Brand Energy

Have you ever felt stuck in a rut, where nothing, not even the air was moving in your office?

Your people feel like they could do with a holiday, even when work has been less than hectic?  When you step into the office, do you immediately feel like leaving?

If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you are suffering from low brand energy. Yes --  low brand energy. In Cantonese, the use the word Yen Hei or Ren Qi in Mandarin, which, translated, means "people energy".

Thriving, productive places have a certain buzz about them. It may be quiet but you can virtually hear the silent moves of purpose -- people walk with it and work with it.

It's a simple idea. Your brand is really brought to life by the people who care for it and nurture it -- from the dutiful receptionist to the visionary CEO. When everyone is motivated, their collective energy becomes the fuel that drives great work, which in turn gets business in.

The buzz of an energetic brand
(Image from www.business.burritos.com)

But what happens when a couple of  pivotal people in your company start to lose their verve and  drive?

Or there is a change in leadership and the new leader starts deviating from the prescribed values and culture and putting in his own brand personality to an already established brand.

It takes about 12 to 18 months to really affect collective change for the better. But if leaders start to move away from their promises or the brand promise of the company, then it just takes six short months for the spirit of the company to take a nosedive.

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great writes about how great organisations tend to hire CEOs from within their ranks to protect the sanctity of the company's culture and to maintain the status quo.

I tend to agree with him.

How do you feel about promoting from within? In your experience has it been a viable way to preserve brand values and culture?

We'd love to hear from you if you have a story to share.