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.