Hello Charles Darwin

Sep 07
2009
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No matter where I turn, I bump into Charles Darwin.  Today, a friend sent me a link to a New York Times article on how the publishing industry has been affected by evolution. Then, I stumbled on a SlideShare presentation by another Charles — Charlie Hoehn, a recent college graduate making his mark on the world.  He quoted Darwin while providing his peers with job hunting advice.

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.  It’s the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Is your marketing Darwin proof?
Is your business?
Are you adaptable to change?

Really?  I kind of doubt it because change requires more than just changing tactics.

Today’s marketing pros have to be true Change Management artists.  I’ll continue to argue that the fundamentals of marketing remain the same, but the techniques have clearly changed.  One by one, clients are finally admitting they have to learn how to communicate in the social media age, and want to go from 0- 100 in Superhuman speed. It won’t work unless the companies fundamentally change the marketing behind the communications techniques not just the communications channels themselves.

A TV ad doesn’t work in print. A print ad doesn’t work on a billboard – -not without some changes. They are fundamentally different medium and require different approaches within a campaign. The same is true of social media. If you are planning on just repurposing existing material on a social media platform, abandon ship before you leave port. The tone, value and approach in social media are all inherently different from traditional mass market messaging.

I encourage you to enter the social media world.  Just don’t do it without changing yourself first – from the inside out.  That includes corporate culture, marketing plans, and studying a bit of Darwin and Marshall McCluhan. After all, the medium is still the message.

Written by Rhona in: General Business, Marketing, Planning, Social Media | Tags: , , , , ,

Thoughtful Leaders

Feb 15
2009
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There's been much discussion lately about Charles Darwin, born February 12, 1809, as last week marked what would have been his 200th birthday.  A new book out called Angels and Ages, notes that on that same day, a world apart, Abraham Lincoln was also born. Both men became leaders of their age although in very different fields, and both are still discussed, studied and admired for their thought leadership. 

According to Buckminster Fuller (remember I promised to write more about him in the January post), one attribute of a leader is the ability to anticipate the future.  Similar to Darwin and Lincoln, Fuller was considered ahead of his time.  He saw a future so far out that the rest of us couldn't quite visualize it.  One thing that Fuller, Lincoln and Darwin did in common was to take time (lots of it) to think. For example, Darwin formulated his theories during his famous voyage of the Beagle in 1836. He published notes from that journey in 1838, but his landmark work Origin of Species was not published until 1859, 21 years later!  

In today's world, we all feel time starved.  One of the handicaps for business leaders today is the lack of time to make purposeful and thoughtful decisions. The world is almost moving too fast. Or, is it? Is it possible that we just haven't taken the time to create a strategy, philosophy, or vision about where we want to take our companies? Or, that we've gotten old and tired?

A January 31 Harvard Business Review blog post by leadership author Stewart Friedman discusses the qualities of leadership and he compares great leaders to great musicians. "Leadership is a performing art," he writes. "You can can never be too good at it."  He goes on to explain:

"Great performers devote themselves to increasing their capacity to perform.  It's the same with leaders. The best ones commit to learning continually because they want to make a difference."

In our current youth culture, Stewart Friedman makes a great case for admiring how we can improve with age, especially in terms of leadership.  It's also a good time to go back through the ages and look at our great leaders, many like LIncoln and Darwin, who did not hit their strides until their later years. 
If you're feeling this crisis needs the young, stop and take a deep breath. What it really needs is leadership, thoughtful leadership and experienced leadership.  

It's no coincidence that this year's theme for the upcoming NAPL Top Management Conference is Leadership. As always, it's timely and on target.  I hope you can participate. Another thing I hope you actively participate in is this blog/newsletter.  Please let me know if you feel the topics are on target, feel free to comment on a post, and if you'd like to contribute as an author, I'd welcome a broader voice of thoughts and perspective. Either just write something up you'd like me to post on your behalf, let me know if you'd like to be a more formal guest author, or e-mail me with topics you'd like to see covered. 

~ Rhona Bronson
Written by Rhona Bronson in: Books, Buckminster Fuller, Leadership | Tags: , , , , , ,