Create Vibe Through Your Brand
Corporate culture has been a subject of interest for executives for decades, and perhaps it matters more today than ever before.
We would like to expand your thinking about what an ideal culture may look like, leveraging a book we recently wrote specifically on culture. The book is called Vibe.
People make judgments based upon your brand, and every brand radiates some kind of Vibe—an energy at a subconscious level that’s either irresistible, repulsive or in between. When you intentionally make your brand’s Vibe irresistible, people will want to do business with you, work with you or strategically partner with you.
As a top executive in your organization, decide now that you’ll be even more strategic about building an exceptional Vibe that attracts both people in the field and people to work in your corporate office. These 25 ideas may be helpful:
1 / Be innovative.
Supercharge the energy and thinking of your team by bringing in guests, mentors, colleagues and subject-matter experts. Without fresh ideas flowing in, you could be stuck in outdated practices that could cause you to lose your relevancy and your positive Vibe.
2 / Be intentional in creating your environment.
Enhance your company’s Vibe with innovative distinctions in your work space. You can make every aspect of your space so intentional that people are already captivated with your energy the minute they walk in.
3 / Ensure your website and reviews exude Vibe.
People typically access your organization’s online presence when they’re checking out your brand. Brainstorm with your team (including your marketing people) to see how you can better leverage your Vibe throughout your and your leadership’s digital presence.
4 / Leverage references and testimonials.
Vibrant testimonials/reviews that include pictures, videos and letters speak loudly, because social proof is such a powerful tool today. Leverage them liberally on your website, your social channels and all your marketing tools.
5 / Be known as a “caring” company.
Caring for the values and situations of others is one element that determines whether a company has Vibe. It can be demonstrated by offering flexible working hours to support a person’s schedule, supporting team members in reaching their goals or any number of other ways.
Create Vibe Through Your Leadership Team
As a leader, you may be asking: Is our organization a leader in our industry? If not, how can we strengthen our leadership team to get us there? Here are some ways we believe you can create Vibe through your leadership team:
6 / Carefully cast your mission and vision.
As a leader, you—and every person who works for you—should be very clear on your mission and vision, which should be about the customer, the ownership and the people. Post your vision and mission statements on your website and on your walls strategically; convey them to people inside and outside of your organization; and even make them part of your taglines.
7 / Be clear on your standards/values.
Post them on your walls; communicate them to people who are being interviewed so they will know how the culture works; and make them the basis for your performance appraisals.
8 / Create a High-Performing Team.
Know the difference between a group, a team and a High-Performing Team. In a group, people execute their tasks independently with no clear common goals. A team is a group of people working together interdependently toward a common goal. In a High-Performing Team, people are focused on being as effective as possible and continually reevaluating to ensure they produce the best results. Each team member is highly invested in the outcomes and thus considerably motivated. Three powerful elements make the difference in moving up through these levels: Accountability, communication and trust.
9 / Obtain clarity and maintain focus.
Clarity involves understanding your vision, distinctly outlining your priorities, objectives and goals; having clearly defined values that align with your goals; clearly presenting your ideas and concepts, both internally and externally; and knowing where you are in relation to where you want to go.
KEEP IN MIND: Focus, the opposite of distraction, is perhaps the single most impactful area that has the greatest opportunity for improvement.
10 / Avoid bureaucracy.
Bureaucracy puts a negative drain on the Vibe of any organization. Efficient lines of communication streamline an organization throughout its levels of authority and facilitate execution. People have the resources, tools, motivation and authority to do their work; can work much faster; and are more inspired to bring fresh ideas to the table. When empowered to make decisions rather than having to go through several levels of bureaucracy, people feel more invested in the outcome.
Prioritize Organization
People often start making judgments based on how organized your company is. Here are some areas you may want to consider for improvement in the area of organization:
11 / Be best-practice oriented.
Correction of Errors, or COE, is a concept that simply means you’re constantly looking for best practices you can put into place. If something is not working, either create a best practice or search for one to correct it.
12 / Keep everything in order.
When people walk into your space and see that everything is clean and in order, it creates an immediate positive Vibe. Consider creating checklists to ensure routine tasks are performed properly every time and create standard operating procedures to automatically have things replenished, cleaned and organized.
13 / Create a second-to-none electronic tool chest.
Your electronic arsenal—which includes everything you’ve done as an organization—should be organized so you and your people can quickly access anything you need, and keep it user friendly, inviting and intuitive.
14 / Build a company of “A” players.
