When we first begin to publicly present our organization and work, we face indifference and invisibility.
It’s as if we don’t exist.
No one cares.
At least, that’s the way it feels. (Often, that’s the way it is — I’ve seen the analytics of numerous young organizations and independent professionals and it ain’t pretty.)
The great gift we’re given as we’re starting out is freedom. We can change directions hundreds of times. Experiment. Improvise. Try new things.
Yet, despite this freedom, all we really want is someone to show some sign of interest in what we are trying to offer.
As we begin to emerge, and as the number of people interested in our work grows, something starts to shift.
At first, we don’t notice—we’re so giddy that anyone gives two craps about what we’re doing, that we’re happy to keep doing it.
However, over time, the box we’ve created can begin to feel like a liability. Because once we become known for something, that something becomes the only thing people expect from us. After all, it is the reason they are tuned in, right?
And this can hinder our ability to grow and expand as an organizational or personal brand.
So a conflict emerges within us. There is a piece of us wanting the freedom to explore new directions and ideas, while there’s another piece of us wanting to grow, sustain and engage a relevant audience.
If we keep doing the same ol’ same ol’, our story can grow stale and our audience decline. Or if we start experimenting, our story can grow confusing and our audience decline.
So what options do we have?
Let’s look at the three acts of U2’s story.
Act I — a story of emergence.
It’s about birth. And innocence. It’s an underdog story with an unlikely hero.
For U2, Act 1 was 1976 through 1989. They wore their hearts on their sleeves. They waved the white flag. In an age of hair bands and synthesizers, they were pure, roots-based rock-and-roll with a political/religious twist.
However, by 1989 they were quickly becoming a caricature.
They were trapped in the very box that had propelled them to superstardom.
On December 30, 1989, Bono famously said in a Lovetown concert in Dublin, “This is the end of something for U2…We have to go away and just dream it all up again.”
Act II — a story of struggle and sacrifice.
It’s about the struggle to rediscover some core truth.
It’s about experimentation and walking away to find oneself.
It’s about wandering and wondering.
It’s about sacrifice.
When U2 re-emerged in 1991 with the album, Achtung Baby, and their ZooTV tour, they confused some of their core fans. Had they sold out? Were they desperate?
With Acthtung Baby, U2 began explorations of art, the avant garde and themes of darkness that carried them through the release of their Popmart album in 1997.
By the end of the Popmart tour in 1998, many thought U2 had run out of ideas and lost their way. Album sales were down.
All hope seemed lost.
Act III — a story of resurrection and redemption.
With the release of their album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind in 2000, U2 claimed to be “reapplying for the job as the best band in the world.”
And it worked.
They returned to the sound and stage that catapulted them to best band in the world in the first place. They brought fans, old and new, together under one roof in a cataclysmic eruption of communal joy.
So what are some key takeaways?
- You need to live the story you’re telling.
- Your story needs to evolve over time.
- Even though your story changes, your core values should not.
In Which Act is Your Story?
In Act I, you emerge. In Act II, you sacrifice something. And in Act III, you re-emerge.
This three-act thinking offers endless possibilities and metaphors:
- Birth. Death. Resurrection.
- White. Black. Gray.
- Womb. Life. Afterlife.
- Egypt. Wilderness. Promised Land.
It’s worked for U2. Bob Dylan. Allen Ginsberg. Apple. Starbucks. UPS. Nelson Mandela. Annie Leibovitz. And countless others.
The most endearing and enduring artists, organizations and brands live three-act stories. They reinvent themselves, continually emerging as new versions of their original selves.
Most organizations, consultants, freelancers, creatives and causes live one-act stories. Some even make a decent living doing this, so there’s nothing wrong with it per se.
But, in many of the organizations I’ve evaluated and advised, it as symptom of fear, rather than a strategy.
Remember that conflict I mentioned at the beginning of this article?
There comes a point when a new logo or website won’t solve the problem of no one giving two flips about your company, product or service.
You need a new story. Not one to tell — one you live.
Sure, you’ll lose some folks. But you’ll ultimately re-emerge with more, if you live a story worth sharing.
Where are you in your story? Where do you plan to go from here in your story?
Please share your story in the comments. I would love to learn more about it.
PS: If you are not really familiar with U2’s evolution, check out these videos to see how they’ve evolved through the three acts: Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3.
(U2 photo by Jack Newton on Flickr)