Why Big Little Legends Matter

Why would anyone in business want to stop long enough to study the origin of Legends?

Why invest time to investigate what makes any Legend enduringly Memorable and Irresistible?

One of the best-selling books in history is an allegorical novel that tells the story of Santiago, a humble shepherd boy on a journey to realize his “Personal Legend”.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has been translated into more than 80 languages, sold over 70 million copies and inspired people all over the planet to follow a path of their own making and live their dreams to the fullest. Similar to Sinatra, stating a case of which they are certain, in the spirit of "My Way".

In a topsy-turvy world turned upside down by the Global Pandemic of 2020, staying on course with what you dream about most has never been tougher since is the first time in history where our entire digitally-connected humanity is being kept off balance every waking hour by the same threats, fears and uncertainties. As we sail in our different boats while sharing the same ocean, we've never had to adjust the sails so quickly to contend with the next unpredictable storm coming our way. The tidewaters of change are shifting faster with each passing day as companies are downsizing, shopping are malls shuttering, flights are cancelling, theaters are closing and entertainment is streaming more than ever.

In the face of this upheaval, forward-thinking Leaders have to stop stubbornly guarding yesterday in order to move forward and unearth new treasures of tomorrow. By the same token, Leaders are also becoming more intrigued by things that won't change. Timeless principles like the Law of Gravity that are impervious to all matters of political, social, cultural or technological upheaval.

One thing that won't change is our collective fascination for Legends.

What if there are intangible, magnetic forces from the enduring appeal of Legends that can positively influence buyer behavior in your favor?

How could that knowledge tilt the playing field to your advantage with your marketing and brand-building efforts? 

It all begins with how would you define a “Legend”?

As you toss the meaning of that word around in cranium, what human qualities or characteristics come to mind? What terms would you use to describe someone or something to be deemed as “legendary”?

Are there specific traits or attributes that articulate why a certain person, place, event or object takes on a larger-than-life stature?

The word “Legend” is one of those fuzzy, intangible words in the English language that defies concrete, tangible description.

It’s as though each one of us has our own interpretation or innate understanding of what the intangibles of that word really means and truly represents and how we classify and designate those being worthy of “legendary” status.

The Oxford Dictionary took a stab at defining the word this way:

LEG· END - Remarkable enough to be famous or very well-known; admired by other people. Stories from ancient times about people and events, that may or may not be factually true.

Through the ages, legends have appeared in many forms, shapes, people and social contexts; from King Arthur to Robin Hood, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and the lost continent of Atlantis. History has provided leaders such as Caesar, Lincoln, Gandhi, Churchill, FDR, JFK and MLK. Science, the arts and industry has been blessed by the contributions of Einstein, Da Vinci, Picasso, Edison and Ford. You can include adventurers like Amelia Earhart and Sir Edmund Hillary to musicians like Johnny Cash and Led Zeppelin and so many others in between like the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong who have inspired so many of us to reach for the stars. Beyond what we think is humanly possible. Athletic legends like Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" team remind us to follow our dreams and squeeze out every ounce of our God-given human potential to hone our talents and bring out our very best.

But, what does all this mean to you, if you're running a small business or advancing your career? Why would all this airy-fairy stuff about legends still be relevant today in the midst of a rapidly-changing world on a planet that seems like its spinning harder than ever?

Part of the answer lies in how we define this concept for every small to medium-sized business, organization or individual. 

BIG LITTLE LEGEND: A Definition

A small organization, company or otherwise ordinary person that magnetically attracts legions of followers by representing an idea bigger than themselves; earning enormous amounts of public acclaim, recognition and profitability while serving a greater purpose.

By definition, a BIG LITTLE LEGEND is any business, person or community that displays the following characteristics:

1.     Enjoys substantial market share in their specific competitive space.

2.    Demonstrates longevity and sustained profitability.

3.    Makes a positive, visible difference to their community with a stellar reputation that extends beyond their local area code.

4.    Creates a brand story that gets told and re-told by people who are eager to do so. 

Like the landmark known as Webers, for example, on Highway 11 just north of Orillia, Ontario. Or the iconic Cafe du Monde, located in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA. Or Canada's Huggable Car Dealer , located on the north side, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. These are just three examples of durable, growing companies who took a page from Sinatra and did it their way.

No business or organization can survive current and future economic storms unless their marketing efforts are fully ship shape. Which is why the origin of legends might be worth studying if you take these two thoughts about the role of marketing into consideration:

1. What truly influences human behaviour is not what something IS, but what it MEANS,
2. The job of marketing is to bridge that gap between what something IS and the MEANING we give it when considering a buying consideration.

In other words, people don’t buy a Patagonia pullover because it keeps you warmer than Columbia. They buy and wear Patagonia because of what it has come to symbolize. 

The business world has seen its share of legends who knew how their marketing efforts had to transcend products and services and come to symbolize something more. From Walt Disney and Ray Kroc to Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, J.K. Rowling and many others, the emperors, kings and queens of industry, media and technology built brands that carved deep, lasting impressions for millions. For decades, those reputations have earned them, their heirs and their enterprises massive fortunes while creating a highly profitable legacy for those who grab their torches, follow in their large footsteps and blaze new trails. But, for mere mortals, the height of accomplishments by those legends in business - or any chosen field - may seem utterly unattainable. Somewhere in the stratosphere of the completely unthinkable.

