As my son wraps up his kindergarten year, this proud mama has reflected back on that classic book by Robert Fulghum “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  Those timeless rules like “don’t hit people,” “clean up your own mess,” and “put things back where you found them” can help all of us be better people, both at home and in the business world. To read the entire list of kindergarten values, click here.

Turns out there’s lots you can learn about blogging from the world of Sesame Street.  For new and seasoned bloggers, here’s 5 Things Sesame Street Can Teach You About Breakthrough Blogging.

And here’s a few more interesting things I’ve read this past week:

Are you still trying to decide if your business should join the Twitter revolution?  Here’s another post with some rationale to chew on.

When times are tight, businesses that sell luxury products can face huge challenges in maintaining a meaningful brand.  Here’s some insight on what to do when “luxury” becomes a four-letter word.

Trying to figure out what to do with all your new online relationships? Here’s some ideas from Business Week on learning and profiting from online relationships.

15 Training Tips to Boost Your Retail Success

In the competitive world of retail, training your associates and managers is essential to building and maintaining the right customer experience that supports your brand. Kennedy Communications has had the privilege of working with a number of leading global retailers on a variety of training initiatives. We’ve developed a collection of best practices in retail training as a result of these programs. If you have any additions to this list, please leave us a comment and we’ll update as appropriate.

1. Simplify processes
Concept: Clearly define all processes and keep them simple.
Example: Process training can be overwhelming, and if the processes are too complicated they will not be followed. It is also useful to include memory devices such as acronyms or metaphors to assist retention.

2. Time-release learning
Concept: Break learning down into manageable chunks; spread information delivery over time to avoid bombarding associates with too much, too fast.
Example:  A series of short online learning sessions followed by defined exercises and manager/mentor check-in to reinforce and validate learning.

3. Evaluate ROI
Concept: Evaluate depth of training program by Return On Investment (ROI).
Example:  Base the investment in training on the predictable longevity of the associate and the ROI that will be realized from the cost of training. Also, deliver training in forms that require minimal involvement from other team members to decrease labor costs associated with training.

4. Keep associates on sales floor
Concept: Take associates out of the workspace for as little time as possible.
Example:  Design training that can be done in between regular work responsibilities on the sales floor or will only take the associate off the floor for short (15 minute) intervals.

5. Deliver training on demand
Concept: Deliver training using vehicles that are available on demand for immediate learning and usage of new tools.
Example:  Use video, computer-based training, and self-guided workbooks, as opposed to structured classes that may cause a delay in learning due to scheduling.

6. Align with advancement and competency models
Concept: Align training components with a model that reinforces and supports steps and stages.
Example: Associates will see that investing in their own training will better qualify them for future advancement.

7. Use job aids
Concept: Provide job aids in the work environment to the support concepts rolled out in training.
Example:  Provide workflow or process posters, flash cards,  and summary sheets for associates to use on the sales floor or in the back-of-store. 

8. Incentivize learning
Concept: Support learning culture by tying incentives to ongoing learning opportunities.
Example:  Create a points program or reward structure to motivate and encourage training program involvement. 

9. Follow up
Concept: Follow delivery of training content with exercises and evaluations to validate and reinforce learning.
Example:  Check back in with the  manager/mentor after a training session to review and support the learning. 

10. Provide mentoring
Concept: Offer structured communication and mentoring/coaching processes.
Example:  Many organizations find it useful to provide a mentor for a new associate that may not be their direct manager. 

11. Show commitment
Concept: Develop formalized (or branded) training program that clearly demonstrates the business commitment to training.
Example: A “corporate university” or other recognized program can effectively show a commitment to a strong learning culture. This can also be used as a recruiting tool for associates looking for a job that offers development opportunities. 

12. Communicate program goals
Concept: Develop and roll out company-wide communication about training programs, opportunities, changes, and announcements.
Example: Communicate with associates via learning portals, education update emails, and bulletin boards displaying training updates in stores. 

13. Track efforts
Concept: Track module/course completion.
Example: This can be as formal as a Web-based Learning Management System (LMS) or as simple as a checklist for associates and managers, but is very important in assuring compliance. 

14. Enable associates to hit the ground running
Concept: Focus training for new hires on being able to use tools and content immediately.
Example:  Within their first days on the job, associates should be able to see they can add value. 

15. Encourage self-assessment
Concept: Create and provide self-assessment tools to all associates so they can monitor their progress and choose ongoing training courses that fit their skill development needs.
Example: Assessing performance and skills at regular intervals can also trigger additional motivation to stay with the company, and to continue to develop professionally.

