Transforming to Evolve

Everything is transforming.  Either by 1) an innate passion for learning and evolving or 2) being forced to.

Me? I’m definitely the first.  In fact, transformation is part of my DNA. As much as I can, I try to learn, grow and evolve every day in my work and personal life

I’ve always been passionate about challenging myself, taking things to the next level (not that where I’m at is necessarily bad) and making my own “dent in the universe.” (I believe that’s why I was so attracted to unschooling/homeschooling (and later virtual schooling) my children: it gave them the unique opportunity to explore their passions and discover their own places in the world.)

The truth is that business, culture and how we work and live are being rewritten every day in many ways.  When you look back, you can see how the pieces fit together, how one step led to another to bring you to where you are today—just like the evolution of a movie

My Transformation Journey, In Brief

I can see the overall arc of my own life’s “plot” when I look back over the past twelve years of my life—years that saw me undergo an amazing transformation that led me to where I am today.  If I were to write a movie script about these years, these would be some of the key clips:

Scene 1:  Flashback to twelve years ago: Late one night, I couldn’t sleep. I got up, made some tea and started reading a book about pursuing your dreams. I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular to happen—which is often how our biggest revelations come to us.

Suddenly, my life changed. While reading a quote from my book, I had an epiphany.  I grabbed my moleskin journal and began writing…and writing…and writing.  I wrote until dawn—about the future I dreamed of, my aspirations, the extraordinary life I wanted to live and the work I wanted to be doing.  I saw where all of my learning and growth was leading to—and I knew what I needed to do to achieve it.

Scenes 2-22: The dream is put into action, with all the ups and downs that go along with making a dream a reality: struggle, hard work, a few missteps, trust shattered by seemingly “good” people, a few moments of weakness (okay, more than a few). I learn every day and begin utilizing cutting-edge technologies and platforms, always seeking new ways to adapt and embrace growth and change. My children and husband are at my side as we dig deep to achieve massive perseverance, and then: the TRANSFORMATION.

Final scene: The entry I wrote that first night in my moleskin journal flashes on the screen:

Create a role/company/job where every day I collaborate with some of the most brilliant, exciting and passionate thought leaders and entrepreneurs to “produce” their vision for their brand, companies or missions. 

Fast-forward to today.  The epiphany I had that night twelve years ago was the start of my “dent in the universe.”  That excerpt I wrote, in hope and optimism and excitement, is what my life has evolved into.  It wasn’t always an easy journey, but it was worth it, and it took a significant transformation to get there.

How Will Your Movie Play Out?

Are you being forced by circumstances (like the economy) to transform as a means to thrive—or simply survive?

Or are you a kindred spirit with an innate passion for learning and evolution as a way of life?

Whichever you are, the fact is that transformation is an inescapable part of living in today’s world.  I’d love to have you join me as I share more of my transformation story and how I managed to transform my life and work.

It’s never too late to evolve.

P.S.  What was the quote that started it all for me?

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” - Thoreau

Ev Bogue has untethered to evolve. Are you in?

*This is part of a series of interviews for my upcoming book, Transformation Agents.
with Julie Roehm.

Elizabeth Kanna: Some writers write like they talk. If you read Seth Godin and then met him in person, you’d realize his writing voice and his conversational voice are the same. In contrast, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits says that his writing voice is more like a voice inside his head. It isn’t the same as when he speaks; he describes it as the “noisy cavern of my skull… I listen to myself talk, inside, and that’s the voice I try to get down in writing.”

Ev, when I read your blog posts, I feel like I’m inside your head—or, at the very least, sitting next to you in a coffee shop in Seattle.  Do your readers hear the voice inside your head, or is it closer to the way you’d talk to them in person?

Ev: I’ve seen Seth Godin speak twice, and I confirm: he writes like he speaks. I’ve hung out with Leo three times; I think the way he describes the way he writes is true. He’s really funny in person.

I think the best I can come up with is that I would like to be able to speak like I write. I’ve put in many more hours writing than speaking.

