TwinEngine on the Fast Leader Show

TwinEngine Show Notes

Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee lost 75 percent of their business in a weekend. Being based in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit, overnight they became a crisis communication firm. Immediately they learned what it meant to truly help people in a different way. Through this experience they were able to align what was important to them and move onward and upward faster.

Until Winnie and Lorrie’s late teens, they were known as one person “Winnie-Lorrie” (that’s one word) or “The Little Twins.” As identical twins, it taught them a simple truth about differences. When you look at identical twins, what do you think? How are they different? What makes each of them unique? Identical twins are intriguing — it’s because people can’t usually tell them apart.

Even today, their children, Miranda, Morgan and Olivia, collectively call them ‘Moms’.

For Winnie and Lorrie, there are physical differences and there are inner differences—one of them is a left-brain thinker and one is a right-brain thinker. One is creative and expressive; the other is rational and linear. But it’s the pairing and integration of these different qualities that makes their agency “TwinEngine” (launched in 1990) what it is.

Winnie and Lorrie’s book Stand Out was written to offer a new perspective and a clear and structured approach to mastering how to stand out, be remembered, and become a trusted and preferred choice of customers and prospects. They do this by focusing on the eight fundamental areas of a brand: purpose, reputation, visuality, authenticity, ideal leads, distinction, strategy and mindset.

Winnie and Lorrie believe that every business has a distinct advantage that, when discovered, provides just the inspiration and momentum a business needs to make a huge leap forward in performance and profitability.

They have built a reputation as inspired leaders, speakers and savvy interpreters of business brand and personality. They have earned 125+ industry awards by working with a passion for leveraging their twin talents to help companies translate traditional marketing channels into forward-thinking solutions.

Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee currently live in Houston, TX.

Tweetable Quotes and Mentions

Listen to @flytwinengine and get over the hump on the @FastLeaderShow Click to Tweet

“My passion is, always doing the right thing.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“A lot of companies develop marketing plans and they end up going nowhere.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Most companies today look schizophrenic and the customer sees that.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“A brand is an entire experience.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Once a company discovers their purpose it can be incredibly powerful.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“It’s about your own ability to have the mindset to achieve desired results.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Today we all really compete on a level playing field.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“If you’re aligned with the ideal lead you have a customer for life.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“It’s not about acquisition, it’s about retention.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“When the customer becomes a promoter that’s when marketing works.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Marketing has turned from a monologue to a dialogue.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Marketing is no longer a department, it can’t be.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“It’s about leaders that bring people together, that work together.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Some people aren’t ready, it’s a matter of being ready.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“It really helped us to understand the person behind the client.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“You have to think about everyday as an independent thing.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“We all need to be empowered to be marketers.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“You don’t know what you don’t know.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

“Always tell the truth and nothing bad happens to you.” -TwinEngine Click to Tweet

Hump to Get Over

Advice for others

It’s about your own ability to have the mindset to achieve desired results and be disciplined to actually doing it.

Holding them back from being an even better leader

Lorrie: Creativity. I’m a left brained thinker and I’m working on my creativity.

Winnie: Systems and processes. I come up with ideas and we still have to implement them.

Best Leadership Advice Received

Lorrie: From my father, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Winnie: Always tell the truth and nothing bad happens to you.

Secret to Success

Lorrie: Being a good listener

Winnie: Hart, bringing hart to everything I do.

Best tools that helps in business or Life

Lorrie: Order

Winnie: Flexibility, creativity

Contacting TwinEngine

Website: http://twinengine.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/514649

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlyTwinEngine

Resources

54 Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Competencies List: Emotional Intelligence has proven to be the right kind of intelligence to have if you want to move onward and upward faster. Get your free list today.

Show Transcript:

[expand title=”Click to access edited transcript”]

092: Twin Engine: It changed how we thought about marketing

Intro: Welcome to the Fast Leader Podcast, where we explore convenient yet effective shortcuts that will help you get ahead and move forward faster by becoming a better leader. And now here’s your host, customer and employee engagement expert and certified emotional intelligence practitioner, Jim Rembach.

Need a powerful and entertaining way to ignite your next conference, retreat or team-building session? My keynote don’t include magic but they do have the power to help your attendees take a leap forward by putting emotional intelligence into their employee engagement, customer engagement and customer centric leadership practices. So bring the infotainment creativity the Fast Leader show to your next event and I’ll help your attendees get over the hump now. Go to beyondmorale.com/speaking to learn more.

