reducing churn

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hearing John Adams, Chairman of the Martin Agency, speak during our brand leadership class with Peter Coughter. John is a tall, striking, yet soft-spoken man. When he raises his voice, you know he means business.

Mr. Adams spoke about the importance of operating at a high level while still being able to execute the smaller, more insignificant details. "Have bifocal vision," he said.

One point he raised was particularly interesting. That was the topic of churn. "The only enduring setting for the creation of brilliant advertising is a powerful, deep, collaborative relationship with the client." I have so much admiration for this man. I felt honored to be sitting in front of him. We should always be faithful to our own companies, to the people who believe in us enough to put food on our table. However, we should honor the fact that how we behave toward our clients will ultimately have an economic value, whether that is positive or negative. Relationships, then, are the most important element in the reduction of churn.

starting a revolution

As my family joined together tonight to watch the beautiful premiere of the HBO miniseries John Adams, it occurred to me how the principles of strategy and branding are similar whether you are launching a new product line or in the making of a revolution.

You need what my dad calls a "level 5 leader." This is someone who brings humility and courage to the table. An individual who is able to inspire others to action and perhaps transform cultural paradigms. When we were children we learned about Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as brilliant thinkers and leaders of our colonial era, however, it was John Adams who engaged them to act.

You need a core of believers. These are people who come from a variety of places and represent various traditions and economic conditions, however, all share the same set of values and mission in life. Even though John Adams was very different from his delegate from South Carolina, John Rutledge, they both valued their independence to the extent that their differences could be laid aside.

You need a rallying cry. "Join, or Die," for instance, was a term coined by Benjamin Franklin in a 1754 cartoon depicting the disunited state of the British American colonies. It was a line used well into the Revolution as a method of persuading others to act upon their independence.

You need a measurement tool. For the newly established United States of America, the Constitution was the first measurement of law. To this day, it holds each branch of government accountable for independence as a whole.

http://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/

goodbye is all we have

It's safe to say that how you end a note says a lot about who you are and your intentions toward the recipient. The same applies for American corporate etiquette and the way in which we conclude our thoughts in an email. It's important to be friendly but not too familiar. I think the absence of a written conclusion also says something about your expectations for the receiver.

Some people even brand themselves with how they end an email. My friend Rob, for instance, is a motivational speaker and always ends his emails with "keep on smiling." Not only is it a throwback to his favorite quote, but a life dedicated to helping others feel their finest.

Three years ago I picked up the habit of ending my emails with "Best." It was the perfect pronunciation of how I wanted others to feel at the close of my communication with them. I'm fairly certain that I lent it from my college buddy Lance Hagaman. Perhaps, then, the way in which we conclude our correspondences is a direct reflection of not only our intentions toward the recipient, but also our homage to an individual who at one point inspired us.

uncommon sense

When we were children, it seemed the most common form of feedback revolved around our "use of common sense." When we were younger, it was easy to be foolish because we did not know any better.

As I grow older, there still seems to be this pressure around having common sense; making wise decisions with the right friends and business partners at the right time. More or less, common sense is about risk aversion. However, it seems to me that successful people do not get where they are going using common sense. These people become successful as a result of taking on risks using a little uncommon sense.

Uncommon sense can be defined as "a remarkable or unparalleled capacity to judge practical matters." As left-brained thinking nears the end of its life cycle and right-brained thinking makes a comeback, should we not favor the unfavorable?

selfless leadership

The Richmond Region is fortunate enough to have a legacy of so many wonderful presidential, academic, athletic and business leaders. I have always viewed a leader as someone who is able to serve the needs of others. A person who is able to envision positive change. However, vision does not exempt actionable behavior.

I think that the best leaders have followers and they don't even know it. They feel called to act and do so because they feel that it is in the best interest of their brand, their community, their team, or all three. Often, their vision is unpopular at the time he or she decides to act. Elizabeth Scott Bocock was one of these leaders.

In 1956 she founded the Historic Richmond Foundation. This was at a time when sprawl was consuming the region and neighborhoods like southside's Salisbury were very en vogue. Today, the people who are making decisions to live in historic districts such as the Fan or businesses that decide to have their culture be a part of Shockoe Slip, Adcenter included, are following the mood and mechanisms that ESB put in place half a century ago. She led selflessly.