Hope is more than a four letter word

Making a Cape  sorry..Case of Good Hope!

 

We all know 2020 has been quite the decade (and we all have the stress wrinkles to prove it), so here’s hoping that this blog on hope is a boost.

 

Wisdom of the crowds.

 

Collective bias.

 

Herd mentality.

 

Birds of the same feather flocking together.

 

All of the above exemplifies the force and velocity of a human collective.

 

Why not add hope to the mix? The power of collective hope.

 

Unabashed capitalism has never been a great ally of either faith or hope. But our hopes, not our hurts, shape our future.

 

If we can combine accepting finite disappointment without losing infinite hope, we would all be in clover.

 

Writer and essayist Lu Xun has this to share on the power of collective hope:

 

” Hope is like a road in the country side..where there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence “.

 

It’s not too late. The space of possibilities is endless. The most interesting terrain remains unexplored. Hope is like the sun. Never fails to rise.

 

Hope is a powerful four letter word. And collective hope is a fource to reckon with.

 

ENDS

 

A subtle trap called ‘ tactics ‘

They go by different descriptions:-

” Birds of the same feather, flock together ”

” Herd mentality ”

” Collective bias ”

” Wisdom of the crowds ”

Agreed. In his book ‘The Descent of Man‘ published in 1871, English naturalist Charles Darwin presented the idea that human beings and apes have a common ancestor. There’s a simple answer though: Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees or any of the other great apes that live today. We instead share a common ancestor that lived roughly 10 million years ago.

So much for ‘aping ‘ then!

Imitating others may not be the way to go. Or copying their tactics. But tactics, as Neil Gaiman reminds us, can be the subtlest of traps. Just because others are using a tactic or a tool doesn’t make it the most effective way to accomplish your objective.

What’s more, when you copy the “proven” tactics of others, you end up basing your decision only on success stories.

Sure, that photo of hundreds of people waiting in line for Seth Godin to sign books looks impressive. But you’re not Seth Godin (and if you are, I’m a big fan). And you’re not seeing the hundreds of authors who walked into a Barnes & Noble to do a reading only to find a handful of readers waiting for them.

The wiser thing to do maybe to go back to the drawing board and first principles. Understand the principle behind a tactic. Zoom out of a conventional tactic and see the other possibilities that escaped your attention. And as we go along, here is what we could learn:

To stop being a hunter-gatherer of other people’s tools, tactics, and formulas.

Instead, master the principle behind them.

Once you know what the principle is—once you know the why behind the tactic—you can create your own extraordinary how.

We assume erasing our fingerprints from our work and following the herd makes it safe. We hide behind what’s expected and what’s accepted. We’d rather be wrong collectively—we’d rather fail singing the same gospel song that everyone else is singing—than risk failing individually. So we chase trends, adopt the latest fad, and, as misfortune would have it, walk the line.

The line “no one does it that way” stops a conversation before it can bud. This monkey see, monkey do approach creates a race to the center. But the center is too crowded with others. Birds of the same feather. In the herd, you rarely get heard.

Becoming extraordinary requires becoming more like yourself—and embracing your own gifts, whatever they maybe.

When you do that, you become a magnet that attracts some people with the same force that it repels others.

The people you attract are your people. The others aren’t.

You can’t be liked by all and disliked by none. If you aim for that unachievable objective, you’ll only reduce the force of your magnet—the very source of your strength.

This doesn’t work if it’s a gimmick—if you’re just trying to get attention or zigging simply because everyone else is zagging. This isn’t rule breaking for the sake of rule breaking either—rebelling without a cause against the establishment. Rather, it’s an intentional bending of the rules, driven by a desire to live in a way that’s aligned with who you are.

It’s only by embracing, rather than erasing, your idiosyncrasies—the things that make you extraordinarily you—that you become remarkable. Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.

Rather than spend several, deeply unproductive days wishing that the universe had dealt you a better hand and going into a canyon of despair, unleash you. There is an audience waiting. With drum rolls.

You reckon this is a tactic worth pursuing?

ENDS

Numerology and the Marketing Math!

Numerology and the Marketing Math: The 25 to 70% off enigma!

Numerology: Definition: The branch of knowledge that deals with the occult significance of numbers.

We are all swayed by possibility. As we are swayed by short cuts. Human beings are hardwired to be lazy. So, unless and until there is a by design effort to put in the emotional labour​, routine is the ardently followed also ran. Mundane replaces the potential jugular. It remains that way, because it’s always been done that way. So why upset the applecart? But what happens when the cart is being toppled?

​I am not a numbers person. Far from it. It somehow just doesn’t add up for me. So, I have almost subtracted it from my life. But, being in the space that I am, and observing the brand marketing communications around me, I am tempted to do a deeper dive and know more.

