Why is it that some brands always seem to be one step ahead?  What creates the possibility for them to work in the future today?  

A good part of the answer…they have a strong sense for the emerging future.  

To better understand let me share a quick analogy…

Imagine you’re in the hills of your favorite park reveling in glorious sunny skies and spinning hard on your mountain bike.  You’re heading downhill on a single-track trail and you have two options.  You can focus your eyes and mind on the trail immediately in front of you OR you can look ahead.  If you choose the former then there is a good chance that you will be a little slower, more apt to stop and start, less courageous and pretty frustrated. Why?  Because you are blind to what lies ahead and as a result you are constantly reacting and less confident.  Now consider the latter where you look ahead.  Not only are you more efficient, but also you are more than likely having a lot more fun riding the bike.  And why is this?  Because you are simultaneously navigating the trail below as well looking ahead.  Those ruts and roots and twists and turns are subconsciously eliminated and you live in a proactive courageous mindset.

Great brands ride while seeing the trail ahead.  How?  By consistently having the discipline and courage to allow time for observation and reflection.  Simple thing really - taking the time to look up and sense what lies ahead.  Unfortunately, what normally tends to happen is that we get caught in the vortex of reacting to things.  Why?  Often it is function of lacking simple frameworks and fundamentals such as vision, guiding principles and positioning.  In addition, we tend to create from a point of desperation versus inspiration (something I see all too often in the world of sustainability) and as a result, we lose the ability and discipline to sense the emerging future.  Oh yeah, and god forbid you become transfixed on what others around you (i.e. competitors) are doing because then all hell breaks loose.  Trust me.  I lived both the good and bad and I can tell you with unabashed zeal that it is simple things like fundamentals, discipline and process that make the biggest difference.  

So look out on the horizon.  What do you see?  What insights and observations can you sense that give hint to the impending future?

Here’s my sense for the emerging future…

• Social media will redefine how we discover and hold brands.  Marketing as we knew it is officially deceased.  

• We are going to see an abundance of smaller bonfire brands dominate our landscape.  A strong entrepreneurial spirit is going to ignite a new generation of brands and companies that are driven less by their size than by their ability to be a catalyst for new possibility and positive systemic change.  That said I see a mosaic of  $25-200MM privately held companies that will reshape our landscape.

• Brands that consider HUMANITY and LIFE’s PRINCIPLES  in their every deliberation will thrive.  

• Creating a great product is no longer good enough. EVERYTHING matters - you will be defined by everything you do well and by everything you do not do well.  It is your fate.

• We will stop creating with a goal to be green, eco or sustainable and shift the thinking and design to be creating conditions conducive to life.

• The I will be overtaken by the WE.  As a culture we quickly recognize how we are all connected and that we truly do live in an eco-system or inter-dependent living system. 

• There will be a greater openness for collaboration and collective thought.  Great brands will actively seek symbiotic partnerships.

• Transparency and traceability will be a tenet of every great brand.   

• The journey will become greater than the reward.  Individuals will choose a place of work based on how vibrant, responsible and passionate the workplace environment is versus simply looking at pay.

• Human capital will be viewed as the best capital.  It will be positioned as an investment rather than an expense

• It will be okay to smile and laugh a lot at work. 

Without question, working in the future takes courage.  But look at the alternative.  Would you prefer to react to everything that comes your way or lead the way?

At the core of the sustainability movement is TRUST.  Build it and you can thrive.  Ignore it and you’re screwed.  

So how does one build trust? 

One path is to begin with transparency and traceability.  There is a growing wave of consumers who want to know more. Open the onion of your brand to those your serve.  Let them see the good, bad and ugly.  No one is perfect and you will significantly enhance the resonance for your missive when you are open and honest. Of course it will greatly enhance your storytelling and resonance if you can also share a vision for the future and what could be.

A sense of humility is paramount.  At Seventh Generation we were far from perfect but we spoke candidly and openly to the Seventh Generation Nation about our plans and when we fell short.  Most recently Seventh Generation launched an initiative called Show the World What’s Inside that allows those they serve to see full transparency of ingredients. Patagonia created a brilliant vehicle for transparency and traceability with their Footprint Chronicles initiative.  And the folks at Icebreaker have done a great job of showing their chain of custody with their BAACODE.  You see folks do not expect perfection.  They expect honesty. As my good friend Michael Jager likes to say, a brand is a promise.  

Uphold the promise and you’ll be just fine.

Crazy question but have you ever just stopped to observe the reality in which you live? 

Imagine if you could switch your life to slow motion.  What would you see?  

I am a dreamer obsessed with what could be.  So, in June 2007 I closed my Mac, shut-off my Blackberry and waved good-bye to conference rooms.  After almost twenty years of playing brand builder at wonderful places like Seventh Generation [amazing culture that inspired me daily] and NIKE [the human spirit should never be underestimated] I listened to my inner compass and went on a self-imposed spiritual journey. I call it my Forrest Gump moment.  Only rather than starting to run I simply stopped running.  Some called me crazy.  Others sighed in envy.  The truth is I simply felt this inner burn suggesting I needed to quiet my cleverness and create anew. More importantly, I needed to re-connect with my wife, two daughters and friends.  It was an odyssey informed by re-affirming what matters most and living the extraordinary.

Not surprisingly, the tranquility and calm gave me unabashed clarity for the first time in my adult life. 

So what is it that I was able to see? 

Here are my top reflections during my self-imposed sabbatical:

• There is absolutely NOTHING more important than family and friends.  A distant second are endorphin highs followed by  good local beer.
• I am half as good as I think I am.  Along the way I have abandoned the sense of inquiry and exploration I had during my youth and replaced it with thinking that has become trite.  In essence I discovered the need to quiet my cleverness and embolden myself with a new Socratic sense of inquiry.  What a gift!
• We’ve become a culture inebriated with tactics, the notion that more is more and playing it safe.  Imagine the possibility if we shifted the lens to systemic thinking/vision, doing more with less and courage!   
• Leadership requires the art of inquiry.
• Human capital is far and away your best capital.  I would much rather have scarce dollars and an amazing team than piles of cash with a weak roster.  That said great human capital should be looked as an investment versus as expense.  Behind every great brand is a great culture comprised of brilliant people.
• We need to de-emphasize words such as innovation, marketing, eco, green and sustainability and shift the conversation to what effect is it that we are trying to create?  Case in point:  At NIKE the emphasis was not on making a product innovative but rather it was focused on the effect…enhancing an athlete’s performance.  
• Strategic plans need to be simple in a way that they can be easily communicated, inspiring in a way that ignite one’s soul and empowering in a way that everyone can see their place in the journey.  Romance your culture with a northstar in a way that everyone can work in the future…today.
• Courage, humility and intuition are a lost art in business.  Work from the heart and be willing to make glorious mistakes!  Oops.  One more thing.  Who killed the ‘have fun’ button? 
• Fundamentals such as positioning, values, frameworks and vision are woefully lacking in the vast majority of brands.  Too bad because they are simple things that can create a significant positive impact.
• Brilliant people and amazing brands are successful because they are doing what they love to do and they are a reflection of those they serve.  
• Buckminster Fuller was brilliant.  His teachings have never been more relevant than they are today. 
•  The emerging future is going to be an amazing journey for those individuals and brands that show courage, transparency, humanity, patience and the willingness to focus on what could be.  Furthermore, it is my belief that purpose oriented brands, brands that hold humanity in every deliberation, will thrive in the next 5-10 years.