BE DiFFERENT or be dead Blog

December 2, 2010

BE DiFFERENT YOU! How to WIN

It all boils down to being able to state how you intend to satisfy the requirements of your target customer (the Foxes WHO you intend to SERVE) in a unique and compelling way.

As I stated in other Articles, organizations can use the ONLY Statement as the vehicle to express BE DiFFERENT. This approach can be used equally as effectively at the personal level.
‘I am the ONLY one in our organization that ...’ is a statement that will clearly place YOU in the lead and leave others in the dust. And if you think you have put something together that you think expresses your uniqueness go test it out on your mentors, Foxes and others in the organization.

Your ONLY Claim must meet the following tests:
1. Your only statement must address a relevant, compelling and high priority need for your organization. To claim you are truly special at something that is simply not relevant at that particular point in time is futile and will get you nowhere. For example, if your business has significant marketing challenges and you attest to your unique brilliance in inventory control you will not likely dazzle others and get a leg up on your internal competition. Climb the mountain that is THE challenge for your organization so that when you make your only claim others will sit up and take notice because it resonates loudly with the issues leadership is struggling with.
2. Your only statement must be true. Others must attest to the fact that the words and music line up; that you consistently demonstrate the values and behaviors expressed in the statement. If you claim to be unique at something that isn’t true or that you demonstrate inconsistently, others will see it and you will suffer a major set-back.
Consider this example of an only statement for YOU.
‘I am the only person in my organization that has the demonstrated critical marketing skills and experience to lead the transformation required from a transaction based monopoly to a customer driven competitive business.’

Constantly measuring your ONLY Statement is exceedingly important to ensure YOU are delivering its value every day and that the uniqueness you claim continues to be a high priority for your organization. Develop a simple Only Report Card and get your Foxes, mentors, colleagues and other leaders to rate you every month on the ONLY claims you are making. Their perception of YOU is reality so stay close to them and listen to what they have to say.

Here’s an example of an Only Report Card. Rate each statement on a scale of one to five (five being the most positive response).
1. The company considers competitive marketing skills to be a critical competency that needs to be developed to be successful in the evolving competitive market…
2. Roy has a proven background of marketing experience that is relevant to transforming our organization to a competitive enterprise…
3. Roy has the necessary marketing skills to create our marketing function as a core competency that gives our organization a strategic advantage in the market…
4. Roy is the only person in our organization who possesses the essential combination of demonstrated experience and skills to lead our marketing team into the brave new competitive world…

If the score on the first statement is not a ‘5’, STOP! It means that you are claiming uniqueness on a competency that is not an organizational issue at the moment. As discussed earlier this is tantamount to having the right answer to the wrong problem and your only claim will resonate with no one. Go back to the drawing board, reassess the top challenge facing your organization and develop a new only statement for YOU. Then go back to the measurement process.

If your score on statement number one is ‘5’ and your scores on statements two and three are less than ‘4 ’ you need to provide more demonstrated evidence on delivering the only value you claim to provide. It could be that you are deficient in certain aspects - like you don’t really have the depth of experience you claim you have - or that you are not perceived by others to possess them.

Address any real deficiencies and keep measuring. If it is a perceived deficiency, consider communicating more effectively with people on your background and achievements.
If your score on statement number five is less than ‘4’ it means that you have strong competitors who are also viewed to possess the value your only statement claims. Your audience is not getting what you do as different and you are being included in a bucket with others who are tagged with similar traits. This is not good. You must communicate more clearly on your activities and accomplishments and always relate them back to your only claim.

Incorporate your ONLY statement in your HOW to WIN strategy:
‘I will compete and WIN by demonstrating my unique marketing knowledge in Customer Learning, Customer Secrets and Holistic Offer creation to help the organization move from a regulated monopoly world to an intensely competitive one requiring an obsessive focus on the customer and delivering them highly differentiated value.’

That would work. Stay tuned for the next YOU Article.

Cheers,
Roy