Full Transcript for 052 What does your business stand for?

sometimes you know you can connect can't you and you know you're going to get on and that's going to be it you just have this straight away connection whereas other times you might be talking to people and you you know it's a bit stilted or it's a bit challenging or it's not coming easy or it might be that actually somebody says something that completely goes against your core beliefs or your values or the way you feel and it's it's almost a jolt and it makes you feel funny. [00:05:33] Lucy Rennie: So it's Again, comes back to our, the way we feel, which is then tied into our values, into our beliefs, but also into our wants, needs, and desires. And I talked a few episodes ago about the energy that we bring and the energy that we can feel from different people. It's all tied into that and it all comes down to, again, all of those different elements feed into your business or your organization. [00:05:58] Lucy Rennie: And. I know sometimes it's tricky to think of our organization as something that's living and breathing, but I think more and more, and I'm going to talk more about this in a second, I need us to think about it as a brand, as a living brand with a personality, with a culture, with a way of doing things, with values and vision and all those things that I'm always harping on about. [00:06:21] Lucy Rennie: Because this is going to create the energy that's going to create those feelings. That's going to allow those people to feel that connection, to feel the attractiveness, to have that desire to want to learn more about you, to connect with you and your business. And I suppose, really, I want to take you on a little bit of a background journey. [00:06:42] Lucy Rennie: And I talk about this in my book, but really since COVID, since the pandemic, the world's been changing and really on lots of different levels, and I'm always talking about this, but one of the main things is that people now are expecting different things from brands and organizations. They, there's been a shift. [00:07:01] Lucy Rennie: And for me included, I think having that time in lockdown or having that experience when, cause not everybody was actually locked down, but having that experience when the world's kind of stopped and completely shifted it, I don't know whether the word is encouraged, but it allowed, or it gave people a nudge or it encouraged people to think about their situation, to think about what they're doing, to maybe look at. [00:07:29] Lucy Rennie: their lives in different ways and to reflect, to yeah, maybe to even question what they're doing. And so for some people, business as usual, my husband included, a lot of my clients included who kept going because they were manufacturing because, they were a vital a vital part of the economy. [00:07:46] Lucy Rennie: For some people like myself, it made me question what I was doing and actually was it. In line with my values. Was it in line with the kind of life that I wanted to lead? Was I prioritizing the

right kind of things? Whether that's just having more time to spend with the kids, with my husband, whether it's actually adding the value in the right way to clients. [00:08:05] Lucy Rennie: So for me, it was a big shift, which you know, which has changed from having an agency model and an outside office to retraining and re remodeling my consultancy. So it's much more about that hands on sort of strategic support behind the scenes and a non exec kind of role. And then a more of a mentoring program for in house teams. [00:08:24] Lucy Rennie: So it's moving away from me doing the implementation. But more about that hands on support to the teams in house, which I believe it's more where I can add more value. So that was a big shift for me and it was it made me think about what I was doing and my business. And this happened to lots and lots of other people. [00:08:42] Lucy Rennie: And we can see that the evidence is there because. We see things like the, what we call the great resignation, where we saw hundreds and thousands of people either resigning from their jobs, moving jobs, or coming back and asking for different ways of working, whether that's hybrid working. [00:09:02] Lucy Rennie: So maybe, we proved ultimately that we can work wherever for some jobs. I don't want to completely, take, talk about all jobs because obviously not all jobs can be done remotely, but we changed the way that we view being in the office or we viewed the sort of societal expectations of what work looked like. [00:09:22] Lucy Rennie: And That has lasted, that's made people think, you know what, actually, I really enjoyed working at home or I really enjoyed being able to pick up the kids one day, or I really enjoyed having that time to go out in the countryside or get out and walk around the city or whatever that might be, really allow people to question actually what was going on before and then almost be more confident in terms of the conversations they were having with their employers and the sort of the, the work life balance that they were creating. So hybrid working is a massive thing and it's a topic that I'm going to be talking about a lot more because I want to do a lot of research into that in terms of how do we maintain those motivated teams? How do we engage people when actually they're not around the coffee machine or the water