This summer has been extremely busy but I have been able to continue to play my favorite sport, golf. When I think about the game of golf I think about how it resembles life events not really knowing what the next 18 holes can bring. If you are scratch golfer (0 handicap) this post might not be for you but for everyone else you will understand what I mean.
My wife recently picked up the sport of golf and we have been playing regularly for about the past 3 weeks. As you can imagine golf like life can be very frustrating when you do not know what to expect. As I watch my wife improve each week it is apparent to me she continue to set the bar higher a higher the next round. I view this as a very positive event because she is not settling for where she is today knowing tomorrow can be even better. I think as life goes on you will eventually settle and not set the bar but for each person this time is different. I know friends of mine who clearly stopped raising the bar after then finished college, some near retirement still have not stopped raising the bar. Where is your bar?
Golf might be one of the most humbling games on earth from hole to hole you can go through the full range of emotions, confident, angry, happy, stressed, and hopeful. With each hole brings new hope, new challenges, and new opportunities to be great. The same goes with life each day you wake up brings you the same emotions and it is the decisions you make during that day that will results in the accomplishments for the day. As Phil Mickelson would say I know the safe approach is to hit an iron but I am going to hit the driver. Go for it!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Brand Matters
In banking we have a fairly strict dress code Monday through Thursday so business casual Friday is a welcome change. Today I wore standard black slacks and a red golf shirt. As I looked in the mirror I thought this looks very similar to what Tiger Woods wears on Sunday. I am an avid golfer so I quickly disregarded the idea that someone else would come to the same conclusion.
As I walked into the office I stopped by and talked to a fellow co worker, she on the other hand is not a golfer and knows very little about the sport. To my surprise her first comment was, “I am going to call you Tiger, today.” So then I began to think about the importance of brand and imaging and how much it really does matter in business.
There have been numerous books, studies, and articles done on the importance of brand and how to create a successful brand. As a former MBA student some ideas you will buy into and other ideas you think are pure fluff. However, this was a real life experience of how brand can make a person identify and think about the product. She began asking questions about golf a conversation I am sure she was not planning on having today. Sure Nike and Tiger do not walk around saying we are RED but when you see someone dresses with black pants and a red shirt you think Tiger Woods. Tiger is an icon that we should all relish and study very carefully. He has single handled changed the image of golf and possibly the image of sports marketing. If an image or a dress combination can make someone think about a product, imagine the power this has when it comes to consumer behaviors. In this case the brand helped a person connect to an idea that was unintentional but effective. What is your brand?
As I walked into the office I stopped by and talked to a fellow co worker, she on the other hand is not a golfer and knows very little about the sport. To my surprise her first comment was, “I am going to call you Tiger, today.” So then I began to think about the importance of brand and imaging and how much it really does matter in business.
There have been numerous books, studies, and articles done on the importance of brand and how to create a successful brand. As a former MBA student some ideas you will buy into and other ideas you think are pure fluff. However, this was a real life experience of how brand can make a person identify and think about the product. She began asking questions about golf a conversation I am sure she was not planning on having today. Sure Nike and Tiger do not walk around saying we are RED but when you see someone dresses with black pants and a red shirt you think Tiger Woods. Tiger is an icon that we should all relish and study very carefully. He has single handled changed the image of golf and possibly the image of sports marketing. If an image or a dress combination can make someone think about a product, imagine the power this has when it comes to consumer behaviors. In this case the brand helped a person connect to an idea that was unintentional but effective. What is your brand?
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