different functions that make decisions
Do they
tephen Covey’s Seven Habits of
S
Highly Effective People states:
“People can’t live with change if
there’s not a changeless core inside
them. The key to the ability to change is
a changeless sense of who you are, what
you are about, and what you value.” A
successful organization in today's fast-
changing marketplace is one that
possesses a changeless core--the DNA
that tightly synchronizes its marketing,
operations, culture and leadership.
Putting business aside for just a moment,
let’s look at systems. The human body is
an intricate array of systems with
If so, do they remember it daily?
daily. What synchronizes all of these
functions so the body knows what to do
and when to do it? The DNA. It contains
all the necessary information to operate
and sustain the body through day-to-day
changes, generation after generation.
Your business is no different. Whether a
small enterprise or a multinational
organization, it contains many elements:
people, resources, systems, processes,
decisions, policies, relationships,
technology, cash flow and capital. Each
department, like the body’s systems,
serves different, vital functions.
What is the DNA in a business that
informs its employees and leadership to
keep its operations efficient, effective and
productive on a daily basis? Traditionally,
businesses have relied on “mission” and
“vision” statements for both inspiration
and direction. Ironically, these statements
have become mere sermons preaching
harmony and synchronicity in branding,
leadership, operations and corporate
culture.
Have mission or vision statements really
worked in practice? One way to know is to
ask whether your employees or suppliers
know your mission or vision statement.
apply it daily, especially when they make
decisions that affect the bottom line? The
most common answer: No.
Why is this so? Individuals within a
business who make decisions impacting
performance and well-being all have
different agendas and philosophies. It’s no
wonder we have departments competing
against one another: silos of people and
cultures playing turf wars, with huge
divides occurring between management
and labor and more importantly, the
company and its customers. This discord
doesn’t create value. It debilitates a
business from the inside out. Ultimately
everyone loses out: employees,
executives, shareholders and customers.
Unfortunately, most mission statements
don't work, notes mission expert Dr.
Christopher Bart, Professor of Business
Administration at the Michael G.
Degroote School of Business, McMaster
University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
He claims some even become “grief”
statements.
In working with numerous clients on
marketing and branding their products
and services, it has become apparent that
missions are inadequate for guiding
a business effectively, as they are difficult
to apply in day-to-day and long-term
planning. Most often, they are long-
winded, carbon copied, under-marketed
and minimally utilized as an operational
mantra. Despite the creation of a “feel-
good” notion, a business with a mission
and/or vision statement can still be
devoid of a single driving purpose that can
be sustained and delivered by the
business, from employee through to
customer.
Let’s look closely at the following mission
statement taken from a major computer
retailer’s website:
Our mission is to be the most successful com-
puter company in the world at delivering the
best customer experience in markets we
serve. In doing so, we will meet customer
expectations of:
* Highest quality
* Leading technology
* Competitive pricing
* Individual and company accountability
* Best-in-class service and support
* Flexible customization capability
* Superior corporate citizenship
* Financial stability
Can we identify the specific company by
this mission statement? Could we not
attribute this statement to any computer
company? How would a customer know
that this company takes pride in these
standards or even delivers on them? Lets
face it, what computer company would
not want to claim this mission statement?
Would an employee reading this
statement really know what is expected of
him or her? Hence we have a typical
mission statement that becomes hard to
implement and one that clearly doesn’t
differentiate this business from its
competitors.
A key problem with mission and vision
statements is that businesses are
commonly not disciplined enough to
commit to them, especially because they
are difficult to execute in a practical or
sustainable way. Furthermore, mission
statements seem to go out of fashion at
every turn of leadership or change in
season. As such, how can they build
customer or employee loyalty, not to
mention brand equity and sustainable
shareholder value?
There is a solution, however, to the
impracticalities of mission and vision
statements. It is the “Unifying
Philosophy” statement (UPh™). Like
DNA, a UPh™ is precise, pervasive and
unchanging. A UPh™ is an explicit
statement of a company’s raison d’être,
expressed in six words or less. It has many
advantages over mission and vision
statements, rendering them redundant
and even obsolete.
Al Ries and Jack Trout examined the
need for owning a philosophy in the
classic, The 22 Immutable Laws of
Marketing. This concept is reinforced in
the creation of a UPh™, in which the
voice of a business and its stakeholders is
paramount to that of a marketing agency,
external focus group and even the
customer. A UPh™ is not built by the
customers but rather for them. The
accountability, ownership and buy-in
ensured by a UPh™ unifies an entire busi-
ness across all levels, thereby making a
company’s philosophy operational.
Has anyone successfully embodied the
idea of a UPh™? Does “The Ultimate
Driving Experience™” sound familiar?
For over 35 years, BMW Group has
consistently demonstrated excellence in
applying their philosophy throughout
every dimension of the company, its
myriad internal systems and products. Its
philosophy is indeed vibrant in the
makeup of each employee, director, share-
holder, supplier and customer.
BMW’s philosophy is its driving force and
it is no surprise that the company
continues to sustain superlative corporate
performance and well-being. BMW is the
highest ranked car manufacturer as rated
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Group
Index (A.D. Little Survey, Sustainable
Value Report, BMW Group, 2001/2002).
What are the core differences, then,
between a mission statement and a
UPh™?
A mission statement:
• is engraved on a plaque in the corporate
boardroom or foyer; this is where usage
typically stops
• is announced, and often changed with the
introduction of every new CEO
• does not have a limit to how long it should
be
• is typically regarded as rhetoric by
employees
• does not explicitly or implicitly sort its
customer profile or type; hence, the 20/80
rule in where 20% of customers account for
80% of the business. How much does it cost
a business to serve the 80% of the customers
that only yield 20% of the business?
