#104 | Building Trust In A Busy World With Ron Tite

Have you had an experience where a company’s values (ex. friendly, fast customer service) don’t match your experience (slow, unhelpful customer service agent)? Simply having a value (ex. great customer service) doesn’t mean that’s what happens every day at an organization. Great organizations succeed based on what they think, do and say and building trust is key in today’s busy world. From the receptionist at the front desk to the CEO, how do you make sure your team is living out your company’s values? Ron Tite and I sat down to discuss how to build trust in a world that’s full of uncertainty and broken promises.

Defining Corporate Purpose 

Ron has worked with brands like Hershey’s, Evian, Google and Walmart. A common mistake he sees large and small companies alike make is using purpose as a proxy for cause. We took notes from his book ‘Think. Do. Say.’ to make defining corporate purpose easier.

First, ‘Think’ about what your corporate purpose is but don’t just attach it to the latest cause. Corporate purpose is a brand belief statement. Say, ‘We believe this so we do this.’ The “so” must connect what you fundamentally believe and where you make your money. Claiming your purpose as fighting for gender equality in the board room but selling cars doesn’t align.

Then, ‘Do’ activities and implement innovations guided by your purpose and reinforced by that belief. Your purpose acts as a pivot foot like in basketball and shouldn’t change. This keeps your company anchored, so even when you try new concepts you remain focused.

Lastly, ‘Say’, aka share, your purpose and what you do to reinforce it with the world. Ideas, passions, and a sense of purpose are adopted by other people depending on how it’s communicated. Growth comes from sharing and getting more people on your side.

Meaningful Employment And The Customer Experience

Equally as important to how consumers receive your brand are the people helping you build it. We may have found the antidote to the Great Resignation with Ron’s theory of meaningful employment. 

“The Great Resignation doesn’t just include people resigning as in leaving their jobs. It also includes people accepting an unfavorable work situation and resigning to do the same thing over and over. Companies will make greater strides when they prioritize Employee Experience (EX) and create a sense of meaningful employment.

Meaningful employment is not the ping pong table or drinks after work. It’s when an employee understands what the company stands for and the role they have to play in it. It establishes a sense of purpose in regards to the role and reminds them of their importance to the company.”

Assembly Line Vs Concept Car Analogy 

So, how do we balance using edgy marketing to capture attention with playing the long game of authenticity? Treat your business like a car manufacturer with these two sections:

Assembly Line

• Where you will make the most money because roles are clearly defined 
• You know how long it takes to do a certain task and the process is repeatable
• There is expected cost and margin
• Guaranteed quality

Concept Cars  

• Tasks done off the ‘assembly line’
• No hope of going into production
• Learn from experiments and integrate it into assembly line 
• Only uses 10% of budget at most

“As marketers, and people, we should clearly understand assembly line activities vs concept car activities. Amateur’s throw things at a wall and hope it sticks. Pros are focused by their sense of purpose.” – Ron Tite (tweet this!)

Time Stamps:

05:00 Winning People’s Time

08:35 Assembly Line Vs Concept Car Analogy

15:05 Defining Cause And Purpose

20:07 How To Build A Brand

26:40 Meaningful Employment And The Customer Experience

32:24 The Three Types Of Stories To Tell In An Organization

37:31 Speed Round

Links Mentioned:

Ron’s book: Think. Do. Say. https://amzn.to/3BBSzIq

Ron’s website: https://rontite.com/

Ron’s company: https://churchstate.co

Roger Martin – A New Way To Think

Knuckelbumpfarms on Tiktok

Paul Taylor from Adweak

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