Dutch social networking site claims half the population has registered accounts.

The Dutch social networking site Hyves (hyves.nl) is getting remarkable attention in the international press. Business Week published about it,  and recently there was a post on Jeremiah Owyang’s Web Strategy blog on this Dutch phenomenon.  

Named after the idea of a buzzing beehive, Hyves boasts nearly 8 million accounts, meaning half of the Netherlands’ population of 16 million are using the tool.  Facebook is only a minor player on the Dutch social networking market, and MySpace was such a weak competitor that it closed its Amsterdam office a few months ago. Only LinkedIn seems to be a serious competitor and has grown in the Netherlands to more than a million users in the past year.

The Dutch seem to have a particular fondness for social networking on the web and have adopted the technologies at more than twice the rate of other Europeans.  Jeremiah Owyang’s blog post made some interesting points about this phenomenon that were fairly accurate:

1. The Netherlands has a strong web based infrastructure and easy availability of high speed networks and access to wireless.  This is true.  We rank highest in the world on these stats.
2. The Dutch have a mobile based culture where most citizens have smart phone devices with web surfing ability.  Not true.  This is not a factor in these statistics. Maybe in Asia or Silicon Valley, but not here yet. Over 90% of the people use their phones only for calling and texting.
3. The culture and government of the Netherlands encourages independent thought and freedom of expression. True.
4. There is a general social acceptance of sharing, learning, and collaboration. True.  To put it bluntly, the Dutch can be kind of nosey as a culture, and we like to show off our social talents (hence lots of Friends, Pals, Connections, etc).

Another big factor is our state of welfare in the Netherlands, which not only gives us high speed connections and many computers available at home, work, school, university or library, but also the free time to invest in these kinds of social activities.

Three out of four of Jeremiah’s observations about social networking in the Netherlands are true.  Not bad for a Silicon Valley resident.  Although this still does not fully explain the startling success of Hyves, which lacks the design qualities and features of similar sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Compared to the competition, Hyves looks like it was designed by a 12 year-old as a school project. (And not a “Harvard here I come” 12 year-old, but an average pre-teen who sees the project as an obstacle to more free time.) So why the huge success?

4 main reasons:

1. Many users have multiple accounts.  On Facebook and LinkedIn, most people have one account. Hyves is loaded with multiple accounts. People generate a new account every time they forget their password, and they open additional accounts for their child, pet, favorite bar, TV-series, sports team, car brand, or any other professional, social, or hobby related topic. And people have weird hobbies, believe me!
2. Being keen on free possibilities for partnerships, celeb endorsements and commercial activities. When Hyves started to get a lot of hype, popular DJ’s, singers, actors, and commercial brands were supported in getting their Hyves accounts to link with their fans. In certain age groups, this created some social pressure to get an account, or alternatively be without “real” friends.
3. The local competition was too technical. When Hyves started in 2004, Holland was ready for a good social networking site, but all the competitors seemed too technical for the masses.  This resulted in average users not being easily engaged.      
4. The global competition was too slow and not able to fight for market share. Once Hyves became locally accepted, competitors like MySpace and Facebook had to provide incentives for people to move and become a member.

The battle for Facebook in the Netherlands isn’t over yet, but it will take some strategic maneuvering to make it a viable competitor in the Dutch market.  LinkedIn has added value to Dutch professionals that make it stand apart from the others.  For now, the buzz about Hyves is extremely prevalent in the Netherlands, and the Dutch will likely continue swarming around it for the foreseeable future.

It’s been a busy week as we gear up for some exciting work with a new client – a major specialty retailer who needs to develop internal and external communication programs to support the brand, boost sales, and create a welcoming customer experience.

In the meantime, here’s a roundup of interesting articles & posts we’ve bumped into over the past week.

Employees can be incredible brand ambassadors.  Find out how some Fortune 500 companies are using high profile employees to call attention to their brands. click here

Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research regularly provides fascinating insight on the social web. His most recent post describes how top companies are embracing social technologies. click here

Are you afraid of giving away too much of your expertise? This blog post on the Golden Rule of Online Marketing describes how you can share your expertise and still make money. click here

Has your dog been trying to tell you for years that he wants bacon and eggs for breakfast? Del Monte leveraged a social media community for dog owners to create a new pet product. click here

Google uses an algorithm to analyze employee behavior. Wonder what ever happened to a good old conversation? click here

Last week, my colleague Dan Biesma in Europe, wrote a blog post saying the end is near – the end of the recession that is.  I keep waiting to see the headlines in the newspaper and on the Net:  “The Recession is Officially Over! Life Can Get Back to Normal.”  This recession may not have an official “end” – it’s more likely we will gradually shift to a new normal that’s ripe with opportunities for companies who are ready to play big.

