A Solid Business Footing: The 7Ps – That’s Right, Seven! (Part VIII of IX)

From last week...

“Gosh, Org, you beat me to it.” Marka shook her head in feigned disappointment. “Yes, in fact, personality is so important that it’s the seventh P.”

Now, on to part eight of this nine-part series. Remember, fire = print.

The Seventh P: Personality
“Someone describe Pyro to me,” Marka said.

“Aggressive, cheap, tough competitor,” Org responded.

“How about FlintStone?”

“Disciplined, risk averse, controlled creativity,” Zoot said.

“Us?” Marka asked.

“Today or early in our history?” Numo asked.

“Both, please.”

“Early on, we were perceived as daring, carefree, noble,” Zoot said.

“Did it change?”

“Under Org’s father Autho, we were highly profitable but slow to recognize and react to changes in the fire market,” Lucy said, showing an impressive command of FEI’s history despite her short tenure. “This inflexibility led to our competition gaining footholds in traditional FEI areas.”

“Today?” Marka placed her palms firmly on the wood table and stared down the brassy new hire.

Lucy didn’t miss a beat. “We’re probably thought of as reliable, somewhat innovative and somewhat inflexible.”

“Is that what we want?”

“No!” Org said. “We need to be perceived as visionary, powerful and responsive.” He almost felt like letting out a roar.

“How would this shift in perception among fire buyers affect our business?” Marka asked.

“Our products, services and solutions would be ubiquitous and woven into the fabric of each Olympian’s life,” Org said. “Dependability wouldn’t be an issue—it’d be a challenge. We’d be always there!”