machine, or they're not, in the same space? [00:10:06] Lucy Rennie: So that's something I'm going to really come and share with you a lot more on as I start to develop that piece of work. But it is a big question because these are things that we've never experienced before. And so actually there's no textbook that tells us how to do that. There's nothing that will there's no guides for that or instructions. [00:10:23] Lucy Rennie: So it's all new things that we need to think about. But also with that, we can see that this generation Z and, even younger are now starting to be thinking differently as well about what they want. They've maybe seen, parents or other, family members or people who've been working really hard and lots of hours and keep going and on that hamster wheel. [00:10:43] Lucy Rennie: And actually they're starting to think, do you know what, that's not actually really what they want. They're starting to think about actually more about that work life balance and value different things. Whereas before it was very much, I think in terms of, we go to work to get the salary to provide and it's, that was the exchange. [00:11:00] Lucy Rennie: Whereas now it's much more about that holistic kind of way of working and a way of being that's not just about showing up for work, but it's also about, all the other things that come with that. And one of the, one of the things that's coming out in a lot of research is actually, it's not that the next generation, that generation Zed are less motivated by higher salaries. [00:11:21] Lucy Rennie: So it's not just about the money, but it's also about, can they work remotely? Can they work a four day week? Can they have time off to go and support a local charity or ultimately It's also making them really choose and think differently about who they're working with and who they want to work for, or even who they're buying. [00:11:42] Lucy Rennie: And we're going to talk about this, who they're buying from or which brands and things they're choosing. To the point where I've got a couple of quotes, but 64 percent of those surveyed said that a generation said are prepared to pay more for a product or service that's a. Is sustainably aligned. [00:11:59] Lucy Rennie: So what's that mean? It means that their values are shifting. So instead of it looking always for that cheaper product or kind of that value for money, actually the whole way that these people are making decisions is shifting. Whether that's about employment or whether it's about actually, consumerism and where they're buying their different products and services from. [00:12:20] Lucy Rennie: And. Again, in line with that, we can see it in the same survey by Trugen. We saw that two in five generations that said that they've rejected a job because it's not been aligned with their values. So there's this big shift that we can see where people are yeah, looking differently at business, looking differently at organizations and expecting different things too. [00:12:42] Lucy Rennie: And. We can see that as well with, there's been a lot more support for small businesses, hasn't there? There's almost been people, really championing small businesses or micro businesses and the high street and encouraging people to maybe boycott the Amazons of this world where everything's just a click of a button and it's these big. [00:13:00] Lucy Rennie: brands to support those local ones. And I must admit, I'm, me I'm definitely here to support small business. I think it's huge. And I've got my own campaign, which you probably have seen these, but it's for the love of small business. So

it's something that's really close to my heart that I believe, we can be a force for good. [00:13:17] Lucy Rennie: I suppose really what I want to share with you today is that because of this massive shift of how people are thinking about businesses, whether that's buying from them or whether that's actually working with them or partnering with them, et cetera, it's changing. It's important to. You as a business owner or as a business manager to incorporate that and to really think about what that means for your business and your organization. [00:13:41] Lucy Rennie: And so if we go a little bit deeper, we can see that actually what does it mean? So it means that consumers are much more demanding in terms of information. They want to know what's going on behind a business. They want to know Whether they can trust the business and ultimately that comes down to the people, doesn't it? [00:14:01] Lucy Rennie: So the first thing is who is the founder? Who's the owner? Who's the person or the team behind the brand? And still so many times I see businesses, especially new ones popping up and it's they're doing everything they can to Avoid talking. Almost as if that's like a it's the thing that they shouldn't do is talk about actually who's at the heart of the business when actually it's the opposite. [00:14:21] Lucy Rennie: Cause the main, the biggest way of creating trust is by that human connection. So people want to know more about who's behind it, but also what about the culture and the way of working and the conditions. They're asking more questions before they spend their money. So they want to know where the products are coming from, they want to know what the business, and this is what I'm talking about, what the business stands for. [00:14:45] Lucy