Crafted Branding | A business answer

…Be global and local, collaborate and compete, explore and explode, align and break the inertia; listen and express yourself, have an open mind and decide, be consistent and versatile, be and do, achieve economic results, be sustainable and develop people… How are these dilemmas reconciled?

We are beginning an era where things happen faster than ever and it seems that we have no time to reflect on what happens to us. We are going from a world of problems, requiring speed, comprehension and analysis to a world of dilemmas which demands patience, common sense and a permanent appointment with uncertainty.

We produce and accompany a period of great technological, social, economic and climatic changes. There is a greater emphasis on action at the expense of reflection.

But… the market began as a place where people talked about what mattered in voices as individual as the handicrafts they had among them. Since the industrial revolution, the separation of home and workplace, the thinking and doing and mass among others, produced the gap between our real voice and the voice of business. Since that moment, dialogue became cloudy.

If I ask you to imagine someone strategizing, what comes to mind?

“Probably a picture of structured thinking: A few directors sitting in an office formulating plans that everyone will apply as scheduled. A strategy made by few. Keywords for this process: reason, rational control, systematic analysis of competitors and markets, the strengths and weaknesses of the company, the combination of these analyzes. And in that image, others are the implementers”. (Crafting Strategy, Henry Mintzberg, 1987)

Now that markets have become networks, the voices are back. Companies need to listen again the sound of their markets. Listening, we re-learn to talk. And the voices bring craft: the work of unique people, motivated by passion.

“And if now I ask you to imagine craftsmen creating a strategy, what do you see? Surely, something different to your previous mental images.  What comes to mind is people being involved, a sense of know-how with hands, head and heart developed through long experience and commitment.

“Crafting” evokes skilled, dedicated, experts at what they do. They reach perfection through the mastery of detail. Thinking and doing, formulation and implementation, go together, almost indistinguishable. (Crafting Strategy, Henry Mintzberg 1987)

Archetypes of architects, visionaries, mobilizers, fund managers, surveyors are interconnected to make sense of the future. They are part of a fluid process of personal and collective learning through which creative strategies are developed. Thinking and doing, simultaneously. Thinking abstractly and grounded action.

The traditional strategic planning process seems insufficient to absorb current market disruptions. It is increasingly important to maintain frequent strategic dialogues to collect environmental dynamism. That´s the place where insights are generated, enacting and enabling strategic decisions and testing specific value levers.

The role of the brand in the company strategy: To be the strategic platform

 

In this context, the brand makes the synthesis between crafting strategy (linking thinking and doing), and the people who run it with certain behaviours.

Where there is volatility, the brand imposes vision and consistency. A clear vision with an attempt to create a promising future

Where there is uncertainty, the company seeks dialogue and understanding through the brand. To create a clear understanding, stopping, looking and listening is required

Where there is complexity, the company wants clarity. To create clarity, brands help to create sense, imagining a scenario of higher consciousness, in which people are the heart and the reason for all (with meaning and purpose).

Where there is ambiguity, the company must be agile and the brand, real and authentic. Building trust is key: transmitting authenticity in dealings, transparency of information, useful inputs, and respect for the dignity of people.

The brand is consistent with what the company is and aspires to be, allowing valuable conversations between partners, acting with consciousness and supporting a specific lifestyle.

The complexity of the current scenario rewards good strategies. Allegro 234 helps you create or have a brand that is the synthesis of a great reputation, that sows certainties and peace in your good work, conveying confidence and achieving results with a strong social conscience.

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<a href="https://allegro234.net/author/roberta/" target="_self">Roberta Larocca</a>

Roberta Larocca

About the author

Founding Partner | Allegro 234

Jun 8, 2015

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