Colouring In Unicorns - A Guide to Understanding Differentiation (PART I)

When competition is fierce and people’s attention is pulled in a zillion directions, ‘Differentiation’ is a real chance to unlock some kind of competitive advantage.

Most challenges in business can be “solved” with a fairly straight-forward and concrete strategy… a list of action steps that will get you to a result.? But Differentiation is hard.? It’s a very different kind of creature altogether.?

It’s really about establishing a distinct Identity through a compelling Brand Narrative to attract people who RESONATE, who IDENTIFY with us and our businesses.

Most business strategies are kind of like sitting down with a colouring book and then choosing the colours to fill in - and most advice that you will find about how to differentiate mimics that approach exactly.

Ok well, let’s try it.? I’ll give you a unicorn.? You just colour it in and then share that with your audience.

I can hear the objections already… “That’s a bit basic, Jason.? That’s not MY unicorn.? How am I supposed to do something meaningful with this??”

Fair enough.? Here’s a “better” unicorn.? Take a crack at this one instead.? Just colour THIS one in and then you’ll be able to articulate YOUR uniqueness.

“Well just hold on a minute there, Jason.? This one is too ‘floofy’.? That’s not my style at all.? And why the hell am I relying on you to give me a unicorn to colour, anyway?? Maybe I should just find MY OWN unicorn.? Afterall, that’s what this is really all about, isn’t it?”

Absolutely!? Go for it!

… 2 hours later

“Holy crap!!? I’ve just wasted 2 hours searching the internet for unicorns to colour in.? There are just too many to choose from! ??And really, those are still just someone else’s unicorns… so that’s not gonna work either.”

The problem is that figuring out how to differentiate is closer to sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and sketching out your own unicorn.? But maybe that’s the answer.? Give that a try!

First attempt…

… 1 hour and 50 attempts later…?

“This is too hard.”

It seems like every attempt to express something different or unique about ourselves, our team, or our business just ends up in the “too hard” basket.? So we move on to more pressing matters to tackle; setting Differentiation aside for “some other day” in the future when drawing unicorns might be easier…?

A year or two later, it’s time for that new website…? or you want to start speaking or write a book.

“Well” you say.? “Maybe it’s about time we try this Differentiation thing again... say something about why we are different or better than the others.”

You figure something is better than nothing.? So you actually try to articulate what makes you different and sets you apart from all the others… Only to find that you’ve ended up saying all the same crap that everyone else says (We Care, We Listen, something about Integrity, something about Trust) ultimately doing the opposite of what you set out to do, and just blending into the background noise.

But you know deep down who you are… what you’re capable of… how you want to be perceived in the market…? the impression you want potential new clients, team and partners to FEEL.

The real problem here isn’t your ability to draw (or lack thereof).? It’s the fundamental problem of sitting down with a blank piece of paper and trying to make anything sensible at all from that position.? Most of us just can’t.??

What you essentially need is one of those police sketch artists who can work with the blank page and start to get something going… something meaningful, insightful, honest, articulate, and inspiring.? Something that makes your audience see some attribute in you that they recognise within themselves to create a genuine connection.

Because BOTH of these unicorns are perfect.? Both are “right” - in the right CONTEXT, for the right business/ audience.??

Either way, Differentiation is about creating is some kind of EMOTIONAL RESPONSE in order to help them make a “rational” decision.

It all boils down to IDENTITY.??

> Who I am.??

> Who you are.??

...And the lines we draw between the two.

The shortest distance between these two points is FEELING.? And any time we can create something that helps people feel something is how we win the game of attention and significance in the hearts and minds of our audience.

I have spent an astronomical amount of time re-evaluating and refining my own values and how I want people to feel when they interact with me and my business.? By being crystal clear on how I want my audience to feel, I can always make sure it’s 100% aligned with my vision and my values.

It's like always being able to sing the right notes, even when it's a different song.

As you would probably expect, Playfulness and Humour are 2 non-negotiable cornerstones of my very existence (as well as my business).? This is embodied ‘brand congruence’, in action.? It’s “walking the talk”.??

If I was faking it or insincere, you’d notice - consciously or not - and all credibility would fly right out the window.? And If the values I put on display don't happen to resonate with someone, they opt out.? Simple.? It’s a win-win.??

Crafting and Communicating IDENTITY has been my specialty for close to 14 years.

I work with the blank page (just like the police sketch artist) and slowly craft an image that we can truly work with.??

That’s why I’ve created SuperpowerU... So I can start this Identity work way upstream of the portrait process.??

To help redefine and realign with your core beliefs and values (Heartset)

To help reconnect with the way you choose to see the world (Mindset)

So that you can go out and communicate what you do (Skillset) in a new, inspired, coherent way… full of meaningful resonance and authenticity.