Single Most Important Thing

What’s your organization’s single most important thing?

Workshops can be a valuable experience for leaders. They take leaders offline and demand focus and attention, but in return they give time and space to dream about what the organization can become.

Each time I facilitate a brand workshop I’m reminded of important and valuable lessons. These three are my favorite…

A 405° view.

Deciding where to begin can be a difficult choice and there’s no perfect answer…

• Established organizations can benefit by beginning with their brand core (purpose, vision, point of view). It forces deep discussions and alignment on where the organization should head.

• Start-ups can benefit by beginning with the customer journey and product-market fit. It puts the focus on finding profitability first.

• Young but profitable organizations can begin by exploring the competitive landscape and developing a stronger point of view. These ingredients help find their own-able difference and competitive advantage.

But no matter the starting point, it’s incredibly important to travel the full 360° journey and then return to where you began. Revisiting the first 45° creates an opportunity for all the details to sync up, and it’s usually a pretty energizing moment where the full idea begins to click in place.

The one big idea.

Finding your brand’s “one big idea” requires walking the same paths over and over and looking for repeated signals. Some strategists call it the “big idea” or “brand idea.” I love how Focus Lab calls it the Single Most Important Thing (SMIT). Whatever it’s called, successful brands are built around a single idea that, through their clarity and focus, stand a chance to take root in the minds of the market. A few examples…

• Apple: technology so simple that anyone can be creative.

• Starbucks: a place of belonging between work and home.

• Amazon: the place where anyone can buy whatever they need online.

The Single Most Important Idea is both a treasure and map. It’s discovery is a gift of passion and alignment to your teams. Then, it keeps everyone on track toward the next destination on your journey.

Success demands commitment.

As Thomas Edison said, "Vision without execution is hallucination.” While big ideas can be uncomfortable and even a bit scary, they shape and change the world.

But only if they’re fearlessly executed.

And that demands a relentless focus on your organization’s big idea. Even when shiny new distractions appear. Even when other demands attempt to pull you off course. And even when you’re just plain tired.

But you’ve got this—the world needs what makes your organization special.

Three ways I can help:

Brand Strategy: Build your brand holistically to create favorability with your target market.

Brand Identity: Confidently market, internally and externally, with a toolbox of visual and verbal assets that make your brand distinct.

Brand Marketing: Establish a distinct relationship with your current and future customers.