Organizations attract a combination of A, B and C players. B players, though not highly-charged, are loyal, steady and good at follow-through; they’re valuable to an organization’s team. C players—those who are just barely making it—need to move up to at least a B-player position or find another place to work. A players give an organization Vibe, because they’re helpful, serving and caring. They proactively bring value to whomever they touch.
15 / Create a fast-paced culture.
Being fast-paced is a cultural issue that comes from the top. If your organization has a get-it-done-now philosophy, it emits a Vibe that says, “That’s how we excel.” The people you hire usually love that kind of Vibe.
Master Communication
Surveys consistently reveal that the top item HR leaders say could be improved company-wide is communication. People who work in companies that have mastered communication feel connected, in the know and appreciated. They know the company’s objectives and vision; feel a part of something bigger than themselves; and understand that when the company wins, they win. Conversely, people who work for companies that don’t put the right priority on communication typically have no idea what the objectives are—they’re often not even sure what their leaders really want or care about.
16 / Hold effective meetings.
Often, the most important indicator of a successful meeting is whether you reached your objectives. Remember that the objectives trump the agenda. The agenda is designed to help ensure you deliver on the objectives; and when you can confirm to your participants that you did, it can create a super-positive Vibe.
17 / Learn Presentation Mastery™.
Use these eight powerful practices, shown in the mnemonic IPRESENT, to help bring Vibe to your speaking opportunities:
I – Involve the audience
P – Prepare your audience
R – Research and build a powerful presentation arsenal
E – Explain the why
S – State management:
- Vacationers (just vacationing)
- Prisoners (really don’t want to be there)
- Graduates (know it all)
- Students (there to learn and absorb)
E – Eliminate the unknowns
N – kNow your audience
T – Tailor your presentation
18 / Stay ahead with news and direction.
Communicating in a timely manner gives your organization a positive Vibe, because your people feel they’re a part of the team and are always in the know.
19 / Sharpen the communication saw.
Communication is an asset rather than just a skill. Having standards that reinforce your commitment to communication mastery and teaching people from onboarding forward how those priorities and standards should be lived out can greatly enhance your organization’s Vibe.
20 / Conquer emailing.
Email can be a significant time, money and productivity drain unless you learn how to make it work efficiently for your organization. Determine your basic guidelines; communicate your standards organization-wide; post them on the company intranet; and constantly reinforce them through ongoing training and new-employee orientation.
Enhance Your Organization’s Style
Style and Vibe have enough of an interchangeable distinction that they could very well be synonyms, or at least cousins. These ideas may help you improve your organization’s style:
21 / Ensure everything is in place.
If you’re not naturally inclined to keep things organized, you can staff for it or solve it with processes or technology. With everything in order, your organization’s Vibe is on display 24/7.
22 / Maintain a peaceful atmosphere.
When you enter an organization, whether in person or virtually, you’re often able to discern its atmosphere. If it’s peaceful, it’s probably because things are organized and in order. You can likely even feel the team synergy, which comes from its people being prepared and willing to work together to support the vision.
23 / Create a great first impression.
You can make an excellent first impression by demonstrating your organization’s ability to execute. Show you’re ahead of the game by organizing and confirming details and by maintaining an exceptional physical appearance.
24 / Maintain a healthy environment.
Making your workplace healthier adds an incredible Vibe that serves to attract many of today’s A players, and it even improves your bottom line. Motivate your people to lead a healthy lifestyle and educate them on how to make healthy choices.
25 / Make it fun!
Including “fun” as a core value will likely keep your employees happy as well as enhance your brand’s Vibe. A culture of fun often produces employees who are mentally and emotionally healthy, and they in turn usually produce the most satisfied customers.
Have we convinced you that energy (Vibe) is a supercharger—a force multiplier—for every facet of your organization’s life? Decide now to put these 25 ideas to work to improve your organization’s Vibe in the areas of your brand, leadership, organization, communication and style.
The Strategic Acceleration methodology of clarity, focus and execution drives success and achieves results faster, and Vibe is the magic ingredient that supercharges all three. When that formula is executed throughout the leadership and culture of an organization and applied to the right strategy, then combined with the power of Vibe, visions become real, faster. This book will help force multiply your results by revealing what Vibe really is and how to get it, grow it and keep it!
Tony Jeary—The RESULTS Guy™—is a prolific author and a strategist. His organization, TJI, facilitates powerful meetings, keynote events and coaches high performers to accelerate their results.
From the April 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