Rennie: And again, this isn't just about small businesses. This is rippling through the whole of the world economy. So even, and almost maybe it's a bit like Devil Wears Prada in terms of actually, it is gonna. drip feed down. And I actually think this is a good thing. So very much now, if you want to work, so a lot of my clients in the manufacturing industry who are looking to maybe supply some of the really big global international brands very often, and now what is becoming the norm and is just like a, it's just a given is that they. [00:15:21] Lucy Rennie: They need to be able to demonstrate the traceability of their products. They need to be able to demonstrate that they've got a sustainability strategy, that they are a great employer that they're creating a great place to work, that they're in line with ethical practices. Maybe they've signed up to the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals. [00:15:40] Lucy Rennie: These. Where it used to be nice to have, where businesses would sign up, I remember, gosh, maybe 20 years ago, it was it was there and you there was a bit of tokenism about it. We touched on those topics because, it looked good. It was trendy. Whereas I'm happy to say it's

now becoming a fundamental part of doing business with these businesses. [00:16:00] Lucy Rennie: So they're leading by example and they're expecting, they're expecting you as small businesses to. be able to comply with that. And unfortunately, if you can't, even if it's, it's a tricky, time consuming filling out forms kind of thing. But if you can't comply with that, if you can't also state that, you're following this guidance, that you've signed up to this, or you pledged that, or you're doing things in a certain way, you just won't even get in the door, let alone actually having a signed contract to be able to supply them, or to work with them, or partner with them. [00:16:31] Lucy Rennie: I think that's, what's really exciting for me is this big shift and it's all different levels of, the economy of the business world. And it's not going to go away, this big shift in what people want to see and what they want to hear from businesses is changing. [00:16:49] Lucy Rennie: It's for me it's about embracing all this and thinking about it. One of the things that I talk about in my book, which is something that I really want to tap into and do more about and encourage more of my clients to sign up to, but that's the B Corp certification. And this is a global, again, a global certification that really is about encouraging businesses to be a force for good. [00:17:08] Lucy Rennie: Which is something that I really believe in. And it's about being inclusive and equitable and regenerative within the economic system so that we're looking at doing things in the right way for people, but also the planet. So what, why am I talking about this? What's it mean for you and why is it important? [00:17:26] Lucy Rennie: And actually, what does it mean for you and your business and how can you use this to your advantage and Involve it in your strategy, in your day to day. So I suppose really it's understanding what people are looking for now. And again, whether this is. If thinking about your business as a magnet, and you're thinking about the people that you want to be attracting, remembering that it's not just about marketing to your customers. [00:17:52] Lucy Rennie: This is about thinking about holistically about who interacts with your business, thinking holistically about the ripple effect that you have. But ultimately, thinking about who you want, if you're, if you've got a team, it's about how to grow that team in the right way. So I work with a lot of clients who, before they start thinking of their business in this way, before they start creating that communication strategy in this way, they struggle. [00:18:15] Lucy Rennie: To recruit the right kind of people, it just becomes a churn because there's no strategy to it and there's no brand communication. So ultimately it's just a bit like throwing a fishing net into the big wide ocean and hoping for the best. And what's happening is then they're getting people that are just coming because it's a job. [00:18:33] Lucy Rennie: Whereas actually what it means by becoming a real magnet to your kind of people is that you're then going to be. Sorting through, you're creating almost like a filter, you're creating a power charge on your magnet that's allowing you to select and to identify those people that you know are going to be that good fit, that are going to have that energetic connection, and that are going to come from a place with the same values and beliefs, which ultimately then is going to help you to sustain that culture or sustain Your sales and your customer retention and the lifetime value and all those things. [00:19:07] Lucy Rennie: So coming back to that magnet, if there's one thing, it's just keeping that in mind. If anything, I encourage a lot of my clients to actually stick a magnet symbol or create some a presentation or a poster or something with that in mind, because that's the thing that's going to help them to remember to come back to who are they? [00:19:25] Lucy Rennie: What's that vision? What's that value? And how can they create that amazing kind of almost like ready Breck Glow. Do you remember the guy that used to walk down the street with the orange glow? I'm