Some people say Mary is scary. But I say there’s a lot to love….
Mary Minnick is not a “pat-you-on-the-back-atta-boy” kind of leader. As much as I need that kind of “parental encouragement” every now and then, being the corporate “mom” isn’t her style of leadership. And that’s the “real thing” her brand needs.
Minnick is the president of marketing, strategy, and innovation at Coca-Cola Co. – …. an audacious title, for an amazing woman, in a career which almost wasn’t.
She’s a Coke lifer who, at times, acted more like a “short timer.” She advocated “non-carb” beverages back when doing so was considered career suicide. Along the way she was told she “–pushed too hard, alienated everyone in North America” and “–nobody wants to work with you anymore.”
Dejected, she took the LSAT and applied to law school. Luckily, Sergio Zyman, the head of marketing at Coke, saw in Mary what others didn’t and convinced her to stay.
On another occasion, former Coke CEO Douglas N. Daft showed his support for Minnick by replying to requests to have her reassigned: “This woman will be there longer than you. She has my full support.”
Here are four “somethings” I love about Mary and any leader who steps up to grow their brand.
Mary leverages her chronic discontentment for the good of the brand. She told investors last December, “I tend to be quite discontented in general.” And “It will never be fast enough or soon enough or good enough.”
Too many business leaders have lost their hunger. Not their hunger for more money, but the hunger for intellectual, emotional, and relational challenges of the marketplace. Brands stop growing when the hungry stop leading.
Mary embraces the pain of a changing marketplace. The evidence is abundant even for an American brand icon like Coke. Consumers are flocking to a new breed of coffees, juices, and teas — all categories where Coke has been weak. According to BusinessWeek, PepsiCo Inc. has blown past Coke in stock performance, earnings growth, talent development and buzz. Pepsi now has a market value equal to Coke. Ten years ago, Coke was three times bigger. Brands stop growing when their leaders stop listening, observing, and growing with their customers.
Mary doesn’t “work around” the problem. Minnick doesn’t apologize for her direct approach: “Historically, we had a culture where putting the hard issues on the table made some people uncomfortable.” Mild-mannered people, talking in soft mild-mannered tones about wicked problems, will not save the brand. Brands stop growing when leaders prefer unity over brutal facts and accountability.
Mary knows transformational innovation when she sees it. Coke has been unusually prolific by launching more than 1,000 new drinks or new variations of existing brands worldwide in the past 12 months. Some, like the brisk-selling coffee-flavored Coca-Cola Blak, have been hits. But Mary knows that, in the long run, new flavors and brand extensions won’t be enough to make Coke a growth company again. She’s pushing to transform Coke from a soda-centric organization offering “me-too” products, to an innovative organization creating categories while identifying consumer trends.
Transformation is easy to talk about — hard to do. That’s why many tweak their brands rather than transform their brands. Brands stop growing when leaders let their organization suffer from “hardening of the categories” rather embrace real change.
Who are the “Marys” in your organization? Hungry brand owners who aren’t afraid to face the brutal facts and change with their customers are key to sustainable companies.
Listen to them, promote them, and don’t let them leave for law school.
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The corporate world needs more Marys. Unfortunately, Mary doesn’t live here anymore, as warm and fuzzy drives the Mary’s to law school.
Thanks for the comment Lewis. I think it is difficult for any corporation to know what to do with a variety of personalities and leadership styles.
I think the big challenge for Coke as I read the BusinessWeek article revolves around the peril of success and how it tends to create cultures that have lost their aspirations. Not a big deal in times of little change, but that is NOT the times we live in.
Another good post Mike, but remember that Mary also said that the community-generated buzz over the Mentos-Coke geyser videos ‘didn’t fit Coke’s brand personality’, and that she would rather Coke’s customers ‘drink our product, rather than play with it’.
Listening to your customers also means allowing them some control over the brand, which means they may sometimes take it to areas that you aren’t completely comfortable with. But giving them the freedom to find their own way helps to ensure that they will always come back to you.
BTW, for those of you who are FOM (Fans of Mike), he writes a great follow-up to this post on his own blog, “Something About Mary Reminds Me of Andy” (about Intel’s Andy Grove).
Read it here:
http://www.ownyourbrand.com/2006/08/09/something-about-mary-reminds-me-of-andy/
Mack, I agree – the idea of a marketplace where the community co-creates brand is going to be a tough one for all brands built in the era of mass, broadcast generated markets. Mary and Coke will have a lot to process in their thinking and practice.
That she has got past a “soda-centric” mindset was a big hurdle.
I find it fascinating to watch brands generated by radio, TV and print make the journey to the networked marketplace realities that are emerging.
Better sameness won’t work. Tweaking the core product won’t work. And locking out the community that could help co-create your brand won’t work.
But that is a lot to swallow.
I think Mary is taking sips.
While you and I might wish she would chug the whole thing at times!
What a wonderful post. I felt I got to know this woman and to see her strengths for the work… and your post was the kind of voice that likely saved her job in the first place. It’s not easy to look past a person’s lack of interpersonal intelligence to see and help develop other intelligences. Yours is a story of those who did — an inspiration!
Great post Mike!
It’s a good reminder that in leadership… and in branding… it takes all kinds.
I know that having people around that are encouraging can really help to motivate a team… and a company. But it’s also important to remember that some leaders need to be the hard-core drivers too… especially when they bring specific experiences… knowledge AND wisdom to the table.
However… the proof is often in the pudding, so it will be interesting to watch an icon such as Coke and see how it can re-invent it’s brand to not only survive… but thrive… in an incredibly competitive marketplace.
Again… Great job Mike!
Ellen and Mitch, thank you for the encouraging comments.
I wonder how many times the performance of a team of any sort is hurt by excluding intelligences and leadership traits that others don’t like.
Almost everyone I know can point to a teacher that had a teaching style that they didn’t like but who at the same time made a tremendous impact on their lives.
We do need to celebrate everyone’s gifts.
Here’s my effort to relate “the Mary Minnick story” to the non-profit marketing environment.
http://www.theagitator.net/index.php?/archives/200-Emotion-the-Queen-of-Pop.html
Minnick is to be commended for starting at the bottom. She earned her way to the top, yet I suspect that her blunt style has alienated many. One gets the impression that no matter how hard one works for her, Minnick will never be satisfied. Minnick strikes me as someone who lacks the common touch. I don’t think it would hurt to at least occasionally appreciate the hard work of the people in the organization. Minnick’s style is effective, yet is too impersonal in my opinion.