Amid complex strategic choices, leaders, managers go for ‘laws’

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In the midst of information overload on the so- called “best”, “time-tested” and “fail-safe” marketing strategies and tactics, you can almost hear confused and exasperated leaders and managers saying: “Enough!”
This is one phenomenon of the age. In this complex world, people thirst for the simple- and, yes, the elemental. With the avalanche of choices, people yearn for old-fashioned order.

Imagine the chief marketing officer or a CEO bewitched, bothered and bewildered by so many tactics offered by numberless consultants, innumerable books- and his irrepressible board!

This explains the widespread hunger for a set of principles, leaving tactics and methods to the leader and the manager.

And this explains the drawing power of the “Al Ries Brand Marketing Conference,” held recently at the Philippine Plaza.

The father-and-daughter tandem, Al and Laura Ries talked about the “immutable” laws- meaning, unchanging, forever relevant, and eternally constant principles.

Take the “Law of Leadership,” for example. The Rieses have a one-liner to explain it: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.” And they cite known brands- Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and IBM. That looked unarguable, at first glance.

And there is another law that seemed to contradict the first, according to one participant- the “Law of Opposite”- which is also a one-liner: “If you’re not the leader, then you need to be the opposite.”
They cited Pepsi Cola, which became the cola of the “younger crowd”- and thus was born the “Pepsi Generation.” Coke is 120 years old.

So, on the midst of such seeming contradictions, why are the Rieses so credible? The reason could be that one law works for one, and another law works for another. They are not actually contradictory; they may be stand-alone laws that work.

Another particular pointed out the seeming conflict between the laws of “focus” and of “divergence”. The focus law stipulates: “Every company needs to resist the temptation to keep adding products and services.”
The Rieses, underscoring the need to focus, compared the success of Southwest Airlines, which they called a “one-fork” airline- no other destinations but business, no other class but coach, and no other flights but domestic.

The other airlines take the best of many worlds. They observed: Southwest is currently worth $12.4 billion, or more than three times the other airlines.

In another breath, though, they offered the “Law of Divergence,” with this explanation: “Over time, a category will diverge and become two or more categories.

Taking off from Charle’s Darwin’s “Origin of the Species,” they explained: “A species starts out as a single species and then, over time, diverges…Divergence has created new categories of automobiles such as the sport utility vehicle and the mini van.”

The Rieses have been observing the marketplace and have come up with the “natural laws” that govern the market- and gave each law a name.

These laws seemed to have stood the test of time simply because they provided some “anchors” or “principles” to market players. In turn, these players took these principles to heart- and their actions were blessed with success. A principle that has spawned many successes must be a valid one.

That is the reason behind the ever growing following of the speaking, writing and consulting tandem. Such activities reinforce one another.

The books that precede their visits country-to-country or city-to-city continue to have a growing following. Thus when a conference is organized with them at center stage, such a gathering is consistently assured with great success.

There is actually a heart warming quality that Al and Laura share: While they are mentors to over half a million people around the globe, they are also enthusiastic learners.
That’s the secret behind their success. Their capacity to listen is as huge as their capacity to be heard in a very compelling and inspiring way.