“I want to be the next Apple or Nike.” Everyone thinks they can be a Jobs or Knight-like disruptor, but there’s often a disconnect between what leaders think they want for their brands and what they have to courage to execute. The result: a lot of noise, a lot of sameness, and a whole lot of mediocrity.
Case in point: a few months ago I attended the “The Summer Fancy Food Show,” a specialty foods trade show and one of largest of its kind in North America. As I made my way around the show, stopping at one booth after another, tasting sample after sample, and listening to each founder’s story, I was simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed. The amount of competition was staggering but so was the sameness: a mob of vendors vying for attention. Most of them were saying the same thing as their competitor in the next booth in the same tone of voice. Where was the differentiation? Where was the innovation? Where was the Maalox?