Ok. . . close your eyes and visualize a sunset over a beach. What did you see?  How detailed was your image? Did you see a shimmering orb falling below the seas surface in the distance with its reflection bouncing off the ocean?  Maybe you saw palm trees gently swaying in the breeze as seagulls flocked overhead with crashing waves at your feet as you hold the hands of a loved one. 

Now imagine you're on the surface of Saturn.  What does a sunset look like there? Is the sun smaller?  Is there a sun at all?  Is the surface a desolate and rocky surface with frozen lakes and icy glaciers shimmering in the starlight with small canyons dotting the landscape?

How difficult was it to imagine the sunset here vs. a sunset on Saturn?

Your ability to conjure up these images is telling in how your brain works and how vivid your imagination is - which is vital when trying to summon new ideas.

The ability to see things in a unique way or imagine what you have never seen before can prove to be an invaluable asset.  It allows for unique ideas, different concepts and creative ways in how to approach challenges that lay before us. 

Often times when a challenge arises in the office people are asked for solutions. How differently can you see the situation that will allow you to conjure up multiple scenarios that bring potential answers to the problem?

This is a great example of visionaries (i.e. Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison)  They simply see things differently.  When most people can't see a new possibility they do - and they make it happen.  This is the difference between someone who is good at what they do and someone who is great - which brings to mind a conversation I was jus having last night with a good friend of mine who works for a major television network and is pushing for a new pilot. 

She was having a conversation with her boss and she said that as part of the package she would, within the first season, get Barack Obama on the show and her boss's response was "you can't do that".  "That would be impossible to do".  Obviously my friend sees things differently than her boss does.  I know my friend.  If she says she can do it.  She can do it.   

Being able to see the world differently is a valuable commodity to have - because at the end of the day the world opens up to you in unique ways and the possibilities become endless.

I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this past weekend and all I could say was WOW! Now some may disagree but so goes opinions in tastes for movies. I have been thinking about this movie for the past 3 days. . .

The movie hit on numerous themes: love, dreams, passion, time, opportunities, the possibilities, and relationships to name a handful that come immediately to mind. Now looking at these ideas I can't help but to keep in mind how these are the same things that drive entrepreneurs, or new business ventures or a new idea that will "change the world".

In the movie Brad Pitt plays a character who ages backwards and as a result of that has a very uniqe perspective on the world. One of the scenes opens with a reading of a diary written by Benjamin Button that says "I was born under unusual circumstances. . .," and this lays the premise of the unique and extraordinary life that will be led by this individual.

As I watched the movie and reveled in the exquisite cinematography, the powerful score, the intriguing storyline and the emotional ups and downs of each character, I couldn't help but to compare how this movie reflected the reality of life: the only thing that remains the same is change.

With numerous messages in the movie, one stood out and seem to be pervasive throughout the film. The idea that life has a way of taking its own path, sometimes a backwards one, and we do have choices in how we travel it.

During one part of the movie Pitt's Benjamin says in a voice over that "you can change or you can stay the same. There are no rules to this thing."

As I watched this nearly three hour cinematic tale I couldn't help but think of my own ups and downs in life, particularly as an entrepreneur. The love, dreams, passion, opportunities, possibilities, and relationships that have lived and died as I pushed to bring ongoing life to my business, have meant the world to me in ways I am not sure that I could ever explain in words. 

Do you have a passion, a dream or a destination that you are shooting for in life? Well if you've been contemplating one, or two or three that have temporarily stalled. . .go check out Mr. Benjamin Button and get that inspiration back.

It's been an incredible year to say the least!  I have learned so much that I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the incredible experiences I have had this year!

So what I've done is created a quick snapshop of a few top 5 lists of people, places and things that have had significant impact on my life over this past year.

Top 5 books

1.  A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

2.  Zag by Marty Neumeier

3.  The Long Tail by Chris Anderson

4.  Made To Stick by Dan and Chip Heath

5.  Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

Honorable mentions - Blink by Malcom Gladwell, the Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley, and The Medici Effect by Frans Johannsen.

