Monday, April 8, 2013

The case for unbridled, uncontained, unassailable, joyful passion, in life and in business



Even though it ended after 10:30 PM, I needed a nap after watching the NCAA Men’s basketball semifinals over the weekend.  I was that stressed out and exhausted. 

As a University of Michigan Alum (and the father of a freshman daughter there), I experienced every pass, shot, rebound, and foul with a high level of anxiety, feeling it in every bone in my body.  And I know I wasn’t alone.  At the Georgia Dome and in front of TV’s across the nation, Syracuse and Michigan fans (short for fanatics, remember), were going through the same emotions.  Living and dying with every trip up the court.

The joy I felt when they won was pure and lasting.  The kind of happiness that stays with you and coats you in a veneer of pleasant invincibility that can turn pedantic tasks like taking out the garbage into lovely moments of a-little-extra-exercise.

It’s a powerful thing, passion.  Never underestimate it’s sway, in life and in business.  The numbers prove it out.  An example:

To get up for the game, I re-watched the fine 30 for 30 ESPN documentary on the Fab Five (see a piece of it here), the story of the 1992 and 1993 Michigan basketball teams that featured five extremely talented and highly-hyped freshmen who came to Ann Arbor to play together.  Their unprecedented story and unexpected success led to a huge following and massive fame for the young fivesome.

Among the amazing facts revealed, one spoke to the earning power of sports licensing: In the year prior to the Fab Five’s arrival in Ann Arbor, the sales of U of M licensed products created $2 million in revenue.  In the two years  after their explosive freshman year, the sales of U of M licensing products created over $10 million in revenue.

The country was completely captivated by the Fab Five, and by Michigan basketball.  A fan base that was already crazy in love with everything U of M became even more passionate.  They showed their love in many ways: through the rings of the cash register, by filling every stadium the Wolverines played in, painting maize and blue on their bodies, getting tattoos… embracing the U of M brand, in any way possible.

Everybody should have at least one thing to fall unapologetically in love with.  Something they’re committed to and will stand by no matter what. Something for which they feel unbridled passion that knows no bounds. 

It’s something that marketers should remind themselves of every day.  Because a couple of things happen when you inject passion into the mix.

For consumers (aka real humans), you have a relationship between a person and a brand that’s impossible to break.

And for marketers, you begin to change the equation for how you do your job.

Business is hard.  Technological change and global volatility have created a breakneck tempo, thinner margins, higher stakes, and cultures of fear.  The potential for pain is high and consistent.

But what would happen if we inserted more joy into the mix?  If we found a way to methodically work towards answers to even the toughest challenges, but did it in a way that would allow us to celebrate the journey…to recognize victories along the way?

And most important, feel passionate about what we’re doing.  Embrace our clients, not just work on their behalf.  Advocate, not just sell. 

When was the last time you painted the colors of your favorite brand onto your face?  Where on your body is the tattoo of your favorite brand?

Do you have to go that far?  Maybe not.

But you can pretend it’s there.  I worked on a brand for over 15 years that I felt passionate about every day.  My partners on that Gatorade team felt the same way as we helped it reach new heights every quarter, expanding it with double digit growth and creating marketing materials that won awards and resulted in new and powerful loyalties to the brand. 

I didn’t have a Gatorade tattoo.  But sometimes it felt like I did.

So maybe, as you head to work and envision the challenges at hand, you can picture your brand as your favorite team, tying the game with an improbable long-range three pointer and winning in overtime.  Or imagine your brand’s logo tattooed somewhere on your body or the colors painted on your face.  

So that even within the toughest challenges, you’re armed with the knowledge that you can come out of it stronger and happier than before.

The power of passion.  The Joy of Solving.  In life and in marketing.

Give it a shot.

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