Trust in the Workplace

Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.
Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Taking a sociological perspective, Barbara Misztal explains in her book Trust in Modern Societies that trust has three social implications: 1) it makes social life more predictable; 2) it creates a sense of community; and, 3) it allows people to work together. Without trust, social interactions are unpredictable, community building is thwarted, and people are unable to collaborate effectively.

Businesses aggressively strive to establish trust with their customers but frequently neglect the need to cultivate trust in their workplaces. In their myopia, they create hostile work environments with a ‘me versus you’ mentality, where employees feel the constant need to watch their backs. In this space, loyalty, creativity, and innovation are sure to die. Continue Reading

Which is Better, Rewards or Blame? Try Neither

When you know what drives you, you have insight into what motivates your teams and your customers. Calling on the research and motivational theories in behavioral psychology illuminates the answer that goes beyond the traditional managerial approach of driving people through rewarding and blaming them. Continue Reading

Stories Are Taking Over The Customer Journey

The primary ingredient behind compelling stories come down to one thing: problems.

The protagonist faces a challenge and tries to overcome it. This is the essence of drama and the key to good storytelling.

Without problems—without troubles and tensions—there’s no story. There’s nothing to engage us. Continue Reading

How Insightful are Your Customer Insights?

The reason our stories, messaging and marketing fall flat is that the people we want to serve are not motivated by our need to be seen, to be heard or to close a sale. People—your audience, customers and clients—are motivated by their need to be seen, heard and understood.
Bernadette Jiwa, The Right Story

Despite the amount of money companies spend on customer insights, most companies don’t value true insights.

Insights should tell you something new; they should change the way you think. Yet, most companies reward predictable results instead of game changers.1

On average, companies value “insights” that confirm what they’re already doing. At best, they want “insights” that only slightly modify what they’re already doing.

But, are these insights really insightful? Continue Reading

Archetypal Branding

Cult Branding was founded on Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. Maslow’s hierarchy offers a simple framework for understanding customer behavior: humans have inherent needs that they try to fulfill—consciously or unconsciously—in everything they do.

Although Maslow’s hierarchy offers significant explanatory power, it does not provide a complete explanation of brand loyalty. A more complete explanation involves taking a step back from Maslow and understanding how humans react when something happens to them. Continue Reading