showing my age now. But that's ultimately what we want to be creating for your business and for your brand. [00:19:39] Lucy Rennie: If we're thinking about how we're going to do that and you want to be strategic think bearing in mind There's kind of four key areas people are considering when they are thinking about interacting with a brand whether that is because they Want to buy from you and they want to work with you or whether they want to choose you as a partner or a supplier And the first one is purpose which we've already talked about in previous episodes about tapping into why you do what you do, what your vision is, what are you here to do as a business? [00:20:09] Lucy Rennie: What makes you get up in the morning and what is it that, what's the story behind it? The second is substance. So this is all about, and I've talked about all these things before. It's nothing new necessarily over the last few years, but it's really important that we embrace this and integrate this into your brand and your communications. [00:20:26] Lucy Rennie: So substance, what's that mean? It means just doing the things, that you say you're going to do that you are of substance in terms of, it's not the emperor's new clothes. It's actually about offering real value about something really. Tangible and concrete and that we're not just selling hot air. [00:20:43] Lucy Rennie: It's actually, there's something behind it. The third one is provenance. And this is all about, the origin of your product or your service or your materials or your people and really demonstrating, that you, first of all, that you're thinking about that and you're considering. [00:21:02] Lucy Rennie: The implications of that. So again, there's no right or wrong of what that means or where you source your

people and all those different things, but it's about owning it. Yeah. So demonstrating that you've thought it through and actually there is a strategy or there is an intention or there's a logic behind what you're doing. [00:21:18] Lucy Rennie: So if you are making I don't know why peanut butter is coming into my head, but if you're making peanut butter and selling peanut butter, what's going to be important to the consumer or to the person who might want to come and work in your business is where you've sourced, what's the provenance of the peanuts maybe, or the different ingredients. [00:21:36] Lucy Rennie: Are you using palm oil or not? Etc. And again, there's no right or wrong with this because there's going to be people who have got different expectations and things are going to be different to lots of different people. But if you want to attract the people who really care maybe about the environment and the planet and who are maybe thinking about the sustainability of of how we do things, then you probably don't want to be looking at including palm oil within your Peanut butter. [00:22:04] Lucy Rennie: Again, there might be sustainably sourced palm oil, but then you can tell that story. So it, I think it just goes to demonstrate really that there's no right or wrong with this, but just make it in line with your brands and really think it through. So if you are really, Concerned or something that really is important to you is the environment and think wisely about the types of ingredients that you're going to put in there. [00:22:26] Lucy Rennie: But it could also be about how you are. Sourcing even or how you're choosing your suppliers, those kinds of things. So it's the provenance of the things that go into making your products or service that people are going to be asking questions about, or might want to know more about. So that's really important. [00:22:44] Lucy Rennie: And then the final one is about positive realism. And everybody, when I'm talking about this, when I'm giving presentations to the management teams, they look at me and they're like, what's that mean? Positive realism. And it sounds a bit, I don't know, a bit tweed, doesn't it? But ultimately for me, this is the most important thing. [00:23:01] Lucy Rennie: So this is about. Moving away from this kind of shiny we're perfect, everything's good about our business and our brand and our people and we're doing everything in the right way and we hide it, we don't want to show any cuts or grazes or things maybe that aren't 100 percent right. [00:23:20] Lucy Rennie: It's moving away from that into more of a kind of a. A realistic storytelling, a realistic view of the organization or of the brand or of the people within it or so allowing maybe us to be behind the scenes, allowing for a bit more vulnerability, a little bit more of, Oh, we're learning on this or we're asking for help on this, or we're trying this. [00:23:45] Lucy Rennie: We don't know if it's going to work or not

