Style AND Substance AND a Singular Vision... (and it's not about starting with a why)*

In 1992, Quentin Tarantino released his feature length debut, Reservoir Dogs.

It wasn't the first heist movie ever made. And upon release some commentators suggested that the plot bore more than a passing resemblance to another film. It didn't go unnoticed either, that the way in which the characters were named was borrowed from elsewhere too. Indeed several key scenes and other mechanics used throughout the film owe more than a debt of gratitude to other directors. 

Nonetheless it was immediately hailed as a classic.

In its wake, Reservoir Dogs spawned a cavalcade of imitators. Independent movies filled with sharp witty dialogue, cartoon violence and pop culture references, accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack. Yet none of them measured up to Tarantino's opus. 

The issue these clones had was whilst they were able to emulate the look and feel of their muse, the finished pieces lacked their depth and breadth. These duplicates were the very epitome of style over substance. Whereas for Reservoir Dogs style and substance were carefully and purposefully intertwined and woven together. 

Undoubtably the reason for its unparalleled success, was that Quentin Tarantino's singular vision did not appear overnight. It was tried and tested over many years. His muse gently corralled for five years whilst he worked in a video store, and all the years before that, immersing himself in the art of movie making. Watching how the greats that had gone before him did it and examining why they did what they did. 

He had his own idea of what he wanted to do and no-one else could do it.

It's a fairly tenuous link, but it's much the same with businesses.

Brands see a genuine activism-led business like Patagonia. They see the community that has built up around the brand, that shares the same values and is vocal in their support and they want to emulate that.

Business owners see the approach of putting something bigger than the business first. They see how that appeals to consumers and they try and reverse engineer it into their companies.

Much has been written about Yvon Chouinard's determination to build a business that did no harm to the environment. As an avid mountain climber, he wanted to leave no trace on the summits he scaled and he built an appropriate product that his friends and peers enjoyed too. That this company then grew into a $750m turnover global brand, that paved the way for companies with purpose at their heart was a fortunate by-product. Yvon had a singular vision long before Simon Sinek told the world to start everything with a why.

Those same businesses see the success that a content-led approach to marketing has achieved for a brand like Red Bull and they want some of that action too.

Creating films that reflect the spirit of adventure sought out by their audience has proven to be a surefire hit when selling a sugary drink for twice the price of their competitors in cans 2/3rds their size. Red Bull weren't the first product to create sponsored content. But they were the first to commit so resolutely to it and to do it with such focus, creating genuine excitement with the results.

No one else but Red Bull, the brand that gives you wings could send a man into space to film his 39km free fall to Earth, making Felix Baumgartner the first human to go supersonic unaided. And they broadcast it live to a global audience of 9.5m. That film has now been seen over 100m times.

And who else could recreate the childhood imagination of a championship trials biker and make a seven minute movie out of it, complete with 1980's soundtrack and them amass 90m views. These are the kinds of numbers Quentin Tarantino wishes his films enjoyed.

How does a brand like Red Bull achieve success on that scale and why do so many others fail? We're back to that singular vision. And commitment. Red Bull didn't watch what others were doing and look to emulate their success. The idea and the excitement it generated came first. They knew that their audience would be as excited as they were.

Apple's attention to detail is almost legendary. The sound the box makes as you unwrap your new device. The way in which that same new device recognises other Apple devices nearby. The design of the stores reflecting the design, care and attention that they put into their products. The seamless way in which all Apple products integrate with on another as if by magic.

When a business like Apple focuses on the little things in a big way, imbuing each and every interaction with their products with a sense of wonder, they demonstrate an understanding of customer experience that other business owners wish they could imitate.

But it takes more than just copying the little things. The details. The sounds. The feel. The experience. It takes more than that. You have to copy everything. Apple had and still have a very singular vision.

It might be hard to draw inspiration from the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Patagonia, Red Bull and Apple. They've achieved incredible success after all. Almost unobtainable success. The kind of success the likes of us can only dream of. And yet, ironically, that's the lesson we can and should learn from them.

The "single most influential [film] director of his generation", or a world-renowned and pioneering clothing company; the best known and with the highest market share of any energy drink in the world and the world's most valuable company did not set out with success in mind. They started with an idea.

Reservoir Dogs originally had a budget of just $30,000 to scratch an itch Quentin had. Yvon Chouinard started Patagonia, hand forging his own climbing equipment in a small workshop in Southern California because he didn't like the damage the only products he could buy, caused. Red Bull was a product of "divine inspiration" and the elixir was first made by a small factory in Thailand. And Apple started as two friends on a mission working out of one their parents' garage.

They all started with an idea. An idea that wouldn't leave them alone. An idea that drove them forward and helped them make decisions.

What sets all four of these examples apart from their myriad of counterfeits, is that the idea never lost focus. They didn't chase success. They didn't see the idea as a route to success. The idea was the substance, the style and making the idea better was success in itself.

*Oh wait, maybe that's what Simon Sinek meant by everything starts with a why...