How Might A Plant Resemble A Company? A Brand?

1. The beginning was rife with struggle. Maybe even odds against.
2. They both started small and were nurtured and protected throughout critical times.
3. They both need precise amounts of key elements: fuel, disposal systems for waste (think figuratively), a space of their own among others of their kind (category competitors, even if not direct competitors).
4. Their owners are proud, beaming over their parental abilities (especially true of brand managers, lol).
5. They both are strong yet delicate.  Resourceful but vulnerable. (I’m amazed at how sometimes my plants can bounce back when I forget to water them. Similarly, organizations and brands *can* function on many levels while still having weaknesses or inefficiencies, even a lack of productivity. How well and how long is another question, though).
6. The healthy ones both want to bust out. They both come to fully “know” the space they’re in, fully consuming all the sustenance there is to be had. And then they want more, diving deep down to seek it out.  Maybe this is just plain growth (share) or maybe it’s innovation (product enhancements, line extensions, etc.)
7. Sometimes the solution comes at the right time. The plant can be divided, equal amounts of roots and healthy leaves in both halves. Sometimes the solution comes, but the plant has already been compromised. Will it survive? In the case of the organization, delayed action may have a number of consequences: a preemptive competitive strike; a loss of employee talent; failure to capitalize on opportunities and drive them for all their worth.
8. Like the roots of the plant constantly bumping up against the sides of the pot, never reaching beyond, so act some organizations. Things done “this way forever” are seldom questioned. Certain behaviors are just accepted (French-like shoulder shrug here). There may be walls of mirrors surrounding the place, causing some to see a reflection, and bounce around within.

Sometimes a future existence is about survival. Sometimes it’s about growth. A newly divided plant can experience initial shock, but with TLC move beyond. Dare I say, so can an organization or brand that’s determined their objectives and goals require purposeful, decisive action and maybe even new ways of thinking, problem-solving.

So tomorrow, when you review your priority list, delegate projects, evaluate results, and determine next steps, force yourself to think through your first inclinations (and maybe your second). Adopt the mindset of a peer (“How might Jenny consider this?”), the perspective of your boss. Take another look. Still don’t see something new? Then reverse the natural order of progression and take another look.  See an error, an opportunity now?

No? Well then might I suggest crowdsourcing.

At some point the creative problem-solvers evolved to walking upright. Clearly it’s more efficient to IM a team member a URL to check out. Ting! It’s done. And it’s easier to generate new ideas when you’re surrounded by a veritable and limitless bounty of messages, visuals, fun and engaging places (sites) to explore. Get lost in. Experience.

I love learning this way. Sometimes I am frustrated because my “come back to” folder of favorites always seems insurmountable. I never get to dig as much as I’d like to, really check them out. You’re probably the same (and if you’re not then you’re not working hard enough – I can share some of mine). There are seemingly a lot of really smart, talented visionaries out there making their work public, accessible.  Inciting conversation and contemplation.  Creating community.

But I think this begs the question – how original is your work, how unique can your concept be – if you use the sites of others for inspiration or reference? Is yours truly a new idea? Original?  Or merely a permutation or variation of those ideas of others? WWPD? (what would Picasso do?)

My point is this. Our tools may change, as may our methods. People still feed from one another’s energy and passion to become consumed by the possibilities of solutions. The power of viral is demonstrated each time someone asks “Have you seen this?” and draws someone in to experience some cool something.  And that exposure can point you in an entirely new direction.

Some say there are no new ideas. Whether the purpose is creative concepting, product development brainstorming, or requirements gathering to inform the development of new software, we draw from what we know, what we’ve seen.

What do you say? Are there new ideas, solutions?  Or simply recycled old ones (used milk cartons meet new laces of casual shoe)?  A hybrid?

Track the lineage of your last “light bulb moment” and just think about it.