories better than you can 
  • reward your employees and fans for getting involved in the socially responsible activities your company supports and for their commitment to non-profit organizations
  • and make it easy for them to tell their own stories about their experiences and your company 

Like Walmart did with Hurricane Katrina, just show up. Others will notice, you don’t need to announce it.  And the stories that get told just might be magical…

2.  Do you have a Values Statement for your company that you genuinely embrace and for which you serve as a steward? 

Having a Values Statement to which you give lip service in public doesn’t count.

In this new era of multiple generations collaborating for the good of the company it’s more important than ever for a climate of respect to permeate an organization, and for people’s ideas and opinions to be heard and to be valued.

One of my clients recently released a workplace learning study showing what employees in the corporate workforce who represent the 4 different generations wanted to hear most from their organizations.  Responses ranged from knowing that their experience is respected and they are valued to knowing that they would be working with other bright, creative people.  Are you communicating this to your employees?

I recently shared a story of a brilliant CEO who changed the entire culture of his company and tripled shareholder value by involving every single employee in his 1000-employee organization in the development of a Values Statement and then by serving as the head Steward of the organization’s values.  What does your company communicate to the outside world when it comes to values?

3. What is the “bigger idea” that your company and brands embrace?

The first time I met Mack Collier at a MarketingProfs conference he was discussing this question in regard to creating a meaty blogging strategy.  He encouraged the attendees in his conference session to think expansively in regard to the larger idea surrounding their blogs.

Companies and brands need to do the same thing.  They need to understand and immerse themselves in that larger idea, and their communications should reflect it.

What do I mean by this?  Let’s use Starbucks as an example.  We all know that Starbucks sells more than coffee; they sell a cozy, neighborhood community experience.

With this larger idea in mind they’ve embraced the creation of mobile apps to make loyal Starbucks customers’ experiences more local in nature, enabling fans to find the nearest venue and check out store specials.

They’re also promoting local artists and community service programs, encouraging fans and employees alike to get involved and support budding artists.  The importance to Starbucks of playing a role in the larger world community is communicated by their commitment to their Coffeehouse community, complete with music blogs, connecting for causes and idea sharing.

Note that when you’re on the Starbucks website you can’t miss these critical initiatives – they are prominently accessible at the top of the website.

So, what is the “bigger idea” brought forth via your company and brands? Do you communicate this larger idea – not only through your advertising – but also in the way you innovate and evolve to better meet the needs of your customers and the world at large?

I encourage you to ponder these three questions over the next few weeks as you reflect on your company’s vision and goals for 2011.  I hope you’ll use the answers to determine how you’ll become truly irreplaceable and irresistible to your customers in the year ahead!

Please subscribe so you don’t miss a post…Subscribe Here to receive posts in your in-box automatically. To receive posts via “READER” Subscribe Here - thank you – I’m honored to have you as a reader!

Photo is Thank You Card for Football Team by Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M.

5 Comments Filed Under: Executive, Leadership, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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