[MUSIC] So now to take leadership lessons from brands, we'll need to start by tackling two questions. First, what is a brand? And then, what makes a brand truly a great brand? After all, you're not here to become just any brand or any leader. You're here to turn these lessons into strategies to become a superior one. So, please start by thinking about a brand that you admire, that you think are just not like the others, the ones you won't easily trade off for competitors. The ones who continue to meet and then even exceed your expectations. How did that happen? How did they do that? And let's spend a moment better understanding what's meant by being a brand. What's the difference between a product or a service that a company produces and a brand? While academics and practitioners answer this differently, there's little debate that a brand finally is a promise to the customer. A promise of what the customer will get, and even what they'll feel when they own it. It's the promise to meet a set of expectations that consumers carry about that brand. You are also a brand. And you carry along a set of expectations that others have about you. Now imagine for a moment how you set a promise in place. How do you deliver on that promise? How do you compare? So back to question two about the qualities that comprise a truly great brand. What is it that great brands, leadership brands do, that distinguishes them? And what is it that they say? What's their story? Now, think hard about this in the context of brands you consider your own brands. That you consider truly great brands. And now think hard about leaders you also consider to be great brands. Not just public figures, but leaders in your work or in your community. With so much diversity of traits, of attributes and styles among leadership brands, it's not obvious what similarities they exhibit. But I believe that there are three characteristics that are commonly found among truly great brands and truly great leaders. Those characteristics are relevance, differentiation and authenticity. First let's talk about relevance. Which means that the brand really connects with its audience, and in a way that signals a kind of understanding of the expectations that that particular audience or customer has. That the brand, or if you prefer to substitute the word leader, that the leader understands this audience, is intentional about connecting in a particular way that signals we appreciate what is important to you. We get you. Even as your expectations grow, being relevant is the starting point for a great brand and a great leader. And it's a necessary quality. But it's not yet sufficient to be great. The second characteristic is differentiation, which means that when considered against competitors, this brand stands apart. It's that quality that makes us say things like, well there are companies that make this product, other companies, but then there's my brand. As if you, as a consumer, you put it in a separate category. Many believe that the brand Apple succeeds mightily in this way. Are you one who believes that nothing really compares to an Apple product? Do you know others who feel this way? It's as if there's a club that's open to those who really get what's different about this brand. The same is often said about great leaders. The ones you say well, lots of people do this particular job, but then there's Bob, or Catherine, or whomever it is that you see as being genuinely different. While of course being highly relevant. And then there's the third characteristic, authenticity. Authenticity is how you choose to lead in your way and to communicate in your way. Authenticity is the quality that no one can copy, because it is dependent on what is an essential truth about the brand. So as a brand and as a leader, it demands understanding what's true about you. What guides you. What you would never fake. What you wouldn't be able to fake. Authenticity is what makes it possible to have a brand introduce a new innovation and be met with the customer response that says, well of course that's what this brand would say, or what this brand would do. With intention, it's possible to be guided by one or two of these three characteristics, relevance, differentiation, and authenticity. But it's the genuinely great brands, and of course the genuinely great leaders, that are guided by all three, because they are the ones that make a difference in our lives. The ones we will follow, even as they innovate into new uncharted areas. Because finally, it is the job of great leaders to do just this. To help chart future directions that will engage and encourage others to follow them. So, are you a great brand? Are you relevant, differentiated, and authentic? Do you wonder, what promise do I represent to my audiences? Is my promise aligned with our purpose, the one that the company has? Which behaviors are most synch, in line with your intentions? Which are most out of synch with your own intentions? And which audiences misunderstand your intentions the most? And if you're not a great brand now, can you become one? Our next several videos will focus on how to do just that. [MUSIC]