The new normal will have some exciting innovations. To weather the recession, we’ve all been forced to be more resourceful, efficient, and creative, which has shifted the way many companies do business.  Companies have become lean and mean, and displaced workers with an entrepreneurial spirit have opened new businesses.

As we begin the new normal, it’s important to take stock of where you are and addresses any internal issues that could stunt your culture if left unattended. Here are three tips to help you get ready to play big in the new normal:

1. Reevaluate and reinvigorate your mission and vision. As you come out of a downturn, be sure that your mission and vision still apply to your business. Make any changes that need to be made, then re-enroll your teams. During the recession, there have likely been lots of distractions, stress, and gossip as layoffs have been made and people have been forced to do more with less. This is a golden opportunity to re-enroll and reenergize. This will also help it become clear who’s with you on your team and who might need to move on to other opportunities.
2. Reassess your marketing promise. Are you still fulfilling on the promise of your brand(s) and the promise to your customers? What needs a tune-up? Examine key processes. Take a hard look at your products and services. Companies who are promising one thing and delivering another quickly lose integrity with customers during a time they need it the most.
3. Re-hire for success. Now’s the time to be poised to hire the best people to support your mission and vision and bring them on-board in a way that empowers them for success. As you begin to add back to your team, make sure you have hiring, on-boarding, and training programs that support your brand and marketing promise.

Smart companies can leverage the end of the recession as a re-birth.  This is not the time to nurse your wounds and feel sorry for yourself but to re-build, re-energize, and recommit to your business in the new normal.  This begins with a clear vision, the right team, and the right communication with your customers and your employees.

We are pleased to welcome a first post to our blog from Dan Biesma, Managing Director for the European Office of Kennedy Communications in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

The global recession is still upon us. As an agency working for global brands we saw it happening last year in conversations with our clients, first in the US, then in Europe. In a few months the topics changed from projects aimed at building brands and people’s capabilities, to communications strategies and tools for change operations, cost cutting programs, and downsizing projects.

Luckily, history proves all recessions come to an end. And the media, as well as companies, governments, and consumers are looking for positive signs over recent weeks. Signs indicate the end of the economic downfall is near. The Fed and the ECB, its European equivalent, are sounding more optimistic than they have been in a long time and the stock markets seem quite stabilized or even trending upwards.

U.S. employers made 539,000 workers redundant in April. According to U.S. Labor Department statistics, this represents the fewest job cuts in six months and far better than the 620,000 reduction that economists had expected. But still the country’s unemployment rate hit a 25 year high.

However President Obama gave a positive interpretation of these figures when he said that America was showing signs of economic recovery.

Like the French say: ‘C’est le ton qui fait la musique’.

During the past 6 weeks, our team has heard a shift in the tone as well as the content in our conversations with clients, global market leaders who move quicker than their competition. The tone has become more positive and reflects the belief that their company and brands, their teams and they themselves will come out of this recession better and stronger. And they want creative, engaging, and solid solutions to make this happen.

As the tone of the conversations has shifted, so has the content. Our clients are showing they want programs in place to help align their companies for long-term, strategic growth. Conversations have centered around programs related to leadership development, on-boarding, diversity & inclusion, employment branding, customer service and sales training.

Strategic thinking like this will help companies build strong cultures from within that will support their external marketing promise – the core of internal-external brand alignment.  Leading companies are ready to refocus on creating and delivering value to their customers and developing their employees.

The end of the recession must be near, which means it’s time to focus on a new beginning. Now is the time to start rebuilding and refocusing on the next phase.  In an upcoming post, we will outline some considerations for business communicators that can help you emerge from a recession empowered and ready for action.  Are you ready for the end?  What’s happening in your company to prepare for your next chapter?

Many of our clients are excited about the emerging possibilities of social media, but often hit road blocks when talking about the social web with company executives.

Concerns often center around damage control from rogue “social” employees, an unclear return on investment (ROI), or a perceived decline in productivity from team members who are now tweeting, blogging, and friending on the web rather then getting their primary job done.

These are all legitimate concerns but need to be looked at from a broader context that includes quickly shifting consumer behavior, the future business communications landscape, and the tremendous positives that many companies are generating from participation on the social web.

