In this episode of SuccessCast, Scott Deming discusses the definition of “Cult Branding” and also the importance of understanding the process for creating your personal and professional “Cult Brand.” Listen to a live presentation as Scott takes his audience through the simple, yet critical steps for creating that emotional connection, necessary for creating your sustainable cult brand.    

This week I spoke in Amelia Island, Florida and Charleston, South Carolina.  On Monday, I was picked up at the Omni Resort in Amelia Island by an elderly gentleman named Carl, who drove me to the Jacksonville airport.  This week is an especially difficult week for me and my family, as yesterday was the one year anniversary of our granddaughter Amaya’s death.  She was only two years old.  As I made my way toward the car, Amaya on my mind, Carl offered me a handshake and had an enormous smile.  “My name’s Carl.  How are you my friend?”  He lit up the parking area and in an instant made me feel wonderful.  We loaded my bags into the car and off we went.  We started with small talk, then after a few minutes Carl discovered much about me, as I did about him.  He was the owner of this transportation company.  He also owned a seafood company with two very large shrimp boats, as well as a cemetery headstone company.  He was full of energy, politeness and gratitude.  As I thought about our daughter and how she was doing, as well as my wife, knowing this was an impossibly difficult week for them, Carl began to tell me his story. When he was just seven years old, Carl lost his father in Pearl Harbor.  His father was piloting the first American plane shot down that day.  He then told me about his daughter, who many years ago was killed in a car accident just one day after her high school graduation.  Then he told about his grandson who was killed just three years ago.  Then he said something I never expected.  “Ya know Mr. Deming, I’m a blessed man.  We’ve suffered some losses, but so does everyone.  Even with the losses, I have so much to be thankful for.”  I realized at that moment that my family is among millions who suffer great losses and go through seemingly unbearable heartache every day.  Carl made me reflect on Amaya.  But he helped me to do something I hadn’t done in a while.  He helped me reflect on how I’m dealing with her loss.  Although my wife and I started a foundation to educate parents, grandparents and caretakers of the risks in and around the home, I still didn’t feel like I was dealing with Amaya’s loss with a truly healthy attitude. I told my wife and daughter about Carl.  They were as inspired as I was by his story and more important, his attitude.  Everyone goes through stuff.  Everyone has a story.  Everyone suffers loss.  We have two choices when things go terribly wrong.  We can either sink into self pity, or we can forge ahead and try to inspire others to do the same.  Carl is the latter and he has inspired me.  I want to be that smile and that handshake for everyone, because I’ll never know if the hand I’m shaking has a story behind it.  If so, I want them to walk away from our encounter feeling the way I did on the airport curb when Carl shook my hand, grabbed my shoulder and said – “It has been such a pleasure and honor spending time with you.  I hope you continue to have a blessed life.” From now on, I’m paying Carl’s attitude forward.

his year, I resolve to make plenty of mistakes. That’s right; I’m excited to make mistakes, because every time I make a mistake, I learn something invaluable. Something that helps me grow. You see, I’ve discovered that the real path to success, both personally and professionally is having the courage to take those risks that most people just aren’t willing to take. If we don’t think, live and work outside of our familiar comfort zone, we’ll never grow. If we don’t take chances and do the things that are inherently uncomfortable, we’ll never know what the outcome and the rewards might have been. Think of yourself as a rubber band. If you keep stretching that rubber band, it stays elastic and it grows just a bit each time you stretch it. If you leave it in your drawer, in the same position for a long time and then try to stretch it, it snaps. It gets old, dry, brittle and just unable and unwilling to stretch beyond its current position. Now, I’m not saying that routine isn’t good. Routine and regimen are not only good, they’re necessary. And, I’m not saying to live your life like a wild banshee either. We have to be cautious and calculating. What I am saying is to use your skills, disciplines, calculations, experience and wisdom and go out there and REALLY make something new and wonderful happen!There’s a saying – “The only thing worse than death is regret.” I don’t want to get to the end of this journey and say – “If only I would have…”

Howard Schmidt is a seasoned, talented and highly successful leader, with record-breaking numbers year after year to prove his processes and leadership skills lead to success.  As Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Distributor Products, a division of Lennox International, Inc., Howard Schmidt has created a “Customer Intimacy” culture in a company that manufactures evaporator coils for cooling systems.  ADP stands apart and alone in a manufacturing world that is extremely process, commodity, cost and bottom-line driven.  They stand alone because Howard is driven by two things – innovation and relationships.  He creates solutions for those who work for him and for those who buy from him.  He doesn’t believe he makes stuff and sells it.  He believes in his heart that he creates success and wealth for those around him, through his passion for innovation and his love of people. Listen to this tutorial on leadership skills and techniques and bring your leadership skills to a whole new level.  This is a gem and it’s only here on Successcast!  Listen by clicking HERE

Believing in yourself is not an exercise in stroking your ego. Believing in your ideas is not about being uncritical or avoiding the sometimes painful process of self-reflection. Instead, believing in yourself is about believing in your core values, about the things that make your life meaningful. Together, these values form a central purpose in your life. They guide the decisions you make about what to do or not to do. – From my soon to be released book on Leadership, Values and Purpose.

Values drive our lives toward the purposes we set for ourselves. They motivate us to do or not do certain things. When we lose sight of those values, in one way or another our lives fall apart. That’s why it’s important to create a culture of values and meaningful purpose. Purpose is the why something is done, the what-it’s-for. This can be seen in terms of function. For example, the purpose of a knife is to cut. This can also be seen in terms of goal, or end. For example, the purpose of an acorn is to become an oak tree. To create a culture of values and meaningful purpose, then, is to provide a reason for the culture’sexistence — a reason that makes sense to you, and likely both in terms of function and goal.

In addition to his national television and radio interviews, Scott Deming’s reputation as a business and branding expert has also landed him on the pages of many publications, including INC., Entrepreneur, Sales and Service Excellence, Fortune and others. Last week, Real Business interviewed Scott for a short story on how to handle online customer service complaints. Real Business is an online publication from Xerox Corporation. Be on the lookout for Scott’s new book Powered by Purpose to be released mid-October. You can pre-order by going to Amazon.com HERE or go to our Shop page. It’s not quite the end of June, and Scott has presented over 40 programs this year. The next six months look to be even busier! His Customer Experience and Emotional Branding keynotes remain the most popular. He also continues with his seminars and half-day training programs for leaders, sales, customer service and all company associates. Please call us if you have an upcoming event, or would like to discuss any of Scott’s services.