Leadership is a complicated thing. You lead yourself and lead your team. So many moving parts! There’s a third area of leadership that’s also important – leading your legacy.
Many business owners don’t start thinking about their legacy until fairly late in the game, perhaps when they are nearing retirement or hoping to sell the business. Skilled leaders start thinking about legacy the minute they start building the business.
What kind of legacy are you building with your business?
In addition to finances, one of the most important elements of your business legacy is your brand.
Your brand means you stand for something, something bigger and more important than just you. When your company establishes its brand, people know what the brand stands for and can repeat it (usually accurately) to others.
A brand doesn’t come into existence simply by the company repeating certain words over and over again. A brand makes a promise and delivers the promise in everything it does.
The power of the promise, the desirability of the promise, when it’s not just spoken but acted and delivered, propels a company into brand-dom.
And when the power of the promise is muted or simply not desirable, the brand will suffer and sometimes fail.
What do you stand for? What does your company promise to deliver to your customers? And do you deliver it? Do your customers feel you deliver it?
Let’s be honest. There are hundreds of companies out there who do what you do, who make the same type of products or create the same kinds of services. If you deliver executive leadership coaching, there are others who do the same thing. If you provide aging life care services, you’re likely surrounded by other agencies delivering the same or very similar services.
What makes you different from all of them? A compelling, desirable brand promise can be a game changer.
A brand promise represents a public declaration of what you strive to deliver to your customers, and to your team. You can tell us about your brand promise. But the key is to deliver your promise in everything you do, in the way your company is structured, the attitude of your team, the services you offer, the heart you bring to everything you do.
Pay attention to creating and fulfilling your brand promise in the same way you pay attention to your revenue.
What kind of legacy are you leading?
Blessings,
