A long time in coming

This is the first post for The Brand at WORK blog.  Having studied social media the past year and consulted with clients on how to use it, I appreciate the benefits of a blog and know it is time for me to walk my talk.

The goal for this blog is to share practical, real-world insight and ideas on how a brand and marketing can work.  During my career, I’ve seen how a solid brand and effective marketing can achieve the market share, revenue and profitability targets of a company.  I’ve also seen from the same vantage point, how the failure to exercise discipline in the marketing function, from strategy through execution, can have the exact opposite effect: reduced market share, declining sales, customer turn-over and lower profitability.

I’ll also share my experiences in the journey to small business from Corporate America.  Besides the business lessons, there are also personal lessons.   Many in Corporate America contemplating a move out might not yet appreciate the shift in mindset necessary to succeed in small business.  At the same time, some in small business believe those in Corporate America are out of touch with the customers they serve.  I’ll provide some insight from the lessons I’ve learned to hopefully bridge this gap.

This blog has been a long time in coming.  I’ve put off beginning this blog for two reasons worth sharing.  First, it has never been second nature for me to draw attention to myself.  So the idea of putting my thoughts and ideas out on the world wide web honestly took time to get my head around.   Second, I wondered how I was going to fit a blog into my already very busy life.  I was going to say “work week” instead but right now there is no such thing as a Monday to Friday work week.   My work and my life run seven days a week, sometimes 24X7.

Yes, having a blog is a commitment in time if it is done well.  And, my thoughts are out there for all to see.   The benefits however of adding my voice to the conversation on the subjects of brand and marketing far outweigh the extra discipline and courage I will muster to make this work.     I’ll no doubt make mistakes along the way in addition to the success I find.   My hope is that you will learn from my process of contributing to and managing a blog.

In reading and following blogs the last year, I’ve learned that a blog is not a one-way communication vehicle for a blogger to espouse their thoughts.   Done right, a blog sparks a thought-provoking dialogue and is the reason why it is considered social media.   My objective is to create a dialogue.   So please come back to keep me honest in this process and contribute to the conversation.