Poems, Prayers and Promises

My home was always filled with music. A toddler at Woodstock (a future blog), my parents imprinted the power of music and the connection from the head to the heart at a very early age. My first real music memory was John Denver at almost 6. Poems, Prayers, and Promises, his 4th studio album, was the record album that started my collection. Along with the album was a beautiful book with all the lyrics. This line, “and talk of poems, prayers, promises, and things we believe in,” still strikes a chord.

Do brands talk of things they believe in? That art seems lost. As my mentor, Marty Neumeier, says, “Differentiation is not front-page news.” Clutter is. Brands are stuck in shiny ball syndrome.

• I need to be on the Clubhouse

• Hire someone to get us on TikTok

• Find influencers on Instagram

• Start a podcast

• Create a YouTube channel

• Free trials. New features

The tactic has taken over. The battleground has moved..again. The new barrier to competition is controlled by customers. They are the ones who build walls to keep the clutter out..or let it in. They are the whistleblowers. A customer will call out a brand in a nanosecond for being disingenuous.

Brand armor. Radical differentiation. Your brand needs to be different to be truly different and deliver on your promise. Really different.  Like this.

If you’ve not followed them, do. Here: https://twitter.com/cutthecrap_nyc

Clarity. (poems)

Core Purpose. (prayers)

Leader-driven true purpose and vision. (promises)

And that differentiation starts and stays at the top. It becomes the baseline. As brands grow, their leaders must have the courage to cut the clutter, not cut their way to sustainable growth.

Differentiate. Find the new market. Build the real exit. Not the “meh” (as my grandmother would say) exit.

Build a brand that delivers on a genuine promise —a promise that customers, prospects, and employees can get behind. Be different. Radically different.