The Secret Sauce of Creating Sustainable Movements
July 23rd, 2008
A leader of one of the movements we helped ignite and I were chatting on the phone yesterday. She wanted to know what we considered “secret sauce” in the development of that particular movement so she could know what she could and shouldn’t talk about to the outside world.
While we do consider different components within a movement and how they’re wired together – including the custom curriculums we create – to be part of the secret sauce, I think we netted out that the real secret - that elusive silver bullet if you will - is the company that the movement is built around.
And as we talk to bigger and bigger companies, we are beginning to easily tell if they’re ready for a movement or just looking for a buzz campaign, viral video or the like. Because the “campaign” mentality is an easier road for them to travel. It’s not permanent. It’ll be gone in a few months and they can move on to something else. In other words, it fits in nicely with the traditional marketing model and mindset.
But the real secret sauce is the culture of the company that the movement grows out of. That’s it. If they’re ready, then the movement flourishes. It’s a mindset, not an experiment. It’s a commitment, not an item on a checklist. If a long term, sustainable movement is going to take root and succeed, it has to start in a courageous company (or at least a courageous group within that company). A company with trust in their customers. A company that is not afraid to open the kimono and show the world its bumps, bruises and imperfections.
So is there some secret sauce involved? You bet. But the biggest component is no secret. That’s why we’re seeing so many companies fail when it comes to trying to create something long term and sustainable. Movements are add-ons. You can’t own it, you have to become a part of it. And when a company is ready for that, well, there’s no stopping them.
Other posts by Spike.
olivier blanchard says:
Opening the kimono is a pretty scary visual. Whose kimono again?
Excellent post. Falls in with the Beeline Labs’ recent Tribalization study.
Funny how courage always comes up when we start talking about great companies. Or great anything, for that matter. (Fortune favors the bold, not the cautious.)
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pmJustine says:
Now there’s a whole nother blog post - courage Or the lack of it in the corporate dynamic.
It does take courage to look inside your organization’s soul - the ethos that really drives you. To invest in initiatives that don’t show an immediate impact on the bottom line. But rather elevate the hearts of the people who keep your doors open.
July 24th, 2008 at 8:51 am