Slowly!
You can’t buy it. There’s no shortcut! You have to earn it over time with hard work, tenacity, and integrity. All of the most distinguishable, and well-respected brands in every industry (like Apple, 3M, Virgin, American Express and Rolex) have taken years to build. And they have all earned it.
In this day and age of instant gratification there is no magic bullet in our industry. While I believe that a large part of a brand and its identity comes from the people, from the CEO to the mail room, (especially in the services business – like real estate sales and marketing), the track record of those people in the company needs to be earned over time. Almost anyone can throw a huge signing bonus to attract talent, but this can only result in an unauthentic culture: a culture that is driven by an immediate need and not a long-term plan. More and more people are raising money to create the next big thing. Companies who are losing money are being “valued” at irrational levels. We are seeing a paid perception in performance, which does not deliver a tangible result of service, or a brand that will stand the test of time.