25 to 70%off: Most of you would have seen these numbers ​scream out at us day in and day out from newspapers, billboards, radio ads, digital ads etc. In fact, some of us were mistaking the 25 to 70% off to be a tourist destination(considering how many of them sprout all over the city)- One cannot miss it because leading brands across industry verticals with the support and ‘ advise ‘ of big ticket advertising agencies make sure such campaigns are run 13 months in a year. So, that makes it 24X7X395. A different numerology this!

The ever lasting love affair of brand and marketing experts with 25 to 70% off remains a mystery. Or by now, it should not be. Considering the amount of time ‘ the practice ‘ has come to root(or should it be rot?). And the practice has been perfected beyond question. And ably aided by ‘ brand guardians ‘ who toe the line willingly as this ‘ ad vise ‘ is coming from senior czars at the big ticket ad agencies– how can they get their ‘ numbers ‘ wrong? . They have everything going for them- They use ‘ fancy  calculators ‘, wear Armani suits, have Turkish coffee 8 times a day, the hair is slickly gelled. Sorry, forgot to add the clincher-they also wear crocodile skin pointed leather shoes!!!

I have heard somewhere that ‘ the more things change, the more they remain the same ‘. Recently, a very senior brand and business head of a market leading lifestyle brand called us at ISD Global saying that they are in troubled times. They were losing market share and from being a clear category leader with over 65% retail market share, it was time for store closures, downsizing(or rightsizing to make it sound sweeter) and market share dipping to below 40% – all that in a matter of about 18 months. Inspite of increased marketing spends as advised by the ‘ experts ‘. My question to him was to understand what were they doing different to what was being done and not surprisingly the answer remained ‘ we have aggressively started doing deep discounting and instead of doing it 4 times a year, we remain committed to doing it through the year ‘…so there you go, enough said – ‘ the more things change, the more they remain the same ‘.

​So, do these brand owners and guardians take their coveted ad agencies to task? I’m afraid not. If that were to happen, how can they make ‘ interesting, cerebral conversation ‘ saying that our brand works with XXXX agency – they are in the Top 5…and walk around with a chip on their shoulder​. And be ranked among ‘ Top 50 ‘ Marketing Professionals in XXXX. Recognised as the ‘ best 40 under 40 ‘ or the ‘ leading 50 over 50 ‘- to be flagged on their Linked In profile. And ‘buy awards ‘ and (p)ride of place in Superbrands next hard bound edition.

Customers buy only on price and the more you deep discount, more loyalty they bring to the equation is still the belief(believe it or not!). We can keep bribing them and they will keep flocking like bees to honey. But, what happened? The numbers are not adding up. ​​The 25 to 70% off numerology chapter needs to turn the page. The strategy is now clearly a ‘ has BEEn ‘! And still being tried Bees Saal Baad( Twenty Years Hence for those not familiar with the Hindi language).

So, where are they headed? To me the writing is on the wall- or is it on the palm?

​Palmistry, anyone?​ Could be easier. Palm off your responsibility to someone or something else! Enough suckers around.

As for me, I am calling up my Mom(God Bless Her) to know more about the occult practice..you guessed it: Numerology!

Disclaimer: She is a retired Math teacher. And she has no interest in ‘hyperbole discounting‘.

And if you permit me a bit of Marketing 01(not even 101): ‘ Differentiation is not an intrinsic characteristic of a brand; differentiation is in the eye of the consumer ‘.

For all those swayed by the ‘ herd mentality ‘, this may never get heard. But, that being said, marketing is a serious responsibility. And there is no running away from that!

Quad(rant) biking through life!

Quad(rant) biking through life!
Quadrant: here is the mathematical definition in American English: one of  four rectangular areas that coordinate plane( = area with vertical and horizontal measures) is divided into. 

We have often heard about terms like ​’ Be Limitless ‘ and ‘ Endless Possibilities ‘. These are bandied about in self help books, motivational speeches and even some business negotiations..” Considering the synergies that exist between our two organisations, there are endless possibilities that we can collaborate on “, is not very uncommon CEO speak. Well, (enough) said!

 

The reality on the ground is very different though. There is not much weightage accorded to the magic and energy of ‘ possibility ‘. And even less so in the case of what empowers possibility ie ‘ enrollment ‘. Often times we are all barking up the wrong tree. Consider that we look at this situation like if it were to be a quadrant with four concourses.

 

Concourse 1: High Possibility; High Enrollment: This is where most of our tribe is headed. Showing up, enrolling and putting in the hard yards, the emotional labour in the hope that at the end of it, they would realize what was envisaged as possible when they began. It’s indeed a very overcrowded space, fueled in large doses by what we call the ‘ herd mentality ‘ and the supposed ‘ wisdom of the crowds ‘. Red Ocean territory. Needless to say, the competition in this concourse is the highest.

