One night after work, I found myself flipping through hundreds of channels on cable when I casually stopped on a re-run of “Undercover Boss.”  It was the Season 2 finale where the president of 1-800-FLOWERS went undercover.  By the end of the show I found myself wiping tears from my face watching all the wonderful things the president learned from his experience, and the amazing things he did for those few employees he had the privilege to work with—even serving as a “mentor” for one of the youngest managers in the company and offering him $25,000 to start his own 1-800-FLOWERS franchise.  After that first episode, I was hooked.  Or, was I? Read the rest of this entry »

The three key tenants of Heart & Mind® Branding apply to the Apple founder.

With Steve Jobs announcing he is stepping down from his role of CEO of Apple, people are speculating about what made him so powerful, so successful and so iconic. Everything from his off-the-charts intelligence, his insane attention to every detail, his intensity and his relentless micromanagement just to highlight a few.  But I’ll say it is all of these and none of these at the same time. That’s putting too much emphasis on the micro aspects of a macro human being, a total person. Read the rest of this entry »

Call it the product of 20 years of marketing experience. Or maybe it is the clarity that comes only from being a part of great success stories, but I’ve discovered the four keys to success with any marketing program, maybe even any business. They are simple. And unless you possess all of them, your marketing and your resulting growth will be marginal at best, regardless of what ad agency, PR firm or graphic designer you choose. Even a branding company like HEASLEY&PARTNERS can’t bring to fruition the full potential of a company that is missing even one of these vital key success factors. Read the rest of this entry »

There are days when I wonder what kind of leader I am and whether I’ve found the sweet spot. Everyone is a leader in some aspect of their lives, whether we care to admit it. Even those who shun it because they see it as yet one more responsibility or don’t feel they are up to the challenge.

But the fact remains; life calls on all of us to brazenly take charge and call others to action (particularly in our workplaces). There, leadership comes in the form of things like managing a project team, selling in a new way of doing business, and what often appears the biggest leadership challenge of all–leading a company. But in reality none of these challenges are any harder or easier, bigger or smaller, than another to the person leading. The responsibility feels quite the same regardless.

No matter the level of our leadership or the relative importance of it, within the tasks is the opportunity for greatness. What I mean is that as leaders we have the power to not just get the job done or get our way, but also the power to shape lives. I believe this should be the fundamental charge of any leader because in shaping lives, you get results for the very long term. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’d rather have spiders crawl all over my body than speak in public.” “A pit of slithering snakes is more appealing than walking onto a stage in front of an audience of even twenty people.”

These are the kind of comments I’ve heard people say when I so much as suggest that in order to fulfill their destiny and their mission, they are going to have to learn to speak in public. I can relate to their fear. I used to dread presenting. I was fine in the conference room, but the minute I had to take a stage, my knees would shake, my voice would quiver and my heart rate would accelerate to the point of palpitations.  But before you call 911, read on. This article is how I overcame my fear so you can too.

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Have you ever put your best foot forward only to discover that instead of everyone loving your work you’ve triggered a rash of criticism? It happens, and with social media the critics have a bigger soap box than ever before. Some people say any press is good press, but that’s only if you make it so. Here’s what to do if you find yourself or your brand in this uncomfortable predicament.
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To the President of First Solar:

This short note is to ask you and your company to work faster. My name is Kathy Heasley and I am the founder and principal of HEASLEY&PARTNERS in Scottsdale. Thirty-two years ago this month, my world was rocked by the Three-Mile Island nuclear disaster. I was a high school senior then and during those frightening days, I didn’t know whether I would live or die. Today, I am watching history repeat itself, only worse, in Japan. My heart goes out to the people there. Read the rest of this entry »

From time to time people contact me through the blog, Facebook, Twitter or through the HEASLEY&PARTNERS website with a question, seeking advice. Sometimes those questions are ones that.many people have, so I like to share them here so everyone can benefit. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month we talked about Heart Loss. That’s when a company loses that very essence that has made it great. Some call it culture. Others consider it the brand. But in fact culture and brand are very hard to separate. One thing for sure is that when a company loses its heart, it loses a priceless asset.

So how do you avoid Heart Loss within your company? Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind that come from personal experience. I’ve been there dozens of times.

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Great brand or cautionary tale? What has happened to Sony, a brand that built its reputation on innovative firsts that literally changed the world? For our younger readers who won’t remember, Sony gave us the…

- First portable tape recorder
- First pocket transistor radio
- Sony Trinitron TV
- Sony Walkman
- BetaMax video camcorder
- The Compact Disc player�

Even though these innovations seem downright primitive now, they weren’t. They were as revolutionary as, say, the iPhone and the iPad. Maybe more revolutionary. Sony was also one of the brands that transformed the image of Japan from a country that manufactured low-cost trinkets, to a high-tech powerhouse that became synonymous with innovation and quality. Sony was a phenomenon that knew its consumers. They would deliver to us products we ourselves didn’t even know we wanted so badly. Sony was cool, and if you had a Sony TV or Walkman, you were cool too.

So what happened? Sony isn’t cool anymore. Somehow the world’s coolest brand, greatest innovator and even greater marketer lost its edge. Worst of all, what happened to this legendary company can happen to your company too. It may be happening as we speak. Are you prepared? Can you stop it? Read the rest of this entry »