Okay, Fast Leader Legion today I am beyond myself because we have a first on the fast leader show, we actually have two guest but t’s uniquely different because we have identical twins. Until Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee’s late teens they were known as one person, Winnie Lori or the little twins. As identical twins it taught them a simple truth about differences. When you look at identical twins, what do you think? Are they different? What makes each of them unique? Identical twins are intriguing, it’s because people can’t usually tell them apart. Even today their children Miranda, Morgan and Olivia collectively called them Mom’s.

Their unique perspective on the world helps them to better understand that the world we live in appreciates and expects individual differences in appearance and behavior. From their first-hand experience at refining their individuality throughout their lives they’ve perfected the ability to perceive the differences in other people, other companies, and other brands. For Winnie and Lori, there are physical differences and there are inner differences. One of them is a left brained thinker one is a right brain thinker. One is creative and expressive and the other is rational and linear thinker but it’s the pairing and integration of these different qualities that makes their agency Twin Engine what it is.

Winnie and Lorrie’s book stand out was written to offer a new perspective and a clear structure approach to mastering how to stand out be remembered and become a trusted and preferred choice of customers and prospects. They do this by focusing on the eight fundamental areas of a brand: purpose, reputation, visuality, authenticity, idea leads, distinction, strategy, and mindset. Winnie and Lori believe that every business has a distinct advantage that when discovered provides just the inspiration and momentum of business needs to make a huge leap forward in performance and profitability. They have built a reputation as inspired leaders speakers and savvy interpreters of business brand and personality. They have earned over 125 industry awards by working with a passion for leveraging their twin talents to help companies translate traditional marketing channels into forward thinking solutions. Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee currently live in Houston, Texas. Ladies are you ready to help us get over the hump?

Lorrie: So ready.

Winnie: Ready, ready.

Jim Rembach: Gosh, this is going to be fun. I usually ask people about their current passion and what it is and the two of you being left brain and right brain thinkers, I’m hoping are going to give us a different response. So, Lori what’s your current passion?

Lorrie: My passion is really always doing the right thing. And I do this by helping our clients build systems and processes to get the job done. We find that a lot of companies develop marketing plan ends up going nowhere. And I really like to help them implement those and see results.

Jim Rembach: Winnie, what about you?

Winnie: I’m all about entrepreneurship. I’m about helping companies get out there start and stay in business as long as they possibly can and try to move them with all the need of the companies to stay in business longer. It’s all about helping people get in touch with what their purposes in terms of what they’re meant to do on this planet and help them become what they should be.

Jim Rembach: That stand out and I’ve really enjoyed your book. To me it’s one of those situations where you have the opportunity to bestow the gift of clarity by the simplicity of your message. And to me that was extremely helpful. There’s a lot things that help to self- identify for folks. And I think oftentimes we struggle with that. And so, when you start thinking about taking a collection or collective of people in trying to help them identify really, what you call in the book an archetype of personality, to me that seems it would be extremely difficult to do it internally. Because a lot of our guests are coming from the customer care, customer experience world and a lot of our audience comes from that so we talk about that differentiation in making it. How you help companies really with that identification piece?

Winnie: I think it’s really hard Jim and because most companies today almost look schizophrenic, or look like they’ve multiple personalities. And the customer’s feedback, you know so you behave one way with one customer and someone behave another way with another customer and the difficult we have today is a brand is an entire experience. So one of the things we do is one of the exercises in the book is called brain archetypes. And it helps companies go through a process of really understanding if the company were an archetype, whether it’s a hero or assistant or the caregiver and giving everyone a touchdown in terms of really identifying what that looks like to the external customer and internal customer which is the employee.

Jim Rembach: And I think you bring up a really important point and for me I see the congruency piece, the whole part of the inside impacting and affecting the outside. There’s an employee experience that’s important from the identification component so I do a lot of work in employee engagement. And they talk about how workers of today aren’t necessarily interested in the companies that are the best in the world, there they’re looking for the companies that are best for the world. So, very unique distinction and I think the younger generation is really looking at that that purpose and that identity piece to connect with more so than whatever products they make. So, how does a company get past that type of, “what I call corporate arrogant thinking?”

