Credit: Joel Mott
We live in challenging times right now. Police brutality has led to business closures from storefronts near protest marches, COVID19 panic buying has led to food and toilet paper shortages and many college graduates, like myself, were stripped of the gift that walking across college stages in grad regalia gives our hearts and souls.
Would be memories never created due to the bizarre pausing of normal life, as we all wait, breathless, for the next thing to happen, hoping paradoxically for things to return to normal.
Business right now is also juxtaposed with innovation opportunities but strained to maintain existing product lines above margin.
Steve Jobs' iconic slogan for Apple, "Think Different," really applies to all verticals still attempting to run a company in these challenging times.
How to Challenge the Status Quo Correctly
Companies that defeat the status quo often succeed where many fail. Whenever the state of affairs is changing, it gives one a chance to be remarkable.
However, many grains of sand make up a beach. Microinfluencers are forgotten by heads of marketing as they push out more cold audience targeted ads.
When you challenge the status quo and can follow through with incredible products or services so unlike what's already out there you start to build a cult following & the story of your business changes.
This following is what makes the difference when you actually are
"Thinking Different."
Quality always beats out quantity. A highly engaged group of followers will recruit more people to join your tribe. They'll take the lead creating micro leaders to step up to the plate and push the envelope.
Nature Abhors A Vacuum
The problem is, there is such a large amount of people that have convinced themselves that it's best to do nothing. That's part of the reason why we see Black Lives Matter protests striking a chord globally. The sleeping masses have woken up and see doing nothing isn't enough now.
To build a business, you need to build a brand. To build a brand you need to build a following. To build a following you need to think differently than the other millions of brands out there saying,
"Buy my stuff, buy my stuff."
Nature abhors a vacuum. A vacuum exists when many who think alike, share pain points your product or service can solve but see no leadership to guide them forward.
Leaders find out how to enter these vacuums and generate momentum. They create the ripple effects the world feels later, after critical mass is reached.
This type of movement generates another type of momentum: the speed of shared trust, the pace of belonging, the transformation of individuals into a tribe.
Be Congruent Inside & Out
Distinguishing your customers from other brands and their clients takes some work. You need to develop your own rituals unique to your company's vision.
Don't be afraid to be a little eccentric. As long as it isn't forced. Jobs was probably very socially awkward but with a genius for aesthetic design.
The funkiness of having all MacBooks after a certain period, come with Garageband, a program to create music, really helped solidify Apple's tribe from competitors.
When you're feeling stuck, think about rituals you enjoy. Contemplate how to integrate these with your tribe. What are things you enjoy, hobbies-wise?
Take a moment to see if you can repurpose some of these activities into a ritual for your company. You may see there are areas you can still rise to challenge the status quo and become remarkable.
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