From Debra Murphy, founder of 4-Clarity Consulting: For the past few years, Mike Barker has brought his writing expertise, brand knowledge, and wit to our group of writers and our customers. We have learned from him, even as we worked alongside him. Luckily, Mike’s artistry and creativity live on, but we miss Mike the person every day. This tribute was written by a colleague from another work environment, and we share Dennis’ heartfelt sentiment.

By Dennis J. Murphy

I can only think the good Lord wanted a new brand manager. One of the best was recently kicked upstairs.
Last week many of us lost a dear friend when Mike Barker passed away suddenly at age 58. I was lucky enough to work with Mike for more than 15 years, first at GE Energy and later at EPRI and CSM. He helped me and my teams address some extremely challenging brand issues with nothing short of elegance and class. Mike had great appreciation for what a brand could do, and he took his role as brand steward very seriously.

Over the weekend, we held an informal celebration of Mike’s life just as he would have wanted – with friends, a little wine and beer, and lots of music. As we reminisced, I discovered a lot about Mike. In addition to being a talented wordsmith, he also was a painter and a photographer … and man did he love his music. Over the weekend his closest friends played samples of some of the playlists he had compiled from artists I hardly knew. They were amazing. It made me think that, even in passing, I was still learning from Mike.

That, too, gave me pause to consider what he’d taught me over the years about what makes a true branding superstar. So, using Mike as my gauge, I humbly offer these five observations on branding expertise and excellence.

1. Branding is a passion…not just a job.

In almost every case, branding pros must be as much salesman as steward. There will be times when clients simply don’t want to change. That’s when the branding pro earns his or her stripes, conveying why the change is better for the company, its customers and its employees. Few did this better than Mike, and his success was driven by his love for the brand he was leading. He truly believed in the job he was doing, and it showed.

Mike was given the unenviable task at GE of turning seven separate P&L businesses into one GE Energy. He did it flawlessly and, while I’m sure all were not happy, it was tough to argue with the case he made and the passion he displayed in making it. As one of my more skeptical leaders said, “I think Barker could start his own religion and we’d follow him. Let’s hope he doesn’t!”

2. Branding experts must be great listeners and problem solvers.

You can’t offer a solution if you don’t understand the problem, so Mike never started with the answer. Instead, he spent a great deal of time listening to his clients, verifying what he’d heard, and then responding with a well thought out plan explaining why the branding position he proposed would address their concerns. He rarely lost.

My favorite Mike story is the road trip we took to a newly acquired business that – business wise – was not even a rounding error. Mike knew the sales leader was insistent the name of the business HAD to remain the same. More than anything, I was there to show we truly did want to hear his case. We took our seats in the leader’s office and he immediately began yelling at Mike, “So you’re telling me that even though you know nothing about me, my business, or my people, that you know without a doubt that we’re better off being GE? You’re telling me that?” I turned to Mike thinking, “Game on, brand manager!” His answer was pure art.

Mike put down his pen, smiled, and said, “Well, actually, I haven’t told you anything yet – but I’ve been listening, and here’s what I see…” He then proceeded to note that, based on what he knew, this leader’s brand and business was much more about his great people than his products. Customers trusted them, relied on them and, as long as they were still there, his customers would not care what brand his business carried. He ended with the statement that, as far as financial stability and future support for innovation were concerned, it would be hard to argue that they would not be stronger when backed by GE. Problem solved. I won’t say they parted the best of friends, but the leader showed great respect for Mike the rest of his tenure.

3. Brand managers are always learning.

Mike was a voracious reader, consuming every nugget of knowledge he could find on branding. He loved the war stories shared by the branding leaders of the truly recognized brands (besides his own), and he was quick to transfer that knowledge and lessons to his own role. Branding is a craft where one truly can trade best practices, and Mike was as good as there was at “shamelessly borrowing” ideas. He laughed off comments like, “Mike knows everything about our brand.” His retort was always, “I’ll never know all I need to know…but I’ll keep trying.”

4. Branding is not ALL about rules…but there are rules.
Mike’s favorite quote was from Fed-Ex’s Fred Smith who said, “Brand is not a democracy.” Still, the last thing he ever wanted to do was point to a website or manual to call someone out on why they could not do something with the brand. He preferred to explain why certain actions would confuse customers or employees, dilute the business’ position, or simply make the company look bad. When that failed – and it rarely did – he would play the rules card. It was not something he enjoyed doing – but he always knew when the time had come to pull out the rule book. It also helped that no one – and I mean no one – knew that book better than Mike.

