"What business are you in...really?"

What do an automobile and baked goods company have in common? The answer to this question is fundamental to a new way of driving your business.

Out of all the PowerPoint presentations, pitches and ideations I have led through the years, the one slide I would keep presents the most pivotal question for challenging your vision and team:

What business are you in…really?

An initial reaction might be, “What’s so special about this question? That’s simple. Of course I know what our business does.” Anything resembling this response reveals the real issue: most leaders focus on what their business or organization does, versus the business of which it is in. The difference is subtle; and very profound.

Volkswagen is the in the business of “expressing joy.”

The word, Volkswagen, is the German translation for “people’s car.” Volkswagen’s “beetle” was introduced to America in 1949 and would eventually become the nation’s most popular selling car, largely due to the “Think small” positioning by advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1959. This simple and catchy line was the catalyst that brought back the Beetle from extinction and hot-wired Volkswagen back into vogue. The feelings conveyed in their advertising are “smiles, pleasure, fun, joy.” Thinking “small” was a fresh alternative to America’s “bigger and more is more better” offering of automobiles. This “good feeling, joy-filled” approach led to their 1959 ad campaign which ranked #1 on AdAge’s The Advertising Century: Top 100 Advertising Campaigns. Volkswagen’s “expressive” feelings continue:

#1. Think small. (1959 Beetle campaign)

#2. Fahrvergnugen (1990’s campaign: German for driving enjoyment)

#3. Drivers wanted. (Recent campaign completes the headline: On the road of life there are passengers and there are drivers.)

Cinnabon is in the business of “sensory exploitation.”

Come on, admit it; you smiled or nodded in agreement when you read the previous sentence. You have likely smelled that hypnotic cinnamon aroma while walking through the mall or airport, right? This twenty-five year old company has been luring people to their counters by leveraging a patented formula of cinnamon topping, a formula rumored to have cost in excess of $1.2 million. Cinnabon currently operates more than 700 franchised locations worldwide, primarily in high traffic venues such as shopping malls, airports, train stations, travel plazas, entertainment venues, academic institutions and military bases…to live out exactly the business that they are in: intoxicating passersby with their mouth-watering fragrance. Admit it; even though you don’t stop to buy one, you think about it.

Why this previous discussion is vital to HI Way thinking.

The easy way is to be like one of the pack, to conform to the way that everyone else has always done it and end up as just another guy on the shelf. You might enjoy varying levels of success, but you’re unlikely to ever experience the impact associated with being “The one and only” (SONY) or seeing people the world over lined up outside the door of your stores for be the first of 270,000 people to spend their $400-500 dollars for the new iPhone in the first two days of its offering. Those and similar levels of impact require taking the tougher road; it takes much more effort to take the time needed to define the DNA of your organization’s only-one-in-the-world brand thumbprint. HI Brands like the previous three and others like Apple, BMW, Nike and Google are reaping rewards, both quantitative and qualitative, from knowing, claiming and releasing “the secret of life,” the ONE THING that makes their story compel…and sell.

For more "driving" tips on the HI Way, visit us at: www.HImpact.me.

"Is she appealing to you?"

America’s teens are at risk.

• 17.5% of students carried a weapon
• 31.5% of students had been in a physical fight
• 19.9% had been bullied on school property
• 72.5% have had an alcoholic drink
• 36.8% have used marijuana
• 46% have had sexual intercourse, and 13.8% had sex with four or more people
• 13.8% had seriously considered suicide; 6.3% had attempted suicide

*According to the 2009 National Youth Behavior Survey

We all have a story.

Many of Nashville's teens have a tragic one.

Stories about being ignored, misunderstood and marginalized.

Stories fueled by abuse, depression, gangs and abandonment.

Stories expressed through despair, drugs, violence, hopelessness and suicide.

No support. No encouragement. No parental guidance. No love.

Rocketown has been changing stories in Nashville since 1994.

THE MISSION: Sharing God’s love with teens through creative programs and mentoring relationships that are culturally relevant and eternally significant. They do this with programs and activities that are of interest to them. Once inside, a tireless staff builds relationships with these kids because they value them as individuals. They help them find their passion. They help them achieve their dreams. They help guide them in making better choices. They show them options and possibilities. Most importantly, they wrap them in love.

The 2010 investment in the story paid off with dividends.

• 1500 kids a week experienced the many programs, facilities and devoted staff.
• Free after-school support was provided to 60 low-income teens, including academic tutoring and creative learning classes.
• 500+ free meals were provided to kids in needs through the Rocketown Food Plan.
• 16 suicide attempts were successfully prevented and free counseling provided.

You also have a story. Rocketown is a place where our stories merge.