This summer, I started to work towards untethering from certain elements of speech that were unnecessary. For example, I say “like” a lot, and sometimes I’ll start speaking and say “that’s really interesting.” Which are the empty carbs of speaking.

When I was doing Yoga teacher training in San Francisco last year, one of my teachers brought it up when I was teaching a class. “It’s not ‘like a downward dog,’ Everett, it’s a downward dog.”

Elizabeth: I’m currently co-writing a book with Julie Roehm titled Transformation Agents. The premise is that at no other time in the history of humanity have individuals been so empowered to transform their own lives and set movements in motion that can transform communities, industries, society—really, the whole world. The gatekeepers to success no longer exist; you no longer need permission to solve a problem or start a movement. Transformation Agents embody that.

I believe you’re a true Transformation Agent. You’ve called yourself a “cybernetic yogi” and now a “digital evolutionist.”  Using your voice, you’re sharing your own evolution through untethering to help others and change the world.  How do you believe technology has affected our ability to be Transformation Agents?

Ev: It’s exactly like you said—the gatekeepers no longer exist.

No gatekeepers means that I have complete responsibility over what information I choose to consume or spread.

Whenever I read something, I have to constantly ask myself: is there anything here? Because often, there isn’t. I’m starting to develop a very high sensitivity to nonsense on the Internet: empty information carbs.

The challenge is that as I learn more, the bar gets higher, faster, and so I’m left in a world where a lot of information isn’t landing anymore. So I turn it off, and ask myself: what’s alive in you, Ev Bogue?

Simultaneously, I need to ask myself when I publish: is this contributing or wasting people’s time? It’s my responsibility. No one is going to tell me, besides my own internal compass, whether I’m adding to the grand total of the world’s information.

One question I ask myself when I’m reading or creating is this: am I telling from experience? Because if I’m not, my writing doesn’t usually land very well with readers.

Elizabeth: Humanity is now in a state of transformation. You’ve said that nothing is ever “done” anymore.  Projects, art, and missions evolve after we publish them or share them with the world.  Do you think we’ll be satisfied if we can’t consider our work “done” and then move on the next project? How do you embrace your own work if you know it’s only transitory?

Ev: I’m still living in this question. What does it mean when even books aren’t done anymore?

Here are two answers that I’ve come up with:

1. I untether form projects once I’m done with them. Yes, that means that my old books are off the market. I am NOT making money from them anymore. This forces me to support myself only with the data that is truly alive in me now.

2. When I’m creating a book, I am not creating an artifact anymore. I’m doing a brand new thing called ‘booking’ which means that creating the book is a process now. I’m a booker. Two writers who I really respect have talked more about this, Kevin Kelly (Post-Artifact Booking ) and Craig Mod (Post-Artifact Books & Publishing).

So yes, books aren’t done anymore. The book I’m writing right now will have to evolve with me. I have to constantly ask the question: “why?” of every chapter, every line, every word. If it can’t answer back. I untether by hitting the delete key. Then I re-compile the digital book.

In this way, books are more like software now. I get v2.4 of the book over time. I don’t create physical copies of my books, so it’s perfectly acceptable to do this. Changing this is a leap in mindset, though.

Elizabeth: You were unschooled for your K-12 education. I’ve also unschooled my three daughters and appreciate the freedom and interest-driven learning it provides. Do you feel your unschooling was a catalyst that made you better able to leave “traditional” work and explore your own life path?

Ev: Unschooling is definitely intertwined with my choice to opt-out of a job. When I was a kid, the Internet had just happened. It was an exciting time — suddenly I had access to information everywhere. I learned early on that if I wanted to grow, I had to reach out across the Net.

I didn’t have to keep pace with a class, so I raced far ahead in some areas, and fell behind significantly in subjects that didn’t interest me. For example, I can’t do basic math in my head. I literally count on my fingers when I’m writing a tip. I just never found doing math valuable, because I always had a calculator one click away.

If the computer can do it faster, why should I learn it?