Winnie: That’s a good one, it’s a challenge for every company, Jim. And I think for a company to truly understand the purpose people within the company need to understand how their purpose relates to the company purpose and I think it’s the disconnect and the misalignment of the leaders in the company defining what their purposes and then defining what the collective purpose of the company. But once they find that and once they discover that and send how each of their purposes impact by the company purpose it could be incredibly powerful.

Jim Rembach: Now, when you start talking standing out and the different things that you talk about focusing on and those eight fundamentals, which one of those fundamentals do people spend the most effort on, I don’t necessarily mean time, but effort, there’s a difference.

Winnie: Mindset. Because I think—when it comes to all the other fundamentals there are specific tools and activities you can blend and really feel a sense of achievement but it really comes down to—it’s really about your own ability to have the mindset to achieve those desired results and to be disciplined about actually doing it, that’s where the rubber hits the road, it’s really about execution. And having the mindset to really believe it not only within yourself but as a member of bigger collective.

Jim Rembach: But definitely a lot of things that were talking about here in regards to mindset, archetypes, brands, brain connection, brain impact a lot it can be very passionate and on the show we really focus on quotes of all different types in order to help with that connection and generation of passion. Can you each share a quote that kind of drives you?

Winnie: Well, one of the things that has impacted me in my life is reputation. And I want to about our experience as leaders. But, Warren Buffet, I’ve followed him my entire career and he says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” And I always think about the importance of integrity and reputation when it comes to a leader and I’ve always want to warn and really, really the messages I always plan such a huge impact.

Lorrie: I can’t recall who said the quote but in terms of when we talk about ideal leads that’s everyone is not your customer. So, with marketing many companies that’s smart (8:34 inaudible) but if you really don’t understand who your ideal customer is you’re really wasting all your efforts, so everyone’s not your customer, I think we said that Lorrie.

Jim Rembach: I think that’s hard for a lot of folks. For me having a background in customer care being on the frontline I knew that that was the case and I was totally willing to tell certain folks, “you know what, maybe we’re just not the best company for you and you may try this company.” And I would actually give them somebody else to try. However if I had an executive witness that, that would have been a huge problem and probably my last day on the job. So, when you start talking to some of these executives about that ideal customer piece and let some of the others go that aren’t ideal, is it been an easier conversation to have when you guys first started versus what it is now or it has gotten even more difficult because the competition’s gotten more fierce?

Winnie: Well competition it used to be there were the big bosses and the small companies and today we all compete and in really level playing field. And the running grid aspect of the past what people always sort of bundling up and gathering customer everywhere but really when it comes to it it’s not sustainable. Because if you’re align with that ideal lead becomes an ideal customer then you have that customer for life. So it’s not just about acquisition, it’s about retention, it’s about deepening relationships so if that customer actually becomes the promoter not some marketing works and sort of achieves that beautiful state is when you have those ideal customers and those ideal leads and really become the way that you market yourself because I promote you.

Lorrie: Yeah, and also thinking of half it was very difficult to know who your, “I’m digging up question of the year lead was, but who should I deal with. And now that the marketing term more from a monologue to a dialogue, we’re able to have these conversations and we’ll be able to solve those idealist problems. So being able to identify what those problems are is really one of the biggest challenges.

Winnie: Yeah.

Jim Rembach: For me being someone who was frontline customer care working being an expert by the CXPA Customer Experience Professional’s Association and being part of those that are actually responsible in trying to improve that entire customer journey and have it to be something that is a brand strength and value is that I see a lot of these lines coming together. So what I mean is I can talk to the customer experience folks and their talking about these things associated with brand and brand loyalty, brand impact, internal engagement, external engagement I go look at the call center folks they’re talking the same thing, I go talk to the marketing folks they’re talking the same thing, I’m on a board for a couple different organizations and their talking the same thing it’s like is that the same language talking about across all these different departments and silos but yet nobody’s working together. How do you get an organization to do that?

Winnie: Well, that’s the magic button, right there, isn’t it Jim? What needs to happen because marketing used to be a department and that’s where all the communication happens, all the messaging happens but now marketing is no longer a department it can’t be a department because it’s really about aligning all the silos together and when it comes down to well have to back to the mindset aspect of it, understand each of our roles, responsibilities you’d be a part of this. And it really comes down to leadership. it’s about leaders that bring people together to work together and to engage together.

Jim Rembach: So, talking about ideal client, ideal customers, when you guys have the opportunity to work with an organization and you have identified that it’s weak leadership that’s going to prevent you from actually delivering a big impact to that client, what do you do?

