Articles on Success, Significance and the Evolving Role of Work

Colas, Un-Colas, Suicide Sodas & Your Brand Story

It used to be all about the brand of soft drink…

Coke. Pepsi. Fanta. Mountain Dew. Sprite. Dr. Pepper.

Nearly a billion dollars a year is spent on advertising these sugary sodas. Coke alone was spending over a billion a year a few years back. Can you imagine how much money has been spent on branding over the 170+ years since the emergence of soft drinks for the masses?

But something’s changed.

Have you heard of a suicide soda? Or have you read Bill Hader’s Two-Minute Recipe for Perfect Fountain Drink on the side of Chipotle cup? Click those links — I’ll bet you’ve seen people do this. Maybe you have too.

The drink used to be king. Now the drinker is king. And the brand is merely one of many ingredients in the drinker’s personal creation.

We’ve come from an era in which we were receivers of products, services and experiences. Today, we’re participants and co-creators in the products, services and experiences we allow into our lives.

Make it Happen:

So how can you apply what you’ve just read? The focus of your “message,” marketing, sales — whatever you call it — is either on the thing you offer or the lives of those who use it. Make it about the people you serve and they’ll mix you in with their lives.

Image by Megan Trace on Flickr.

The Best Stories Come From Knowing, Not Knowing About

“I’ve been on four or five different kinds of sleeping pills and none of them help. That’s how bad the nightmares are.”

That’s what Specialist Miguel Cortez says in the documentary, Restrepo. Have you seen it?

We’re surrounded by a sea of people who know about things — pundits, consultants, wannabe thought leaders. But there are two kinds of knowing. There’s knowing. And there’s knowing about.

Knowing something comes from living it. Knowing about something merely means having some facts and opinions.

I know about war. I’ve watched films, like Restrepo. Read books and articles. Talked with military veterans. But I clearly don’t know war.

So, when it comes to stories of war, whom would you prefer your source to be: me or someone who’s lived it?

The best stories come from those who know. Because their deep experiences breathe life into their stories, giving them texture, context and complexity that pull us in and change us.

You know about a lot of things, no doubt. But you know things, as well — things the rest of us need to better understand and appreciate.

Tell stories that come from a place of knowing. Stories that are full of life. Stories with character, conflict and resolution. (Remember, the best stories are rarely the ones about you.)

And watch your stories rise above the sea of second-hand knowledge.

Are You Building a Story or Narrative?

Narratives and stories are not the same thing. All stories are narratives, but not all narratives are stories.

Think of a story as a moment in time. And think of a narrative as a movement over time. Or think of stories as people and narratives as rivers.

A story has three ingredients with three parts.

3 Ingredients of a Story

Characters
Conflict
Closure

3 Parts of a Story

Something happens to a core character that disrupts harmony.
In a struggle to restore harmony, the core character reaches a point in which he or she must make an ultimate bet or take an ultimate risk.
Harmony is restored through the character’s triumph or tragedy.

Unlike a story, which has closure, a narrative describes events and experiences over time. Narratives are endless.

Moby Dick, On The Road and The Great Gatsby are stories within the narrative of American Literature. The lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela are stories along the narrative of freedom.

So, looking at your company or yourself, are you building a narrative or story?

The answer is you need to build both. You need stories that inject purpose and meaning into a narrative that is shared between you and those you serve — one that’s bigger than both of you.

(Note: This post was inspired by a talk John Hagel gave at SXSW in 2013. Which I continue to ponder to this day.)

Image by Nicholas Hall on Flickr

Further Reading:

What Girl Scout Cookies Can Teach You About Your Story

What are you buying when you buy cookies from a Girl Scout?

Are you really buying the cookies?

Or are you buying the story you tell yourself about what the Girl Scouts mean to girls?

Or the story about why this girl — the one in front of you — needs to experience success?

It’s even possible you have no intention of buying Girl Scout cookies. Maybe you tell yourself a story about how unhealthy these cookies are for an obese society.

Or maybe you tell yourself a story about why institutions like the Girl Scouts are outdated and shouldn’t be supported.

Regardless, it’s not about the cookies.

The same is true for you and your work.

Clients don’t hire you because of what you actually do. They hire you because of a story they tell themselves…about themselves.

It’s never about you. Just like it’s never about the cookies.

It’s always about the story. Their story. And you either play a role in that story. Or you don’t.

Two Kinds of Purpose

As he wrote The Commitment Engine, John Jantsch discovered that most organizations with “loyal, engaged communities” have a “single-minded, active purpose.”

Which led me to wonder what the opposite of an active purpose would be. I suppose it’s a passive purpose.

The first question to ask yourself is this: “Do I have a purpose?”

A lot of people don’t. A lot of organizations don’t either (beyond making money).

Your purpose is your reason. Your promised land. Your there.

It’s fuel for your story. Most story problems are the result of purpose problems.

The second question to ask yourself: “Is my purpose general or specific?”

It needs to be clear and attainable.

And the third question to ask yourself is the one John covered: “Is my purpose active or passive?”

Saving lives through community cancer screenings is a specific, active purpose. Because you can do the screenings. You can know how many were discovered to be at risk. And you can help them access treatment and track their health over time.

Your (or your organization’s) purpose is either general and passive, or specific and active?

The same applies to your story.

I’m going to spend some time on this. Hope you will too.

Image by godserv on Flickr