I untether from things I’ve learned that no longer serve me. A recent example of this is a service called Twitter that a few people might still remember. It stopped working for me, so I had to unlearn it. It’s been really hard, because Twitter was part of my daily life for two years. I built my entire business on the back of Twitter. But things stop working, so I had to untether.

Elizabeth: Is there a possible connection between your unschooling and your philosophy of “untethering”?  Both embrace the value of ongoing learning and evolution.

Ev: I have a topic on my blog called “Unlearning” which I suppose can sit under the umbrella of untethering. Basically, if I ask the question: “why?” of anything I’ve ever learned, and it doesn’t stand up under scrutiny, then I untether.

Elizabeth: You wrote a great ebook titled “How to Create a Movement”.  How do you define a “movement”?  Could a brand ignite a movement?

Ev: I can’t answer this one from experience. I’ve never started a movement as a brand. I think that movements need leaders.

Right now, I’m reading Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson, and I see how that brand has been driven by him as a leader. It’s not about Virgin really; it’s about Branson.

Ditto for Apple. I remember the years at Apple when Steve Jobs was gone: they were very, very beige. Literally, their computers were beige. Then Steve came back and invented the iMac. Can you imagine a world where the iMac didn’t happen? I can’t.

Elizabeth: You may not care to hear it described in such terms, but your “brand” (or your digital presence) is packaged very well. It conveys authenticity, passion, simplicity, and really captures the sense of an evolving human being on the cusp of a different reality. Do you believe you’ve created a “brand” for your online presence/self?

Ev: I’ve never been much into personal branding. My only intention is to be true to the work that I’m doing right now. If that seems like branding, then it can seem that way. For me, it’s my work, which right now seems to be best described as “untethering to evolve.” Next week, it might be something different.

I’m the thru-line in the work. Without me, the work wouldn’t exist.

Elizabeth: You write of a technology-driven shift in humanity and the necessity of untethering to evolve. On your previous blog, Far Beyond the Stars, you wrote a post called “Technological Divide: We are Losing People.” As someone immersed in technology and our interaction with it, I found this post prognostic. It’s something I see almost every day.  It’s harder and harder to “take people with me” who struggle with technology because it’s become such an inherent part of our communication. Do you think we’re in the process of creating two societies? What do you foresee for this digital divide?

Ev: At some point recently, I started to be able to tell if a person was a Facebook user just by listening to them. Facebook users seem to be constantly concerned with what everyone else is doing, but never look at themselves. They’re constantly giving status updates about other people, but never themselves. To ask a question: “what’s alive in you?” to a Facebook user is to find out what’s alive in everyone else.

Maybe this is a judgment, I don’t know. It just seems to me like I’ve lost a lot of friends to that technology. They went in, and lost themselves in it. Now they’re constantly keeping up with everyone else.

I imagine people saw this happen to their friends when the television was first invented.

I give up trying to get people to adopt new technologies. I just silently switch off the old ones, drop a post on my blog when I leave, and move into the future of digital work.

Elizabeth: In this great time of transformation, we can’t have a clear roadmap of where we are going, so we must experiment. You experiment in your business and share with your visitors on your blog (Ev Bogue) and your subscribers through your Evolving Your Digital Work letter.

How do you justify trying many different things in terms of your attention and the potential costs?

It seems almost daily a new platform or resource for businesses to connect with potential clients or customers launches. What criteria do you use to select which experiment you’ll launch?

Ev: I’m working on either a letter or a blog post right now called “Is your experiment landing?”

I ask this because, I see a lot of people trying what someone told them to do. I wonder if they’re measuring the success at all. I measure all of my experiments, either intuitively or to see how much money they bring in. If they aren’t satisfying, I untether.

Why pour my energy into things that aren’t working?

Elizabeth: At an event I attended this past April with Seth Godin, he advised that to be successful one should aim to fail five times more in our post Industrial Age. Traditional schooling teaches kids that failing is bad and to avoid it at all costs. How does that foundation bode for kids leaving school and surviving in today’s continually shifting economy and employment landscape?

