Personal Message from Robin: Kiss Teaches Staying Power
Love 'em or not, the rock band KISS has been able to stay in the game for over 35 years. FULL DISCLOSURE: I was a huge KISS fan when I was about 10 years old. Had the posters on my bedroom walls, the records on my floor and even the makeup on my face. I got to see them in action recently as part of the KISS ALIVE 35 tour. And they rocked the house.
It's the staying power of KISS that most interests me these days. In the world of commerce right now, these are pretty wild times. Markets shift without any notice. Competition is fierce and comes at you from every front. And customers are more sophisticated, demanding and savvy than ever before. So how does an organization like KISS (yes, they are an organization), stay relevant and on the radar screen of consumers minds this long? Here are the 4 things that KISS did/does to drive their staying power in the market place (apply them to your business and you'll be around 35 years from now too):
1. THEY STAND OUT. Yes, KISS has been modeled/copied and imitated by other bands over the years. But they had first mover advantage because they were the first to do what they did. Being first to go to market with something new generally gives you a lifetime advantage over the competition (think Coke v Pepsi/Heinz ketchup v Hunts). When KISS first hit the scene, there was no one like them. They just stunned everyone. With their painted faces. With their oversized platform shoes. With their pyrotechnics (well ahead of any other rock band). And with Gene Simmons' fire breathing and blood spitting. They just stood out. So everyone HAD to take notice.
2. THEY BUILT COMMUNITY. One of the most intelligent moves KISS made was to launch the KISS Army early on in. I still remember buying KISS ALIVE 2 and receiving a KISS Army badge, the temporary tattoos and a document confirming my membership. Everyone one of us has a deep psychological need to belong. It's a trait that has allowed us to survive with a tribe. KISS tapped into that and made each one of their fans feel special. And part of something bigger than themselves.
3. THEY WORKED THE BRAND. Though Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, two of the original members left due to alleged substance abuse issues and money challenges, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have kept the original mystique of KISS going for all these years. Much of what has had made KISS so enduring is the way these two (Simmons in particular) have managed and protected the brand. They did media, they attended KISS fan conferences, they worked the Net and they did whatever it took to keep KISS alive in the hearts and minds of their constituents.
4. THEY OVER DELIVERED. One of the simplest and most powerful ways to increase the staying power of your business is to deliver more value than you promise to. Just wow your customers by how much you give. And if the product/service itself is good, they'll come back for more. 35 years later.
In Leadership,
Robin
P.S. I'm about to do something I've never done before, and may never do again. Over the past years, I've quietly and privately worked as the business advisor to some of the world's most successful and wealthy people. People whose names you will know but who I'm not at liberty to mention. I've created an extremely powerful system that has doubled, tripled and quadrupled their profits while also allowing them to work less than ever before and have a lot more fun in life. This system has never been available to the public. Until now.
To share openly, I don't know how long I want to continue coaching for. Been at it 15 years and lots of other things I want to do. So I've decided that I'll do something very special. Starting in early 2010, I'll work with a group of entrepreneurs and share the system I've developed to create EXPLOSIVE business success with them. For close to 12 months, I'll be your personal business advisor and leadership coach (we'll talk on a weekly basis!). Over 200,000 entrepreneurs from my customer base are qualified to joining but I'll ONLY ACCEPT 250 committed people.
Stay tuned to robinsharma.com; more information on this once in a lifetime opportunity is on the way.
Leadership For Everyone
Robin's Daily Podcasts
Leadership Thoughts
"Sometimes to be faster, we have to be slower" 3 Time World Champion racecar driver Jackie Stewart
"Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken" Oscar Wilde
"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit fr doing it"
Monthly Book Excerpt: The Greatness Guide Book 2
From The Greatness Guide Book 2 (p. 144): On Personal Mastery
Make a commitment today that will alter the course of your life. Forever. Dedicate to personal mastery. Think about your thinking. Detect your authentic values and what you aim to stand for. (How can you be who you are if you don't know who you are?) Get to know your fears. Reflect on your personal genius and human potential. Learn to let go of emotional baggage from your past. Refuse to tolerate negativity. (Kahlil Gibran once wrote that "Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother"; every one of us has so many more choices than we can currently see, and as we dare, doors we didn't even know existed begin to open up.) Read more. Learn more. Get fit get ultra fit (sad that - too often good health only matters to those who have lost it.) Become remarkable at what you do for work. Become so good at your craft that your organization cannot run without you. Become the friendliest person you know. Work on compassion and understanding. Be nice. Be good.
1. Do Fun things together. Teams come together through "shared bonding experiences'. It's uber-important to do activities with your team members that allow them to be more of their true selves and connect with each other as human beings. This will directly translate into superior team performance.
2. Praise publicly, coach privately. Smart leaders understand the power of publicly praising excellence in action. So do it often. Coach your teammates as to areas they need to improve in private. So they can save face.
3. People automatically come together when they feel they have some bold mission to achieve. So give your team a clear mountaintop. Some bold goal that will not only evoke the best within them but one that will inspire them to roll up their sleeves and work together to realize the passionate and important objective.
WHAT'S NEW AT SHARMA LEADERSHIP INTERNATIONAL
SLI thanks each and every one of you who attended Robin's "Lead Without a Title in Turbulent Times" presentations on his recent tour that included Sweden, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Russia and Tanzania. Also, we deeply appreciate the ongoing support of all of our tour partners.