It’s not suprising that many executives are skeptical of the social web. I assert that this scepticism comes, in large part, from a very limited understanding, as well as limited participation in the social space by most executives.

Paula Drum, former VP of Marketing at H&R Block put it this way in a recent blog post:

“One of the most popular questions that I get asked is how to build support at the C-level.  Having a clearly defined objective is critically important to gain support of any initiative.  However, everyone is always focused on the ROI or return on the investment.  I have defined ROI a little differently in this new and emerging space as Risk Of Ignoring. There is an absolute change occurring in how we communicate and seek information as a society.  The millennial generation is the first digital native generation with very different expectations of companies and marketing.  In the not so distant future the millennials will be a larger purchasing demographic than the boomers.  Not understanding this segment will be detrimental for future marketers.”

We’ve collected a few current resources that may assist you with building the case for social media with your “C” suite. Most executives honestly do have the current and long term interests of their organization at heart. I look at it as a simple education process to deepen their understanding of a world that appears very foreign. That is the spirit in which these resources are shared. We would also appreciate your comments on the challenges you face, and success you have in building a more complete understanding about the social web in your organization.

An Executive Guide to Social Media: Business Week

How to use Twitter for Customer Service

A Journalist’s Guide to Twitter

Final Idea: Play this video to put the Social Web in context for your leaders.

Who would have known that my new favorite rock star would be sporting a sweater vest and tie, accessorized with a big laminated name-badge on a lanyard? Meet Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB and the star of Intel’s newest ad campaign dubbed “Sponsors of Tomorrow.”  He can make even the geekiest geek swoon with admiration and a touch of envy.

According to an article on Forbes.com, Intel’s newest campaign is also its biggest in nearly three years and is a first to spotlight the promotion of the Intel brand instead of a processor product. 

The Forbes article quotes Deborah Conrad, Intel Vice President and General Manager of the Corporate Marketing Group.  She says “For more than 40 years, Intel has been delivering tomorrow’s ‘normal’, and our new marketing campaign is a way for the world to be made aware of this fact.  We’re hoping to convey that we’re not just a microprocessor company, but a move-society-forward-by-quantum-leaps company.” 

In essence, this new campaign is one that reflects the culture of Intel – not simply a product.  Having worked with Intel on numerous projects and programs over the past four years, it’s refreshing to see the company break away from “speeds and feeds” to focus on what’s really fabulous and fascinating about the company – its people, their innovation, their willingness to take calculated risks in the effort to push our world forward. 

The Sponsors of Tomorrow campaign is actively leveraging Intel’s company culture to build the Intel brand – a key component of internal-external marketing alignment.  Your company culture is the channel through which you deliver your brand to the world. It’s your people who bring it to life for your customers. 

In the case of Intel, it’s people like Ajay Bhatt.  He may have very few opportunities to interact with Intel customers, but he is a powerful contributor and ambassador of Intel’s culture, which ultimately shapes the brand.

Who are the unseen rock stars that shape your brand?  How do they contribute to the culture within your company?  We’d love to hear from you.

We spent the day yesterday with a favorite client, talking about how to leverage the input, expertise, and agendas of multiple departments to build a strong employment brand. For a variety of reasons, her company has resisted entering the social media space in any sort of official capacity, although it’s undeniable that employees within the company are already participating on their own.  We can see it’s on the horizon for her company, and we had some energizing discussions on how they can best prepare for this shift that will ultimately impact the brand and culture of the company.

Here are four things we’ve read in the past week that continue to fuel our thinking on the topic of brands and social media:

Jeremiah Owyang, a senior analyst at Forrester, has become a favorite expert who we follow on Twitter and in his blog posts. In a recent post on the Forrester Blog for Interactive Marketing Professionals, he outlines the five eras of the social web.  This is fascinating stuff.

From Business Week, read about “How Social Networks are Changing Everything.” This article gives some glimpses of how we might manage our on-line identities in the future.

You know lots of companies, both big and small, are launching into the social media world.  We enjoyed reviewing this list of Social Media Marketing examples from Peter Kim. 

Check out this video on YouTube that shows how Best Buy is building social media into the company culture – allowing employees to communicate freely with each other, share ideas, collaborate, and build company culture.

Starbucks has recently launched a new ad campaign that Senior VP of Marketing Terry Davenport calls a “long-term story telling campaign” that will focus on the quality and value of the product and the values of the company. The ads are intended to help build the brand and product value by showing what Starbucks is all about. An article in the Wall Street Journal says the ads are a direct response to competition from McDonald’s, who has also begun a national advertising campaign to promote its new line of low-priced coffee drinks.