• is seldom developed by the company, its
people or its stakeholders
• uses customers instead of the company as
the focal point; the company then is pressured
to make unrealistic claims and ultimately fails
to meet them
• is a standard to which the company aspires
yet doesn’t deliver
• is accepted as the formula for building a
great company, yet has no consistent
definition or proven system of development
• focuses on profitability criteria which in
most cases compromises corporate well-being
• is often created by an external agency
which may or may not reflect the core spirit of
the company
In contrast, a UPh™ statement:
• is branded on every communication device
including ads, business cards, brochures etc.,
allowing customer and employee alike to
recall and act on it
• is implemented to whatever level the
business decides is required to back up its
claim
• reinforces accountability, since it is explic-
it in all communications
• includes one explicit benefit, an implicit
definition of the market niche, and in most
cases, a higher purpose of why the company
exists
• explicitly identifies target customer(s),
especially the most prosperous one(s)
• is developed and implemented by the stake-
holders of the business
• integrates a company’s desire to
continuously improve, be globally
responsible, even spiritual
• has its emphasis on prosperity not
profitability
• offers built-in sustainability
• directs a company’s public relations,
marketing and advertising initiatives
Having struggled in the past with a
mission statement, AEROFLO Inc.
immediately recognized the merits of a
UPh™. After 13 years of leadership in
the Canadian fan industry, the
management of AEROFLO was
reinforcing its presence in Canada and
developing new business in the U.S.
through sister company, CFM
Continental Fan. Although the company
operations, leadership and culture were
shared, this was not visible or prevalent in
marketing or communications.
AEROFLO was a legacy in the industry
and it was determined to secure and
enhance this position. In 1999, it set out
to develop a new brand. After a series of
strategy meetings, a new logo and UPh™
emerged: “Better Airflow by Design.™”
The company’s relaxed corporate
environment and belief in under-
promising but over-delivering lent itself
remarkably well to adopting the word
“better”. Without making bold promises
and flashy pitches, AEROFLO was
innovative every step of the way yet clear
in its vision and had confidence in its
engineering excellence and ingenuity.
The philosophy of AEROFLO, which
embodies a deliberate sensibility to do
things better consistently, is now shared
by each employee and is pervasive from
the plant floor to the reception area.
“Better Airflow by Design.™” became a
mantra and is now a daily reality. This
UPh™ has become the foundation for the
future success of the AEROFLO brand.
Partner Vic Afanasiev confirms: “Our
new logo and business philosophy have
allowed our employees to focus on their
mission: to provide superior fan products and
service. By creating a powerful image that is
constantly reinforced at tradeshows and
through advertising, the new logo and UPh™
have also created an easily recognizable focal
point for our customers. There is no question
as to their expectations from us.”
Another compelling example of the
success of a unifying philosophy is
BREADSOURCE, formerly B&A Bakery
in Toronto. When work started with
B&A Bakery on its corporate strategy and
branding in 1997, it was a $4 million
dollar business with plans to double
earnings in the next five years and to
become an $8 million dollar company by
2003. The company wanted to replace the
B&A name since it lacked any signifi-
cance (it had been named after original
owners named Bob and Alex) and to
receive a new brand identity, as well as
expand its product line and territory.
Through systematic conversations with
management to uncover their core
strengths and philosophy, we realized that
they were successful primarily because
they consistently delivered baked product
on time. After much investigation, it
became apparent that their original
request to replace their name and brand
would have been a surefire recipe for
disaster. Our team advised that they
retain their reputation and goodwill by
keeping the original B&A name and that
they reposition it into a retail operation
and create a new “corporate” brand. With
the UPh™ “Freshness on Time™”,
BREADSOURCE was born.
Derived from a second UPh™ for their
retail operations, B&A was transformed
into “Big Value and Appetizing
Taste™.” In terms of sheer corporate
performance, BREADSOURCE netted
$6 million (dollars) in 2001, and
projections for 2002 are $7 million. This
means they’re right on target.
BREADSOURCE CFO Arif Sunderji
confidently states: “The #1 reason why
customers switched to BREADSOURCE
was because of our philosophy ‘Freshness
on Time™’. As basic as it sounds, it is
profound because our competitors couldn’t
and still can’t match our company’s freshness.
Half of our company growth ($1.5 million) is
due to our UPh™. We are clearly more
expensive than any of our competitors yet we
still attribute 70% of our new customers to
the fact they buy freshness.
“Despite taking one year to operationalize the
UPh™ across our company, we can now
attest with real proof that our return on
investment is nothing short of outstanding.
We still don’t advertise and yet our philosophy
has spread widely, gaining market share
rapidly. We are not reactive to price
anymore; we are now secure in the future of
our company.”
With four years behind their UPh™,
BREADSOURCE prevails as a
sustainable leader in its industry.
Regardless of management change, its
UPh™ will be the mainstay of its
strategic orientation. This kind of unity
and accountability is good news for
Boards of Directors that experience
frequent changes in leadership. No shift,
no matter how severe, can derail a
company from its UPh™. Financial,
strategic and operational stability, along
with company-wide esprit de corps, are
now a reality.
Market forces are increasingly ruthless.
Mission statements fail to synchronize a
business. This demands an invincible
solution. The potency of a UPh™, your
business DNA, is undeniable. Disclaimer:
a UPh™ is an all-or-nothing proposition,
solely reserved for those companies
serious about achieving superlative
corporate performance and well-being.
_________________________________
Harish Chauhan, CEO of strategic branding
agency XRARE Corp., has developed and
implemented over 30 corporate brands during
the past decade including 15 UPh™ successes.
His upcoming book is designed to assist
companies in creating prosperity. For more
information download your free Executive
Guide at www.businessbyphilosophy.com or
contact Mr. Chauhan at harish@xrare.com.