Thursday, September 08, 2011

Get Aligned!

THE WORD
The word "alignment" seems to be fashionable today in the consulting business.  I think it's a good word that well describes what branding can do for an organization.  So to me the word "alignment" is also very relevant to an organization's success.

WORK THAT BODY
If you think of an organization as a body you can see how making sure that everything is working together around a single concept allows each part of the body (the organization) to help the other.  Hand/eye coordination, if you will.  The world class athletes (organizations) will be the most coordinated.  The interesting thing (playing off of yesterday's post) is that bodies (organizations) that are focused on making decisions according to their brand also tend to be the most innovative.  Robert Goizeta, longtime CEO of Coca-Cola said, "We have 2 constants at Coke.  We have a constant purpose and a constant dissatisfaction with how we achieve that purpose."  Nuff said.


TRUTH AND RELEVANCE
So, before you go tell the world about how wonderful you are, make sure your wonderful words are backed up by a wonderful body (organization).  You don't want to have the same experience that a  300lb woman had when she uploaded a picture of a super model as her profile picture on a dating site.  Initial excitement at the number of men wanting to go out with her... and then a nasty collision with reality.  It's about truth and relevance. Know the truth of who you are. If you don't like it, change it. Become relevant. Then communicate  in a way that truly engages your audience.

Get Aligned!
 

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