South Africa, June 20 -- Elon Musk

Steve Jobs

Raymond Ackerman

Richard Branson

Jeff Bezos

Harry Oppenheimer

Walt Disney

Henry Ford

Warren Buffet

Mark Zuckerberg

Julius Malema

One of the things that these people have in common is that the brands under their control are reflections of themselves. They infuse their brands with their own personal genetic character. Charismatic leaders can do that for brands, but not all brands have charismatic leaders to guide them.

The good thing about genetic character is that it comes naturally - there's nothing forced or contrived about it. If the brand reflects the person leading the organisation, then the brand has a very easy-to-follow role model.

But what if there is no charismatic leader...