In business, sports, and life there are winners and losers.
There are those that give and those that take.
There are true performers and those that merely pretend.
There are those that invest, plan ahead and prepare and those that tend to react.
There are those that accept responsibility for their actions and those that make excuses.
There are creative and effective problem solvers and those that tend to create problems.
There are those who are in it for the longer term and others who just want to make a quick buck.
There are those who actively listen to others and those that tend to listen only to themselves.
There are those who are willing to learn and change and those that hold onto past conventions.
None of us gets it right all of the time. None of us has all the answers. We all lose sometimes. And yet as we lose can we not learn from the experience and grow?
Winners deliver results. They deliver on their commitments rather than making empty promises. They accept accountability when things do not go right, and they work to rebound and make things right.
What does this all have to do with marketing and business? I think our brands and reputations are a function of our values, practices, the results we have delivered, and the way we handled matters when things did not go so well.
So, as we look at ourselves, our brands and the goals we want to achieve, perhaps we should consider is question. What can others expect of us as they consider investing their dollars and time with us?
Ultimately, it is up to each of us to determine the path we want to take and to make the choices necessary to fulfill the promises and commitments we have made to ourselves and others.
What are the experiences and results that your brand has delivered?
Perhaps more importantly, what are the steps that you are taking to make your brand and business successful in an ever changing and competitive world where disruption and creative destruction are realities.
Most of us want to be winners and to deliver on the results we promise.
I have had the great fortune to work beside some incredible mentors, mentors that each had their distinct styles, personalities and strengths. I thank them and think of them often as I go about business and life.