“Bob, you are really protective of your brand.”
All heads nodded in agreement…including mine.
Allow me—if I may—to set the stage: On the day that our speakers were giving their presentations, whenever there was a statement that could possibly be misunderstood, I would, afterwards, gently (yes, gently) point it out and explain why.
I’m also known to politely email bloggers and those on Social Media platforms who take the philosophy of The Go-Giver out of context or misquote. And, it happens often.
Does it drive me a little bit nutty keeping on top of it? Sure, to a certain point. Fortunately, it also teaches me two very valuable lessons:
- To the degree you can care without emotional attachment to the results, that’s the degree to which you’ll have peace of mind.
- You can manage your brand, but you can’t really control it.
Along with that, we can utilize various Internet and social media “alerts” to let us know when something about our brand is positively or negatively mentioned, stolen (accidentally, or…”accidentally on purpose”) or simply misinterpreted. People who are “watching our backs” will also let us know, and this includes customers, clients and friends.
There are major corporations that—especially in their utilization of social media—do this extremely well. Others? Not so much. And, we continue to see examples of both.
Regardless, whether huge or mid-sized companies or small entrepreneurial firms, none are actually controlling their brands. Those days are along gone. We can manage our brands; not control them.
Wisdom is knowing the difference.
Success is doing it effectively.
How do you do in that regard? And, do you agree with my premise or have I missed the mark?
Agreement and disagreement are both welcome, as I hope you know.
This article was originally published by Bob Burg
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