Can you imagine moving into a gorgeous new home, hearing a knock on the front door and hearing this from the man standing there? “Good Morning…I’m your postal carrier. I just stopped by to introduce myself – to welcome you to the neighborhood and find out a little bit about you and what you do for a living.”
How about if after finding out that you travel quite a bit he offers several options as to how to handle the mail while you’re out of town. Add to that finding a package on your stoop which the postal carrier found mis-delivered at a house down the street. Seems almost too much for many to fathom – the mailman? Delivering customer service like that?
Well that is exactly what happened when international speaker and author Mark Sanborn moved into a new home in Denver. In time, Fred became the primary character in Mark’s book The Fred Factor. As a result, Fred has become famous – worldwide. (It is important to remember that fearless brands need not be famous – as demonstrated by my brother David Ellis and organic farmer Bruce Clithero.)
Fred is this Friday’s Fearless Brand. Not just Mark’s mail carrier but all of the Freds of the world.
Fearless brands strive to deliver maximum value.
And that is the essence of The Fred Factor – the trait which drives some people to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. It is the factor that results in ”Freds’ delivering extraordinary customer service. Freds bring dignity to their work regardless of status. Just as anyone can build themselves into a fearless brand – anyone can become a Fred – or at least Fred-like.
There are four principles which Sanborn learned from Fred – and which are essential in becoming more Fred-like.
- Everyone makes a difference
- Success is built on relationships
- You must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny
- You can reinvent yourself regularly
The Fred Principles and the elements of being a fearless brand have striking parallels and synergies. Being authentic, genuine and relevant. Continually and consistently providing value to others – and always seeking ways to increase that value.
One certain way to build and enhance your fearless brand is to become a Fred. As described in the book … “Everyone wants to count, to know that what he or she does each day isn’t simply a way of making a living, but ‘a living of making meaning.'”
If you have yet to read The Fred Factor I urge you to do so now. As follow-up you can read Fred 2.0: New Ideas On How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results. Check out Mark’s site – it’s loaded with great content and useful tools to become more Fred-like. By becoming a Fred you will become more of a fearless brand. By becoming more of a fearless brand you will build more value and drive more profits.
Friday's Fearless Brand
Coach, International Speaker and Thought Partner - Bill’s mission is to add value to the world – one brand at a time. Bill guides individuals and companies alike in building what he refers to as a ‘fearless brand’. This is the process of discovering, embracing and delivering their greatest value – which allows them to realize greater profit. Read More
Another great post Bill. The key is to not only allow people to become Freds but to build a culture that encourages and even expects it. Love it and need to get through my reading list of which there are two Freds waiting.
P.S. I still can’t stop thinking about the Flintstones when I hear Fred.
Thank you Doug. I agree with you about creating a ‘Fred’ culture. I am so thrilled that you have TWO Fred books in the queue that I can only say YABBA DABBA DOOOOOOOO!!!!! 🙂
Another exceptional post my friend. It seems to me that the desire to bring value to others is an inside job. Powerful examples like Fred (and yourself) are available to us all. Noticing, then being attracted to those kind of character traits is one thing. Making the necessary internal changes is another. Finally, consistently having a desire to be of value and to bring value to others allows me to experience the real joy of living. Like Zig always said, “you can have anything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want.” It’s wild!
Thank you Todd for your support. You certainly are a tremendous example of having the courage to look deep inside oneself to find the good – and the bad – and improving both. I especially appreciate you re-sharing Zig’s quote…it’s both true – and wild!
Bill, love the post. My wife and I hit our same restaurant each Wednesday which is like 30 minutes away however it is the young waitress who we have come to know that makes us feel so special. She goes out of her way to make our experience special thus we keep going back. Little things like texting us ahead of time to see if we are coming so she can hold a spot for us which is not advertised at the place but she does so because she wants each Wednesday to be special for us. Definitely a Fred factor here. Thanks for sharing your post with us all.
Gary, what a magnificent story and a great example of what I call brand integration.
No doubt the restaurant (brand) meets the expectations if you and your wife – food, location, ambience etc.
The waitress being allowed to bring her ‘brand’ – care, thoughtfulness, personality, service – to the experience makes the difference for you two.
This integration of business and personal brands is truly special.
Thanks for sharing. Happy holidays.