Here is what we know: Whether your work is in accounting, finance, sales, marketing or operations, you are always selling your value, your opinion, your strategy and your expertise. Always.
Through market research and observation, as well as day-to-day work with clients on revenue efficacy, branding and marketing, Kate Burda & Co. has discovered that the same principles that make salespeople successful can be used as a framework to help professionals elevate their personal brand. When successfully implemented, this framework enhances a professional’s approach and habits and, most critically, their mindset.
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In the book “How the Best Get Better,” Dan Sullivan submits that a “No Entitlement Attitude” is a key commonality of highly successful entrepreneurs. These individuals see the world as a place where nothing is expected to be given or created for them. Nothing is owed to them unless it is created by them. This follows the adage, “if it is to be, then it is up to me.”
This “No Entitlement Mindset” is at the core of value creation.
Value happens when traditional corporate bureaucratic thinking gives way to an entrepreneurial mindset of impact and value creation. Value creation for both an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur within an organization begins with the recognition that tasks and skills sets must be enhanced with strategy, focus and talent.
Although people have tired of platitudes like “run it like it’s your own business” or “get out of the box,” few know how to start doing things differently. Here are 3-key elements that the Best do differently to elevate their personal brand through a value creation mindset.
1. Customer-centricity: it’s not about you
We have been wired to promote our experiences, our skills and our talents as valuable to others. But resume builders, the lists of things we have done, can be just that... a list.
Here is something to consider…who cares?
You can have extraordinary talents, experiences and attributes. Yet those prized characteristics will be devalued unless they tie directly to organizational goals and initiatives. Our wiring leads us to expect others to see the connection between our talents and what the organization needs. But when we leave others to put the pieces together, it is unlikely to happen.
Customer-centric is thinking of others before ourselves. Whether we are engaging with external or internal customers, it is critical to be clear about the relevant value you bring to the table. Obvious? Yes. But rarely done. Too often people start thinking about what they or their company offer such as the benefits and features of their products or services, the success stories of the past or their team’s talent and knowledge. Instead, they should be working to discover what a customer needs given their particular circumstances.
One of the core exercises Kate Burda & Co. does with leadership teams is to look at positioning as it relates to their organization’s most profitable customer. What is happening within that customer’s ecosystem, what are the customer’s current goals, as well as the challenges they currently face? Working to understand how to better a customer’s brand becomes the lynchpin of success for your company’s brand and your own personal brand. Start with your customer, not yourself.
Action: For your next meeting whether internal, external or a client interaction:
- Leave yourself at the door.
- Bullet point what the client is trying to achieve. Leave behind what you think they need and focus on what they are building to and what pressures are ahead of them.
- Analyze what they are trying to achieve operationally, financially, for their stakeholders and employees, and for their brand acceptance in the market.
- Then think of what insights will help them navigate their path.
People value you and your brand when you make it relevant to them.
2. Impact vs. output
Leadership, management and performance measures are evolving from those required in the manufacturing-focused era. In today’s knowledge-led organizations, different key performance indicators, metrics and benchmarking are required to support success. Many organizations remain caught in industrial performance metrics based on activity or output rather than measuring impact. It’s simply easier to count. But it is difficult or impossible to find correlation or causation between activity or output metrics and a team’s value or direct impact. This is as true in our beloved hospitality industry as it is in other types of businesses.
It is difficult to measure impact because it is derived from soft skills and the contribution of multiple people. However, people who can clearly articulate the impact of their work and insights will be most highly valued. Illustrating and articulating the direct effect of critical thinking on development and execution of activities that create value is a skill that needs honing.
Action: Think of key initiatives that you implemented and the impact and ripple effects of your work.
- Choose those initiatives that directly speak to your audience.
- Look at the story line of the insights you brought to others, the programs developed, the learnings and the impacts.
- Measure or monetize the initiative and its ripple effect.
People relate to stories of direct cause and effect from initiatives or programs you led or influenced that demonstrated valuable change.
3. Creativity
In our knowledge economy, creativity in thought and approach are highly needed and valued from team members, partners and vendors. Offering insights, as well as seeing what others have overlooked, is vital to the creative process. In the article “What value creation will look like in the future” from the Harvard Business Review, Jack Hughes asserts that little value is left to be realized through operational efficiencies other than technology. So, value creation will supplant value chain.
There are many indicators that support Hughes’ construct. Within hospitality, how we bring creativity and diverse thought to the conversation is key to elevating our level of play. Our industry tends to hold onto legacy methodology while saying, “think outside the box.”
Research has shown that people are more creative than what they believe. It is more nuture vs. nature. We all have the capacity to be more creative. Like any skill that we hone, we have to give time and discipline to do it. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and other innovative leaders dedicate time to thinking both critically and creatively. Gates is notorious for his “Think Week” when he hides away for a week each year to protect time to create. The same research showed that innovative leaders force over 50 percent of their time to be creative.
When our clients say they aren’t creative, we respectfully call them on it. We push them to value creativity and plan time for ideation.
Action:
- Carve out time to think through the situation; think about what is being overlooked; what is and is not being done; what other industries are doing.
- Bring others into the conversation from inside and outside the hospitality industry; choose to think with people who focus on the situation, not the process.
As we work to transform an organization’s revenue performance, what we know is that the transformation begins with a change in mindset. What worked in the past may not elicit the same results in the future. Being relevant and impactful are key in today’s economy. Thinking differently is now mission critical to creating the future we want for our customer’s brands, and for our own personal brand. Step outside the traditional box in 2020 and see where your brand can go.
Kate Burda is founder and CEO of Kate Burda & Co. The firm focuses on accelerating revenue through sales, marketing and revenue management. Kate Burda also teaches Revenue Management at Purdue University.
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