Viva La Difference.
Last month Mark Smith, Vice Chancellor of Lancaster University invited
me to speak to his (very!) heavy hitting University Council – two Lords, one
Baroness, eight Professors and nine pillars of the Cumbrian/Lancastrian
business royalty.
The topic – Winning in a Crazy World.
We talked about the importance of starting with Purpose, leading rather
than managing, creating a winning culture, relishing change, building mental
toughness and getting to the Future first.
And the diversity of the Council got me thinking about Differences – and
how we should embrace these Differences rather than continue this mad march to
Us Vs Them, and separatist polarisation.
In this VUCA world, survival and progress will be driven by flashes of
inspiration, by streams of emotion, by buckets of passion, by pioneers forging
ahead, and by encouraging differences not railing against them.
So here are 15 ways you can make a difference in 2018.
1) Be Soft
Soft is strong. King
Kong (and its director Peter Jackson of Lord
of the Rings) are big softies. And a
kangaroo can’t jump unless its tail is touching the ground. The future will belong to soft
connections. Emotion not reason. Software not hardware. Soft not hard power. Soft is transparent. Soft is enabling. Soft is flexible. Soft is inclusive. Soft is slow Cumbrian food not fast fat
food. (Try Ambleside’s Old Stamp House
and The Lakeside Kitchen.)
2) Be in Spirit
To be inspired means to be ‘in
spirit’. To be an Inspirational Player,
a radical optimist, wherever you stand or fall.
Remember the return of Steve Jobs and Apple’s ‘Think Different’
campaign? Said Jobs: “That ad was to
remind us of who our heroes are and who we are”. Want to be in spirit? By the end of this month pass on the best
piece of advice you’ve ever been given to 10 people under 20.
3) Be Sensuous
Touch. Sound.
Scent. Sight. Taste.
Designing products, services and experiences around the five senses
calibrates a better world. Holistic is
the new reality. In the food
business? Sell all fruit with leaves
attached so consumers see it’s fresh.
With all five senses put on high alert, magic happens.
4) Simply Sustain
Jeffrey
Sachs’ UN Millennium Project Report
on poverty is required reading. An
aperture is opening. A beam of light
shines, one energised by low-cost simplicity.
In The Lakes, join the Cumbria Community, donate to the Herdy Fund. Make a difference to those in need in
Cumbria.
5) Sleep
Joan Klempner said: “To
achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep”. With 24/7 lifestyles, we’re getting less and
less sleep. Yet for success,
achievement, and happiness, sleep is fundamental. Now science says our best ideas surface when
we drift into sleep. Anytime sleep is
pure competitive advantage. Walt Disney
got it right “If you can dream it, you can do it”.
6) Go Loglo
The local/global debate is the
soap opera of business. ‘Should I be
thinking local?’ ‘Should I be thinking
global?’ … ‘Should I be glocal?’ Start
with action in Cumbria, in the local (there are no global consumers!). Then cross boundaries. Wherever you are, export is the way to
go. It’s not about thinking. It’s about acting, and going. Act local; go global. Go LoGlo.
7) Learn to say: ‘ni hao’
Unlike other Asian countries
China was ‘born global’. The dragon
opened up and ventured out simultaneously, putting the globe in a spin. China is an Aladdin’s Cave for
enterprise. Open it! Learn to say in Chinese: ‘Hello’, and
‘Welcome to The Lakes’.
8) Invent and Innovate
The difference? World changing. Arno Penzias, a Nobel Prize winner in
Physics, makes the distinction. An
invention is the product of a creative or curious mind. Born not made. Innovation changes customers’ lives in some
way or the world in which customers experience things – and is something we can
learn, practice and do!
9) Be Irreplaceable and Irresistible
Hating America while loving
all things American is the 21st century paradox says Louis
Chunovic. Wherever you stand (and
despite President Trump), America’s innovative spirit remains irresistible and
a beacon for modern enterprise. Make
your Business bigger than a Brand.
Create loyalty beyond reason – just as America has.
10) Don’t be a Polar Bear
Polarisation of values –
cultural conflict – is as big an opportunity as a threat. Businesses that take sides will lose. Businesses that listen and bring sides
together can become Lovemarks. In the
US, stone barricades erected near government buildings post-9/11 have been
replaced with stone containers filled with plants. Lovemarks are part of a human
conversation. They make the world a
better place.
11) Join the Consumer Republic
Manufacturers and retailers
now work for consumers, not vice versa.
Technology has given power to consumers.
We’re in the Consumer Republic, at last!
It’s a time of instant connectivity, transparency and
accountability. Message to
marketers? Stimulate me, surprise me,
intrigue me, involve me, entertain me, love me, just don’t bore me.
12) Touch Technology
Smart objects like adidas
smart shoe. Content co-creation like
blogging. Customisation like
iTunes. All are part of this power and
control shift to consumers. Question du
jour: does technology make people happy?
No. Does it make people
happier? Yes. Let’s get over this one and move on. It’s technology and happiness. It’s And/And, not Either/Or.
13) Build it, they will come
Globally,
the supermarket experience is a 20 minute dash through hell. Radio, lighting and air-con should be done
for assault. The store where lots of
purchase decisions are made, is still the biggest opportunity in business
today. Solution? Drip it with Mystery, Sensuality,
Intimacy. Build a theatre of
dreams. Go to Booths. Go to Herdy.
14) Build Windmills
A Boeing 747’s wingspan is
longer than the first flight of the Wright brothers. You can resist change and go backwards or
embrace it and go forwards. When
hurricanes come, build windmills! Pursue
failure, you discover your limits when you crash up against them. When others zig, zag. Fail Fast, Learn Fast, Fix Fast.
15) Surprise with the Obvious
The most popular first name in
the world is Muhammad. No piece of paper
can be folded more than seven times. The
stall closest to the door in a bathroom is the cleanest, because it is the
least used. Obvious. Overlooked.
For cut through innovation, communication, surprise with the obvious.
Viva La Difference!
KR
