Why founders make brilliant brand leaders
當品牌站在創辦人的肩膀上
分享者/曾乙申
原文網址：http://wheresthesausage.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/07/why-founders-make-brilliant-brand-leaders.html
我一直在思考某特定品牌領導者的力量，那就是「創辦人」。許多令我佩服的公司仍由他們的創辦人經營，或至少依舊扮演著重要的角色。
我在Added Value顧問公司的時候便曾有此經歷。讓我從1993年加入這間公司並一直待到2001年，它被賣給WPP集團之後的關鍵因素就在於創辦人馬克‧謝靈頓和彼得‧達特的靈感激發與領導的能力。
創辦人在公司遇難時回歸是常有的事，這意味著他們扮演的是多麼重要的角色：星巴克的舒茲、戴爾的戴爾、蘋果的賈伯斯和嘉信理財的查爾斯‧施瓦布。
為了證明創辦人對於公司的命運有深遠的影響力，下圖是舒茲於2008年1月回星巴克之前與之後的股價示意圖。與道瓊工業指數的差距在他重新加入後持續擴大，但自2009年後便不斷縮小。
史蒂夫‧賈伯斯於1998年重回蘋果的前後也是同樣的狀況(他於1985年被自己的公司開除)。蘋果股價在九零年代落後那斯達克指數後，先是追趕上而後飛快飆漲。賈伯斯重回後，蘋果的股價上漲2500%，相較之下，那斯達克指數只上漲了40%。
為什麼這些公司創辦人能夠成為這麼傑出的品牌領導者呢?
1. 我的名字在門上：由於創辦人的名字與公司有了很直接的連結，等於在名聲上給公司的產品或服務的品質掛上了保證。並且他們很直覺地便知道什麼對公司的品牌是好是壞。這就是為什麼比爾‧喬丹和大衛‧喬丹(英國Jordans穀物早餐公司創辦人)仍然親自驗證每一道穀物麥片的食譜。公司創辦人離開公司時經常是沮喪的，因為他們看見公司的水準下滑，所以最終他們會回來重新提高水準。查爾斯‧施瓦布重回背負著他的名字的嘉信銀行就是一個典型的案例。
2. 鼓舞人心的說書人：創辦人不止是公司的執行長，更是說書人(CST：chief story-teller)。他們走在創辦公司的道路上，而沿途中有許多人加入。並且只有這些創辦人能夠以第一人稱道出這趟旅程：「在我創辦公司之初… 當我僱用了第一位員工。」員工並不單單只是在從事一份工作，他們同時也分享著創辦人的願景、價值觀和信念。
3. 品牌活招牌：創辦人可以是公司行銷組合中了不起的一小部分，分享自身的故事就能為公司帶來價值數以百萬的免費宣傳，最有名的例子大概依舊是理查‧布蘭森(英國維珍集團創辦人，經常客串演出電視影集)。許多其他人也做類似的事情，霍華‧舒茲就選擇出書《Starbucks咖啡王國傳奇》；又或者宣傳規模較小的也有如同英國飲料製造商Innocent Drinks的創辦人理查‧理德，多次在雜誌和電視上述說他的品牌故事。
創辦人有個令人頭疼的煩惱，那就是他們終究是凡人。幾年前當史蒂夫‧賈伯斯的健康問題曝光時，蘋果的股價瞬間劇跌，雖然當時公司內不缺資深又有能耐的領導人，但他們始終不是賈伯斯。理查‧布蘭森之於維珍集團的重要性也是同樣的道理。
家族企業成功發揚創辦人品牌的機會相對較高。傳媒鉅子魯伯‧梅鐸(新聞集團創辦人)與兒子，詹姆斯‧梅鐸就是個很好的代表。另外，由強納生‧沃伯頓接手的英國Warburton麵包製造商亦是如此。
結論就是，創辦人經常會成為獨一無二的品牌領導者。能夠在其底下做事是十分幸運的，要不，我們也能從書寫與講述自身的品牌故事以達差不多的效果，並且稍稍體驗這些創辦人對於品質與創新的狂熱。
I've been thinking about the power of a particular kind of brand leader: founders. Many of the companies I admire are still run by their founders, or the founders at least still play an active role.
I experienced this first-hand with consultancy Added Value. A key reason for me joining in 1993 and staying till the company was sold to WPP in 2001 was the inspiration and leadership of the founders Mark Sherrington and Peter Dart.
Often the founders have come back after the company ran into trouble, showing just how important a role they play: Shultz at Starbucks, Dell at Dell, Jobs at Apple, Chuck Schwab at Schwab.
To see just how influential founders can be on a company's fortunes, check out below the Starbuck's share price before and after Shultz came back in Jan 2008. The gap with the Dow Jones index of top companies carries on widening after he re-joins. But then narrows from 2009 on.
Here's the same thing for Apple before and after Steve Jobs came back in 1998 (he was fired from his own company in 1985). After lagging the Nasdaq tech company index in the 90's, the Apple share price catches up then goes zooming past. Post Jobs Apple's stock is up 2500%, vs. +40% for the Nasdaq.
Why are these founders such brilliant brand leaders of the companies they head up?
1. "My name is on the door": founders have a unique dedication to upholding the quality of a company's product or service as their name is figuratively or literally on them. And they have an intuitive sense of what is on or off brand. That's why Bill and David Jordan still approve every cereal recipe. Often when founders leave they look on with dismay as standards slip, and eventually come back to "re-raise the bar", as was the case with Chuck Shwabb re-joining the bank that bears his name.
2. Inspirational storytelling: the founder has the role of not only CEO, but also CST: "chief story-teller". He or she is on a journey and people join along the way. And only they can tell the story of this journey in the first person. "When I started the business... when I hired the first person". You are not just doing a job. You share the vision, values and beliefs embodied by the founder.
3. Bang for your brand buck: founders can be a marvelous bit of the marketing mix, generating millions of dollars or pounds of free PR by telling their story. The most famous example is still probably Richard Branson. But many others have followed the same path. One example is Howard Shultz's book, "Pour Your Heart into It". On a smaller scale you have the founder and public face of innocent Richard Reed, who has featured in many magazines and on TV telling the story of the brand.
Founders also present an obvious and huge headache in that they are mortal. You see this is in the sharp drop in Apple's share price when Steve Jobs health problems were revealed a couple of years ago. Even though there are some very able senior leaders, they're just not Steve. Same goes for Richard Branson at Virgin.
Family-run companies have the best shot at propogating the power of the founder brand. This is shown by Rupert Murdoch of New Corp and his son, James. Another example is the subject of a future post, Jonathan Warburton of the famliy bakers of the same name.
In conclusion, founders make unique brand leaders. In some cases, you may be lucky enough to work for one. If not, we can try and emulate some of their magic by writing and telling the story of our brand, and sharing their fanatical dedication to quality and innovation.
July 01, 2010
