Gloves, cap and a whip

Buglers, a Land Rover hearse, Princess Anne.

Did you get inspiration for your own funeral from that of Prince Phillip last week?

It was a riot of pageantry and symbolism.

Particularly when it came to the personal regalia.

A Naval cap, sword, and personal standard draped his coffin.

So far, so expected.

But a pair of brown gloves, a whip and a pot of sugar lumps sat on the seat of an empty carriage that trundled through LEGOLAND Windsor?

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Succinct and slightly eerie symbols of a life lived.

Reducing a person’s whole being to a couple of basic components is an art form

What would you choose to represent you?

It’s an interesting experiment.

I might go for a typewriter, glass of champagne and a George Michael CD.

But what about when you apply this to your business?

It’s a bit trickier. Because it’s easy to appear like everyone else.

Cap and gown, chartered logo, award trophy?

Where’s the personality, the peace of mind you gave clients, etc?

It’s harder to materialise because it’s subtle and invisible.

But it’s what makes you different and therefore worth digging into on behalf of your brand.

How to do it

What do you stand for, in good times and bad?

Perhaps easier is: What three words to clients use to sum you up? I always ask them this, and it works.

If you want to stand out, you have to stand for something, otherwise you’ll fade into the crowd.

It doesn’t have to be anything good (though I’m sure it is): just look at Philip’s famous gaffs – consistent + repetitive = knowable. No one’s going to get him muddled up with Prince Michael of Kent in a hurry.