“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”
-Helen Keller
Daring, scary, hard, but can be rewarding in many ways. Today now more than ever we owe it to ourselves to have that authentic voice and as companies we need to be able to handle those voices. The success of YouTube, Google Video, MySpace, Flickr, and many other social networking sites are built on having an outlet for that authentic voice. Some would say that this is a niche market and yes it is, but the case can be made that as that niche grows being authentic and real leads to an even wider succeess. That is one of the conclussions made in the book "The Long Tail". We are increasingly a culture of choice and we enjoy showing how we execute that choice.
The real challenge as a company is how do you stay true.
1st Find it! Take some time and get inside yourself. Really spend some time in that uncomfortable or comfortable place. This is crucial as not only does this really allow you to explore your thoughts and feeling, but it can help chart the course to that voice.
2nd Make a statement. Now this does not and should not be a long winded blah blah blah speech, but how does it relate and empower me to do what I/We want. Make it a few words.
3rd Follow it. Try living in that statement for a week. Does it hold true? Can you live with it?
We owe it to our employees to listen to their voices as well. Some of the advantages of Google is that they try things. I am sure they are trying things behind the scenes that never make it to prime time, but they try them. Yes they have lots of money, but if the risk is low try it. Maybe even if the risk is high maybe you will help change the world. Be bold!
Probably my longest post to date, but I hope it gets you thinking. Don't believe that it can work?
Guy Kawasaki: Video about entrepeneurship
Chris Anderson: "The Long Tail"
Seth Godin: What you should be learning about marketing with your voice.
No comments:
Post a Comment