Brand, Price “Company Cultures” Speak to Today’s Uncertain Times
The PORTER CUSTOMER INSTITUTE released for publication today on social platform LinkedIn CEO William Porter's latest article, Brand, Price “Company Cultures” Speak to Today’s Uncertain Times. A brief excerpt of the article is included below.
“Nobody ever got fired by choosing IBM.”
Continually heard everywhere back in the 1970’s and ‘80’s and, if there was ever a better safe bet, risk free statement out there, I can’t think of one. And I believe it speaks volumes about Risk! And it makes me think about – and is worth visiting - the risks we all face in turbulent and uncertain times like we have today.
In an interconnected world, I believe company cultures, habits and behaviors have a part to play. And in the discussions below, I want to highlight which cultures in particular are good bets to actively mitigate risk for their companies and their talent (employees) where they can.
As I point out in my 2002 book, Seller’s Edge (available from eBay), two of the six Company Behaviors I could identify from my research over the years – Brand and Price-centered organizations - were relatively Low Risk environments. Those companies historically don’t take many chances and they tend to keep their exposure to a minimum – workplaces a lot of people feel comfortable being an employee.
Authors Terry Diehl and celebrity consultant Geoffery Moore both pointed out distinct company cultures in their writings. Diehl in his Company Cultures business book, for example, highlights one of the four distinct cultures he uncovered being the Bet Your Company Culture, while Moore in his 2002 book, Living On the Fault Line, speaks about the Cultivation Culture populated mainly by start-ups and leading edge future technology organizations like a WeWork or an Uber in today’s world – both exhilarating to work for but not without a substantial amount of risks.
So what is your company’s culture today? How is it situated for these often uncertain times? Do you have ways of finding out what your company’s beliefs are today and how to feel comfortable in your work environment?