Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some elite brands. Many are brands that are not well known outside of their market area. Some are quietly elite. And some are brands you’ve probably bought something from. In working with these elite brands, I have been struck by how hard they work, how driven the executive teams are, and their general humility about their eliteness.

In looking at the brands I’ve seen from the inside as well as studying more well known brands, I’ve determined that all elite brands have these 5 traits in common:

They have standards, not rules. Of course, they have business processes – and are quite disciplined about them. What I mean is that they don’t have a bunch of rules telling employees and customers what to do and how to behave. I’ve mentioned this before, but this trait in non-elite brands is manifested in signage. “No checks”. “Wash your Hands”. “No returns without a receipt”. “Remember to Smile (I saw this sign at a teller’s desk in a bank!), and many more. The elite brands have standards – manifested in their culture. They make the workplace fun and productive – and the buying experience easy. Above all things, they make it easy for their employees to fix problems that aren’t in some handbook – especially related to customer experience issues.

They embrace accountability. Non-elite brands are gifted at re-defining problems, shifting blame, and giving long speeches. Elite brands have a culture of accountability that permeates the entire organization. Their people want to own problems, not run from them. They want to be measured and challenged. Because of this, they tend to benchmark everything: customer delight, employee productivity, system performance, profitability, etc.

They use the language of “Yes”. Non-elite brands start with “no”. As in “No, we can’t” or “Not my job”. Elite brands start with “Yes”. They say “yes” to customers – and they say “Yes” to each other regardless of department. Even the traditional “No” departments like HR and Finance start with “Yes”. This creates a positive, innovative, and creative culture that manifests itself in every part of the brand.

They are polarizing. Elite brands are not afraid to offend someone. They aren’t afraid to let an under-performing employee go. Or “fire” a hard-to-deal-with customer. They also aren’t afraid to take a stand with their belief systems and standards. They aren’t trying to please everyone – just the people that share their passion, values, vision, etc. Non-elite brands are passive aggressive. They pretend to be nice but complain about customers and each other behind the scenes. They take abuse from customers who are trying to work the system. They tolerate mediocre employees, systems, marketing, relationships, etc.

They want to win. Every elite brand I’ve worked with or studied has a “bad guy” they want to beat. This could be an unscrupulous competitor, a stale industry, or perceptions in the marketplace. Whatever it is, they want to kick it’s butt and blow it up. They are intensely competitive – and as such, they are not afraid of competition or afraid of being measured. Further, the employees of elite brands tend to be competitive – often manifested in being more healthy and fit than employees of non-elite brands.

So few brands are elite. I would estimate that less than 10% of brands in any industry or geographic area are elite. Of course, there are few elite brands because it’s hard work. Beyond that, it requires a different kind of thinking. It requires an intolerance for mediocrity, a passion beyond profitability, and a burning desire to be great – 3 traits that are rare in humans in general. So when you find these elite brands, do business with them. If you are a business owner or lead executive, find an elite brand and learn from them.

For the people that don’t want to be elite, there is always Olive Garden, Pop Country, and Old Navy.