Jim Collins: Social Sectors & Brand

Today, I had the pleasure of having brunch with my wife and John and Betty Cragan. John and I talked about “Good to Great and The Social Sectors” by Jim Collins. This is a follow-up/ extension to “Good to Great.” One of the big ideas in the monograph is the importance of brand. Brand is not just a for-profit concept.

Collins highlights three areas for making a social or non-profit great – focus on what you’re passionate about, what you’re best at and your resource engine. Your resource engine deals with time, money, and brand. These are also the components of his “hedgehog” element – a relentless, yet elegantly simple, focus on what really matters for your organization. Because the social sector doesn’t have “rational” markets for valuation purposes, it is even more important to manage brand identity (emotional connection to the organization and reputation). A winning brand strategy and unique symbolic identity needs relentless focus.

The hedgehog concept of passion, what you’re best at, and the resource engine align nicely with the quick symbolic identity test I ask clients:

• Are you symbolically unique?
• Can you ground that identity, making it real for your constituents?
• Is it a profitable place to play?

I recommend the monograph highly. Excerpts can be found at www.jimcollins.com.