No matter what the bottom-line intention of the campaign, Starbucks is demonstrating a powerful example of internal-external brand alignment. The company is leveraging the influence of its employees, or “partners”, as they are called by Starbucks, to support the advertising campaign and integrate it into the customer experience.

In a video posted on YouTube, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks directly to employees about the new campaign. He explains the rationale behind the messages and encourages employees to talk about the ads with customers. He points out that the ads not only represent what the company stands for but are representative of “you” – meaning the employee.

By engaging employees and encouraging the development of a strong internal culture, Starbucks is helping to fulfill its brand promise to customers. As stated on the company’s website, the Starbucks mission is “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” What better way to fulfill that mission than starting with your employees? They’re the ones who can truly create an experience for customers that will bring the mission to life and keep them coming back for more coffee — no matter what the price.

Tell us how your company leverages its culture to build a customer experience. What brands do you think are most successful in this space?

A colleague of mine shared a recent story that I believe illustrates one of the new challenges companies face in managing their brands in the age of the social web.  It also points to the importance of building true internal-external brand alignment in your organization.

Our tale begins at a recent large international tradeshow in Las Vegas where a leading US-based technology company had a major booth.  I am sure the executives who authorized the substantial cost to exhibit at the show viewed it as a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers and promote the many great technologies the company produces.

My colleague, who is a well regarded member of the industry, was touring the show floor and happened across the above company’s booth where she had a rather negative experience. She was treated in a very dismissive way, and she left the booth disappointed and a little irritated.

In the heat of the moment she communicated her disappointment and irritation in a rather sharply worded “tweet” on Twitter through her cell phone, then went on with her day without giving it another thought.

The next day she received several urgent voicemail messages from the Director of Marketing from this particular company, demanding a call back. When they finally connected she was admonished for daring to write a negative tweet about the company, threatened that this company could make her life difficult if she ever said another negative thing about them, and then made to feel guilty for putting the Director of Marketing’s job at risk.  Apparently the senior executives had been monitoring Twitter and were not happy with what they heard in the “tweet” about the experience in their booth.

In so many ways this experience did not surprise me. Many large companies have been able to manage their brand for decades by using their size and industry stature to intimidate and quickly stamp out potential damage to their brand.  These behaviors are often well entrenched in the culture of the organization and employees are encouraged to respond quickly to quiet dissention.  After all, isn’t that one of the benefits of being large?

The leveling quality of the social web has shifted the balance of power forever, yet many companies are still caught in old cultural models that no longer work. Customers and employees now have a variety of channels to communicate both positive and negative messages about the brands they come into contact with. Progressive companies are quickly finding ways to harness the power of the social web to create meaningful connections with customers and employees. They are also educating their teams on how to respond effectively to the comments that inevitably will get made in the social space.

How much more effective it would have been for the tech company in our story to engage my colleague about her comment in a transparent way in the social space. They could have thanked her for her feedback with a quick Twitter reply and worked to turn her negative experience into a positive in front of the social community. No company is perfect.  We all know that. But seeing a company walk the talk and work to truly listen to a customer is reassuring and allows the company to take the high road and further build the brand.

Here is the irony of the story. My colleague is a new member of Twitter with a very small current following, most of whom are family and friends.  Any “damage” done from her tweet was minimal.  But this same colleague has a blog that is read by thousands of industry members each week.  Hmmm, now that this major tech company has decided to use intimidation tactics over a small tweet, I wonder if they have a much bigger problem ahead from a fiery blog post.

The rules have changed and aligning your team behind what your brand stands for is more important than ever.

We read a lot of great stuff from really smart people on topics related to internal-external marketing alignment. As we find articles and posts that are useful in this discussion, we’ll post them regularly in our Focus Friday.

This week we’ve been spending a lot of time looking at how companies can leverage Twitter to build their brand. It’s a great tool for listening to and communicating with customers and employees, and it can go a long way toward helping you achieve internal-external marketing alignment.  Here are some interesting articles to get you thinking about Twitter and understanding how you can leverage its power to align your brand and grow your business:

From CoTweet.com:  Making Brands Human on Twitter

From Chris Brogan: 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

From Fortune: Twitter Means Business

From Mashable:  Finding the Right Brand Voice on Twitter

From PCWorld: Twitter Quitters Just Don’t Get It

Have you ever been disappointed that your usual white chocolate mocha from your favorite coffee shop was a little too cold or not sweet enough?  What about when you scored a reservation at a hot new restaurant that’s been getting rave reviews but you were really let down by poor service and bland food?  Maybe you called tech support for help with your home computer and had to deal with a rep who was clueless and a bit hostile.

