Category: Branding
Allies
Authenticity, being your true self, will go a long way towards gaining supporters. We gravitate towards those who have their story straight. Who know what they’re fighting for and why.
It’s a breath of fresh air, to meet someone who has taken a stand in their mind and narrowed down their focus to the one or two things that matter most to them. We see it in the way they walk, the way they move, the things they talk about. All their actions are synchronized and gracefully headed towards an inevitable goal. And we admire that.
We admire it because we haven’t made that choice yet. Our minds are crowded with too many unimportant wants, as opposed to one passionate quest that deserves all our energy.
If you’re unconvinced then give it a short trial run. For one month put one mission at the forefront of all your conversations and your productive time. Leave the superfluous stuff aside. You’ll start to notice how free and powerful you feel. And just as important, that those around you now feel more compelled to support your efforts. You’re gaining allies in your journey.
With enough support nothing is difficult. Your book, or your non-profit, or your school pretty much builds itself. It all starts with an authentic clarity of purpose.
Take a stand
In your mind. Take a stand in your mind for what you represent. Yes, we’re complex individuals with numerous and opposing ideologies depending on the time of day.
But there’s always one. In love. In our career. And especially in our mind. There’s always one that dominates over all others.
So what do you represent? What message in this crazy world do you relate to most? If your goal is to leave your mark somehow then you’ve got to take a stand today. And the stand can be a process as much as it can be a cause. But choose one for now.
Care less to impress
You’ll soon realize it’s easy to impress people when you don’t care whether they’re impressed or not.
Of course the only way to reduce how much you care to impress is to have plenty of other options so that one doesnt mean as much. And the only way to have more options is to keep trying more. Experimenting more. Leaving yourself vulnerable more.
Throw more against the wall and see what sticks. Rinse, repeat.
Work and the worker
“If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it.” – Tennessee Williams
In business the idea you have is important, but the real important thing is the execution.
Everyone has great ideas; instead, what’s gonna determine your success is the piece of yourself that you pour into those ideas. It’s about how you deliver on your promise that this product reflects your uniqueness.
The reason is simple: there’s nothing new under the sun. No idea is original. So worrying about others’ previous failures at this is a waste of time. What you’re about to do has been done before, but it hasn’t been done how YOU are about to do it.
WE are the only new additions to this planet. We’ve never existed before. We haven’t done this specific thing yet. It’s been done by others but not by you, not by me.
Do it.
OF the people
Whatever you do, make it OF the people. Inject humanity, even if its ugly. Don’t go by lofty ideals if you don’t believe in them.
If it’s not genuine it’ll be evident and this shines through.
Many make products or art to that try to reach some higher aspirational level or demographic. This just results in some soulless product soon to be forgotten.
Outside the lines
Don’t trim the edges, let them hang loose if it pleases you. That’s your advantage in the game.
It’s ok to color outside the lines, do it boldly wherever possible.
Tacky and Sweet
I like sweets. I even like tacky things from time to time. I think I just like things taken to an extreme because they give a glimpse of something that’s never been seen before.
And that’s what wins. Something that’s never been seen before.
As a marketer I’ve fallen prey to the thinking that you have to create within a certain box in order to be successful when actually that thinking is what leads to failure 99% of the time.
Creating within a box works only if you’re one of the big boys with enough resources to make a dent by sheer force.
For us small entrepreneurs we have to think in extremes. We have to go for tacky. We have to zoom past sweet and get to a syrupy, empalagoso-type of sweet. Yes, many will be offended and pushed away, but if you like it I guarantee you there are many others who will like it also.
Feed the extremists’ appetite and all those who hated you before will wanna get a taste of this new concoction also. Don’t call them haters, call them late adopters. When you see everyone as a late adopter your target market is infinite.
Perfectionism
No greater saboteur than perfectionism
Here comes perfection, the loch ness monster, bigfoot, a UFO
Everybody’s seen it. Or have they?
We search for it but what we find are faults, disappointment, regret
Then every word out of our mouth is: tomorrow… one day… at some point…
Don’t aim for an outcome with the most amount of perfect in it, instead do work that has the largest amount of YOU in it
Perfectly you trumps perfectly perfect any day of the week
Now THAT’S perfect!
Hyundai: Doing it Differently
Ran across this article through Lefsetz’ blog and I just had to write about it. Hyundai gets it. Their execs understand that following “conventional wisdom” is the fastest way to mediocrity. And in a fast-paced world it’s actually a fast-track to the bottom of the barrel.
Growing up in the 90s I clearly remember Hyundai cars being a joke back then. Then Hyundai went against conventional wisdom and started styling midsize sedans with a luxury feel. They went completely against the grain and bet the farm on it. Their CEO of American operations summed up their success best: “It just takes courage and a willingness to take risks.” Touche Mr. Krafcik.
Since then, starting in about 2009 I remember catching myself unknowingly staring at Hyundai’s on the street from time to time. How times change.
The Genesis is sexy, and that can partly be attributed to the fact it looks like a Benz. But the price is even sexier when you compare it to other premium cars. You might be able to call it a commoditization since they’re now leading with price and then features, but their brand has gotten a huge lift.
This lift they can then use to promote their other offerings. You can’t be mad at this strategy.
It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep this up, but with this type of leader at the helm I wouldn’t bet against them.
The One Thing
Humans have shorter and shorter attention spans as each day passes. We’ve become very adept at ignoring all the noise.
How do you plan on breaking through the noise? Simple. Just think about the one thing.
What’s the one immediate thing that stands out about your product? Or about your marketing campaign? Or about your story? Amplify this. Give it to them right away, then let them discover all your other superb features on their own.
The one thing doesn’t have to be the best part of your product, just the most remarkable. All we need to entice us to buy is to know that your stuff is special somehow, the quality of performance then closes the deal. That’s the job of the one thing, to whet the appetite.
Back in the day the one thing could’ve been a clever ad campaign. Not anymore. Now it truly has to be part of your product. Obsess about making the best product you can, but also obsess about finding the one thing.
