What Mark Will We Leave?

I read a news story today about a fifteen year old young man from China who tried to leave his mark by writing his name and a declaration that he was there on an ancient Egyptian historical site while his family was on a tour there.

There were several lessons that I think pertain to running a business and marketing that I think we can learn from this story:

• Leave a mark, but make sure it’s truly your mark. I don’t think we can fault this young man for wanting to leave his mark, but he should have found a way to leave a mark that contributed something of his own. He should have left a mark that represented his own achievement not to simply stamp his mark on the accomplishments of another.

When we market, do we use permission based marketing methods? Do we engage in crass or even deceptive marketing practices because we can make more money? Do we copy the creativity of others? Or do we seek to create something special ourselves; do we strive for excellence in message and delivery?

• Accept responsibility for your actions. This young man’s parents acknowledged that their son made a mistake and they took responsibility for it themselves, declaring that he did this because they did not teach him right and because they did not supervise him well on the tour. Kudos to them for owning this.

When we market or run our business, do we take responsibility when we drop the ball? Do we take responsibility when our employees make mistakes and own the issue, even if we had no part in the mistake ourselves?

• Protect those you are responsible for without dismissing their responsibility for their actions. By shifting the focus for this misbehavior from their teenage son to their own failures as parents, they did not dismiss the fault in their son, but they did protect him from feeling the undiluted anger of an offended public. Again, kudos to them for protecting their son.

As a marketing or business manager, do we stand beside an errant employee and help them weather the storm and recover from their mistake even when we didn’t have a part in the offending action? Or do we throw them to the wolves, claiming that we didn’t know such a thing happened and that heads are going to roll and people will be punished, so those who were offended think we’re addressing their anger? The latter might be easier, and even safer, but that doesn’t make it better.

Our products and our service matter, but what we do when something goes wrong matters even more. When those we serve see us take the high road when we make mistakes, they gain confidence that we will take the high road even when no one is watching. And that kind of reputation leaves a mark worthy of notice.