Ev: Seth is right in saying that we’re at the beginning of the post-industrial revolution. Computers have taken over many of the jobs that we are being taught in schools to fulfill. This means that we need to experiment in order to survive.

The sad thing is I don’t see a lot of people really experimenting. They’ve been trained to do what they were told, and so they do.

Experimenting is scary. When I launch an experiment, I have no idea whether it will land or not. I don’t know if it’ll be beneficial. But I have to experiment, every day, or I’m not going to know what actually works.

I saw Seth Godin speak in June, and one of his key points was this: “In a revolution, there’s no map. The only thing we can do is keep moving forward, and draw the maps behind us.”

Elizabeth: Do you believe your untraditional K-12 education has given you an advantage and better prepared you to embrace “experimenting.”

Ev: The single most important thing that I learned from unschooling was that I was responsible for myself. No one was going to tell me the path to success. Everything was up to me.

Yes, that’s real scary, because I can’t blame anyone if I fail.

Maybe this is why I’ve started talking about failing with a different word: untether.

In our previous post, we introduced the role of a business producer and why one is crucial to the success of your brand. Now it’s time to explore what exactly a business producer can do to help you excel in today’s transformed world.
As we mentioned, success in today’s market depends on your ability to do three things:

1. Understand Your Story
2. Embrace Transformation
3. Sell The Beauty

Let’s take a look at each of these things and how a business producer is uniquely positioned to help you achieve them.

ONE: Understand Your Story

One of the reasons James Cameron’s movies are so successful is because they’re based on archetypes—universally understood symbols or prototypes that form the basis for everything from art, to literature, to sacred texts…and yes, to the branding of individuals and companies. All visionary, powerful and lasting brands (and James will tell you his movies are brands) are built around archetypes. There are no exceptions to this rule.

In Avatar, for instance, we have the typical “wounded hero,” Jake. Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker, two other archetypical characters in multi-million- and billion-dollar brands, embody the “orphan” archetype. As they realize they have special talents, they’re transformed into another archetype, “the hero.”

Archetypes affect us so strongly because they resonate with the deep, underlying structure of human motivation and meaning. They evoke strong feelings in us because they’re easily recognizable and tap into emotions and desires that we all share.
J.K. Rowling took an idea that popped into her head while riding a train—the story of a young wizard—and from it created a famous, world-renowned fairytale and literary legacy. In just ten years, the Potter brand generated her personal wealth that surpasses even that of the British monarchy.

How? Through the power of archetypes. The mere story of a boy wizard is interesting enough, but by drawing from the archetype of the orphan/hero striving to realize his potential and avenge his parents’ deaths, Rowling tapped into a well of meaning and emotion that has connected deeply with readers the world over.

Now that’s magical.

Similarly, your brand’s positioning and message must also tell a story that resonates in a deep, archetypal way. So the question you need to answer for your business is: What archetypal story can your brand, company or service tap into to give it that Potter-like magic?
(Here’s a hint: A business producer can help you find out. They will drill until they strike oil for you.)
Now, let’s move on to the next key to success…
TWO: Embrace Transformation
Google CEO George Schmidt recently said, “People aren’t ready for the technology revolution that’s going to happen to them.” Which begs the question: Is your business ready?
James Cameron creates movie magic because he knows how to pull together the right team of talent across the necessary disciplines to bring his creative visions to life. The result is that his movies are some of the highest grossing of all time.
Similarly, business success in our transformed world requires a kaleidoscope of skills and talents, which a business producer is poised to help you bring together.

A few questions for you:

• Do you have an integrated team vested in your market domination?
• Are you keenly aware of all the ways your customers seek value?
• Are you using SEO, SEM, PPC, video, social media and other platforms and environments to “live” where your customers are?
• Do you have all the right players connected to deliver true subject matter expertise and authentically create markets that your competitors never considered?

If your answer to any (or all) of these questions is “No” (or “I’m not even sure I know what you mean—how do you do that?”), you’re in need of a business producer.

