I am convinced that Jessica Alba – the talented actor and amazing social entrepreneur – conducts topless meetings…and likely for days at a time. As does Jeff Bezos. And Sara Blakely. And Howard Schultz. And Donna Karan. As well as anyone else who has ever built a powerful brand in the digital age.
According to Investopedia, a Topless Meeting is a meeting without laptops, smartphones or any other electronic device. www.investopedia.com/terms/t/topless-meeting.asp
Why meet topless for a couple of days?
An uninterrupted conversation about what makes your brand different is the most important conversation you will ever engage in as a business owner. And yet most small businesses leaders don’t do it. “I don’t have time for an offsite! I have a business to run!” “Just hire a graphic designer for the logo.” “Maybe s/he can do the website too?” “We need a facebook, twitter, pinterest, I think…” “Let’s get an SEM/SEO specialist to get us leads.”
Leads for what? What are you going to tweet about? No one knows what you stand for – including yourself – except perhaps that you sell books or undies or coffee or clothes. And maybe you’re good enough at it to grow your business year after year.
To build a scalable brand however, you have to break out from your category. You have to build on top of your category promise. You have to be the biggest (Amazon), or the slimmest (Spanx), or the friendliest (Starbucks) or the “uptown modern” (Donna Karan). And, most importantly, you have to call it before you become it.
And no, you will never call it in an hour here or there. To crystallize a category trumping brand statement like: “The Honest Company is a consumer goods company that emphasizes non-toxic household products to supply the marketplace for ethical consumerism” you’ll have to meet topless for at least a couple of days.
I’d be very surprised if Mrs. Alba did not.
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One last thing: Of course I intended the pun of my subject line. Mrs. Alba is known in Hollywood for her strict no-nudity clause or, as she has put it: I have yet to come across any material that would be ‘elevated’ by that. In other words, she is a great steward of her brand, leveraging her fame for social good…just like Paul Newman did, for example. And I’m sure, Mr. Newman met topless too (…no, I’m not talking about Cool Hand Luke).
According to Investopedia, a Topless Meeting is a meeting without laptops, smartphones or any other electronic device. www.investopedia.com/terms/t/topless-meeting.asp
Why meet topless for a couple of days?
An uninterrupted conversation about what makes your brand different is the most important conversation you will ever engage in as a business owner. And yet most small businesses leaders don’t do it. “I don’t have time for an offsite! I have a business to run!” “Just hire a graphic designer for the logo.” “Maybe s/he can do the website too?” “We need a facebook, twitter, pinterest, I think…” “Let’s get an SEM/SEO specialist to get us leads.”
Leads for what? What are you going to tweet about? No one knows what you stand for – including yourself – except perhaps that you sell books or undies or coffee or clothes. And maybe you’re good enough at it to grow your business year after year.
To build a scalable brand however, you have to break out from your category. You have to build on top of your category promise. You have to be the biggest (Amazon), or the slimmest (Spanx), or the friendliest (Starbucks) or the “uptown modern” (Donna Karan). And, most importantly, you have to call it before you become it.
And no, you will never call it in an hour here or there. To crystallize a category trumping brand statement like: “The Honest Company is a consumer goods company that emphasizes non-toxic household products to supply the marketplace for ethical consumerism” you’ll have to meet topless for at least a couple of days.
I’d be very surprised if Mrs. Alba did not.
--
One last thing: Of course I intended the pun of my subject line. Mrs. Alba is known in Hollywood for her strict no-nudity clause or, as she has put it: I have yet to come across any material that would be ‘elevated’ by that. In other words, she is a great steward of her brand, leveraging her fame for social good…just like Paul Newman did, for example. And I’m sure, Mr. Newman met topless too (…no, I’m not talking about Cool Hand Luke).
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