In today's conversation, I am joined by Dr. Tessa Misiaszek, coauthor of Branding That Means Business. Tessa is an instructor with Harvard Professional Development Programs, as well as a Professor at Hult International Business School. She brings extensive experience developing human capital strategies to improve business communications. Previously she served as CEO of Empathetics, Inc. – a company that developed empathic communications training for healthcare professionals, and she is

currently the Head of Research for Korn Ferry. She is also one of the hosts of The Happy At Work Podcast, which I was honored to be a guest on recently discussing my book, What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You.

Today, Tessa is here discussing her new book, Branding that Means Business, which she co-authored with Matt Johnson, who was on the show two weeks ago talking about the customer side of branding. Today, Tessa and I look a little more on the employee side of things and how much that matters for brands. Listen in to learn more.

Show Notes:

[00:43] In today's conversation, I am joined by Dr. Tessa Misiaszek, coauthor of Branding That Means Business.
[02:41] Tessa shares about herself and the work she does.
[04:06] Tessa met Matt in England and they had an argument about empathy.
[06:06] Her debate with Matt was if empathy had a scaling issue and if empathy can deplete you as a person.
[08:13] Tips for working with a co-author? If you go into business or create a start-up with a partner it is like a marriage. If it goes bad, it can go really bad. You want to make sure you have the right partner at the onset.
[11:04] Today we are going to talk about the internal functioning of marketing, branding, and culture.
[11:45] The function of marketing is value creation.
[13:45] A brand is not marketing. A brand is an asset to your marketing strategy.
[16:17] Authenticity needs to tie through everything and the outward messaging to customers matters.
[18:41] At the end of the day it is the transparency that builds trust and once consumers have trust that you are doing what you say you are they are more likely to be loyal and forgiving if something happens.
[22:05] The more empathy you can have for the way that your consumers live their lives and think about how your product and service are integrated into the way they live their lives that will allow you to build a more authentic brand connected to them.
[23:42] Brand is really the great differentiator today.
[26:42] Empathizing with the customers is crucial.
[29:00] As a brand you can’t be all things to all people so don’t try to be.
[29:49] Companies are only as good as the people that run them. Being able to really connect that purpose to the employee organization and culture that you develop within the company is very important.
[31:50] Mission and values are just the beginning. Next, you have to think about the infrastructure and operations.
[33:54] Zappos worked on creating and building a culture that really engaged the employees and then delivered on that and drive everything about the company.
[35:28] Melina shares Zappos' ten core values. Tessa recommends that start-ups start with five unique authentic values.
[37:14] If we all say we have the best service then nobody has the best service unless you are really living that. It is not enough to just say it, you have to show it.
[40:09] Values are not just words on a board. You have to think about how these values will evolve over time. To stay true to that as a company you have to continue to innovate based on those values.
[42:50] There should be an inventory once a year of company values.
[44:35] Tessa’s podcast Happy At Work talks about organizational culture, employee engagement, and how to create a positive workplace environment.
[45:09] Melina shares her closing thoughts.
[46:03] Your brand promise may not be the same as your core values...and even if you don't have something written out anywhere (yet) or aren't really living those days in and day out (yet) consider this an opportunity to look at those and see how you can be doing better.

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

Branding That Means Business, by Matt Johnson and Tessa Misiaszek
Blindsight, by Matt Johnson and Prince Ghuman
What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You, by Melina Palmer
The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M.R. Covey
Delivering Happiness, by Tony Hsieh

Connect with Tessa:

Top Recommended Next Episode: Branding That Means Business with Matt Johnson (episode 231)

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Other Important Links:

Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter
Korn Ferry
Empathy Company
Zappos 10 Core Values
Embracing Change: Melina’s Episode on The Happy At Work Podcast
Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How Apple Makes You “Think Different”

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235. Great Brands Care About People, with Dr. Tessa Misiaszek