Forget the unicorns and rainbows. We all don’t have to sing “Kumbaya” to establish a good company culture. 

“We think of good cultures as these places where people are happy, happy, happy all the time, where there’s no arguments. That is not true. Good cultures are places where people have strong, vibrant, energetic arguments all the time.” (Dan Coyle, Best-selling Author)

We won’t be argumentative, but we always want to challenge to standard notions for driving success, and this time on Gartner ThinkCast, we look at what elevates the best groups and teams above the rest of us. Spoiler alert – it does not mean making everyone feel comfortable. Then, marketing guru, branding expert and author Afdhel Aziz helps you elevate your brand above the noise in today’s marketplace: “Know your purpose. Know why you exist as a company beyond just making money.” 

And many companies are taking the approach of, “Ask not what you can do for our brand. Ask what our brand can do for you.” But Gartner expert Rick DeLisi says you might want to ask it differently: “It already feels like a smarter, more contemporary, most sophisticated approach. The problem is, so many companies are taking the same, exact approach simultaneously, it’s real hard to differentiate.” 

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Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo 2019 

Gartner Conferences homepage

THE CONVERSATION RUNDOWN

00:00 – Opening Thoughts

01:53 – Daniel Coyle: Groupthink – Building Great Teams

• 02:47 – What’s holding our teams back?
• 04:32 – Three universal rules of successful groups
• 07:05 – The most important element
• 08:57 – The Pixar Story
• 11:34 – Reflecting on the U.S. Navy SEALs

14:08 – The Gartner Webinars

15:30 – Daniel Coyle (continued): The San Antonio Spurs’ champion dynamic

• 18:40 – Building sincere trust
• 22:21 – How do we encourage true collaboration?

25:33 – Gartner Conferences

26:54 – Afdhel Aziz: Good is the New Cool

• 28:39 – Why “good is the new cool”
• 30:35 – Market like you give a damn
• 34:01 – They’re not consumers, they’re citizens
• 36:19 – People are the new media
• 40:32 – Don’t advertise; solve problems
• 44:15 – Steps to being a purpose-driven organization

46:40 – Ahead on Gartner ThinkCast

47:38 – Rick DeLisi: Brands Need More Than Values

• 48:02 – What distinguishes the “corporate brand”?
• 49:13 – Rising above the brand crowd
• 52:07 – Are companies aware they need a new approach?
• 54:28 – How do we differentiate our brand?
• 57:01 – Nine categories of personalization
• 1:00:20 – Where do you focus your efforts?

1:02:18 – Closing thoughts

We’re all about winning teams and attractive brands this time on Gartner ThinkCast.