Every company or organization, from wannabe startups to mega-sized establishments, dreams of a centerpiece image that reflects the culmination of its wins, losses and collective, sustained efforts. Companies spend untold time and money crafting scenarios to accomplish this objective. The goal is not only fame and fortune but also ego. How a company presents itself can establish the organization as a trendsetter or superstar on its own stage.
Making the company a hero is about positioning the organization in the minds of its customers and the general public, and establishing a persona on which incremental successes can be built.
How a company is perceived can fuel sales and profits, and is vital in attracting and retaining the best and brightest employees. However, crafting the best face for its audiences requires constant attention and tweaking. Organizations that only worry about instant ephemeral gratification ultimately fall short as they try to get out of their own way to top their last achievement.
Before fabricating or modifying the architectural structure of that coveted image, the first step must be to determine the optimum cornerstone of the company’s public personality. Will it be that of a disruptor and innovator or a steady-as-she-goes predictable business priding itself on never delivering surprises? Others include sandbagging organizations that always set low goals to ensure they’re consistently exceeding them. These constantly aim-low companies celebrate delivering on the upside every time, even though they’re manufactured victories. Then there’s the Facebook/Meta style of moving incredibly fast, breaking things along the way, and only later worrying about picking up the pieces.
There are dozens of iterations for which a company can strive. The only rule is that the image must have legs that can contribute to casting a continuous glow on the company. Once an image is developed, it can evolve. However, it is very costly and challenging to do a 180-degree about-face and drastically change how it initially promoted its values. There are no right or wrong answers other than a business must commit to working towards the objective of what the company wants to be when it grows up, ensuring that it is doable and can produce as promised. This is called making sure that there is enough “juice in the squeeze.” Beware, however, of going all in and then realizing the time, money and effort invested missed the mark, and the intended audience either doesn’t get it or doesn’t care.
Like God, mother and apple pie, companies can’t go wrong by doing right. This includes respecting their employees, customers and the communities where they do business, and never neglecting their economic stakeholders and other vested supporters.
For your company to be a hero, it must stand out from competitors and represent something people want, respect and admire. Being a hero often requires making the end users the real winner/hero in the story. Doing right by a company’s constituents typically accrues to the company and is the most significant contributing element in creating the desired image.
The hypothetical or figurative orange juice usually flows if the squeeze is applied correctly, using the right touch. ●
Visit Michael Feuer’s website www.TipsFromTheTop.info to learn more about his columns, watch videos and purchase his books, “The Benevolent Dictator” and “Tips From The Top.”