• Join a kid’s story and help them do better in school.
• Join a kid’s story and dramatically turn a life headed toward prison to a life headed toward a positive career.
• Join a kid’s story and share your own story of how a few simple decisions and influential people kept you from a tragic end.

I am appealing to you: please join me in the story of Rocketown. Rocketown generates 50% of their annual operating budget through its on-site business areas. Our investments make up the difference. It helps kids with Algebra homework, music, dance and art lessons, food scholarships, crisis counseling and more. Come by and meet the kids and staff. Lead a workshop. Attend Skatechurch. These kids need your full resources of time, talent and treasure.

Your tax-deductible investment by December 31 will be matched 100% .

Please help us write stories with better endings.

Please click here, learn more and invest in the story...of a lifetime. www.rocketown.com/donate

May the blessings of what we give during this season be the greatest gift we receive.

Brian

"I have A.D.D. What's your reason?"

(excerpt from my upcoming book, Get Out of Your Own Way)

Over the last quarter century we have methodically become victims of an A.D.D. (Always Doing Doing) Culture. Our busyness has replaced the benefits of margin, pause and sanctuary. We are weary, fragmented and, even though some people argue that we have become more efficient through multi-tasking, there is an arguable case that we are becoming less effective.

EFFICIENT = Doing more things better.

EFFECTIVE = Doing better things more.

One example worth mentioning involves my connection to a private counselor and lower school teacher from a high profile private K-12 school in Nashville. The recent school years have revealed a troubling trend that is appearing across the United States: first through third grade children are collectively the most misbehaved groups in the last two decades. More and more children exhibit an inability to sit quietly during reading or project work, act out in overtly aggressive ways, are confrontational and do not seem to respond readily to imposed consequences for negative behavior. A discussion with the counselor, who also counsels families through his private practice, revealed noting that common characteristics within these children’s family units are jam-pack activities (sports, music lesson, ballet, tutoring), excessive time playing computer and video games, cars with DVD players occupying travel time instead of conversation and parents to a “stress level” trying to make sure that their child is exposed to all the opportunities for their growth and education. Some troubling outcomes: more young children are being medicated for ADD/ADHD and symptoms of depression[1], on average one in three children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or other learning challenges in classrooms of thirty children, emotional development is 30% lower than non-ADD children, they indicate defiance and non-compliance behavior and indicate learning growth development challenges[2].

Arguably, the last two decades have moved us toward “dehumanization through technology”: the quicker, more, digitally improved, cooler entertainment and generally right now generation. Still, there are simultaneous indications of a positive trend that brings good news to leaders and organizations looking for a new breed of customer citizens: Its what I term the Age of Re-humanization. Some current characteristics that might support an opposite trend are:

• You cannot (yet) duplicate a face-to-face meeting, handshake, hug or the sensations at a live event;
• People are developing a selective, TiVo-like mindset: “I don’t have time to read a lot anymore, but I do want to and will read those things that directly relate to me, are useful and help me to become a better version of myself”;
• More than at any other time in recent history, people are searching for meaningful stories to join: brands, organizations, groups, institutions of faith - they hunger for ways and places to be seen, known, appreciated and loved;
• Today's and tomorrow's consumers are seeking real, sensorial brand experiences that they can touch, hear, smell, taste, see and share with like-minded people and their "tribes."

HI POINT: Consumers are moving away from seeking more “stuff,” the commodities with which they have over-crowded their lives; they now hunger for and are seeking new kinds of relevant and meaningful experiences that will enhance the context and trajectory of their lives. They are forming tribes of like-minded people to share common values that create opportunities for growth, security and a more rewarding life. They will demand these characteristics from employers, brands and organizations they endorse and/or with whom they will merge their stories.

SO WHAT? What part are you playing in leading a re-humanization movement in your organization?

We're listening, so drive by and let us know what you think. We're in the "HImpact Column" at www.HImpact.me.

Driven - Brian Kagan


**FREE BOOK PREVIEW -- If you want an advance look at my upcoming book? I will gladly send you the intro and first chapter, EMAIL ME from this email...and if you want more I'll send you more. I'd treasure your feedback.



[1] The gruesome statistics include preschoolers as now the fastest growing market for anti-depressants with at least 4% considered clinically depressed. And over the past decade and a half, the number of teen and young adult (ages 12-25) abusers of painkillers has grown from 400,000 in the mid eighties to more than 2 million in 2000. Article from helium.com about over-medication http://www.helium.com/items/589237-are-our-children-being-over-medicated

[2] The Statistics of ADHD, ADD by the numbers - a summary of the research of Russell Barkley,Ph.D., 2009 http://www.additudemag.com/adhd-web/article/623.html