Confidence, Compassion and Composure

Why ‘Emotional Intelligence’ Matters More Than Ever

So, how’s morale?

The recent economic turmoil has frayed even the steeliest nerves. And if the ups and downs are haunting you—be honest, now—then they’re probably spooking everyone else in and around your organization.

There’s no better time for a check on your “emotional IQ.” The term, which refers to a person’s ability to identify and manage the emotions of themselves and others, was the timely topic of a program put on last week by Tempo Milwaukee. A panel of executives from a variety of companies explored the most “emotionally intelligent” communications approaches for leaders during the current economic crisis.

What’s your company doing to weather the storm? What new pressures does this put on the team to perform? These are the kinds of questions on the minds of employees and customers alike. Company leaders can rise to this communications challenge by deploying emotional intelligence in understanding, acknowledging and addressing these concerns.

It’s about more than just telling people things will be OK. After all, empty reassurances and blind cheerleading won’t overcome the worries. And left unchecked, low-key fretting can turn to full-scale panic, which can wind up dictating the (wrong) direction of your company.

Leaders must be in tune with these cultural mood swings. And they must address them without reflexive emotional responses. Verbal diatribes, email flame wars and the like only escalate the negativity.

Instead, you’ve got to step back, take a deep breath and then confront the issues head on in a thoughtful manner. Project confidence, compassion and composure, and do it continuously—in all employee communications, customer newsletters, press interviews, etc.

Such emotionally intelligent leadership can help keep companies strong for when the outlook inevitably turns brighter in the months ahead.

Expanding Your Reach through Strategic Alliances

Is it better to have actual facilities in far-flung places, or just friends there?

For many companies, there’s no debate. Owning bricks and mortar in foreign lands just isn’t feasible. That’s probably never been truer than in this tenuous economy and tight credit market. Nevertheless, for more and more businesses, having a global presence is still essential.

The good news is that there’s a way to expand your reach without taking huge risks in terms of capital and credit: through well-crafted strategic alliances. That’s what many of our international clients have done. And it’s what we’re doing, too.

Last week, I attended the annual conference (in Boston, Mass.) of IPREX, one of the world’s largest networks of independent public relations agencies. IPREX puts us in a valuable partnership with reliable, accountable PR teams on the ground all over the world. So we have immediate access to cultural knowledge and communications expertise—whenever and wherever our international clients are doing business.

We not only support each other’s communications programs. We stretch our thinking, we provide each other access to both geographic and market-specific competencies, and we share best practices with a diverse group of professionals. It’s a far cry from the “not invented here” mentality or partisan politics that too often put individual success and the greater good at odds.

So perhaps it’s time to think differently about your competitors. Beneath the surface, you might just find a strategic ally and a company whose market and niche expertise may actually complement yours.

In an increasingly sophisticated, volatile and interconnected global marketplace, you might say that’s the best of one world.

Walking the Talk of Brand Evolution

We talked a couple of weeks ago about the importance of evolving your brand. But if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Well, it’s like home maintenance. Better to reinforce the roof before it caves in. Or think of it like a romance: You’ve got to keep it fresh.

Never get too comfortable with your brand, because the marketplace in which your brand lives is always changing—and besides, there’s always room for improvement. We aren’t just saying that. Right now, we’re launching a new Scheibel Halaska website, with an updated, refocused brand message.

We took some time to look deeper into what our clients care about and what we do that accelerates their success. That gave rise to a new tagline and a complete redesign of InsideSH.com.

The new site was a long time coming … but it won’t be long before you see more changes. That’s because we’re determined to keep our public face lively and up to date, just as we’re working every day to keep our services relevant and valuable to our clients. After all, it’s what we tell our clients (and blog readers) to do all the time.

McCain vs. Obama: 3 Lessons in Online Marketing

It’s shaping up to be a fascinating home stretch in this U.S. presidential election cycle. More interesting to us as BtoB marketers, however, is how the candidates are using online technology to share their message.

Some obvious contrasts:

Barack Obama’s campaign has long been recognized for taking advantage of web 2.0 interactive capabilities, including customizable my.barackobama.com home pages for supporters. That’s two-way communication, a conversation with the audience.