As influential writer and management consultant Peter Drucker put it, you will never have to “sell” anything if your marketing is done the right way. If you know and understand your customers and the transformed world they live in—and your business has been transformed along with it—then your products will sell themselves.

But this can only happen under the watchful eye and carefully planned action of an intelligent team, pulled together with the direct help of a strong business producer.

Imagine the influence your brand would have if you, your team, your business and your market all had a shared vision of transformation and true success.

It is possible.
A business producer can show you how.

Now, here’s the last piece of the puzzle…

THREE: Sell The Beauty

Most people can recognize an iPhone or an iPad. You don’t have to be an Apple “fanboy” to appreciate the flawless Apple brand symmetry, the attention to the tiniest of details, the dedication to user experience and the congruent brand packaging of all Apple products. The iPhone box alone is a work of art, so much so that it feels wrong to simply toss it away.

Can you say that about any other mobile phone’s packaging?

That’s beauty—the kind of beauty that gets a brand noticed and beloved.

Apple’s brilliant design has inspired other designers across the globe. There is NO question if a cell phone is an iPhone, a laptop is a Macbook or a tablet is an iPad. You know just by looking at an Apple product that it’s an Apple product. The aesthetics are omnipresent.

Beauty is not just part of the brand; it is the brand.

And consider that we’re talking about technology—which, let’s face it, tends to be ugly, utilitarian, and difficult to fathom. Not for Apple!

And, more importantly, not for Apple customers.

So, how does this translate to your business success and building market share and brand awareness?

Let’s take one last look at the man behind the silver screen, the producer:

James Cameron’s movies—from the imagining, to the casting, to the final packaging—are all congruent. There’s true beauty and grace in motion. The aesthetics of his movies’ brand, from the trailers to the DVD covers, are congruent and evoke the essential elements of his brand.

It’s easy to tell wonderful stories and to create beauty in your market simply by being congruent. With the guidance of a business producer, your packaging and your brand can come into graceful alignment to create a single, powerful market force.

And the impact is PROFOUND.

Human beings are visual creatures. If you can create a congruent brand identity and deliver packaging that conveys exactly what your brand stands for—including all the essential elements of your brand position—you’ve unlocked the secret to Selling the Beauty. You see it first in yourself and your business and then you align it to the market and your customers. This creates a magnetic attraction, and the deals flow for you.

In a sea of cookie-cutter template sites, thrown-together landing pages, and the old internet marketing ploy of yellow-highlighted text, you can stand out like a beacon of hope just by having strong packaging and a congruent image.

And attractive packaging and a congruent brand aren’t just for deep-pocket companies with talented art directors and brand managers.

Anyone can achieve this with the help of a business producer.

And that’s just the beginning…!

To Wrap Up

So, how do you bring all these elements together?

With the expertise and skills of a business producer.
It’s the business producer who helps you Understand The Story, Embrace Your Transformation and Sell The Beauty. It’s the business producer who—like James Cameron—cuts through the fog and the disparate pieces to see the long-term vision, while simultaneously wielding their magical orchestration powers to access the necessary team players and sell a congruent, magnetic brand image.

Sound impressive? It is.

Now It’s Your Turn…

Take a minute, right now, to reflect on your recent personal transformation and the rapid evolution of your business in this dynamic world. Just imagine how much easier everything would be with a business producer in your corner.
In the comment section below, tell me: What’s the first thing you would do when that business producer walks into your door, shakes your hand and looks directly into your anticipating eyes?

What would you tell them?
What could they do for you?

What’s your transformation dream?

*This is part of a series of interviews for my upcoming, Transformation Agents.
with Julie Roehm.

On a recent JetBlue flight from NYC where I had lunch with Tonya Lewis Lee, I watched for the first time (at least as long as I could stand it) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The dichotomy of the women featured in the “reality” show and the beautiful and unique lady with whom I had just spent time was palatable.

