Tell me who you are instead of trying to get me to do something.
Now there’s a statement.
I heard that on this video in response to how companies in 2010’s world are marketing to people especially on the web and through social channels.
Here are a couple of more gems.
“Have we lost our ability to judge who to listen to and who to trust?”
“One of the bi-products of the web today is that everyone’s an expert therefore no one is an expert.”
Hot damn!
Now I am really jazzed.
The video goes on the talk about story and driving a content experience instead of simply pushing a product or idea. Pretty normalized thinking these days in the marketing world I suppose. What was interesting about it was the notion of sharing who you are, your passion, and your joie de vivre, per se, being the meat and potatoes of an approach like this.
Sharing who you are, huh? Uh, oh.
Serendipity is not a word I would use regularly but in this case I think it applies.
I found this video through a link in a new Google+ community much by chance. I was surfing and wasn’t thinking about how to augment my post today, I was just taking a peek at what was up.
You see, I had a list of questions that were written a long while ago while listening to a podcast between two marketing folks. To be honest, I didn’t record who the conversation was between and I discovered the notes just recently while cleaning up some files in my blog ideas folder. I suppose I was saving these questions for a time where I was a little more experienced in the social media world.
That was over a year ago.
Not a long time by a career’s standards but long enough to put some water under the bridge. What I realised is that the answers to these questions don’t need to necessarily pertain to media of any kind nor should they.
So, there I sat with these questions wondering what to do with them.
I was thinking about how we have written about story here a lot lately and how we find its importance significant in communicating ideas in a real and tangible way and I needed a way to tie these questions and those thoughts together. Then this video now over 2 years old popped up into my field of view.
It gave me the anchor I needed.
So, here goes.
These questions were meant for people to tell their story and communicate why their contribution or their voice to the world matters to them.
In a way, the why to what we do or in another way, our *cough* brand *cough* narrative.
Instead of simply giving you the questions I decided to answer them as I go. Maybe it will encourage you to do that for yourself. There are some tough ones. At least for me there are but that’s what makes them worthwhile.
What is your story?
This could pertain to you personally or the arc you took with a career or a company you started whatever that might be.
Where did you come from?
I am of German heritage and I am first generation North American. I grew up in a blue collar town, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada famous for its vast General Motors plant. I was a stranger in a strange land; that introspective German boy with a strong affinity to the arts living among the sports jock WASP middle class working stiffs. Awkwardsville.
What is your background?
I have a background in Interior Design, my craft, but I found that my technically minded approach to my work suited me best to manage design. I have always been in love with all forms of design and look for the purpose in all things. The superfluous is bothersome to me. It must have been the influence the Bauhaus had on me early in my career.
What makes you tick or what gets you up in the morning?
One word: Love.
The love I have for design, the love I have for life, the love I have for my wife, family and friends. There are many emotions to describe this feeling but the one that best sums it up is love. We have all felt it in one form or another and it drives what I do.
What methods do you use to communicate your ideas?
I want to say my hands. I am a visual person so when I hear something I need to write it down. If I do, I can see it and then I can remember it. As an Interior Designer I have always had an affinity to the visual arts, photography, graphic design and drawing hold a special place in my heart. Having said that, I do love to write. Coupling writing with the visual arts is the way I have learned to effectively communicate my ideas.
If you think about what you offer to your field of work what does that look like?
Tough one. My job as the leader of my team is all about customer service. I look for opportunities to help people to be successful from my team to my colleagues to my clients. It’s the situations where the going gets tough where I find myself most often. It’s in those moments where my role as a leadership professional is tested.
On a personal level how do you serve the people in your life?
I always tend to put others first. I am not sure if that’s a good thing or not but that’s it. The question is an interesting one because I had to think about whether I feel I serve others or if as I work as a member of a team I serve that team as a whole. Same thing, I suppose. I could do much better with the people in my personal life.
What is their impression of you and is that consistent with who you are?
How hard is it to know what people think of you without skewing that with your own filter? Sometimes I am prone to hear what I want to hear. I think that most people find me argumentative, honest and analytical. I rarely take anything at face value. My self-deprecating humour is disarming at times and I have been told by many people that I am a sensitive guy. That is certainly consistent with who I am, for sure.
Are you satisfied with your place in your world?
Not at all! I believe I am learning every day and that’s what makes this career and life so interesting. I don’t think I will ever know everything I need to know about design and that’s why this profession is so vast and interesting to me. Growth is the key to success for me.
What puts you in a position to achieve or allows you to be in a position to master your craft?
My attitude, curiosity and singular passion for what I do. I mentioned that I don’t take anything at face value and that attitude is one that I think keeps things fresh for me. I enjoy searching for the answers, a better way to do things and am always in pursuit of improving what I can do for my profession. Mastery to me the understanding that I will never know everything about my profession and that there is always something new to learn.
So, there you have it.
Do these questions give you a better sense of who I am? Sure, they do. Now, I wonder if a company or a brand were to answer these questions what the results might yield. I wonder how these questions may change their story.
Over to you:
How do these questions make you feel? Are they challenging? Can these questions bring you closer to your purpose? What are your answers? Feel free to leave them here or take them away and answer them in your own time.
A quirky sense-o-humour coupled with an indelible sense of stylish sarcasm makes it difficult to take the world too seriously doesn't it? My faves: fun, passion and hard work. I work here everyday: www.designdialog.ca
[...] These questions came from Ralph Dopping at The View From Here. [...]