Which is why you might be curious to discover clues about creating lasting impact and legacy from BIG LITTLE LEGENDS.

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS are like all of the aforementioned luminaries but operate on slightly smaller scales. In other words, their accomplishments are still well within the range of what’s possible. With levels of achievement much easier to imagine for any dreamer with aspirations of starting something special from anywhere. BIG LITTLE LEGENDS are not always the biggest, the best or the first. They didn’t rely on Big Data, IPO’s or scale to become the biggest kid on the playground through merger and acquisition. They never played the game of business just to make money with an exit strategy or become famous for the sake of a bigger bank account or celebrity status. Instead, they are the ones who broke down barriers, blazed trails, ignited the torch of the human spirit and didn’t just grow their enterprise through pulling typical corporate levers such as a new clever way to sell average, homogenized products at scale to a mass audience through traditional mass marketing. A more recent example of a BIG LITTLE LEGEND continues to flourish in the face of the current pandemic with America's favorite minor-league baseball team that plays out of historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA.

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS constructively impact the social-cultural order, are well-known beyond their local area codes and are both popular and highly prosperous. Real-life underdogs who punch way above their weight class, create substantial economic or social impact and do more than just reflect our current culture; they establish and reveal it while pointing us in new directions. And like Jim and Dawna Gilbert, they do all this from some of the most unlikely places or categories you can imagine.

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS are the ones like Saskatchewan's Rachel Mielke who started from nothing. They didn’t even have a spoon to begin with, let alone one made of gold or silver. From humble beginnings, they have also remained relatively small and true to their roots. In many cases, they have stayed privately or community owned, guided by unshakeable vision and values. But along the way, Rachel's creation, Hillberg & Berk, has generated the kind of financial results, staying power, social impact and cultural footprint that separates them from so many other players in their category.

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS re-define the usual measures of success with the unwavering support of legions of customers and flesh-and-blood fans, genuinely touched by their stories and the very real human values their brands represent. Every new business owner or newly-minted community leader has the opportunity to reorder their world in some way. BIG LITTLE LEGENDS offers anyone the opportunity to achieve success on their own terms without selling their soul for the sake of commerce or fame. It doesn't matter whether you are selling a product or service. It doesn't matter what industry you are in; whether you are a B2B enterprise with nearly 6-million YouTube views like Trout River Industries in tiny Coleman, P.E.I., a municipality like the notorious Moose Jaw, SK or a world famous open-air chapel located deep in the heart of Texas where they perform more than 1,000 free weddings every year.

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS disrupt traditional business thinking and marketing know-how from so-called “experts”. They also dispel certain myths about what it takes to build an irresistible - and potentially - legendary brand. Specifically, here are 5 Myths you need to squash like a bug if you are a leader attempting to build an irresistible brand.

MYTH #1. You don’t have to be a big, global company with massive amounts of cash. 

MYTH #2. You don’t need to be a Hollywood celebrity, social media influencer or newsmaker who is constantly in the public eye.

MYTH #3. You don’t need fancy logos, cool graphics, clever marketing campaigns or cheap advertising gimmicks.

MYTH#4. You don’t need to be incredibly intellectually gifted with super-model good looks and have the artistic or athletic talents of a child prodigy like Mozart or Tiger Woods.  

MYTH #5. You don’t have to be retired, dead or over 100 years old.

For some, the word “legend” equates to an artifact that collects dust in a museum or a statue placed on a pedestal after someone has retired or their body laid into the ground. For modern-legacy builders, the past can be a great source of motivation and inspiration, but it’s not where you allow yourself to rest on the laurels of bygone glories. On the contrary, BIG LITTLE LEGENDS demonstrate that you can use the lessons of history to rewrite the future on a daily basis without needing to be a huge company with a colossal marketing budget to make a huge impact with your brand.

Legendary brands never have to resort to “pushy” sales tactics, cheesy marketing ploys or follow “cookie-cutter” formulas that reek of traditional, boiler-plate advertising.

Legends never have to beg for business to come their way.

Legends don't ask for permission or play by the same rules as everybody else.

Legends reveal new possibilities to replicate success like Frankie from Hoboken who sincerely wanted you to live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be his. 

Through the tale he weaves through the Sahara desert as told in The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho writes, "Every human being has a Personal Legend to be fulfilled, and this is our reason for being in the world. This Personal Legend manifests itself in our enthusiasm for the task".

BIG LITTLE LEGENDS is a philosophical and practical approach to building an irresistible brand that magnetically attracts people who yearn for something more meaningful; an eternal spirit that connects us all.

Such is the power of Legends.

“For what is a man, what has he got. If not himself, then he has naught" FRANK SINATRA

p.s... If you're curious, Sinatra didn't write "My Way". That number sprung from the imagination of a legendary Canadian out of Ottawa.

p.p.s.... For business leaders trying to build lasting success, CEO of Amazon urges people to be thinking about "what's not going to change." According to Jeff Bezos, a deep understanding of how things have always worked in the past, allows leaders to build for the future with confidence.

GOT BRAND?

Maybe you have been thinking and pondering for a while that its time to let everybody else zig while you ZAG and take your business and brand in a new and different direction. If you're feeling now is the perfect time to RE-DEFINE, RE-POSITION and DIFFERENTIATE your company or organization, you might want to saddle up for a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Our in-person and virtual "Executive Bootcamps" serve as both journey and destination to help you emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One", Start HERE.

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