Insights Into The Executive Mind: Laura Ries, Ries & Ries

August 25, 2008

L aura Ries is a marketing consultant, author and personality. Since 1994, she has run Ries & Ries (www.ries.com), a consulting firm with her partner and father, positioning pioneer, Al Ries. Together they consult with Fortune 500 companies on brand strategy and are the authors of four books, including The Origin of Brands and The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.  In addition to her books, Ries writes a popular branding blog, OriginofBrands.com. She also appears in weekly marketing reports on RiesReport.com. 

Ries is a frequent marketing analyst with the media and has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, CNN Headline News, CNBC, ABC, CBS, PBS and is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age and others.

What business books have helped you become a better leader, business person and CEO?
Positioning: The battle for your mind. Because my father had written the book, I read it in the 1980s. The book itself was an eye-opener and a page-turner. It explained the world of marketing and definitely strengthened my resolve to get into the marketing business myself.

What did you learn from the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
The biggest mistake I’ve ever made is trying to copy my father’s speaking style.

Years ago, when I gave a speech I tried to talk just like Al and it didn’t work. When you work with a master, it is tough to copy what they do.

Furthermore, you don’t sound authentic, which is the most important aspect of a good presentation. To be a successful speaker, I needed to find my own identity, my own style and to develop my own brand. If I was just an Al Ries imitation, I would have never been successful. I needed to be a real Laura Ries.

Any mentors along the way?
That’s easy. Al Ries has been my mentor since I was born. He never pushed me into the business. Instead he patiently explained the principles of business in response to the questions I had, even at an early age. I was the only fifth grader who gave a speech on how to put together a good slide presentation.

If there were one piece of advice you could give to a new executive, what would it be?
Focus. The key to success is not being good at everything; the key to success is being good at one thing. Too many people spend all their time and attention trying to improve on the things they are not good at. What they should do instead is to focus on the things they are good at and forget the rest. (Of course, if you are not good at taxes you can’t forget them, so you should hire a good accountant.)

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