There is a difference

VS.

These two words get thrown around often in the marketplace. You have business gurus, brand strategists, business researchers, branding specialists, business analysts, branding experts and the list goes on.

But I think it would be of value to determine the difference between the two.

 1.  A business has a business plan. A brand has a story.

 2.  A business is profits gained and profits lost. A brand is an idea in the mind.

 3.  A business has customers. A brand has fans that rave about who they are.

 4.  A business employs people who need a job. A brand inspires people to want to work there.

 5.  A business keeps pace with the competition. A brand creates its own category.

 6.  A business sells you something. A brand makes you want to buy.

 7.  A business engages in transactions. A brand builds relationships.

 8.  A business tells you how much it costs. A brand talks about its qualities.

 9.  A business tells you what it is. A brand is determined by its reputation.

10. A business can be bought and sold. A brand says why the business should be.

On numerous occasions the line between the business and the brand can and is blurred. Realities of one directly affects the positioning of the other. This then creates a scenario when both can be one and the same.

But there are times when business is just a business - Proctor and Gamble. Then there's when a business is also a brand - Oprah.

The question then becomes: what are you a part of (or building) - a business, a brand or both?

Hey Athlete,"Keep Going!" Here Comes the Naysayer!

By June Blanks

In building my company, I have adopted the marathon pace. I'm out there every day – pushing, shaping, zoning on thoughts, weighing them with varying partners, pushing on and testing the company's form against time.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins describes the "Build-up Breakthrough Flywheel" model of momentum and you can relate – you are forming a base, pushing it forward, and building more, repeat. You're thinking about the masses, you are thinking about your audience, playing devils advocate, looking at your business upside down, surveying your audience, taking your focus group feedback in stride, engaging, building, creating, repeat.

You are out there, sweating you socks off (with both smiles and grunts) and here s(he) comes…the naysayer! Oh #@%, you think. You look for an escape route, but there is none. Here comes the naysayer's script:

Naysayer: "What are you up to?"

Marathoner: (You are positive, tell them of your advances, but it doesn't matter what you say.)

[The naysayer looks at you sideways.]

Naysayer: "Well, I had a really hard time with that. Maybe you are biting off more than you can chew. Maybe you should try developing a tadpole instead of a sailboat. I mean, they both go in water and the vast majority of new products fail anyway."

[You look at them sideways and bring the near-by ac unit down on their head! Oh yeah, maybe that was High Fidelity…]

The naysayer, el negativo, has been really bothering me. In the past I have gotten stuck at looking at the naysayer sideways, but I started to think about the naysayer differently after two ideas converged:

One, my strategy for new contacts: I have developed a list of concepts about how I want to engage different contacts. For example, if the person is a potential investor I have already brainstormed conversation points. If a person is a potential resource I have brainstormed how I can engage them in a way they feel they are also benefitting. If a person's business or organization offers the potential for collaboration I dig at more about those angles of the operation. I give and take a card, take notes, and make contact immediately (check that momentum).

Two, in the Threshold post - "Don't be a sprinter" we see that having a person on board who can point out the holes in your strategy is invaluable.

The naysayer isn't necessarily any person you want at the table, I believe there is a difference between a totally negative force and someone who can actually point out gaps. However, I do think that next time I will be prepared to constructively redirect. When the naysayer pokes a hole in your balloon, you've got to keep the passion alive. You can't win a marathon if you let that bugger cramp your style a few miles in. If nothing else, pick their brain as if they are your most unlikely customer.

I do believe that entrepreneurs are creative athletes. We are driven to create, push harder, and win. Some of us will stand out because of our passion, "the will to win, the spark within. Passion – to play through pain and love the game. Passion – to break the chain and blaze the flame." And don't forget the unattributed adage, "Winners do what losers won't."

Innovators . . . something to think about

I came across this post by Behance the other day and really liked (and agreed with) what they had to say (as it pertains specifically to innovation). It immediately brought to mind the ideas in my previous post which briefly discusses visionaries, but from a leadership perspective. Nevertheless their is overlap and similar streams of thought in both categories.

What Behance is saying about the very idea of a visionary (with respect to product development), what that means and the numerous issues that 'float' and 'bubble' around who they are and what they do are great to chew on and really think about.

By Behance Research

There is a horrid fact in the world of innovation: The vast majority of new products fail, and most new ad campaigns don’t achieve their objectives. The brilliant minds that fuel breakthroughs are also at a disadvantage when it comes to getting ideas adopted by the masses. The root of the problem is the visionary’s tendency to focus on fellow visionaries. Visionaries are most familiar with the needs of visionaries, and thus struggle (or lack the desire) to connect with the masses.

In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore explores the giant gap between the early adopters of anything new, and the 'pragmatists' - those in the majority that are more skeptical, average, and risk-averse. When you consider the creative individuals and teams that develop new ideas, it is easier to understand why there is so little focus on the masses.

Creatives love focusing on what fellow open-minded early-adopting visionaries value. This is especially true in the advertising world, where many of the award winning advertising concepts fail to achieve their commercial objectives. After all, the judges for awards are not average consumers from middle America but rather creative professionals themselves - true visionaries. Some companies, in search of effective advertising campaigns, avoid working with award-winning firms in favor of more grounded, commercially focused firms.

