Explorer, Innocent, Outlaw : Brand Archetypes and the Management of Meaning

The management consultant John Hagel is quoted as saying that now and in the
future 'the job of leadership is not just to make money, its to make meaning
'. I would query the word 'making', as it suggests a manufactured approach.
The key is to uncover the true meaning of your brand and tell that story.

Extensive research by Mark and Pearson has revealed that enduringly
successful brands align with one of 12 key archetypes. By uncovering this
fundamental truth about a brand it can then play a crucial role in the
management of meaning. The archetype gives clarity and focus to how the
brand story is told. And it informs how the sensory cues are used to
communicate the brand across all aspects of the organisation. In short, it
ensures everyone is clear about what the brand truly stands for. (More: See
Slideshare presentation in Ideas tab)

Urgent v Important

How often do we think.. where did that day, week, even year, go?

When reviewing your 'to do' list - which for most people never gets any shorter - try marking things - Urgent or Important.

You will find that things that get marked Urgent are often just distractions. Noise created by other people.

It is particularly Important to apply this approach to the life 'to do' list - not just the one for work.
Simply by marking, and then doing, the 'Important' things, you will not necessarily get more done. But what you do is more likely to be the things that really matter.

The result... in time you will feel a greater sense of achievement and that you are moving closer towards ...A life well lived.


Of course, if you find something on a list that is truly Urgent AND Important. Just do it!

Some thoughts on Flow

Flow is an interesting word. Two uses spring to mind.....

First, there is the phrase 'I am going to go with the flow' . It sounds sort of passive, accepting of other peoples' agenda. However, if we re-frame it as..... being open to possibility, not dogmatically hanging onto one's own World view... it is much more interesting.

'Being 'In full flow' is the second phrase. We see a person 'in full flow' as, totally committed to performing a task. Unstoppable in their conviction and passion.

When you are in 'the flow' it seems effortless - its not like work at all. It could be anything - a presentation, cooking, playing a sport, performing a song, writing a blog. These are the moments when you are doing what is your great work - as you are affecting change. Making a difference. It doesn't actually require a third party observer - you just know - as the change may be simply in yourself.

So, when was the last time you experienced a moment like that, a moment of 'flow'? In the last week?
Last month? Last Year? Ever?

For many people it is not since childhood - when self-consciousness had yet to have a paralysing effect on much of what we attempt.

What if we all spent more time doing things that placed us in that state of 'flow', or at least things that are not simply based on clinging on for dear life?

Shiny Object Syndrome : Do you suffer?

Time is the only resource you truly posses.


The World is full of distractions - TV, Cinema, The Internet, E-mail, Blogs, Twitter, Family commitments, Sports teams, Friends, Daydreaming about - holidays, retirement or a better life.

And then there is work. Meetings, Phone calls, more E-mails, Proposals, Reports, Presentations, more Meetings. Lunch, Coffee, Travelling. The new product or market or customer - so much more exciting than the current ones.

All these things are, to a lesser or greater degree, 'shiny objects'. Things that steal our attention and trick us into believing we are busy. Of the 16 or so waking hours a day, what are you doing with that time?
Where is your attention?

Successful people are just less prone to 'Shiny Object Syndrome'. They focus on doing 'great work' more of the time.

True But Useless (TBU) and True And Useful (TAU)

Daily we are bombarded with information, every piece vying for our attention. The problem is each; fact, statistic, survey result, opinion, piece of anecdotal evidence, has it own subjective truth.

So, the question is not so much – Is it true, but is it useful?

Much of what we hear and read may well be true but is often pretty useless. It’s the information equivalent of fast food. It may taste good but it has no nutritional value.

This type of information is clogging up the system and making decision making more difficult. One approach is to use the abbreviation TBU = True But Useless, to tag information.

Here is a challenge. Tomorrow write down anything that you see/read/hear that is

‘True But Useless’ in terms of you making decisions. I am confident you will be surprised at how many things you write down. This is the clutter that is potentially hampering your ability to make good decisions.

There is a serious point to this game. By raising your awareness in this way it encourages you to focus and to start evaluating what you are told or read, not on the basis of whether its true, but on whether its useful. It shifts the emphasis from being ‘I don’t believe YOU/IT’ (Extrinsic) to ‘Its not useful to ME’ (intrinsic).

Of course, what we need is information that is TAU …. True AND Useful !

This is unlikely to occur by asking more and more questions in the hope that something useful will drop out.

What is needed is deep thought about what we are trying to achieve. What is the purpose?

Only then will the TAU information present itself.