Sadly, we talk about products more than the values we stand for – not just in the business world but also in the non-profit world.
For example, some of us still believe we don’t need to discuss building an equitable world – free of systemic barriers – because it’s divisive and polarising. So, let’s talk about products we can sell.
Watch how Steve Jobs got it right more than 25 years ago: Don’t sell products, sell your core values.
Apple’s Chief brand communicator was Steve Jobs. Without a doubt, he had a strong passion for his offerings, and he was skilled at inspiring others to share that excitement.
To be a brand promoter and communicator, you don’t have to be employed in marketing or have studies communications. Community development leaders in the non-profit world genuinely support a company’s mission and are eager to spread its success stories – whether they are funders of social service agencies at the forefront. The executives and the community development related staff should be the first to promote their organisation brands.
We’ve all witnessed far too many CEOs and their frontline staff don’t know “who they are,” and as a result, neither the rest of the staff nor their clients do. There should be more CEOs and front line community development staff who, like Steve Jobs, serve as their own brand communicators.
#Values #corevalues #products #philantropy
YouTube Steve claims in this presentation given on the Apple campus that marketing is not about promoting features, speeds, and megabytes or putting yourself up against the competition, but rather about figuring out your own story, your own core, being incredibly clear about what you are all about, and then being able to communicate that clearly, simply, and consistently. People want to know who you are and what you stand for, as Steve said. According to Steve Tasks in the presentation, Apple’s basic value is not about technology or “creating boxes for people to get their jobs done.”
Apple’s core value, said Jobs, is this: “We believe people with passion can change the world for the better….and that those people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who actually do.”
In the end Jobs introduces the now famous Think different TV ad that was about two months in the making. This campaign was an attempt, said Jobs, to get Apple back to its core values. It was only one of many first steps, but it worked.
The lessons in this talk obviously is that clarity and simplicity are key in telling what you stand for; what’s your cause and what do you want to achieve. Also telling that the way to achieve these is by being relentless in abandoning the superfluous and identifying the absolute core of your cause and the values you stand for. It was selling values that changed Apple from a troubled company to the greatest brand on earth. Here are some tips on preparing value propositions.