The Meeting: Brand Change (Part 9)

“The meeting” will take place this week, in not just one conference room or board room around the nation, but many. In each of these, there is a table, chairs that are supposed to be comfortable and suitable for the status of the executives who will be attending and the accoutrements necessary. The room set up is designed to facilitate audio, visual and interaction. It should be a place where there is a healthy exchange of ideas, concepts and strategies and, most of all, decisions on the future of the brand.

There is a hopefulness for real decisions and leadership that will clear the smoke, dispel the rumors and set a path of direction worthy of exitement and opportunities to be siezed.

As the participants enter the meeting, there will be the usual show of comradery, variety of greetings, a story here and there. There will also be positioning, both the pompous and the subtle. Curiousity and concern will rise to a palpable level when a new person, or someone unexpected, enters the room. With brand change, no one is certain where each stands. They are hopeful that they will hear the decisions that will define their personal and professional future, definition for the brand is often secondary.

The agenda for the meeting is not specific, it is general. Most of the big decisions have already been made. This meeting should be about action and execution. Some participants try to prepare, grilling their minions for every ounce of information that might be related. Reports have been written, even though they may have no real bearing on the proposed reason for meeting. This meeting should be about the future and not the past. The participants are most likely there because of title and/or, role but not necessarily their ability to lead, followership they may have, ideas or initiative. In many cases, there will be few, if any, real assignments for the participants, but a lot of work will be generated. Traditional companies that operate in this fashion might benefit from the lessons being learned by many of the newer more nimble companies that are conquering new and unexplored business.