Via these it places its distinguishing mark on the establishment of the market position and the company's brand.It is therefore important that the company knows and understands its personality. To achieve such an understanding the characteristics of a strong personality must be understood.
One of the founders of modern psychology, Alfred Adler, has formulated a thesis about what characterises a strong personality. His thoughts can be directly transferred to companies. A strong personality preconditions balance in:

1. Our/the company's self-perception
2. How others perceive us/the company
3. The way in which we/the company wish to be perceived

The company's personality is also a methodology for identifying and describing the values that are tied to the brand internally in the company and externally with customers and business partners.

The philosophy
Companies are like people; their personality is at its strongest when they are in harmony with themselves and their surroundings. In the case of companies, a strong personality is the precondition for creating a strong Corporate Brand and a strong market position.

When a company is not in balance with itself or its surroundings, the organisation will typically pull in different directions and the position will become unclear. This is often seen in international organisations. It sets the company out on a zigzag course with a lack of focus, which again weakens the market position.

The challenge to the management is to express the company's personality in a set of values with which employees, business partners and customers can identify. Furthermore, the management must be able to express the essence of the company in a clear direction through which the organisation can unite - and which can be clearly communicated to the surrounding world.

The model
For the company to appear consistent both inside and outside, it must go through a number of steps:

1. How is the company perceived by the surrounding world? An exposure of the external position.
2. How does the company perceive itself internally? The internal culture is described through the history and the basic values that the company builds on.
3. How would the company like to see itself in the future? The management's wishes about where the company should go in the future are uncovered and described.
4. The company's Corporate Concept is formulated with a starting point in the steps above.
5. Prior to implementation the Corporate company's sustainability is tested internally and externally to ensure understanding from both sides. It is particularly important that management feels that it expresses the company's personality, as it is the people in the management group who will be the main communicators of the new company description. It is advisable to describe the concept in a concept bible (not to be confused with a design manual).
6. Based on the Corporate Concept, a marketing concept is developed that communicates this and enables the company to capture the desired market position.
7. The internal religion is developed and described. The goal is to steer the company so that it is able to deliver a consistent brand to the market.
8. Company management must take on the responsibility to step forward as standard-bearers for the new signal so that no one in the company or around it is in doubt about which way the company is going.

How to use the model?
The model for the company's personality describes the process that the company must go through in order to create a consistent brand. It identifies the areas that the company must clarify in order to create a Corporate Concept that can be firmly anchored internally in the company and externally in the market. Furthermore the model describes what the company must do to ensure this change.

Experience shows that there are often great discrepancies in how management, employees, subsidiaries, business partners and customers perceive the company. Use the model as inspiration for making your own sample enquiry into your company's situation.

Read more:
Corporate Religion, Corporate Concept, The Value position, Brand Systems, Brand Value Chain, The books.