because we don't have all the answers, but we're going to let you know how we get on with that. And these are the kinds of things that I think are really valuable. And if anything, it takes away that, that need to be perfect all the time, which is impossible. [00:24:00] Lucy Rennie: And it takes away that niggle when we're saying something, but we're not a hundred percent sure it's true. So actually by embracing this kind of realistic outlook on things with a positive slant. We're also saying, you can't just turn up and go, Oh, we got it wrong. And we're not doing it again, or we got it wrong. [00:24:16] Lucy Rennie: And, that's it's the end. Be upset because we failed or whatever. It's about showing a constructive and an open mindset and a growth mindset. So learning from what we're doing and sharing that experience in a more of an open, transparent way. So those four things, purpose, substance, provenance, and positive realism will help you to think about the strategy behind your brand and. [00:24:43] Lucy Rennie: How can we incorporate that realistically? And so what are the actions, what can we do right now? If you're listening to this and your mind's probably going crazy in terms of thinking about all of these different things and what that means and, how to start with it, I would. I would really, first of all, just take a few minutes to stop and consider just what an opportunity this is right now for you as a business owner or for you as a senior leader within an organization to really stand out from the crowd. [00:25:13] Lucy Rennie: And that sounds always and in fact, I had more conversations this week about this, but standing out from the crowd doesn't have to be because you're doing everything different, or because you've come up with something new, or because your values are different to everybody else's. Standing out from the crowd might simply be just doing the best job ever. [00:25:34] Lucy Rennie: With all your care and all your attention and all your love, that means that you're delivering a hundred percent on your promises and making your customers or your team, et cetera, happy. So it doesn't have to be this extraordinary, like super duper, take me to the moon rocket. It just needs to sometimes as a first instance, just check in with yourself and make sure that, what you're saying on the outside, the promises that you're giving, you're actually delivering on them. [00:26:04] Lucy Rennie: And you'd be surprised just how much of a difference that can make, because there are so many businesses out there that aren't doing that, that are actually saying one thing and doing another, or. Saying one thing and actually really not living true to those values or those beliefs or what their purpose behind it. [00:26:20] Lucy Rennie: So just simply checking in with your team, with your business, and making sure that it's all aligned in terms of what you're saying on the outside matches up with what's actually going on inside. Don't be, for example Don't be talking about a business that's super duper all about mental health and an advocate for wellbeing of employees and teams and taking care and, going above and beyond. [00:26:44] Lucy Rennie: And then inside the business, you've got employees who are stressed to the nine and, running ragged and got no direction, that doesn't join up and ultimately that's not sustainable. So first of all, just check in with yourself. Things like, again another thing I just wanted to say, but there seems to be a buzzword at the moment about doing business with integrity. [00:27:05] Lucy Rennie: This blows my mind. I've said this before, but we shouldn't, that should just be a given why this is becoming a thing now where we have to talk about, I'm someone of integrity. For me, you shouldn't be in business if you can't work in integrity. Again, just checking in with yourself, checking in with what you're doing and making sure you've got the systems in place or the processes in place and the people that can, we'll call it out or we'll see something that's not right, or just will we be working, as we talked about last week, those little 1 percent marginal gains to make sure that you're improving. [00:27:35] Lucy Rennie: It's not about saying you're perfect. And then, not being perfect. It's about saying maybe we're aiming for here. We're striving to be there and this is what we're doing about it. Okay. So that's the positive realism as well. People don't necessarily want you to say, Oh, we're, we're the best that we can be. [00:27:52] Lucy Rennie: I'd much rather you say we're aiming to be the best. We really want to solve this problem or we really want to help people with this challenge or this issue or we want to, make an impact here and then tell us how you're doing it and these are the things that are going on behind the scenes and be open about the fact that you're not there yet and you know there's room for improvement. [00:28:10] Lucy Rennie: That's much more powerful. That's the positive realism. And so that's the first thing, checking in with yourself. And then secondly, it's about thinking about, If, [00:28:19] Lucy Rennie: if you are really clear on what you stand for about your values, your beliefs, your vision, your purpose if you know all of that, then don't be the world's best kept secret. Okay. This is another recurring challenge I have with a lot of my clients who are amazing businesses doing amazing things with integrity. [00:28:41] Lucy Rennie: But just. Brilliant cultures, they're doing everything right and they're just not talking about themselves. My second point is, don't be the world's best kept secret. Really think about, what that means for the world and how you can almost switch the magnet on. It's like you've created this. [00:29:00] Lucy Rennie: Tool, which is there and it's got everything. It's all ready to go and find your people. But if you don't switch it on, it's not going to work. They're not going to, they're not going

