Mike Oliver plays Civilization with brand briefs. Which regime is responsible for the most effective brand?

As a consultant, the benefits of working for a wide range of organisations are many. You get to learn an awful lot about how culture and leadership can vary from client to client, and this is never more acute than when experiencing their different approaches to decision making. Sometimes the process is clean and straightforward, involving just a handful of trusted souls; other times it feels like the United Nations itself has a vested interest in whether your headline should include a ‘which’ or a ‘that.

’And it was with politics in mind that I settled down last weekend to play yet another game of Sid Meier’s masterpiece, Civilization. To the uninitiated, the aim of the game is to conquer the world by building a society from scratch (Well, what else would you expect a brand consultant to relax with?). Then, you are offered a choice of one of six political systems on which to build your empire. It was with a blinding flash that it occurred to me that each of these maps beautifully coincides with the different types of client we encounter, witnessed by their approval procedures.

‘Despotism’ is the system you have to master first. It’s simple really – you can do what you like. Despotic clients, however, are a mixed bag. While they’re all good at saying a finite yes or no (with often limited input from others), the strength of the decision lives or dies with them. There aren’t many of these guys left in the FTSE 100. ‘Republicanism’ comes next. Your republic can grow more quickly than other societies because of a less regimented culture. This is where concepts such as ‘participative leadership’ reside. The strength of the decision making in a republic (or ‘federated’ organisation) is dependent on a common understanding of what permission each leader has. If everyone is coming from the same place, then you’re fine. If not, you can spend three months agreeing on the brief.

‘Democracy’ offers much to the empire-builder in terms of innovative and economic growth. Democratic

clients are great at decision making as long as they respect the process. Engaging in intelligent consultation, counting votes and pressing the button is a surefire way to win, until someone in the executive team doesn’t like the outcome and reveals themself a despot. Get everyone to sign up to the process before going to the people.

‘Monarchy’ is the culture-based option. Monarchic clients will have a strong figurehead and an embracing and supportive culture, albeit not necessarily democratic. However, they will almost certainly be brand-conscious and have intelligent frameworks for decision making. People who choose to stay and work with monarchic clients often bring plenty of passion to their choices, for better or worse.

‘Fundamentalism’ is effectively Monarchy on steroids. Fundamentalist clients will have super-strong beliefs in what is good and bad but will struggle to explore options that offer a new take. And finally, you could opt for ‘Communism.’ Communist clients are all about getting things done and producing ‘stuff,’ sometimes at the expense of quality thinking. They are most likely to be heard uttering “That’s good enough.”

The balance needs to be struck between the speed of decision making and quality of the decision. Despotism, fundamentalism and communism will get the job done. Monarchy, republicanism, and democracy will likely come to richer, more inspired choices. Eventually. The overriding advice for any consultant or client is to appreciate the political landscape behind decision making at the outset. Ignoring the fact that 30 VPs will need to sign off on the idea or that the only person that matters is the CEO are a sure way to disappointment. And no one ever built an empire on that.

Mike Oliver is head of brand at Radley Yeldar.