Five life lessons that apply to brands

What do brands and branding have to do with human potential? I would say everything because brand is really a reflection of who we are as people, as humans. It's a reflection of how we think, how we make decisions, how we make memories and how we feel. Learn about five life lessons that applies to branding.

Five life lessons that I’ve applied to branding:

1. Do hard things
2. Focus on process
3. Harness the power of emotions
4. Be self-aware
5. Practice extreme ownership

I've been a lifelong student of fulfillment and what makes us tick. And throughout the years, I've been able to apply much of what I've learned to the world of brand and branding. It might be surprising at first, but it makes perfect sense. I think as long as people exist, brands will exist. And if we want to build brands that really strike a chord, we need to understand the fundamental lessons of how to live a full life.?

1. Do hard things

If you haven't read David Goggins book “Can't hurt me”. You really should. Reading about his story has really changed my perspective on life. Instead of moving away or shying away from discomfort and pain, lean towards it, go through suffering. So you come out different, you come out more confident on the other side. You are really building mental capacity and mental strength in the process of pain and discomfort. How does this apply to brands? It does because when you think about when a brand needs to stand out, it needs to Zag while everyone Zigs. So what does that mean? It means doing something that's uncomfortable, doing something that's different, something that the category hasn't seen, hasn't done. Doing something that your peers or competitors are not doing, but it means going into new territory. It means shedding entrenched behaviors and beliefs.?

When clients reach out to us, a lot of times they want to do something new. They want to do something different, but when the rubber meets the road, it's uncomfortable, it requires embracing the unknown. Most companies shy away from that. Most brands don't take that move, it's because it is terrifying to do something unfamiliar. It's terrifying and painful to go through change and doing something totally different. Take for example, Toys “R” Us. I refuse to believe that people within that company, within that brand, didn't see it coming. Didn't understand that the world around them is changing. I believe that it's the culture. It's the entrenched beliefs. It's the pain of going against what has been established over decades, challenging the status quo within that brand was something too painful to do and that caused its downfall. So as you build your brands, as you think about brand strategy, think about how you can put it through the fire, put it through pressure, build a culture of embracing discomfort and having the brand come out better on the other side.?

2. Focus on the process

Kobe Bryant, the black mamba. He is one of the greatest of all time and it's not just because he is talented, it's his hard work ethic, his dedication to disciplined training. His philosophy was simple, but it was certainly not easy. While having goals is important, it's really the process, the getting after it every single day, that's what ultimately gets you there. So for a brand, we should think about how its equity is built upon delivering on its promise consistently, aligning and executing on every touch point and interaction. The customer experience and journey cannot be accidental, it has to be intentional. A brand strategy is great, but it's really about a dedication to the process. It's how you architect a system such that you are able to deliver “Wow” again and again and again and again, until you build a brand equity snowball, until you have an iconic brand.

3. Harness the power of emotions

Emotions are powerful. If you're in a beautiful state, you can achieve beautiful things. If you're in a state of power, a state of resourcefulness, don't you think you can convince people of almost anything? But how does this apply to brand? Seth Godin has a great quote “It's easier for someone to love your brand if your brand loves them back”. But maybe it's more about “It's inevitable that someone loves your brand if your brand loves them first”. I think it is critical that a brand can show its love for the people that they serve, whether it's through a call with a salesperson, with a call center, or even through emails, how can you show up as a brand that loves your customers first? How can you think beyond the ROI and beyond "scalability" to deliver something personal and touching? Think about Taylor Swift. She shows up at weddings, surprising them and serenading the party. Do you think that's ROI optimized? That it’s a scalable move? No. But it's about building true fans, giving back to those that you serve. It's about showing them the love and desire to bring something delightful into their lives. So how can you take that learning and apply it to brands? How do you develop a brand strategy such that you're able to show your gratitude for all your customers and those that you wish to serve?

4. Be self-aware

Self-awareness, gosh. It is the Jedi move that we can all use, that brands can use. Without self-awareness, we can't reach the optimal potential of ourselves, of the brand. When you think about making moves that are different, think of how Patagonia can say "don't buy this jacket”, of how REI can “opt outside” and close its doors for black Friday, of how Nike can engage Colin Kaepernick to talk about something that may be controversial. You truly can do something different when you lean into your purpose, and lean into the beliefs of the brand. Much like a person, if you can lean into your strengths, if you really understand yourself and how you're being perceived and who you actually are, you can double, triple down on that, even though it's odd and it might seem weird, it's authentic. It's real. It becomes something so powerful when viewed from the outside, but from the inside, you are merely doing what's in your heart. You're merely being in line with who you are and who the brand is. Self-awareness for a brand is critical. It's the first step to building everything around that brand. What is its purpose. Why is it here beyond making money? What is its core beliefs? What are its principles? These foundational items form self-awareness. And that allows the freedom of the brand to do what it needs to do in the world and to show up different.?

5. Practice extreme ownership

Extreme ownership, such an important concept. When you think about applying that to life, if you don't take responsibility for everything that happens around you, you're really at the mercy of what goes on around you, you have no power or control or the ability to get better because you're simply shrugging that responsibility and pushing it to somebody else. From a brand perspective, we need to understand that taking extreme ownership is really important because brand is not just owned by chief brand officer or the head of marketing, or even the CEO. It's really owned by everyone that has to exude that brand from a company brand perspective. Everyone within the company, every employee, owns the brand. Well, they own it in terms of delivering on their promise. Ultimately the perception lies in the heads of the consumers, in the heads of those who would serve. So take extreme ownership from a brand perspective across everything that you do. Don't push it to a part of the organization is not just owned by one function. It’s really owned by everybody.

So here they are, five lessons for your life, but also how you should apply them to brand strategy and branding. Use them as principles as you build your amazing and healthy brands.

Original post here.