Winnie: Well, we’re all about transparency. So, we have a process in which we have those difficult discussions with them but ultimately if they don’t have the mindset to actually achieve the results then we’re not the best fit for them. You know, some people aren’t ready and so it’s a matter of being ready.

Jim Rembach: That’s a big struggle and that’s a big hump to get over both as a service provider, like you guys are, as well as the organization itself and goes back to that self-identification piece and talking about that archetype and corporate arrogance and a lot of the things that will impact the company from experiencing a lot of success. And sometimes we have to go through those pains and get over those humps in order to come out the other side, hopefully you can survive, especially in today’s marketplace, but there’s humps we all have to get over. Is there a hump that you have gotten over that has made a true difference for you, can you share that with us?

Winnie: Jim significant—our original office was in Wallens, and during Katrina we lost 75% of our business in a weekend. I believe at that time we have 9 hospitals, not just one vertical that we had all of those hospital watered and people died. It was a very difficult time for us to being a very traditional agency, you know, radio, TV and reports all of this sort of typical things agencies do. And every night we became a crisis communication firm and we learned immediately what it meant to really, really truly help people in a very different way that we we’re used to helping people in the past. So, through that experience—and we have some significant projects in the works of the time. We we’re really able to really pull together, to really align, what was really important to us and really help people in a way that we never thought we’d be able to do before. And I think we wouldn’t be where we are today if that wouldn’t have happened to us and I’d seen the success that we had because the agency sort of gotten—the agency sort of, Jim, always religion is tower and like we’re the agency and you’re the client. When you get to a point when you’re with the client and you’re knocking out (14:55 inaudible) and you were helping bring food to their families and you are helping them just pick up the pieces, it’s very humbling and I think it really help us understand the person behind the client, it was a significant event in our life.

Lorrie: And also to understand also a lot more (15:11 inaudible) it has been a wake-up call where we really sat and say, well, what are we doing? Why are we doing it? And it really just kind of start this whole process in terms of really just being open to and transparent and really change how we thought about marketing.

Jim Rembach: Thanks for sharing that. And thinking about your own archetype prior Katrina and that experience versus the afterwards I don’t want to say aftermath, but the afterwards and where you are today, what is one of those archetypes you think that you have now that you didn’t have before?

Winnie: Really caregiver. Really understanding that we’ve serve, we are servants to message and the more we are able to serve transparently, because it’s not all about us anymore, it’s all about the works we won and the accolades and the great campaigns are created and that’s really about our success comes from our client success. And it is a process, it’s a relationship and I think we’ve gotten really, really excellent at doing that and really we’ve become amazing listeners.

Jim Rembach: Have you experienced or fortunate enough to have clients that were with you prior to that natural disaster and afterwards have they commented to you about the difference and what have they said?

Winnie: We actually (16:45 inaudible) every single relationship we have back then. We have very, very long—we have some clients we’ve had for 25 years. It’s not the client, it’s the people behind the clients. And I think we all change. I don’t know that they see a difference in us because we’re all different. We all understand things a little bit differently, that things don’t last forever and some things you have to really think every day as an independent thing and really, really do your best. One of things, Jim, we started was our brand promise, which is earning our—you can see the wings behind me. Our brand promise is to earn our wings every day. If we just do that every day then we’re successful, our clients are successful, and our employees are successful and it all works, and that one can really change.

Lorrie: And also take that from the beginning, 25 years, even though we’ve change how we (17:38 inaudible) the organization, it’s all been about trust. And our client tells us they can trust us, no matter what the situation that trust is always been there and I think that’s the big reason why we have a lot of our (17:51 inaudible)as well.

Winnie: And one thing more is that our ability to maintain a proper mindset through that whole experience where some people are literally falling apart, were totally paralyzed, we were very clear in our clear in our actions and really, really help them at a time where they performing the way that were normally how they use to perform. And you don’t know until something like that happens how people are going to be. We were there for a lot of people. One of things our father told as over and over again as we’re children be a lot of things but the thing is, you don’t know what you don’t know. And through that crisis in our life we learned that really quick. And that’s kind of one of our we don’t (24:21)

Jim Rembach: Thanks for sharing that. You talked about your father and for those that haven’t had the opportunity when you referred to the “wings behind her” Twin Engine actually has a connection to an airplane that your father have purchased when you were just pre-teen, a twin engine four seater. And you guys being identical twins even identified your own titles to that, give me your titles real quick.

