ZAG of course!

I’ve just finished reading Martin Nueminberg’s book ZAG lately and am absolutely amazed (read: creeped out) by how spot on it is and how applicable it is. We’ve been working on positioning, re-evaluation of our brand architecture and sub-brand launch recently and this book has brought so much to light. It’s given me, and the team, a different perspective on some things and reaffirmed others. Plus, the part about Paper companies was like ready a 4 year company biography.

Here are 5 things I picked up and learned from ZAG:

1. Companies grow and compete like a game of Scissors – Paper – Rock. Small start-ups are like Scissors; extremely focused and diligent. They then grow to Rock companies; less focused but with more resources and market share. Rock companies succeed by crushing Scissors before they have a chance to grow. Rocks grow into Paper companies; usually multi-brand corporate companies with high resources and even less focus. Paper companies use their resources, size and network to smother Rock companies. Paper companies though can suffer the “death of a thousand cuts” at the hands of Scissor companies who are agile and can cut into market share before the slower moving Paper company even know what has happened.
2. Change is possible, even welcomed if approached correctly. ZAG attests that people actually do like change (despite popular myth). What they don’t like is being changed. They don’t like you forcing it upon them or dictating it to them. People want to be better, do better and accomplish more. But they also want to be a part of the change process, to have some input. If we can get them involved, leverage their ideas, and tap into their motivations then change – and along with it, growth – not only becomes possible…it becomes inevitable.
3. You have to be in it for the long haul. Short term focus (be it revenue, profit, market share, costs, anything) will generally do more harm then good. Growth and success – especially the sustainable kind – take time and patience. Yes, you need to make money in the short term to keep the lights on but you always need to be cognizant of the long term effects of today’s decisions. A quick fix today might lead to a mess in the future.
4. You don’t have (or want) to be everywhere. Only pick those battles you stand a good chance of wining. This applies to marketing, advertising, product development, new brands…the whole gamut. Focus is key to success. Figure out where you need to be and then focus. Focus on being the best in that space rather than kind of good in every space. In marketing this will help you budget go further – no wasted budgets on channels where you just compete for noise. And similar holds true for all aspects of business – especially expansion and growth. You can’t be everything to everyone, so don’t try. Know what you do and do it really well.
5. Brand development is so much more that a marketing initiative; its a strategic initiative which as the very core is about focus, differentiation, your consumers and communication. Businesses have to know what makes them different in order to be able to tell consumers why to choose them. This differentiation is developed just for the sake of being different – for some marketing tactic or campaign – it need to come, naturally, from the core of what, how and why you do what you do. When companies tap into that they can begin brand development that is meaningful, impactful, and lasting.