Top 5 Fast Company Articles 

1.  April - The Brand Called Obama

2.  May  - Ning's Infinite Ambition

3.  October- Moooi Fabulous

4.  September - The Iron Chancellor

5.  October - Rewriting the Creative Mind

Top 5 music artists I discovered this year (that kept me groovin' in my office until the weee hours of the night)

1.  Santogold

2.  The Rapture

3.  Battles

4.  Game Rebellion

5.  Izza Kizza

 Honorable mention - The Knux, The Archie Branson Outfit, and The Carps

Top 5 accidental internet discoveries (that rock)

1.  Behance

2.  Vator TV

3.  The Chicago Convergence

4.  Gemini Division

5.  Springwise

Top 5 Coolest Sites

1.  Schematic

2.  Zune Arts

3.  Razorfish

4.  Puma

5.  Cutting Edge

Top 5 business lessons learned

1.  Just because you can easily do it doesn't mean its easy to do.

2.  Have a team of mentors that can help guide you through unchartered territory.

3.  Don't get frustrated.  Find the lesson to be learned and move forward.

4.  The devil is in the details.

5.  Know what you do and know how to communicate it.

Top 5 ideas you should NOT forget in '09

1.  In pushing your venture/enterprise forward you cannot follow traditional business doctrine.

2.  Thinking outside the box is dead.

3.  The future of business is at the intersection of design and brands

4.  You can be creative all day. . .but if you have no discipline and drive, retire right now.

5.  Know your purpose. Determine your vision. Build your future.

 See you next year!!

I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine the other day.  She (Rakiyt Zakari) is the founder and head designer of the original david clothing line. Probably one of the most creative and forward thinking designers in the fashion world today. 

We were talking about how to be successful. How to be on top of your game and how to push the envelope in terms of creating and marketing your product or service and how to spread your message to the world. 

Well one of the ideas that came up was the idea of pushing your own personal boundaries.  How to think, be and explore at the edge of your competence.  In talking to her about this one of the ideas we both concluded on is that as you strive to grow your business and/or grow as an entrepreneur, artist, designer, etc. you have to have mentors.  In order to successfully go from point a to point b which would entail the pushing of new ideas, the exploration of innovative solutions and doing what you haven't previously done before, you have to seek guidance and help.  You can't do it by yourself. 

Often when pushing beyond your own personal limits you get into unchartered territory. Without the proper assistance it can be the difference between crashing and burning or pushing your venture successfully to the next level (I personally prefer the latter). 

Firstly - this would require you to admit that you don't know everything and you have weaknesses that someone else can assist you with - now this is easier said than done.  If I had a dollar for everytime I came across people who didn't think they needed help, didn't know they should seek help or were simply oblivious to the fact that help is ALWAYS needed then I would have retired a millionaire years ago.

Secondly - you have to be able to seek out individuals who have your best interest at heart. That means being authentic yourself and coming to the table without hidden agendas and ulterior motives.  When you do this and you are sincere in your actions, you will attract like energy.  Serious business people love to help driven passionate individuals who are dedicated to their craft. If they see that your main goal is to give something to the world that is either needed, wanted or desired (and they see you are extremely serious about it) then that makes things sooo much easier for you.

Thirdly - you need assistance from mentors who are savvy and have business acumen.  I repeat. You need assistance from mentors who are savvy and have business acumen.  Nothing is worse than getting advice from someone who is reckless in advice giving and has no idea about how to execute on ideas and navigate scenarios and situations effectively.  So be extremely careful when seeking guidance.  Often times simply check it with your gut feeling.  If it doesn't sound or feel right in the pit of your stomach, kick that advice to the curb.

