Dave Guerra wrote this post a few month's back where he compared Donald Trump, Duran Duran and myself to one another.
So what do Joseph Jaffe, The Donald, and Duran Duran have in common? Rhythm. They got a rhythm that is "uniform and a well-coordinated action", they keep things moving, they don't let anything get stale (they wouldn't allow it). After all, it is their name that has been recognized, it is their name that gets people to buy their books, gets people to pay outrageous prices for their buildings, gets people to keep wanting to hear their music for almost 30 years. Do you have the rhythm? Because in the end, RHYTHM IS THE POWER.
This weekend, he wrote this post, which referenced these "Trump traits" from CNBC's "The Millionaire Inside". I thought it was as good a time as any to revisit these traits as an internal branding checklist.
- Find Your Passion - major check - I call it the lifeforce...
- Be Tenacious - major check
- Don't Fear Risk - check - although at times I think I hold back based on the grounded realities of having 3 kids, a mortgage and college funds to have to pay. That said, I don't think we can ever truly reach for the stars if we don't throw all caution to the wind. Risks can absolutely be calculated and mitigated, but as the saying goes...a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
- Revenge Can Be Good (don't take crap from people) - I haven't done well on this count at all. The Donald would not be pleased. Nor would Jason Calacanis, whom I think is the poster child for putting his head down, staying the course and sticking it to anyone who sticks it to him. He'd taught me a lot. In 2007, there were certainly a handful of people (thankfully no more) that I should have fought - back - harder. I gave them a free pass, listening to the advice of others who told me to avoid burning bridges, ruffling tail feathers and the like. I also refused to abuse my platform - Jaffe Juice - to amplify my message. Was I wrong? What would you have done?
- Know Your Subject - I'm learning all the time about what makes our clients, partners and even fellow crayonistas tick
- Negotiate Face to Face - All too often we fall victim to taking the easy way out - by relying on predominantly e-mail; In 2008 I need to pick up the phone more often and where practical, give more face time (perhaps crayon client ooVoo can help!)
- Build Your Brand (by being persistent) - check - sometimes I'm perhaps a little too persistent and like Gene Simmons on The Apprentice, try and stay true to myself...to a fault.
- Get in the game (Real Estate...hmmmm)
- Think Globally (the world is truly flat)
- Negotiate a new deal
- Have a killer idea - major check - lack of ideas or vision isn't my problem, it's prioritizing them and...
- Implement your idea well - ...executing them that counts. To be sure, this is where I want to overdeliver 200% in 2008.
- Have Confidence - major check - While I'll never be accused of being confident, I think there's a fine line between the right amount of confidence and the double-edged sword of being over-confident or self-doubting. In 2007, I wavered at times by not following the same advice I give out to clients. There's a reason why celebrities never read the newspaper and whilst I'm by no means calling myself a celebrity, I use it as an example to reference the blogosphere and what it can do particularly well (and by well, I mean badly)
- Never Lose Focus - check - I'm probably being kind to myself by self-reporting a "check"; I think there's probably a clear distinction between being passionate and focused; Whilst I am pit-bulled focused on the rise and importance that conversational marketing will play in the future of all branding and marketing communications, sometimes it's the path (or journey) to get to the finish line that can become somewhat confusing or even distracting. There are no short-cuts in life. Period.
That's my partial internal checklist. Thanks Dave for the reminder and inspiration.
So how did you all score in terms of your own rhythm?
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