5.  Great brand managers have a great mix of humility and self-confidence.

Mike’s greatest asset was his soft-spoken but confident demeanor. He never appeared to be “pulling rank” as the brand manager, but he left little doubt that, if it came down to it, he would. When he worked for me, my rule was simply, “Whatever Mike says it is – it is.” Mike was not intimidated by titles or rudeness, and he often encountered situations where both were used by his clients to make him change his mind. Those tactics never worked.

One of my best memories of Mike is when, in a heated discussion, a business leader dropped the phrase, “You know I’m a general manager, don’t you?” Mike paused, smiled, and said, “And if I have not said so already, congratulations on your promotion…However…”

So it has only been a few days, and I am missing Mike. He’d probably be upset I wrote this column because he hated being in the spotlight. And, I know he’d tell me I have way more important things to do. I don’t, and I probably never will. Hopefully this will help others share in the lessons I learned from him.

Somewhere in the clouds, I envision a conference room where a branding pitch is over and the Lord closes his or her gilded binder and says, “Nice try, guys, but I’ve seen enough. Somebody get me Mike Barker…and be sure he brings his music!”

Dennis J. Murphy is VP and Chief Communications Officer at CSM Bakery Solutions.
 

The other day in casual conversation with a woman I work for, I commiserated that she must be very busy. After all, she works a more-than full-time job and has a young child, so she spends her weekends at the baseball field or carting him to other activities. That’s in between grocery shopping, trying to spend some time with her husband, and all of the other responsibilities of – well – life. Her reaction was unexpected: “I’m tired of this notion of being busy,” she mused. “We’re all busy. But that’s no excuse to stop connecting with the people around us.”Well said.

“Busy” has replaced “Fine” as the response du jour when asked the equally generic, “How are you?” Yep, we’re all incredibly busy.

Maybe it’s time to get over ourselves.

These days, it’s a mark of success to be that busy person – always working, moving, meeting. Our days are filled with tasks, but our connections are often shallow and fleeting at best. Stopping to smell the proverbial roses just isn’t on the agenda.

One of the most talented and gifted professionals I know – and often one of the busiest – is my husband, Dennis. (Yes, I realize I’m a little biased here, but after 30-some years together I’m allowed, right?) I’ve seen how he runs a corporate team, and I’ve watched his interactions. He’s mentored many, many younger employees – and even a few older ones – always demanding they give their best, crediting them for the work they do, and finding the time to help them become leaders in their own right. His work with other executives is just as revealing. He takes the time to know their quirks, their families, their sports teams. It’s not superficial; he honestly wants to know. And the connections he fosters continue long after the working relationships end.

Interning at a small-town newspaper – I was just a sophomore in college – I was a little awed by my editors. I watched them debate daily ethical dilemmas while standing up to town bullies who loved to tell them what they should print (or more often what they shouldn’t). These editors – my bosses – were in the office early and stayed late, making sure the articles they published were accurate and crisp. Their professional lives were incredibly hectic. In short, they were busy with a capital B.

And for some reason they talked to me – about meaningful issues facing our profession, about those ethical dilemmas, about when to cross the t’s and dot the i’s, and about when the “rules” could be broken. And while they didn’t give me this precious gift – their time – on deadline, they did connect with me often, and pushed me on the road toward success in my chosen profession.

The ethics and journalistic values they instilled have stuck with me for the 30-plus years since.

Too bad that other lesson – the gift of time – sometimes was forgotten as I navigated my own “busy” road. Working full-time, raising kids, volunteering … At days’ end, I just didn’t always have the energy to make the connections I should have. I greatly regret that.

Am I busy these days? Well, duh! I run a successful business, have three kids (yes, they’re technically adults, but still …), try to be a good wife, and still find the time to occasionally stop for those aforementioned roses – whether that means exercising, socializing or lounging in the sun with a book. My soccer mom days are past, and I’m grateful for the occasionally unscheduled Saturday afternoon.

And as for my “busy” work week? Well, I’m taking “busyness” out of my vocabulary and connecting more. Hope you do, too!