Putting yourself in new situations in which you don't quite know how to navigate is what will make you better, allow you to grow and put you ahead of the curve.  You'll make mistakes along the way but as long as you learn valuable lessons from them then they were worth making.  And in the end as the tried and true saying goes "nothing venture, nothing gained".

                 VS.

These two words get thrown around often in the marketplace. You have business gurus, brand strategists, business researchers, branding specialists, business analysts, branding experts and the list goes on.

But I think it would be of value to determine the difference between the two.

 1.  A business has business plan. A brand has a story.

 2.  A business is profits gained and profits lost. A brand is an idea in the mind.

 3.  A business has customers. A brand has fans that rave about who they are.

 4.  A business employs people who need a job. A brand inspires people to want to work there.

 5.  A business keeps pace with the competition. A brand creates its own category.

 6.  A business sells you something. A brand makes you want to buy.

 7.  A business engages in transactions. A brand builds relationships.

 8.  A business tells you how much it costs. A brand talks about its qualities.

 9.  A business tells you what it is. A brand is determined by its reputation.

10. A business can be bought and sold. A brand says why the business should be.

On numerous occasions the line between the business and the brand can and is blurred. Realities of one directly affects the positioning of the other. This then creates a scenario when both can be one and the same.

But there are times when business is just a business - Proctor and Gamble and then when a business is also a brand - Oprah.

The question then becomes: what are you a part of (or building) - a business a brand or both?

In building my company, I have adopted the marathon pace. I'm out there every day – pushing, shaping, zoning on thoughts, weighing them with varying partners, pushing on and testing the company's form against time.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins describes the "Build-up Breakthrough Flywheel" model of momentum and you can relate – you are forming a base, pushing it forward, and building more, repeat. You're thinking about the masses, you are thinking about your audience, playing devils advocate, looking at your business upside down, surveying your audience, taking your focus group feedback in stride, engaging, building, creating, repeat.

You are out there, sweating you socks off (with both smiles and grunts) and here s(he) comes…the naysayer! Oh #@%, you think. You look for an escape route, but there is none. Here comes the naysayer's script:

Naysayer: "What are you up to?"

Marathoner: (You are positive, tell them of your advances, but it doesn't matter what you say.)

[The naysayer looks at you sideways.]

Naysayer: "Well, I had a really hard time with that. Maybe you are biting off more than you can chew. Maybe you should try developing a tadpole instead of a sailboat. I mean, they both go in water and the vast majority of new products fail anyway."

[You look at them sideways and bring the near-by ac unit down on their head! Oh yeah, maybe that was High Fidelity…]

The naysayer, el negativo, has been really bothering me. In the past I have gotten stuck at looking at the naysayer sideways, but I started to think about the naysayer differently after two ideas converged:

One, my strategy for new contacts: I have developed a list of concepts about how I want to engage different contacts. For example, if the person is a potential investor I have already brainstormed conversation points. If a person is a potential resource I have brainstormed how I can engage them in a way they feel they are also benefitting. If a person's business or organization offers the potential for collaboration I dig at more about those angles of the operation. I give and take a card, take notes, and make contact immediately (check that momentum).

Two, in the Threshold post - "Don't be a sprinter" we see that having a person on board who can point out the holes in your strategy is invaluable.

The naysayer isn't necessarily any person you want at the table, I believe there is a difference between a totally negative force and someone who can actually point out gaps. However, I do think that next time I will be prepared to constructively redirect. When the naysayer pokes a hole in your balloon, you've got to keep the passion alive. You can't win a marathon if you let that bugger cramp your style a few miles in. If nothing else, pick their brain as if they are your most unlikely customer.

I do believe that entrepreneurs are creative athletes. We are driven to create, push harder, and win. Some of us will stand out because of our passion, "the will to win, the spark within. Passion – to play through pain and love the game. Passion – to break the chain and blaze the flame." And don't forget the unattributed adage, "Winners do what losers won't."

