Robyn Young

The best advice I've ever heard is that the vast majority of the tasks on your to-do list are redundant. They are just busy tasks that aren't actually helping you move the needle. If you want impact, you should focus on just one important task per day. For example, rather than creating 10 pieces of content in a day, each of which are likely to get a mediocre response, put your time into creating one killer piece that aims for major impact.

To get buy-in on a new strategy or brand positioning, you need two things: clarity and confidence. - Without clarity, you'll get loose cannons - aimlessly firing on all cylinders with enthusiasm but no real dedication to the cause (and this easily swayed away). -Without confidence, you'll get critics and spectators. Sure, they understand the new direction, but they're waiting in the wings to see how it does, ready to place blame and point fingers if the strategy doesn't immediately yield results.

Let's put this into laymen's terms. Define your brand purpose = what does your brand deliver above and beyond products? This is the place most founders get lost. They're (understandably) entrenched in the product so when it comes to marketing, content, sales and interactions w/ the customer, the vibe is transactional. To build an emotional relationship with a customer, you have to think beyond the transaction/sales. In other words, what do you do for your customer besides offer a product? To play at this level, you need to move from thinking of your product as the purpose, and think of it instead as the punchline. The souvenir. The gift with purchase. Maybe the real 'product' is an experience, a lifestyle, a community of like-minds, etc.

Take their phone privileges away :) Just kidding. First, understand why they aren't following the brief. Is it because the brief isn't clear (wouldn't be the first time)? Is it because they're getting mixed messages (also, wouldn't be the first time)? Or could it be that they have a different interpretation (there's still many different ways to creatively execute)? Either way, it's highly unlikely they're just trying to make your life difficult (although not out of the realm of possibilities). So talk to them like humans, and get to the root of the problem. Maybe your brief just sucks and they have better ideas, best to at least listen to what they have to say.

Yes, and .. a product difference isn't enough these days - your brand should reflect a distinct point of view anchored in a product difference. Consider the 'bully' of your industry - who do you want to pick a fight with after school because they're just wreaking havoc on everyone else's life/business/etc. This can give you a great starting place for a bigger 'monster' that permeates many different businesses in your category, and gives your brand leverage for championing another way.

Yes, and .. a product difference isn't enough these days - your brand should reflect a distinct point of view anchored in a product difference. Consider the 'bully' of your industry - who do you want to pick a fight with after school because they're just wreaking havoc on everyone else's life/business/etc. This can give you a great starting place for a bigger 'monster' that permeates many different businesses in your category, and gives your brand leverage for championing another way.