Uncommon Practice

Shaun Smith & Andy Milligan

What do Virgin, The Banyan Tree, Harley-Davidson, Amazon.com, Carphone Warehouse, First Direct, Prêt A Manger and Richer Sounds all have in common? The answer is that their founders and many of their senior directors share an approach to business that is uncommon in industry today. We admire these organisations because they have strong brands, enthusiastic customers and employees and their own unique way of doing things.

Andy Milligan of Interbrand and Shaun Smith set out to find out what makes these brands unique and their directors ‘tick’. The result is a book, called ‘Uncommon Practice – People who deliver a great brand experience’ which tells the story of nineteen unique brands in the words of their executives. The authors found that their approach to business is not the norm, that these companies often do things that are unusual and even defy conventional business wisdom, ‘daring to be daft’ to paraphrase Richard Branson. But what gives them the confidence to operate in this way and what is it that their directors do that is different?

Source: ‘Uncommon Practice - People who deliver a great brand experience’ by Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan (Published by FT Prentice Hall June 2002)

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