If the World were 100 people: 50 would be female, 50 would be male. 20 would be children. There would be 80 adults, 14 of whom would be 65 and older. There would be 61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 13 Africans and 14 people from the Western Hemisphere. There would be 31 Christians, 21 Muslims, 14 Hindus, 6 Buddhists, 12 people who believe in other religions and 16 people who would not be aligned with a religion. 17 would speak Chinese, 8 would speak Hindustani, 8 would speak English, 7 would speak Spanish, 4 would speak Arabic, 4 would speak Russian, 52 would speak other languages. 82 would be able to read and write; 18 would not. One would have a college education. One would own a computer.
And, I’m sure, 99 would be CONFUSED!
And it wouldn’t matter if the world were 100 people or a whole 6.7 billion. Still 99% of them would be confused. (Count me in that!) And nothing surprising about that too. It’s basic human nature. Now that’s one great starting point!
Most of us live our lives trying to get out of that confused state of mind and search for clarity in the purpose of our lives. Sometimes in doing so, we get even more confused. And when someone else discovers how confused we are, it gets very embarrassing, doesn’t it? More so when that ‘someone’ is the one who’s interviewing us. (Who is in all likelihood as much or more confused than us!).
I have a friend who’s very comfortable being in such a state. “Why change?”, he says. “And why believe you’re confused. Why stress oneself trying to keep the plane on a steady flight path? Why not just drift along in life?”
Many of us aren’t comfortable with that. Nobody wants to spin around randomly like a balloon losing air! Which is why we sometimes seek help. We read motivational books and blogs, listen to motivational audio, watch inspiring videos. Some of that really helps. At least as long as we’re reading and listening to that stuff! After that it’s back to Square One.
Change is difficult. Especially if somebody else is telling us how to. Haven’t we all come across articles and books like ‘700 ideas for a purposeful life’, ‘70 traits of a successful leader’, ‘7 habits of…’. Very rarely do we disagree with what we read in this kind of teaching. The tough part is to be able to live our lives the way they teach us to.
The Marketing folks who manage brands cannot AFFORD to be confused. They’re paid to figure out in what way their brands can help consumers. They need to be very very clear about that. And they need to communicate that in a very clear manner to consumers. Imagine if Axe suddenly starts showing a family image, Coke starts showing sexy young women, and Dove starts looking middle-class.. That’ll really confuse all of us consumers.
The basic foundation on which Brands are built doesn’t allow for confusion. Brands are all about giving a clear ‘meaning’ to products. And you can’t give multiple meanings to something, can you? On the contrary, Brands are a great way to REMOVE confusion. Brands help us decide what we want to buy, and what we don’t. So what if there are 34 brands of soap side by side, it’s still easier to choose between them, because our brains relate to the ‘meaning’ each brand has and makes the decision to pick up one in a split-second. What would happen if you were to walk into a supermarket and find thousands of products with no names on them, just some colours and designs on their packaging? THAT would confuse the daylights out of you!
Now imagine you’re sitting in a large conference room with let’s say 25 of your office colleagues. Big Boss walks in and gives one look at all of you, wanting to choose ONE of you for a special high-profile project. Wouldn’t you love it, if he spots you and in a split-second decides.. You’re the one for the job! He would, if you’ve created a ‘meaning’ for yourself. “Henry is a calm, patient, perseverant guy and has a great eye for detail which is what this project needs.” OR “Jane is an enthusiastic, aggressive, dynamic person who can push this project through in record-time.”
Creating a meaning for yourself helps. I’m sure the Boss will agree. There are enough confusions in his/her life already. You wouldn’t want to add to that, would you? He/she may not see you as the best resource for all kinds of jobs.. that’s okay. As long as you’re seen as the right person for ‘a’ particular kind of job, that’s fine.
We, human beings created the concept of Branding, so that consumers are not confused about what they should be buying. And now we’re looking upto these abstract concepts called Brands to help us, human beings clear the confusion in our own lives. Ironical, isn’t it? The truth is, the way in which brands stand out from one another in the marketplace, the consistency with which they single-mindedly send us the same message about themselves over long periods of time, the intangible value they create for themselves by building emotional bonds with consumers, are all something we should learn from.
There was a point in time, when one didn’t have to resort to all this. The world was less crowded, less-competitive and people were in general less confused about themselves and everybody else. You got a job, you stuck to it and most of the time you left it only when you retired. Today, we’re living in an era, where it’s safer to become an entrepreneur than to hang on to a job. Job security is a thing of the past. And if you’re one who wants to be in the corporate rat race, you have to clearly prove your worth and convince the Bosses HOW and WHY you fit so well in the team.
You HAVE to know what uniqueness YOU have to offer. If, over five days, five different people ask you in what way you are unique, you can’t be thinking on the spot each time and cooking up five different answers. It has to be the SAME answer each time. It should be so well internalized in your system that the one phrase or the three words that define your uniqueness should come out spontaneously.
There is this concept of ‘Elevator positioning’ you must remember. You’re in an elevator and headed for the ground floor. At the first floor the elevator stops. An old acquaintance walks in and casually asks you “Hey Tom, where are you these days and what do you do for a living?” You have exactly 15 seconds before the elevator reaches the ground floor and you lose him. What will you tell him about yourself?
“I’m a Senior Manager - Customer Care at XYZ Company” OR “I address and resolve concerns of blue-chip Clients of an MNC company I work for” OR “I’m involved in raising the bar of Customer Service standards in the ABC industry of which my company XYZ is the market-leader.” Each portrays a different image of you. And you could improve on that. You could actually work out a hundred variations of that. You could create hundreds of possibilities for yourself, about who you are. And choose ONE of them. Express it in ONE clear line and that becomes your elevator positioning. Good corporate executives are clear about what their company’s elevator positioning is. Sometimes a sharp 15 second, one line description of what their company is all about, could land them a million dollar contract. Maybe it could land YOU a million dollar contract. Or at least a job of your dreams. Or a promotion. Or anything else you desire.
Be clear about WHO you are, WHAT you stand for and there’s really no limit to the number of ways it could help you. Or maybe you’re yet to decide what you WANT to stand for. Remember the genie in the book ‘The Secret’ who says “Your wish is my command!”. If he were to ask you, WHAT would you wish for?
Don’t get lost like Alice was in Wonderland. Decide where you want to go. Otherwise somebody will tell you, like the Cat told Alice – “If you don’t know where you want to go, any road is okay”. You’re a human being. Not a piece of logwood that should just drift along randomly on water. Neither are you a tree, that’s stuck in one place. Nor are you a lost balloon wandering in the sky.
Surely these analogies will help you understand what you’re NOT. But there’s definitely one analogy that’ll help you understand what you ARE or CAN BE. The analogy of you being a Brand! Living like a Brand helps you be clear about yourself, about what you stand for, which people matter to you, how you are of help to them and in various other ways.
As for me, I love living like a Brand for one more reason. Because it’s fun! Really! Living like a Brand is fun. Because in general the world of Branding is fun. Especially if you de-jargonize it and follow the basics!
Who says self-improvement or personal-development has to be serious or stressful? Yes, I do want to improve and 
develop myself. And help others do that too. But life is too short to do this in a serious manner. Or get stressed out over it.
Why live like a brand? Why not? Especially if it’s a fun way to self-improvement! An interesting way to live life. And a great way to get into that elite 1%!
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