Winnie: Winnie Hart, to right engine, Lori Lee to left engine.

Jim Rembach: I just think the way that you guys are integrated, all of that personal connection into your brand and even when you start looking at the way that you craft your messaging in regards to taking off, lifting off all of those things, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. So, when you start looking at a lot of the things you guys have going on and I’m sure the whole family thing is just yet another issue that we didn’t get into and that’s where a lot of passion can be derive from for sure. But what are some of your goals?

Winnie: Well, personal or business, Jim?

Jim Rembach: You tell me.

Winnie: One of the things that the book has helped us to is to create a system which we call Brand Traffic Control, so that people can read the book and they can go back and implement some of these tools immediately. We wanted to create a book that it wasn’t just about theories and ideas and just a good read but really something that’s actionable and that people can be empowered to do this themselves because it feel like this whole concept we talked about marketing not being a department. Just the whole idea that we all need to be empowered to be marketers not only about brands but ourselves and I think this book and the 30 some activities and tools in it will really help people do that and so that’s one of the things I’m really, really excited about and it’s where were definitely going to leave our legacy.

Jim Rembach: Lorrie do you want to add?

Lorrie: The Brand Traffic Control is kind of a creative entity at this point but we’re going to—we’re working on it now to system in process so that people can access ** online. So of course maybe ** I’m working on that system so that it works.

Jim Rembach: And the Fast Leader Legion wishes you the very best. Now before we move on let’s get a quick word from our sponsor.

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Jim Rembach: Alright here we go Fast Leader listeners it’s time for the Hump Day Hoedown. Okay, Winnie and Lorrie, the Hump Day Hoedown is the part of our show where you give us good insights fast. So, I’m going to ask you several questions and your job is to give us robust yet rapid responses that are going to help us move onward and upward faster. Winnie and Lorrie are you ready to hoedown?

Winnie & Lorrie: Ready.

Jim Rembach: Alright. So, Lori what do you think is holding you back from being an even better leader today?

Lorrie: I think it’s my creativity. I’m the left brain thinker and I’m working on my creativity.

Winnie: Sense and processes. Definitely I’m the creative one. I come with all these ideas and we still have to find a way to implement them.

Jim Rembach: What is the best leadership advice you have ever received, Lori?

Lorrie: From my father, “you don’t know what you don’t know.”

Winnie: Always tell the truth and nothing bad happens to you.

Jim Rembach: What is one of your secrets that you believe contributes to your success, Lori?

Lorrie: Being a good listener.

Winnie: Hart. My last name’s Hart for many, many reasons and bringing Hart to everything I do is definitely mine.

Jim Rembach: What do you feel is one of your best tools that helps you lead in business or life, Lori?

Lorrie: Order. I love order.

Winnie: Flexibility, creativity.

Jim Rembach: What would be a book that you would recommend, beside your own and we’re going to put links to that, that you’d recommend to our listeners, Lori?

Lorrie: Scaling Up by Verne Harnish

Winnie: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

Jim Rembach: Okay, Fast Leader listeners, you can find links to that and other bonus information from today show by going to fastleader.net/TwinEngine. You’ll also find a link to their book, Standout. Okay, Lorrie and Winnie this is my last Hump Day Hoedown question: Imagine you were given the opportunity to go back to the age of 25 and you have been given the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills that you have now back with you but you can’t take everything back you can only choose one so, what skill or piece of knowledge would you take back with you and why? Lorrie.

Lorrie: I think it’s back to, “you don’t what you don’t know.”

Winnie: Jim, I’m would be really about just being grateful. I think that being grateful for all the gifts that we have received and were able to share with other people.

Jim Rembach: Winnie and Lorrie, it was an honor to spend time with you today, can you please share with the Fast Leader listeners how they can connect with you?

Winnie: You can learn all about our company at twinengine.com and you can connect to this one also with our names, Winnie Hart and Lorrie Lee.

Jim Rembach: Winnie Brignoc Hart and Lori Brignoc Lee, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, the Fast Leader Legion honors you and thanks you for helping us get over the hump. Woot! Woot!

Thank you for joining me on the Fast Leader show today. For recaps, links from every show, special offers and access to download and subscribe, if you haven’t already, head on over the fastleader.net so we can help you move onward and upward faster.

END OF AUDIO

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092: TwinEngine: It changed how we thought about marketing