Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2020 14 W elcome to the age of personalization, when society is more diverse than ever, people are more informed, and consumers and employees are prouder of their individuality. In the age of personalization, everybody is seeking individual influence, purpose and a sense of contribution as never before. Most of us like to claim that we're striving to empower people to contribute at their fullest. We like to believe that encouraging individuality and inclusion will make us all stronger. Yet we're too often still stuck in the rut of standardization. Our offices are occupied by frustrated and weary employees who are overwhelmed by delivering transactional results immediately instead of sustainable and significant growth over the long haul. Everybody is playing it safe, and just doing what they're told. Individuality? Inclusion? Nice ideas, but who's got the time? Let's all just keep letting the business define the individual. Well, no. That's the standardization trap. Glenn Llopis has experienced this trap and knows the way out. In Leadership in the Age of Personalization, Glenn shows leaders and their organizations how to break free of old, entrenched habits and: • Turn diversity into inclusion • Stop being tribal and start seeing each other as human • Invigorate a sense of shared mission by elevating individual identities and contributions • Free people from the tyranny of outdated metrics, and activate methods that lead to success and significance Of course, it's all easier said than done – because personalization spooks standardization, and when threatened standardization fights back hard. When it comes to freeing ourselves from the old standardization habit, it all starts with just two words: Let Go. ARE YOU STUCK IN THE STANDARDIZATION TRAP? Knowing something is right isn't enough to get us started doing it, and knowing something's wrong isn't enough to stop doing it. When we're stuck in standardization, we see others as "other." Our brand's identity overpowers our individual identity. The company mission is valued above our contributions. Outdated metrics make us compliant and constrained. When we're stuck in standardization, we aren't healthy – and haven't we been unhealthy for much too long? A lifetime of standardization has minimized our impact and left us feeling frustrated and exhausted. It's time to break free of the standardization trap and constructively and creatively interrupt the way we've been leading. It's time to embrace leadership in the age of personalization. B O O K R E V I E W LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF PERSONALIZATION: Why Standardization Is Failing Us in the Age of "Me" Author: Glenn Llopis is a Cuban-American entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker and senior advisor to Fortune 500 companies and organizations in healthcare, financial, consumer packaged goods and beyond. Leadership in the Age of Personalization is Glenn's third book. Publisher: GLLG Press (August 27, 2019) RO

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