'We're here to make a dent in the Universe'... Steve Jobs
Many brands have mission statements about 'enriching people's lives', 'making life better', or even 'changing the world' but in most cases, it's about making things incrementally better in relatively small ways. But a select few have actually managed to do so on a scale that forever dents the universe.
What separates brands that make a true dent vs a repairable scratch? While there is certainly some magic, brilliance and luck to any success story, by looking at Apple and other brands that have dented the universe, four consistent patterns emerge. And while there is certainly more to it than these four principles, following them may increase a brands' chances to dent the universe.
1. Having a huge, future focused, and very concrete vision of what the end game looks like.
When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, he began to imagine a digitally transformed world. By 2001, he spoke of the digital hub, and imagined a future where personal entertainment, information, communications, and images were all interconnected. While he didn't have all the answers yet, he had a strikingly clear vision of the end game.
Similarly, Google's ambition is to organize the world's information, and make it universally accessible and useful. While they started as a search engine, clearly, they were already headed down the path to be so much more.
Tesla's vision does not stop at cars but rather endeavors to transform the economy from 'mine and burn hydrocarbon' to 'solar based electric'.
Brands that can clearly articulate their end game are much more likely to deliver on their promises than brands that stick to nebulous promises of better living or better world.
2. Having a focused strategic plan that connects today's actions to tomorrow's vision.
While a concrete vision is the first step, a viable strategic plan that is connected to that vision is just as important. How are you going to migrate your product and service offerings along a trajectory that progressively marches towards your end game? How are you going to match that migration to available audiences along the way?
When Jobs first spoke of the digital hub, he'd already realized that there was indeed a real business opportunity, first by monetizing digital music, for 'music lovers'. and then by moving beyond entertainment to monetize other human passion points. He knew that Apple could build a sustainable business by connecting people to what mattered most to them. This idea laid the strategic groundwork for the success of iPhone, iPad, and even the Apple Watch.
And while those products fueled growth, perhaps as important was that the plan gave Apple permission to eliminate products and ideas that did not fit with the end game.
Google may have begun with search, but quickly added images, maps, calendars, video, etc that would make them the 'go-to' source for all information, including user data that could be monetized to fund more and more new product development.
Amazon, in its quest to become a 'customer centric place where people can find and discover anything they want to buy online', started with books, but quickly migrated to DVD's, toys, and beyond, as they steadily added categories and customer services that aligned with their vision.
3. Creating your own inflection points
If you are going to dent the Universe, you can't wait for change, you need to create change. Brands must understand key barriers to, and accelerators of adoption, and be prepared to include those in their plan.
By offering iTunes with iPod, Apple used content to accelerate adoption. App availability was key in driving iPhone adoption.
By creating AdWords in 2000, Google was able to virtually own the nascent SEO category.
Similarly, Elon Musk knew that in order for electric to be viable, you needed a charging infrastructure...which, in addition to accelerating adoption of electric vehicles, also serves as another proof of concept of Tesla's broader mission.
4. Telling the story from day 1
Transformative brands need believers and evangelists to go with them, and spread their message. And they need that message to lay the breadcrumbs for the future through thematic messaging that can carry through the evolution of the brand, and ultimately pay off the end game.
Rather than focus on bits and bytes and category specific features, Apple's story has always been about seamless ease of use and personal empowerment. And every new Apple product introduction advances, rather than interrupts the story. And every Apple communication advances that same story.
And ironically, becoming a storied brand requires more than just telling stories. It requires turning every experience into media, and ensuring that those experiences pay off the larger brand story. Google's home page screams simplicity and access. From one click shopping, to Amazon prime, to same day delivery, Amazon advances their customer centric story.
And if brands follow these four steps, and surround these fundamentals with ground breaking innovations that serve universal unmet needs, they can truly dent the universe.
And when they do, it will be as much of an 'Aha' as it is an 'Of Course!'.
