What are your values

Very pleasing to read of so many organisations and brands turning their skills and production lines to supporting National Health Services by manufacturing PPE equipment, including the likes of Barbour, Burberry and Louis Vuitton.

And a particularly huge shout-out to the University College of London and Mercedes AMG Formula 1 High Performance Powertrains division, for their swift and effective collaboration on developing the Continuous Positive Air Pressure device (CPAP), as an alternative to the more invasive ventilator which requires sedating the patient. And I understand it received near immediate rubber-stamp approval from World Health Authorities. Dyson (incidentally a brand that I should want to admire more) has yet received full approval to their ventilator design, but I hope it follows soon, and design/engineering or red-tape is overcome, for the sake of those in hospitals and in need.

Remarkably, it took UCL and AMG only 100hrs from the first meeting to develop (or reverse engineer) their CPAP. And the philanthropic ‘cherry on the cake’, is the design and manufacturing specification is being made available on an ‘open source’ basis so many can benefit on a global scale.

Some brands however appear to be adopting less considered strategies, and offering support where maybe support should have always been?, whether that’s the supply of foam resin footwear or enhancing mobile phone discounts with free data…I would suggest short term gain (for the receiving front-line workers) and long-term damage to the brands.

Many brands, across retail, f&b and the service sectors, should take a leaf out of the UCL and AMG book, and consider their approach in terms of:

  • swift and agile strategies
  • disruptive thinking
  • collaboration, both internal and external
  • a ‘can do’ attitude
  • and intrinsic, clear, and appealing ‘brand values’, that reach beyond their products or proposition

These would internally resonate and empower employees, help others, build consumer appeal, and create brand ambassadorial ripples. Certainly the UCL is now top of my list for my daughters to attend, and I might even buy myself a Mercedes-Benz…

As per the UCL motto: Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae’ (Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward).

Amen.