 

Concourse 2: Low Possibility; High Enrollment: How to get into the Brazilian national football team ? Or any of the top NBA teams. Or getting admission into the IVY League Universities like Harvard, MIT etc. The odds are heavily stacked against the participants but the level of intensity and desire to get on board is at its highest which reflects in the insane number of enrollments for that special pie in the sky. In such cases, the existing eco system also keeps triggering and stimulating the hope and promise and thereby the corresponding spike in enrollment to get on board.

 

Concourse 3: Low Possibility; Low Enrollment: Yes there are such tribes..wanting to be lava surfers and ride the lava spitting out from the Mauna Loa (one of the world’s biggest volcanos) but there is neither a structure nor system in place to bring this to fruition. Little wonder such things see the lowest in terms of both possibility and enrollment.

 

Concourse 4: High Possibility; Low Enrollment: Strangely, this is the most under tapped area of the quadrant in spite of this being the area with the highest potential. It could be areas like being a social worker or a nurse or a music therapist. There is always a Minimum Viable Audience(MVA) and our enrollment can see that audience being connected to, engaged with, influenced and impacted.

 

We hold on to the old competencies and our hard-earned status roles far longer than we should. The only way to be creative is to do something new, and the path to something new requires leaving something else behind. Creativity is the generous act of solving an interesting problem on behalf of someone else. It’s a chance to take emotional and intellectual risks with generosity.

Ignore sunk costs” is the critical lesson of useful decision making.

The thing you earned, that you depend on, that was hard to do–it’s a gift from your former self. Just because you have a computer science degree, a branding agency or the ability to do calligraphy in Cyrillic doesn’t mean that your future self is obligated to accept that gift.

What can we distill from this? Which is the Blue Ocean( or even better Green Swan) that is calling out to us? How much enrollment are we planning to put in to swim to where we want to be? Are we prepared to guts it out? Yes, the possibilities are out there. Enrollments are open. Apply now!

ENDS

 

Mediocrity is never an accident,it’s by design,so,watch out!

“It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.”

-Tim Ferriss

Ironical isn’t it that we are knowingly ultra competitive when we are striving for mediocrity. And, ironically, the fiercest competition is for the second-class prizes. And we still don’t get it!

It’s a long never ending tirade. Justifications that are shallow, hollow and mere escapism. I am referring to the reasons why we endorse and end up doing mediocre work. Let’s look at the usual suspects..

The brief was lousy..

I hardly had any time..

The customer does not value quality..

We never get the right price..

It’s a one way street, we are always the one being short changed..

Does it really matter? As nobody ever notices..

You are always critical..

This market never appreciates high quality..

The management will never understand..

I have always done it this way..

My boss is a jerk..

I don’t want to fail..I rather play safe..

Half hearted, half baked, short cuts, excuses. Period. Nothing else. They are all sad facades, masking the real issue. The outcome where sub optimal emotional labour is committed will always reflect a huge gap between what could have been and what is.

If you’re not willing to fail, you guarantee you’ll stay average-at-best.

If you want to grow into an extraordinary version of yourself, you must be willing to fail — a lot.

“Stay in your lane.” Focus on you. Learn all you can. Experiment, fail, discover what works.

When you see the 25 to 70% off ad screaming from every second billboard in town for every second brand, that is when you come to realise the often heard ‘ herd mentality ‘. Find safety in numbers. Conform, adhere, comply, fit in, exist, survive, get along, pass by. By design, the quest for supreme mediocrity(read comfort food) is perennial and offers perpetual succour. Or so it seems considering the seriousness with which it is latched onto. And there is no letting go.  And that, amongst a community of really bright minds who came into the profession with a clarion call to make their own little dents in the universe. And what are they managing to do- drive people away from the profession.

You have to decide to opt either for the wood or for the trees. Do you want to care enough to create something better? Introspect and the answer will be very close at hand.

Most people will stay in mediocrity.They’ll continue fighting with the majority for average, subpar prizes.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The road that leads to an incredibly exciting, fulfilling life is waiting for you. It’s free and open, and there are no crowds. And pay no heed to the ‘ wisdom of the crowds ‘ narrative- it’s just a more sophisticated coinage for finding solace in the average, the sub par, the mediocre.

You can either take a ‘ leap of faith ‘ or retire to a ‘ sleep of fate ‘. What got you here is not going to get you there. As Todd Henry so beautifully captured in his book ” Die Empty ‘- Unleash your best work every day. Practice the art of non-conformity! That’s what we preach and practice at ISD Global. And we get to do that every day. Gratitude!!

ENDS

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