to find you. So really think about creating your own business communication strategy and just telling your story. [00:29:15] Lucy Rennie: How can you get what's inside? Out to the world and allow people to know what's going on, to hear about what you stand for, to hear about your beliefs, to see what you're doing and ultimately then come and connect and have that feeling of if it's a fit or not. And so thirdly, with this in mind, what I want to say is, You need to choose wisely as a business as well about who you do business with. So make sure that if you're working, we talked about the palm oil or the ingredients, make sure that who you're partnering with or who you're being associated with or who you are choosing as suppliers are in line with what you stand for and your beliefs. [00:29:52] Lucy Rennie: Okay. Because the last thing you want is for that to be disjointed and for you to have the association that comes from being, or that the issues that might come from being associated with those other brands that aren't. In line with your standards in line with your beliefs or your vision. Okay. [00:30:08] Lucy Rennie: And that's really important. And it, it kind of ties in again to quote Simon Sinek that I'm always quoting, but people don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it and what you do simply proves what you believe. Okay, so there's no point in coming up with something and saying, Oh, I stand for this or our business does this when actually then you don't really do it. [00:30:27] Lucy Rennie: So it's about following through. And again, less is more. So I suppose really just to conclude from today again, it's about having that holistic approach to your communications and your marketing and your business, but it's not rocket science. So the best way of attracting the right kind of people. [00:30:44] Lucy Rennie: Okay. So recruiting the right kind of people to ensuring that you are welcoming back your customers, increasing that lifetime value, and just being the brands that, you want it to be future proofing it and making it sustainable for the future it's just. It doesn't take rocket science. [00:30:59] Lucy Rennie: It's just being really clear on what you stand for. And then being true to that. So actually, this is who we are and this is how we do business and then making sure that joins up and that it's aligned. And just really using that as the driver for your strategy. Cause once you've made that decision and this is, this is what's important to us. [00:31:16] Lucy Rennie: All that decision fatigue goes away because actually it makes it really easy. I've got to choose that supplier because actually they're aligned and they're not, or you don't meet that criteria, or I'm going to recruit this person over that person because actually, their passion for environment or for people or for sport, whatever it might be. [00:31:35] Lucy Rennie: Is aligned and I know it's going to make it that it is a good fit. So yes, feeling that feeling, woolly feeling of what is a good fit. Actually, we can make this tangible and it will actually allow you to make those more informed decisions. And so my challenge for you this week is just take 15 minutes. [00:31:54] Lucy Rennie: out of your week, either in the morning and make yourself a brew or maybe it's in the evening or Sunday afternoon and a glass of wine and just sit and just really shut your eyes for a second and just think about what it is that you stand for. What is it that's important to you in terms of what's going on in the world or in terms of the different areas of your business, in terms of your values and beliefs and everything that we've been working on over the last few weeks and just really think about that. [00:32:20] Lucy Rennie: So then. Again, less is more. I'd rather you pick one thing than 10 things. Does that fit then? Go and apply it. Does it fit with your team? Does it fit with the way you're doing things? Does it fit with how you're interacting with customers, those kinds of things and have that sense check and then see what you get. [00:32:37] Lucy Rennie: What comes out, let me know how you get on. And if you would like to discuss this further, if you'd like to get a little bit of support, maybe in terms of coming up with that strategy, or maybe it's more of actually coming in and exploring with your team in terms of actually what you stand for and helping you to go through that process of the understanding or refreshing or reaffirming your vision, your values, your purpose and what you stand for so that you can then start to build that magnet and that strategy, then I would love to have a chat with you. In the meantime, let me know how you get on. Please get in touch either on socials or at lucy at lrcomms.co.Uk and yeah, if you've enjoyed this podcast episode, please share it, please follow and please come and join me next week at the same time for another episode where we will be exploring even further than how we can start to make sure you are not the world's best kept secret and that you become that really powerful magnet for the right kind of people. [00:33:34] Lucy Rennie: So on that note, I'm going to go. It's time nearly for me to go and pick up Elliot and then we're off to Anglesey next week. So I will probably be recording next week's episode from somewhere near the seaside. So on that note, have a great week, and I will see you next week. [00:33:50] Lucy Rennie: Take care.