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Anthony Pappas President, Creative Director the Pappas Group http://PappasGroup.com

Anthony Pappas, President, Creative Director, the Pappas Group where he defines the overall creative direction for the company's clients including American University, Blackboard, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Destination DC, Discovery Channel, Geico, Georgetown University, Hanes Brands, Harvard Business Publishing, Kastle Systems, Mazda, NACHA, Network Solutions, Nike, SoftwareAG, Washington Convention Center, Washington Kastles, and Toyota.

No matter what you call it, more businesses are opting to be multiple businesses all in one. In this article, we explore the pros and cons of the emerging trend in Corporate Biznophrenia and how a smart business can get the greatest advantage. The internet and e-commerce are certainly a factor. Meanwhile. the disposable worker has yielded the disposable brand. Brand loyalty is harder to come by and your organization cannot count on a single brand carrying them through decades of great sales.  What differentiates a biznophrenic organization from a conglomerate or diversified group is the speed and processes by which new business concepts or brands are brought to market. Biznophrenia is about acting at the pace of the social media age.

Small and medium sized organizations are just as capable of producing new business concepts in diverse industries quickly...in fact, in an age when speed is critical, the smaller organization with the right mix of talent and resources is the best positioned to succeed. So, why would a company want to take on multiple brands? The answer is not far from why individuals would create a side business: reduced risk, greater chance of overall success, and to capitalize on opportunity. To turn this trend into an advantage for your organization, prepare to get biznophrenic. The challenge for any biznophrenic company (i.e. diversified organization) will be quality and speed. The key is to determine which are the winners and worth the time, effort and resources of the team. Once you know the business concepts you want to pursue, the key will be to pursue them quickly before their time has past. Lastly, you must know when to retire a brand that has over-stayed its welcome. Now a caution against toxic biznophrenia - the tendency to create multiple brands for the sake of multiple brands. Just because it would be profitable does not mean it should be under your umbrella.