Review: The Orange Code
I picked up The Orange Code: How ING Direct Succeeded by Being a Rebel with a Cause off my stack this week. I can already see why so many have been raving about it. Written by ING Direct founder and CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann and Bruce Philp, founder of GWP Brand Engineering*, this is a really well-written story. Even better, it’s the story of how ING Direct succeeded in dramatic fashion led by a leader with a cause.
The first few pages captivated me as an analysis of “what it takes to be the leader of an organization with a cause:
- It takes a calling. Sound familiar? It ought to. This is already at the very center of how so many of us operate.
- It take the guts to make it personal. Again, isn’t that the way it really is?
- It takes a powerful enemy.
- It takes an inner circle.
- It takes the possibility of failure.
*If you didn’t check out GWP Brand Engineering…you need to do that now, if only to roll your curser over the men’s bathroom drawing in the scrolling images below.
Mark, thank you so much for the kind words. I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying The Orange Code. You’ve exactly correctly identified the key to the whole story: that it was about leadership, not branding. The brand merely served the mission. Enjoy the rest of the book, and thanks again for the shout-out.
Warm regards,
Bruce.
My pleasure Bruce. Great stuff!
mark