I came across this post by Behance the other day and really liked (and agreed with) what they had to say (as it pertains specifically to innovation). It immediately brought to mind the ideas in my previous post which briefly discusses visionaries, but from a leadership perspective. Nevertheless their is overlap and similar streams of thought in both categories.

What Behance is saying about the very idea of a visionary (with respect to product development), what that means and the numerous issues that 'float' and 'bubble' around who they are and what they do are great to chew on and really think about.

By Behance Research

There is a horrid fact in the world of innovation: The vast majority of new products fail, and most new ad campaigns don’t achieve their objectives. The brilliant minds that fuel breakthroughs are also at a disadvantage when it comes to getting ideas adopted by the masses. The root of the problem is the visionary’s tendency to focus on fellow visionaries. Visionaries are most familiar with the needs of visionaries, and thus struggle (or lack the desire) to connect with the masses.

In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore explores the giant gap between the early adopters of anything new, and the 'pragmatists' - those in the majority that are more skeptical, average, and risk-averse. When you consider the creative individuals and teams that develop new ideas, it is easier to understand why there is so little focus on the masses.

Creatives love focusing on what fellow open-minded early-adopting visionaries value. This is especially true in the advertising world, where many of the award winning advertising concepts fail to achieve their commercial objectives. After all, the judges for awards are not average consumers from middle America but rather creative professionals themselves - true visionaries. Some companies, in search of effective advertising campaigns, avoid working with award-winning firms in favor of more grounded, commercially focused firms.

When we conceive new ideas and execute them, we must assume a pragmatic lens that grounds our expectations, tastes, and perceptions. The most productive creative professionals and teams in the world have found strategies to avoid falling in the chasm!

• Ground With Diversity: Engaging a few cynical, risk-averse advisors or members of a team will add a valuable chemistry to the creative process that may reduce 'idea intoxication.' You need to work with people that ask the difficult, practical questions that are frustrating but important when pushing ideas forward.

• Ask Your Mom: Does the average person see what you see? Can the average person understand the value proposition that you are offering with your new idea?

• Add a Week of Skepticism Between Idea & Action: With a pause between idea and action, the energy in a creative process will either die or thrive. Of course, if you jump on an idea right away, you may capture energy that would otherwise disappear as an idea evolves. In such cases, creative teams pursue half-baked ideas that may yield poor performing outcomes. Instead, create a sacred space for an idea to stand the test of time. After one week, you may realize that an idea has no legs.

Over the past 5 months I have made it a point to once a month set aside time in my schedule to seek the tutelage of an incredibly brilliant and dynamic woman. I was introduced to her through a good friend of mine at a twin tech happy hour in July of this year. We immediately connected and have made it a point to set aside 2 to 3 hours a month to exchange ideas, pick each others brains and discuss the future of business, culture and creativity. Just a couple of weeks ago she arranged a phenomenal event, with Daniel Pink, which garnered much praise here in the creative community of DC.

Just recently she was mentioned in a FastCompany.com article as a visionary leader, which doesn't surprise me at all. I am writing this to say that if you aren't paying close attention to Michelle James, I highly recommend you do. A portion of the article I've included below (you can read the full article here).

Visionary Leadership posted by Seth Kahan

A visionary leader perceives challenges and growth opportunities before they happen, positioning people to produce extraordinary results that make real contributions to life.

I have begun working with a select group of people around the world who are interested in fostering visionary leadership in their own lives, and will be helping me to develop audio and video materials on this topic that will be made available free through my website.

I asked them, Who comes to mind when you think of visionary leaders? Here is a compilation of their responses:

Maya Angelou, for her consistent, inclusive outreach through writing on tough and challenging topics, and for being willing to consistently stand up and lead as an African-American woman beginning in the 1950s. As a poet, she taps into her core and exposes it in a way that inspires us.

Barbara Jordan, African American congresswoman from Texas for her clarity, brilliance and understanding of justice.

