The Teaching that Comes from Successful Brands during Covid-19

Becoming a company of lasting success over time is the result of two fundamental factors. A unique and distinctive business project made up of key factors such as commercial creativity and identity, fame, consecration, the founder, strengths, typologies, regeneration. And then knowing how to preserve and regenerate one’s essence and leadership to continue to exist.

To be what is named a “legend” brand you have to have done something extraordinary, unique, and epochal that has remained engraved in the genes and in the memory, which is recognized, celebrated, and handed down over time.

There have been and there are companies that have characterized themselves as successful companies, these legends.

I think any manager should look into the genesis of these most successful brands. Certainly not to imitate them, purely because, only by copying a strategy, a company would lose its identity and above all its distinctive feature. But one can try to identify the predominant features and, perhaps, only “shape” one own company, while maintaining and enhancing its values, vision, mission, and, above all, the distinctive character of your service/product, which are essential elements.

Modeling a successful strategy is in fact a better solution, that certainly allows enhancing (where well set up) the processes and results of own company and your product/service, because so one will be able to adapt the practices and successful strategies of others, respecting the values and vision of own company. In this way, the company will come out enhanced and with a strong distinctive character, without being a clone of other experiences.

Successful examples are certainly valuable lessons that can inspire. Without preventing thereby that every team and every company can maintain their identity and find its functional way of being and working, and obtain effective and excellent results.

Among other things, we must not forget that changing models and strategies is a delicate process that must be done one step at a time, also because this process is often hindered by resources and the organizational system. The results are the result of constant, disciplined work, oriented towards clear and defined objectives.

Successful models of other businesses or businesses, or even just a few successful initiatives, can be a fundamental guide. Also because, in reality, nothing is invented, while it is useful to take what works (the well-known best “practices” or “case histories”) and see if and how those criteria that have achieved consolidated successes over time are applicable to company culture.

By successful companies, one can learn some fundamental behaviors, as for example, the reaffirmation of the desire to strengthen the conservation and regeneration of one’s own identity, intellectual and industrial heritage.

A legendary brand teaches us that the care and governance of the company must be approached like that of a work of art of great prestige and value and that the most challenging objective is to go beyond continuity and strive “towards eternity”: This way of thinking and acting can make an organization better, by learning how to crystallize basic values, ethics, transparency, respect, gratitude, loyalty and meritocracy over time.

In addition, “being a legend” could turn into “being a source of wisdom”, through increasingly virtuous and admirable behaviors that the organization performs for subsequent generations and for a better world.

And it is with this in mind, some of the most deserving behaviors observed during the early stages of the coronavirus emergency should be re-read: many successful brands (but not only) have proactively participated by making themselves available to the community or to whom was most in need, with various initiatives.