My name is Richard; I’m 52; I’m married with 3 kids; and I’m the lead strategy guy @ SHIFT, a STW company that uses brand and branding in a unique way to help companies create the future they want to succeed in.
I got my brand expertise working full-time in the ad industry for 20 years, where I did the strategic thinking and brand planning for some of the world’s most iconic brands and companies = Cola-Cola, Microsoft, Vodafone, Nestle, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benkiser, Levis, ACP, Australian Federal Government, Boots, Arnott’s, Goodman Fielder +++
I then set up my own brand consultancy in 2003 – The Brand Guy – where I expanded my ‘brand’ area of focus beyond marketing, into all areas of the organization = CEO, Executive Team, Corporate Affairs, HR, Learning & Development, Internal Communications.
I believe that brand is a management issue, not a marketing concept, and everything can and must be driven by and aligned to your brand strategy; your business strategy, your products and services, your culture, your people, your marketplace positioning, as well as [not just] your communications.
Why do we exist, and what is our reason for being? How do we walk our own talk by living and breathing our brand values and promise? How do we use our brand to get the best out of our people, and engage them in a sustainable, ongoing way?
Companies I have worked for in this capacity include:
My approach and the way I engage people is based on positive psychology, and the idea that all people have the desire and capacity to be EXTRA-ordinary human beings, given the right encouragement, support, and space to be. My approach is to feed the hungry appetite people have for their life and their work by creating meaning, purpose, and a strong sense of self.
I self-published my “positive psychology” book in 2008, called Wake Up Tiger. It’s a wake up call for people and workers who are dissatisfied with their lives, often even in the face of their ‘success’.
In addition to SHIFT, I do keynote talks and run workshops on Brand, People and Communication at conferences and seminars [I won the inaugural ‘Battle Of Big Thinking’ competition held in Sydney in March 2010]; I work on my two blogs; and I spend my time with my wife Claire + three kids; Nick [aged 21], Sophie [aged 19] + Roxy [aged 14].
Check me out on Kochie’s Business Builders.
Check out my profile on LinkedIn.
