THE BRANDING
On the days it was my turn to drop the boys off at school I would wait until they were far enough away from the car to embarrass them [just a little]…rolling down the passenger side window I would shout, “Don’t forget, you’re a K.R.A.F.T.!
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I study the abbreviated descriptions in our profiles, scrunched down into 150 characters. And I wonder at how much of ourselves we’ve abdicated for the sake of space.
How do you present a lifetime of extraordinary events that have broken and molded us, confounded, and reshaped us until what remains is something worthy, even interesting enough, for public consumption?
I think of my life much like the Branding challenges I conquered for my clients throughout all those marketing consulting years leading up to my launch of Sanctuary Living—
My fundamental role, as I defined it, was to find and fix the disconnect between customer experience and the way the Retailer envisioned what it should be.
If I distill it down to its simplest terms, Branding proclaims, “This is who I am. This is me.”
Enter in my boys’ daily reminder of who they were. Embarrassing as it may have been, the antics of an enthusiastic mother were foundational to the grown-ups they ultimately became.
From the beginning they had an embedded sense of belonging.
More importantly, a sense of Self.
Those three KRAFT boys, mortified by their mama’s use of her branding techniques on them, reluctantly received a reminder of who they were amid all the voices that tried their best to diminish and confuse, seduce, entice, and dissuade.
Even and especially as adults we have this habitual tendency to forget WHO and WHOSE we are.
When the forgetting happens, we become power-less in an unpredictable, fickle world.
If you’re wondering what the picture of me and my dear friend, John Maxwell, has to do with any of this, let me take you to a story about one of those companies that I worked with to build a recognizable brand.
In those days, the John Maxwell we know today as Leadership Expert, was simply Pastor Maxwell in my life. Without going into the glorious details, he led me to a Savior who has personally shaped and molded everything that I am.
But God planted an expanded vision for the call on John’s life—
Putting my marketing expertise to use, he asked me to assist in creating a company conceived to teach pastors [and ultimately business leaders] how to find their voices to make a difference in the world.
In the grueling process of developing the name of the company and its Mission, I was reminded of the power of Brand. But this time my focus shifted to a grander purpose—
From, “This is Me,”
To, “This is Us.”
At the core of leadership is the principle that, to achieve anything of importance, sense of self must evolve into an understanding that the meaning we crave must come from being a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Ultimately, I pitched the idea of naming the company, MAXIMUM IMPACT, because when we’re clear about our personal and corporate mission, nothing can stand in the way of our call to influence the world for good.
Nothing. Can. Stand. In. Our. Way.
I hear those words and look fondly at the picture of my friend John with me wearing a [very expensive] wig. The image was captured the day after my last round of chemotherapy. To say that I was not at my best would be an understatement. But there I am. Being held and uplifted by someone who knew me before all the disruption began.
J.A.N.E.N.E.
That time together was as powerful and affirming as rolling down the passenger side window and yelling out my name. A reminder in the midst of all the tearing down of precisely who I am and have always been.
Who are the you-affirming people in your life?
My business has evolved from building company brands to helping clients manifest who they are in the world—
Different application.
The same important work.
It comes down to this—
What beauty are you manifesting in your home, your environment, your world?
MAXIMUM. IMPACT. These two words. I think about them with a healthy obsession now, particularly as it relates to the understanding that our time to make a difference is short…and there are so many diversions—
How we are coaxed into believing that self-importance equals power,
How we allow the world and its antics to malign our purpose,
How we run to the shiny object as a default to staying the course,
How we leverage a world in crisis as an excuse for our own lack of momentum,
How we permit this present darkness to snuff out a more Illuminated long view.
What does all of this have to do with how we live in our physical surroundings?
More than you can possibly know.
In their adult years my sons grieve me with their stories of how they were sometimes maligned, bullied, and negatively influenced as boys. Try as I might to listen without becoming angry, some of their memories make me shift in my chair.
The world will do its best to make us forget who we are and what we’re here for.
And even the shortest detour is sometimes too long.
We take for granted that we have time to get back on course.
And we pretend that looking away from our vision is acceptable for a little while.
What of the detours you have taken?
What has allowed you to forget who you are?
Every small decision has potential to lead us closer to or farther away from our personhood and purpose. Is how you’re living an authentic representation of the inner you?
To achieve Maximum Impact, you must first know who you are,
then be willing to ask the question, “Why am I here?”
My best examples of Branding come from those who were pioneers in organizational leadership. But we should never neglect that we have the obligation to lead ourselves. Branding isn’t reserved for companies. It’s a powerful and dynamic construct for how to live.
In our family, we started our three boys early, instilling a sense of belonging as foundational to building a strong sense of self.
When I work with clients [both individuals and companies] I always start by asking the questions:
Who are you?
How do you describe yourself?
Who would others say you are?
How would they describe you?
The disparity between the answers can be an indication of—
How little we truly know about ourselves,
Or how much we are willing to give up of who we are to please someone else.
Who are you trying to please?
But God delights when truth reigns in our inmost being (Psalm 51:6).
This is where we start—
First-with the interiors within us,
Then-with what surrounds.
The Creator of all things, who inspires the creator in you…in me,
says to start with a brand you can be proud of, one you can count on.
So, when everything goes a little crazy,
you can still and always manifest beauty in the world.
NOTES:
I’ve had the joy to work with organizations and individuals on their public and personal brands for more than thirty years. This is where we start, from the inside out, to create the kind of Sanctuary Living we all crave.
Here’s the thing—
Making your surroundings beautiful, and making them meaningful, are two entirely different things. When our spaces are an authentic manifestation of who we are, there is a deeper layer of beauty that is more felt than seen. This is where Soul resides. Finding it isn’t mysterious or woo woo, it simply happens when you allow who you really are to shine.
ABOUT THE PHOTO
This is me with my friend, John Maxwell the day after my last round of chemotherapy [I am completely bald under that wig]. He came for a visit to uplift me during the most difficult season of my life.
Sometimes, when we are having a hard time recognizing ourselves, those who matter most remind us of precisely who we are.
John Maxwell was Senior Pastor at Skyline Church in San Diego. He introduced me to my Savior more than thirty years ago. Along with working with him and his Executive Team on multiple Capital Stewardship Campaigns and preliminary designs for the new Worship Center [which thrives today], I worked with him to assist in the early development of his business, now known as Maxwell Leadership.
His calling expanded his rare influence from teaching pastors the principles of Church Leadership, to introducing Fortune 500 companies [and ultimately organizations and world leaders around the globe] to a Servant Leadership model that has revolutionized the way the most successful and enduring companies do business. He remains a treasured friend and mentor.