The Dalai Lama, for his ability to incorporate new ideas into his traditional framework while being a messenger for peace and enlightenment for the world.

Michelle James for her commitment to bring creative expression into the work environment in a very deep and meaningful way. And her ability to create safe spaces so people can express their own uniqueness without judgment and in collaboration with others.

Barak Obama for his ability to galvanize and inspire people with the vision that we can transform our consciousness & world. Nothing seems hurried, good decisions are made at the right time. (b) his inspirational messages were trounced early on as giving us false hope, false expectations, yet his response was that “in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.” That spoke to people’s inner Amen, and what they want to believe deep down about the stories of their country and themselves. (c) for his ability to inspire a country and implement a grassroots organization of massive scale which gave people the tools and opportunity to truly participate in shaping change.

Millard Fuller, founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity, for making millions by 29 and then creating a nonprofit that builds homes for those in need for the price materials and with the labor of volunteers.

Barbara Brennan for her ability to clarify and communicate her gifts in order to empower others to achieve their greatest potential as humans and healers.

Again congratulations Michelle on being phenomenal!  Your journey as a visionary has only begun!

. . . there's always some bad news. 

Whether you are a start-up or a seasoned business veteran things will never be perfect.  For all the things you do right some things will go wrong.  For all the customers that praise you there will be some that will want to tear you down (warranted or not). And for all the good that moves you forward in your life there will be bad things that slow you down.

There is nothing wrong with any of this. Its simply life. But the problem comes when we dwell for too long on the negative and we fail to see, recognize or focus on things that are good, progressive or simply going well. 

The trouble with this is that it is counterproductive. It is of no value to you.  And in the end its an enormous hindrance to your ultimate goal: Success (however you want to define that).

In order to keep moving forward you can't let negativity, bad news or setbacks slow you down (temporarily maybe, but after the hiccup you have to keep pushing forward).  The reason being; unhappy situations, events or times are ceaseless and they never stop. This is why whether you have one bad situation happening or an army of them you have to look for the positive, focus on it and make that the energy that you draw upon.

If you landed one client and failed at landing the other 99 - who cares about the 99!  Focus on that one client and give them incredible service that they will rave about for years to come.  And for the opposite if you have 99 great clients and one who absolutely is a thorn in your side - don't let that one person or company get you down (this goes particularly for perfectionists - which in itself is another set of issues. . .). The kicker is that in either situation that I just mentioned people will fret about it to their undoing. 

In the end just remember to focus on what's going well instead of letting the negative suck out all your energy that could eventually bleed dry the good things you have going on.  If/when this happens. . .now ladies and gentlemen this is when you will start to really have problems.

In business the race is always won by the marathon runner not the sprinter.  A business doesn't begin to thrive overnight.  To stay competitive and relevant, and offer valuable services and/or products that truly benefit clients and customers, it is absolutely necessary that your brand says "we are here for today, tomorrow and for years to come".  "We are offering ideas, services and products for the ages".  The worst thing that could happen is that your communications comes across as a trendy company that may be here today but gone tomorrow.

I came across this company the other day. . .

Now this reads on their website's homepage and I thought to myself: does a company really want to be known as an organization that specializes in 'web 2.0 services'?  The internet and technology are evolving and changing so fast that to base who you are and what you do mainly on an aspect of the web would be precarious.  A few questions I would put on the table:

1.  What happens when Myspace begins to lose its lustre (and it already has).  Facebook is already proving to be much more nimble and flexible and a medium for "better" communication between people looking to really connect.

2.  What happens when email is not the most efficient or effective medium for communication (this is already happening). 

3.  What happens when 2.0 is no longer the buzzword that everyone is using and web 3.0 kicks in. Web 3.0 is on its way. . .

There are a handful of things that companies don't want to be and I imagine irrelevant has got to be somewhere close to the top.

As a company it is valuable that you plan for the here and now, but not at the expense of your long term thinking.