Sure, Tonya has a wonderful life by just about anyone’s standard: she is smart, accomplished, has two great kids, most likely doesn’t worry about covering her monthly bills and is married to a well-known movie producer. (Yes, it’s Spike Lee.)

Although Tonya may live a “dream” lifestyle, she is not satisfied to expend her energy and focus on her personal life alone. She possesses a vision and a purpose to make an impact on the world around her.

It goes without saying, Tonya would not fit in with any “Real Housewives” show.

By the way, Beverly Hills Housewives’ cast: Really ladies? Scripted TV aside, please find a purpose in life outside of yourselves and your OWN drama.

This is the “drama” in Tonya’s life: Hot Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

On a recent trip to Flint Michigan, as part of the role she has enjoyed the last three years with the Healthy Baby Campaign, Tonya witnessed first hand the complete absence of industry as well as something else very telling about the health of the community: There were no grocery stores.

In fact, she learned that 7-11 type stores are where many Flint residents shop for groceries. We’re not talking about a quick emergency run for tomato paste for the meatloaf, or dog food for Milo. Rather, they shop at these stores for all the food a family needs.

At a convenience store!

At each small convenience store, Tonya kept hearing a reference to “hot Cheetos and Mountain Dew.” After the same reference in the fourth store she asked: “What are hot Cheetos?”

The answer: “Breakfast.”

This is what most of the local children eat for their first meal of the day, and they wash them down with a Mountain Dew.

Seeing for herself this nutritional crisis in Flint struck a part of who she is and lined up with her mission to transform how many children and families eat and take care of themselves.

Healthy living, organic food, exercise…aren’t these messages permeated in our culture?

Yes and no. For many children of color or children of lower social economic families, like those in Flint, eating healthy and focusing on healthy lifestyles are not parts of their culture.

How do you even get nutritional food if there are no grocery stores in your neighborhood? How do you grow up understanding how important eating right is when no one models that for you?

Of course, you can watch a TV commercial expounding “Eat Five a Day” or learn in school about the necessary food groups, but if there are no grocery stores in your neighborhood or city, no community focus on healthy lifestyles, and everyone thinks it is “okay” to have hot Cheetos for breakfast—you have a systemic problem and, thus, Tonya Lee’s Mission of Transformation.

UTLIZING PASSIONS TO BRING ABOUT TRANSFORMATION

A transformation agent doesn’t have a guide book. Passion is their guide. A passion to solve problems that just don’t sit right with you. Noticing community or societal problems that gnaw at you and keep you awake at night. These societal problems, big and small, propel you to go outside of your own life issues and personal drama to create change. To solve real-life drama.

However, trying to solve these problems calling out to you and demanding your attention can be an overwhelming task. Where and how do you start?

For Tonya, her roles as a Healthy Babies director, published author, and producer as well as her association with The Office of Minority Health are great catalysts for her to influence and create awareness through outreach programs and other platforms.

To increase her personal impact and bring life to her vision, Tonya is currently working on creating a “brand,” packaging a movement that connects and captures the attention of others to help solve this systemic problem for families in Flint and other communities across the U.S.

Spending time with Tonya reinforces the belief I’ve held as my Mission of Transformation for many years: Every human being can have a significant influence on solving problems that need to be solved for the betterment of all of us.

How can you get started as a transformation agent?

1) Start with a passion.

Maya Angelou once said: “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” I’d replace the word “fantasy” with “passion.” A solitary passion can transform one million realities.

What are you passionate about? There are clues to help you discover your true passion:
• What do you do to relax?
• What brings you great joy and energy?
• What do you do or what do you like to do that could give you three-in-the-morning ambition? I’m not saying you should stay up until 2 or 3 A.M. on a daily basis, but what project, work, hobby, or cause would keep you inspired and full of energy?

You will recognize your passion when you find it, because you suddenly will have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.

2) Connect your passion to a problem.

Like Tonya, you can utilize your passion to influence and create solutions. She is passionate about writing, producing great content and making a difference in the lives of women and children of color. She has sought out roles which provided her with a large voice and influence to reach those women. She has written books around her passion and interest in women and children.

