Jon Michail is Founder & Group CEO of Image Group International & best-selling author of Life Branding. Follow him on LinkedIn & Twitter.
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When talking about the constantly changing landscape of personal and corporate branding, strategy and authenticity are two crucial concepts that need to be delicately balanced.
Common sense suggests these concepts are must-haves for obvious reasons: Strategic maneuvers determine how your goals will be achieved, while authenticity involves genuine self-expression at the core of a lasting relationship with your audience. This is further corroborated by a survey by Stackla, where 86% of customers said their choice of brand is determined by authenticity.
The Importance Of Authenticity
Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, arguably set the brand up for dominance. He understood authenticity and once said, "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."
His words show how crucial being real is for someone who wants to have a successful, integrated professional and personal life journey. You have to be genuinely committed and passionate about what you're doing to make waves. Jobs understood that it was not just about having a smart plan; authenticity needed to be the heartbeat.
But there’s a common misconception: A lot of people think you can pretend to be authentic to get ahead and rake in a quick profit. This may work for some people, however, it's an unsustainable tactic for most. This mindset not only misses the importance of authenticity but also fails to see the role it plays in having a successful strategy.
Howard Schultz, the noteworthy former CEO of Starbucks, echoed this sentiment when he said, "Authentic brands don't emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does."
You can’t just pretend to be authentic when it suits your brand—it’s something that has to be built into everything your brand does. No wonder Schultz's leadership exemplified the notion that authenticity has to be ingrained in culture, values and actions. Indeed, for Starbucks, authenticity isn't just a smart ploy; the company is widely known for conducting business with integrity and transparency, shown through genuine customer engagement.
Authenticity And Strategy In Perfect Synchrony
Fundamentally, authenticity is a state of being. It is the art of being able to sincerely express one’s beliefs, principles and ideals despite external pressures to fit in or conform to societal norms. Being authentic means there is congruency in your words and deeds. When you are truly authentic, you are the same whether you're in front of a camera, in the boardroom with executives or alone. Being authentic requires being consistently open, dependable and bold enough to stick to your principles, especially when they don’t conform to societal expectations.
Strategy, on the other hand, needs to be carefully and thoughtfully put in place. The quality of the strategy is what will determine if you will overcome the challenges posed by personal or organizational objectives and milestones. A proper strategy involves the planning and tactical distribution of personal and business resources in the most efficient and favorable way.
Balancing strategy and authenticity is the key to it all. But it requires more than just skill; you need a deep comprehension of not only how your big ideas work, but also how they represent your beliefs and basic principles.
When authenticity and strategy are in perfect synchrony, the effect is revolutionary. Why? Your actions are no longer limited to the domain of mere strategies; instead, they become mirror images of who you are deep down. This is who employees, consumers and stakeholders want to know, and thus there is a naturally rich reward of engagement, loyalty and trust. You can then build strong, long-lasting relationships with your audiences. These ties, which are created within the parameters of authenticity, develop effortlessly because they are sincere expressions of identity and values.
Reaping The Rewards Of Authenticity
Viewing authenticity as a "game face" or as a tactical maneuver is a grave mistake. Not only will a mindset like this diminish the value of authenticity itself, but customers and associates will eventually see through it, leading to a loss of trust over time.
Today's audiences are more discerning than ever, able to spot dishonesty and insincerity from a distance. According to a Stackla survey, while 92% of brands think their content is authentic, 51% of customers think fewer than half of brands create authentic content.
Furthermore, a frightening 30% of Millennials claim to have severed their online relationship with a company because they perceived their content to be inauthentic. This should be seen as a warning: To reap the rewards of adding authenticity to your brand, you must go beyond accepting it on the surface and incorporate it into your daily way of being.
Indeed, it is for this very reason that Oprah Winfrey, a luminary figure and philanthropist with excellent personal branding, underlines the formidable power of authenticity. She is credited with saying: "I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier."
Oprah's successful personal brand can be attributed to her unwavering dedication to authenticity, a quality that distinguished her brand and struck a resounding chord with countless individuals. Her words reflect a profound understanding of how genuine self-expression can drive success.
Conclusion
Rather than being viewed as mutually exclusive, strategy and authenticity should be considered avenues for creativity and development. Indeed, all strategic moves should be based on authenticity. This helps ensure accomplishments have more meaning than just being milestones. More importantly, combining authenticity with strategic expertise offers a route to success that is not only effective but also honorable, long-lasting and energizing for the human spirit.
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