John McCain’s approach has been more traditional, using the web as a broadcast medium and airing the latest campaign commercial on the home page. That’s one-way communication, talking to the audience.

But the biggest difference is probably that Obama appears to have a more comprehensive, integrated online strategy. For example, the initial announcement of his VP running mate pick via text message.

These are generalizations, and the McCain team has been catching up in many ways. That’s what’s so great about online: you can keep improving as you go along.

So, without further ado, three lessons for marketers from observing the candidates online:

Exploit interactivity. The web is ideal for reaching more targets than ever—and understanding what they’re thinking. So seek every opportunity to engage your audiences. Calls to action, polls, comments threads are perfect ways to start the conversation.

Pursue an integrated strategy. The most advanced, innovative uses of online technologies aren’t worth much if they aren’t means to an end.

Continuously improve. Your website, like the technologies that support it, can and should constantly evolve. Shouldn’t be a problem, because the marketplace is always changing, so you should already be in a continuous improvement frame of mind. Simply extend this mindset to the web.

How Will the Harley Brand Rumble on?

Right now in our hometown of Milwaukee, Harley-Davidson is throwing itself a multiday party for its 105th anniversary. Hog lovers from around the world are rumbling into town for a full weekend of, well, let’s just say “fun.”

Good for Harley to put on a show for its loyal customers, even in a slow economy when sales are down. However, those declining numbers are no doubt a concern to Harley’s leadership—as are the numbers regarding its aging customer demographics.

As we look around, it’s easy to see that Harley’s base is dominated by older generations. And that has us wondering aloud about how this iconic brand can re-energize itself in the 21st century. How do you update a brand without forsaking its storied tradition? Here’s a look at some of the ways Harley is trying to strike that balance.

This historic company is far from being history. But while Harley searches for the path forward, let it be a reminder to you—no matter what game you’re in—that the marketplace is always changing. And brands that aren’t advancing with it can quickly find themselves left behind. Now more than ever, brands must continue evolving to survive.

Li Ning Marketing Coup: Classic Brains over Brawn

Via the Olympics, here’s a great case study into how a company with a much smaller marketing budget can upstage a rival.

Li Ning, a former Olympic medalist who owns the sportswear company that bears his name, did so to Adidas in the opening ceremonies last week in Beijing. Maybe you saw it: Li was the guy who “ran” around the top edge of the stadium and lit the torch.

Some are calling it the ultimate ambush marketing. Adidas paid the big money to be the sole sportswear sponsor, and then Li snuck in and grabbed the spotlight basically for free.

The prospect of taking on competitors the world over can seem pretty overwhelming for smaller to midsize companies. You have to work hard to be more creative. More consistent. More cost-effective. More with less.

But the Li story just goes to show that, even if you don’t have the marketing muscle of the competition, brains can beat brawn on the world stage.

Brett’s Brand: Too Favre Gone?

So, Brett Favre caught his Jet out of Green Bay. This chapter of the Favre soap opera is closed. He’ll be back in action next month, albeit in a new town and a new uniform.

Oh, and another thing that’ll never be the same: the Brett Favre brand.

Plenty of professional-sports pundits are speculating about what the move to New York will mean to Favre’s legacy in the game. But as marketers, we’re more interested in how it will affect his reputation off the field.

As good as No. 4’s career numbers have been in some respects, Favre owes as much of his popularity to the public perception (with a big tip of the cap to mainstream media) that he’s a hard-working everyman with a flair for drama. Just not the kind of drama he created by deciding to “unretire” last month.

Significant damage has already been done to his legend, according to this Wisconsin poll. After all, a real regular guy could never get away with the presumptuous behavior he’s exhibited over the past few weeks.

Granted, Favre isn’t likely losing any sleep over his brand’s declining value. But as we counsel our clients, he really should be concerned about his rep. He’s got a brand, whether he wants one or not. If he doesn’t shape it, it’ll be shaped for him. For example, I’m sure there are plenty more (and more critical) blogs about this saga.

Time will tell if the down-home hero persona he worked so many years to establish will still hold water, now that he’s taken his ball and fled east.