Valerie & Company Blog

If you haven’t noticed, we live in a society of letters…no, not snailmail…letters…like PhD, MBA, NCAA and a plethora of others. But, some letters are better than others and, in some cases, if we didn’t have the letters, we’d be doing a lot more writing or typing. But, the letters that distress me the most are NIMBY and NMP. NIMBY, if you don’t already know, stands for “Not in My Backyard.” A brand new big box store is welcome in the area, as long as it isn’t situated too close to YOUR home. YOU want a safe place for the homeless in our community to find shelter – but NIMBY. You get the picture?

So, what about NMP? NMP means Not My Problem. When you go to the drug store and the pharmacist tells you she is out of the medication your doctor just prescribed, you listen sympathetically but deep down inside, you want to scream, “Not My Problem! Just find me the darn lotion before I itch to death!” When the computer repair person explains why the appointment was missed – because one technician is on maternity leave and another is sick with the flu, you find yourself screaming (albeit inaudibly), “Not My Problem!”

What should these people be saying? It’s really simple. They offer solutions. The drug store is out of medication you need, but the pharmacist can order it and it’ll be here tomorrow…or you can drive five miles and get it at another drug store in the chain. The computer technician who’s working short-handed should give you his or her estimated time of arrival to take a look at your system. Who cares who’s out for what reason. But, any time a vendor of any type service makes an excuse before offering a solution, they deserve an irate customer shouting, “Not My Problem!”

Drat those letters!

Valerie

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The other day I picked up a management that featured a quiz on business “protocol power.”

A glance told me that the test was mostly about etiquette. Since I had learned which fork to use back in the sixth grade, I wasn’t too worried. I gave the magazine to a friend.

“Are you trying to give me a nervous breakdown?” asked Dallas stockbroker John Curtis a few days later. “Was that magazine quiz a hint or something?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. I thought he might enjoy the magazine’s story on vintage cars. And why was he so worried about manners? He had good manners.

But Mr. Curtis said he wasn’t so sure about his business manners. The test was an eye-opener, he said. He’d missed a lot of the answers
Read more here:

http://www.valerieandcompany.com/market-press/etiquette-for-power.html

Within days after his death, Michael Jackson tunes took the top nine places on Billboard’s Top 100 List. Retailers sold out of his CDs and his videos were in high demand. Even in death, the power of his mega-brand was very much in evidence.

However bizarre we might consider this entertainer, what lessons can we learn from Michael Jackson and his brand?

Here are a few:

• Jackson took time and care in establishing the power behind his brand. He wasn’t in a hurry – so it took 40 years or so.
• With few exceptions, every Michael Jackson product reached for – and achieved — the next level of excellence.
• The singer’s popularity and appeal as a performer was leveraged among several generations of consumers.
• Each Michael Jackson product (tours, television performances, music videos and video games) carried consistent elements, i.e., one spangled glove, white socks, military jackets and his signature dance moves. 
• To reinforce his brand, Jackson took creative risks to remain on the cutting edge of his industry.
• He crafted a style that was unique in an industry of look-alikes.

Of course, Michael Jackson’s branding wasn’t without its dings and dents over the years, but – for the most part – even the most bizarre behaviors and lawsuits didn’t extinguish the passion of his fans…or the appeal of his music across the generations.

Read more about branding here:

http://www.valerieandcompany.com/personal-branding/strategic-personal-branding-and-you.html