The Psychiatrist and the Light Bulb (or The CEO and the Brand Promise)
“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set.”
~ James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
There’s an old joke that goes, “How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one. But the light bulb has to really want to change.”
The joke is funny because it’s based on a painful truth: A lot of people want change in their lives, but are unwilling to make significant changes in themselves. Every business owner wants to move to the next level, but some are unwilling to pursue marketing ideas that require serious self-examination.
My experience with “brand therapy” has shown that a common obstacle on the path from good to great is not a lack of resources, a sluggish economy, or even a marginal product. It’s often an unwillingness on the part of management to engage in meaningful introspection.
If it’s true your brand is the promise you make to the market, then it’s equally true that your brand is a direct reflection of your values, your ethics and your creative vision. You built your company on these attributes, yet you may be guilty of what many others in your shoes are: Separating your brand strategy from your worldview.
We know that people who start businesses or rise to the top of organizations are often driven by a desire to make a difference. And we know business and culture are inextricably linked in a free-market economy. So we also know then, that the motivation to change the status quo is the basis not only for the progress of man, but also for financial success.
Look at world-changing brands and you’ll see organizations led by people of vision: Apple, Starbuck’s, Nike, Dell, Facebook, Microsoft, CarMax, Google, Whole Foods. The list is long, and the idea is consistent. Behind every leading brand are visionaries willing to look deep enough into themselves to find the Truth, and then build systems to bring that truth to the world. They seek artists and designers who can give voice to their vision. They seek new paths to the hearts of their prospects that haven’t been trod by their unimaginative peers. What they don’t do is commoditize their ideas, or look to their competitors for the keys to success.
Within your enterprise - right now - is the secret vision that separates you from everyone else. But if you’re trying to compete simply by yelling louder or selling cheaper, you’re ignoring the most valuable asset you have: your core brand promise. You’re wasting time trying to dig through a wall, when you could be leaping over it. And you could be leaving untold fortunes on the table.
Here are three simple ideas that can change the way you think, and start you on the path to market leadership:
1. Revisit the vision that drove you to where you are. You built your enterprise on some driving vision, something that was so exciting it kept you awake at night. Identify the differentiating truth that supports everything you stand for, and bring it into clear focus.
2. Look outside your industry for differentiating ideas. You won’t break out of the box by stumbling around inside of it. You won’t outperform your competitors by copying them. See what leaders in other fields are doing to shake up their industries.
3. Trust the power of transformational design to help you redefine your company. No leader ever bored his stakeholders into action. Your vision is exciting on its own, but it takes a good creative team to express it in a way that will resonate with your market.
With these ideas, you can differentiate your business from every other offer, and leap over competitive and market limitations while the rest of the world scratches its head and wonders how the hell you did it.