Be Unreasonable
Watching the recent round of Democratic "debates," you'd think all the candidates have Best Friends Forever tattoos and spend their free time making Friendship Bracelets for one another. I understand that they want to present a unified party, but presidential debates really should not be a rainbowed cotton candy lovefest showcase. I'm not proposing they start slinging wet dirt, but how are we supposed to differentiate the candidates without any substance. Nobody is willing to stand out from the pack. Well, almost nobody.
It started when John Edwards said something like, "But there are differences between us candidates." But John John made the mistake of using the Iraq situation to differentiate him from the others, because when it comes to voting records, Edwards hasn't exactly been consistent. Obama, on the other hand, has been opposed to the invasion and occupation since day one, and sort of made Johnny boy look a little silly for bringing it up.
What's the point of all this? While most of the candidates were busy playing the unified party game, Barack, at least on this occasion, put on display his willingness to go against the grain, even if it may at the time be politically damaging. This is how candidates become memorable. This is how they differentiate themselves. And this is a good lesson for all business people. You don't succeed by sticking to convention and playing it safe. Paul Lemberg has a great new book that speaks to this idea. It's called, Be Unreasonable.
Most companies are reasonable. They use the same strategies and tactics that everybody else uses, and when it comes to setting goals, they often play it safe to ensure those goals are met. But what good does this do? Shouldn't every company's goal be to differentiate themselves from the competition? How can a company possibly differentiate by playing to the status quo?
The answer - IT CAN'T! What Lemberg shows in this book is that the companies that do take the market lead are the companies that are "unreasonable." These companies work hard to break away from yesterday's conventional thinking. They take risks. They set lofty and imaginative goals and don't back down at the first sign of trouble. They are innovative because they are trying things their competition is not.
But take note folks: being risky does not mean being blind; it means being courageous. This is a very important distinction. Companies that take risks solely for the purpose of taking risks probably won't succeed. But if a company examines a situation and thoughtfully decides to "leap into the unknown," great things can happen.
Another important part of being successfully unreasonable is instituting a standard of high expectations. Companies need to demand, not hope for, more from every single employee. They need to set lofty goals and do everything they can to achieve those goals. They absolutely must look at old systems that might be faulty and fix them immediately instead of being OK with decent.
It's not easy being unreasonable. But if you have the gumption, being thoughtfully unreasonable is the only way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
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