If this has ever happened to you, then you’ve experienced a brand gap. This is what happens when a customer has an expectation of a brand that has fallen short of reality. A brand gap can leave you feeling ripped off, let down, annoyed.  Your opinion of the brand probably just took a nose dive, and you might even blog or Twitter about your experience.

In his book Zag, the #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands, Marty Neumeier defines a brand as a “person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company.”  If his definition holds true, than how do brand gaps impact that gut feeling that you might have about a product, service, or company?

Your company has worked long hours to get your brand where it is today.  But it all comes down to what’s being delivered to your customers that counts.  If you’re not fulfilling on the promise of your brand to your customers, you’re out of alignment, and you’re putting your brand in jeopardy.

This is where internal-external brand alignment becomes a powerful strategy in fulfilling your brand promise and avoiding the brand gaps.  It starts with creating a common vision of your brand that is supported by every function of your business, not just marketing.  Creating that common vision can begin by answering these three questions:

1. What business are you in? This might seem like a simple question, but look deeper than the obvious. What business are you really in? It’s less about the specific product or service and more about the experience you create for your customers. What are you there to create for your customers?
2. What is your promise to your customer? Think about what your customers expect from you – not just the tangible, but the intangible. If your brand is a gut-feeling, as defined above by Neumeier, your business has an emotional deliverable. What do you want the gut-feeling to be?
3. Where are your brand gaps? Talk to your customers. Call your customer service line and pretend to be a customer. Perform an informal mystery shop. Listen to what people are saying about your brand in the social media world. Start to identify all the brand gaps that are currently in place and where you’re most vulnerable to new ones.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you have the foundation to begin leveraging the power of your brand in every corner of your business including marketing, sales, human resources, training, operations, administration, and more.  This is where internal-external marketing alignment begins.  This is where you have the power to truly build your brand, starting at the purest grassroots level within your company.

We’ll talk more in future posts about brand gaps and how to uncover where they’re happening in your company.  Tell us about any brand gaps you’ve experienced as a customer and how they’ve changed your gut feeling of a brand.

There’s been a lot of talk in the social media world over the past week about the Dominos incident. Two employees who thought they were being funny posted a video of themselves doing nasty things to some food they were preparing.   Nobody wants their brand raked over the social media coals like this.

How can you prevent this type of incident from happening to your brand? Build a strong company culture where employees have pride in their workplace and in the brand they support. Yes these are just two fastfood workers in minimum wage jobs. With jobless rates higher nationwide than they’ve been in decades, there are plenty of people who would gladly step up and take these positions.

Here are some things you can do to start building a strong culture – even amongst fastfood workers:

Create Hiring Standards
Build standards within your company for how you hire and what qualities you demand. Put checks and balances in place to help all hiring managers know when the prospective employee they’re interviewing is worthy of representing your brand. Support your teams by creating tools for hiring that help identify someone’s character early in the process.

Build an On-Boarding Program
Then after you’ve hired, bring your new team members on-board with consistent messages about your brand, your culture, and your expectations around service. Find ways to test their knowledge and skills – not just about the tactical details of the job but around the cultural and brand details too.

Provide Ongoing Coaching
After they’re brought on-board, keep the learning alive. Build in regular touchpoints for coaching with training material or personal mentorship.

Leverage the Power of Peer Pressure
A strong culture within your company also becomes a self-policing culture. When your employees truly have pride in your brand and workplace, you can leverage the power of peer pressure to keep an eye on things for you. This eases the burden on management and helps employees feel more accountable and empowered to support the brand.

As that old saying goes about an ounce of prevention – building a strong culture within your company can help prevent incidents like the one Domino’s faced recently. That doesn’t mean you won’t continue to have disgruntled employees who act out, but hopefully you will know how to identify and deal with them before disaster strikes.

Another blast of creativity from Nike for the viral world. One of their best yet. Nike does so many things right in creating a culture around their product and around their company that continues to foster creativity and risk taking. If you ever get a chance, visit one of the campuses in Beaverton, Oregon or in Hilversum, The Netherlands.  I simple visit to either campus for a meeting or project inspires my entire week. Great job Nike on continuing to invent your future in exciting ways and keeping us all interested.