Abiah.com, Christian Organization and Ministry Brand Development

Is your brand out of alignment like Rudolph's?

You know that part of the Rudolph story where the little doe, Clarice, tells Rudolph he's cute and he leaps into the sky and starts flying?  Remember how the crowd is blown away? 

Rudolph is so excited that it doesn't even register to him that Santa -- the ultimate decision maker about who makes the sleigh team -- has walked in and is witnessing his fabulous performance.  Rudolph is so pumped up he takes off again.

When he lands, the crowd gathers around him and his little friend head-butts him (the reindeer version of a high-five I guess) and knocks off the fake nose he's been wearing.  Suddenly he's exposed for what he really is:  a red-nosed reindeer!

The crowd is horrified and what does Santa do?  He says "Too bad.  He had a nice takeoff too."

Santa, in that moment, demonstrates to Rudolph what happens when a brand is out of alignment.  When the messaging is inconsistent in any way the customer (Santa in this case) will reject the product.

Do you live your brand values?

My husband and I were watching Ruldolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer when the HR person and brand strategist in me reared their ugly heads. 

That show is not only a great holiday tradition, it's a great example of a brand out of internal alignment!

There's Santa -- the CEO.  On the outside, his organization is built on fun and bringing happiness to children everywhere.  What's the reality?  Far from that.

He shows up at the reindeer games where Rudolph has just executed an incredible take-off.  This little guy demonstrates a couple of times that he's got an amazing vertical leap and tremendous potential.  Everyone, including Santa, is excited.

Then his fake black nose gets knocked off and he's exposed for what he truly is.  A reindeer with a great leap but a red lightbulb for a nose.  Suddenly, people make fun of him and forget that he just demonstrated a record-breaking takeoff.  Even Santa does this by saying "Too bad.  He had a nice takeoff too."  This shows Santa for what he is -- A poor leader --  and the group for what it is:  a place that values conformity over break through performance.