It appears we can safely add partisan political gridlock to that list, so it’s clearly up to the rest of us to make any meaningful progress on the big issues we’ll face as a society moving forward.
In reality, many of us stopped looking to political leaders for guidance and inspiration long ago. Our behavior, values, empathy and understanding of one another are largely informed by our everyday relationships. More often than not, it’s our leaders at work who provide us with direction and inform our moral compass. Business owners and CEOs must therefore be the ones to model the behavior and values they want to see from their colleagues and employees.
At Vendilli, we help clients drive prospects and customers directly to their front doors, both virtual (i.e. their website) and brick and mortar. The content and messaging we collaboratively develop for clients defines the value they bring to the marketplace by explaining why someone should buy from them, work with them, partner with them or invest in them.
In most cases, that messaging is derived from a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy directly informed by the mission, vision and core values created, articulated and directly driven by the CEO or owner.
That’s why it was so disappointing to hear Melinda French Gates, the billionaire businesswoman, philanthropist and ex-wife of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, so cavalierly pass responsibility from tech CEOs to their “comms person” for what she perceives as a shift away from long established collective core values at those companies. In a recent episode of Bloomberg’s The Circuit podcast, French Gates said she believes people in power should stay true to their values instead of following whichever way the current political winds are blowing.
“A democracy is made up by our beliefs and our investments and our values,” French Gates said. “We, of all times right now, should be living those values out, not pivoting to what some comms person tells us is the right thing to do. That would be ridiculous.”
Like all of us, French Gates is certainly entitled to her opinion on the political landscape, but the larger issue here is how she absolves the people running these companies from responsibility for the path they almost unilaterally create and want their people to follow. The route for any successful business is mapped out by its leaders, who develop, define, and (ideally) personify that organization’s beliefs and standard of expectation.
Let’s be real: No one in the marketing or communications department is “telling” Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos how to navigate an increasingly complicated regulatory and political landscape. Certainly, those of us who have sat in seats across from business leaders are trusted strategic advisors – sometimes with roles inside the company and sometimes providing added support as outside consultants.
The most universally accepted direction we consistently provide at Vendilli is for companies, organizations and brands to be true to the unique business story we collaboratively design to separate themselves from competitors.
That story should be authentic, starting from a place of truth, facts and data. It should be told by the most effective storytellers inside the organization (often NOT the CEO) and you should constantly measure the effectiveness of the messages you’re sharing and the level of engagement you have with your target audiences.
None of this is possible without ensuring the messaging and values you embrace as an organization are properly aligned and communicated from the top down.
At Vendilli, we have a wide spectrum of strategic and tactical resources to help define what separates you from your competitors and endear you to clients and customers. We also provide deeply experienced communications counsel and make data-based recommendations to assess how a company’s actions might impact its reputation.
In that sense, we’re also risk managers. However, the risk takers – especially the high rollers in Silicon Valley – are the ones who ultimately call the shots.
To learn more how the Vendilli team can help ensure your messaging, values and corporate vision align with your target audiences and deliver the marketing results you seek, contact us today.