When we conceive new ideas and execute them, we must assume a pragmatic lens that grounds our expectations, tastes, and perceptions. The most productive creative professionals and teams in the world have found strategies to avoid falling in the chasm!

• Ground With Diversity: Engaging a few cynical, risk-averse advisors or members of a team will add a valuable chemistry to the creative process that may reduce 'idea intoxication.' You need to work with people that ask the difficult, practical questions that are frustrating but important when pushing ideas forward.

• Ask Your Mom: Does the average person see what you see? Can the average person understand the value proposition that you are offering with your new idea?

• Add a Week of Skepticism Between Idea & Action: With a pause between idea and action, the energy in a creative process will either die or thrive. Of course, if you jump on an idea right away, you may capture energy that would otherwise disappear as an idea evolves. In such cases, creative teams pursue half-baked ideas that may yield poor performing outcomes. Instead, create a sacred space for an idea to stand the test of time. After one week, you may realize that an idea has no legs.

Congratulations!

Over the past 5 months I have made it a point to once a month set aside time in my schedule to seek the tutelage of an incredibly brilliant and dynamic woman. I was introduced to her through a good friend of mine at a twin tech happy hour in July of this year. We immediately connected and have made it a point to set aside 2 to 3 hours a month to exchange ideas, pick each others brains and discuss the future of business, culture and creativity. Just a couple of weeks ago she arranged a phenomenal event, with Daniel Pink, which garnered much praise here in the creative community of DC.

Just recently she was mentioned in a FastCompany.com article as a visionary leader, which doesn't surprise me at all. I am writing this to say that if you aren't paying close attention to Michelle James, I highly recommend you do. A portion of the article I've included below (you can read the full article here).

Visionary Leadership posted by Seth Kahan

A visionary leader perceives challenges and growth opportunities before they happen, positioning people to produce extraordinary results that make real contributions to life.

I have begun working with a select group of people around the world who are interested in fostering visionary leadership in their own lives, and will be helping me to develop audio and video materials on this topic that will be made available free through my website.

I asked them, Who comes to mind when you think of visionary leaders? Here is a compilation of their responses:

Maya Angelou, for her consistent, inclusive outreach through writing on tough and challenging topics, and for being willing to consistently stand up and lead as an African-American woman beginning in the 1950s. As a poet, she taps into her core and exposes it in a way that inspires us.

Barbara Jordan, African American congresswoman from Texas for her clarity, brilliance and understanding of justice.

The Dalai Lama, for his ability to incorporate new ideas into his traditional framework while being a messenger for peace and enlightenment for the world.

Michelle James for her commitment to bring creative expression into the work environment in a very deep and meaningful way. And her ability to create safe spaces so people can express their own uniqueness without judgment and in collaboration with others.

Barak Obama for his ability to galvanize and inspire people with the vision that we can transform our consciousness & world. Nothing seems hurried, good decisions are made at the right time. (b) his inspirational messages were trounced early on as giving us false hope, false expectations, yet his response was that “in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.” That spoke to people’s inner Amen, and what they want to believe deep down about the stories of their country and themselves. (c) for his ability to inspire a country and implement a grassroots organization of massive scale which gave people the tools and opportunity to truly participate in shaping change.

Millard Fuller, founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity, for making millions by 29 and then creating a nonprofit that builds homes for those in need for the price materials and with the labor of volunteers.

Barbara Brennan for her ability to clarify and communicate her gifts in order to empower others to achieve their greatest potential as humans and healers.

Again congratulations Michelle on being phenomenal!  Your journey as a visionary has only begun!

In a sea of good tidings. . .

. . . there's always some bad news. 

Whether you are a start-up or a seasoned business veteran things will never be perfect.  For all the things you do right some things will go wrong.  For all the customers that praise you there will be some that will want to tear you down (warranted or not). And for all the good that moves you forward in your life there will be bad things that slow you down.

There is nothing wrong with any of this. Its simply life. But the problem comes when we dwell for too long on the negative and we fail to see, recognize or focus on things that are good, progressive or simply going well. 

The trouble with this is that it is counterproductive. It is of no value to you.  And in the end its an enormous hindrance to your ultimate goal: Success (however you want to define that).

In order to keep moving forward you can't let negativity, bad news or setbacks slow you down (temporarily maybe, but after the hiccup you have to keep pushing forward).  The reason being; unhappy situations, events or times are ceaseless and they never stop. This is why whether you have one bad situation happening or an army of them you have to look for the positive, focus on it and make that the energy that you draw upon.

If you landed one client and failed at landing the other 99 - who cares about the 99!  Focus on that one client and give them incredible service that they will rave about for years to come.  And for the opposite if you have 99 great clients and one who absolutely is a thorn in your side - don't let that one person or company get you down (this goes particularly for perfectionists - which in itself is another set of issues. . .). The kicker is that in either situation that I just mentioned people will fret about it to their undoing. 

In the end just remember to focus on what's going well instead of letting the negative suck out all your energy that could eventually bleed dry the good things you have going on.  If/when this happens. . .now ladies and gentlemen this is when you will start to really have problems.