It wasn’t a straight path for Tonya—from starting out as a lawyer and evolving into a Transformation Agent. Start with your passion, and look for the obvious first roles or steps along the path towards your goals and passions. Some roles or jobs won’t be a perfect fit, but you moving forward and connecting your passion to problems you are uniquely qualified to solve. This won’t be a straight path. That’s okay. You are moving forward, taking action towards discovering your calling.

3) Utilize the social Web.

The Internet and new communication, connection and education distribution channels and transformational business models are very powerful. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said: “People aren’t ready for the technology revolution.”
So get ready and utilize the social Web!

The gatekeepers are gone. The barriers that once existed to making your voice heard or possessing your own distribution channel to inspire and create change are gone. Mainstream media is losing its voice. You can set up a Facebook group or LinkedIN group to inspire transformation or you can help a non-profit in your community launch a Meetup or a new blog.

You don’t need a publisher, the media or “the powers that be” to tell you your mission of transformation has validity or that your passion for change will or will not have an impact. You can write an e-book that inspires and helps bring life to your movement.
As for Tonya, she is beginning her journey to utilize the social Web, currently working on the platform creation for her mission of transformation and leveraging the new ways the Internet connects people, causes, and helps to spread a mission.

I, for one, look forward to a new reality show, showcasing the lives of women of substance—women we hope our daughters aspire to become. Women who are focusing on moving humanity forward—not women focused on meaningless, self-centered hyper-drama in their Beverly Hills suburb.

Hopefully, Tonya Lewis Lee will produce it.

This blog post is part of the upcoming book: Transformation Agents, by Elizabeth Kanna and Julie Roehm.

PART 1

Business today is being rewritten in many ways.  And just like the evolution of a movie from concept to finished product, becoming a dominant and highly profitable business in today’s world requires deep, fundamental transformation.

For any successful movie, there is a process.  You start out with a rough idea, write the script, recruit the right talent (actors, directors, makeup artists, etc.) and pull all the pieces together to bring the movie into being.

To create a magical story, one that inspires and deeply connects with moviegoers, the idea alone isn’t enough.  You need someone to help bring this idea to fruition.  That’s where a producer comes in.

Why You Need a Producer

Just as a movie needs a producer, navigating and orchestrating the new business landscape requires a producer of a different kind—a business producer.  A business producer works with you to bring your business’s ideas and potential together to create the power to dominate your market.

Just as James Cameron wields control and clarity over the realization of his vision, a business produce wields control and clarity to realize the big picture vision for your enterprise in this transformed world.  She deftly executes an integrated strategy to connect the disparate pieces you need to generate the brand awareness, inspiration and motivation that will make people connect with your brand, your mission, your products and your services.

The business producer is a rare gem in a vast maze of false promises, broken plans and chaotic opportunity seeking.  She rides the razor’s edge of present and future and sees the entire landscape, both the far-reaching implications of strategic thinking and the immediate, concrete tactical action needed to Get The Job Done.  She’s the bridge between long-term strategic transformation and crushing tactical performance in the here and now.

What a Producer Can Do For You

Imagine sitting down to work on an idea with James Cameron. Yes, that James Cameron—the producer of such legendary movies as Titanic, Terminator, Aliens and Avatar.  Imagine the excitement, the rush you’d feel knowing that you have on your side a true Renaissance man who not only sees the big vision for your business (a bigger vision even than you do), but also has the world-class team needed to bring that vision into existence.

What would you do at this incredible meeting?

In terms of business production, there are three things you MUST do to succeed in today’s market.  Staying with our movie metaphor, these things are:

1. 1. Understand Your Story
   2. Embrace Transformation
   3. Sell The Beauty

Only a business producer is uniquely positioned to help you achieve these three things.  Stay tuned for the next post where we pull back the curtains to reveal just what a business producer can do to transform your brand.

Read part two here: http://wp.me/p1VIy3-1x