Whenever I come across the same theme multiple times within a short amount of time, I feel the need to write a blog post. That happened yesterday.
First, the Fractional CFO blogged about “differentiation.” Now his post was focused on differentiation within retailers … Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Linens n’ Things; Best Buy and Circuit City; Home Depot and Hechinger’s … but there's a definite pattern. Only one lives on.
“Without a strong differentiation from competitors, a business is much more vulnerable and therefore more likely to suffer from pricing pressures, loss of market share, and eventual failure.”
The word “candidate” could just as easily be inserted in place of “business” in the above quote.
Then, my good friend and C-Suite Colleague Deb Dib summed up branded value in this tweet …
How good hires happen:
Brand+value = interview
Brand+value+ROI = short list
Brand+value+ROI+chemistry = fit = hired!
A visible, branded, and differentiated ROI is the key to standing out from the competition while offering something of value that a company is more than happy to pay to get. Whether you live on as a high-value CFO target, get bested by the competition, or disappear in the masses … is a choice.