A while back I wrote some early lessons learned in this rocky economy.

After talking with our clients and soon-to-be clients and studying some industry research, I’m with Ben and convinced the we’re in some sort recovery phase. Even though it will be a slow recovery — next year will not mirror this one.

Want me to say that again? Next year will not mirror this one. (sigh) And that makes sleeping a bit easier at night.

So I thought I’d reflect for a few minutes over this last year and share some of the lessons I’ve personally learned.

1. We are all in this together. I don’t know many companies or organizations that dodged this great recession bullet. One of our Tequila shot values is this: Love the people who love you and they will love you back. I have never felt or believed this stronger than I do now. I feel this amazing sense of loyalty to clients and companies that have done the right thing by their partners, associates and customers. It has, in my mind, separated the remarkable companies from the ordinary. We are so lucky to have so many remarkable companies, talented people and organizations by our side right now. I am humbled and grateful.

2. Take good care of yourself. A while back Megan gave me a copy of a speech her Dad gave at a graduation ceremony and I keep it in my desk at home. In it he shares some advice for the young, eager students he is addressing. One of my favorite bits of advice is in that speech. I don’t have it in front of me, but it goes something like this: Take really good care of your body. Eat right, exercise. You will need endurance as you embrace this world.

Don’t you love that simple advice?

I like to think I have taken care of myself, but this year — I stepped up my game and added weight training to my routine. It has changed my freaking life. You can’t fight a unexpected recession if you aren’t physically strong. Thank you for that very wise advice, Neil.

3. It’s not about the money. I’m very competitive. I like growing things. Companies have to be profitable, but the companies that have stood by a set of strong values seem to be have gotten even stronger and more determined. And I believe those same companies will shoot out of this recession and experience tremendous and exciting growth.

4. You can always find a better, smarter, simpler way to do things. Recessions give birth to big ideas and smarter, more focused companies. Be open to opportunities. They are swirling all around us. Believe it!

So now…will you share? What have you learned in this year?

I’m listening. And still learning…

My answer is yes.

We’ve heard the stories of the new CEO that’s come in and completely changed the structure, culture and bottom-line for a company. And we’ve also heard the stories of groundswells that start with the frontline employees who set out to rebel against the system and end up changing an entire organization for the better.

So what’s the best way to ignite a movement inside a company? From the top-down or from the bottom-up? In an ideal world, I say it’s both. In the Fortune 500 world, these companies are way too big for the CEO, CMO or any c-level person to know what’s going on all the time, in every department, in every store, with every employee and customer. It’s impossible for them to wrap their arms around. But what they can do (and some actually have done) is empower their employees. Give them the freedom, tools and opportunity to ignite something.

On the flip side, we’ve seen instances where the initiatives of the employees catch the eye of the C-level suite and then the top adopts the ideas, attitudes and energy of those initiatives to implement change from the top-down.

So if you have the oportunity, do both. And then meet in the middle. The view seems to be a lot better when everyone is on the same level. All those lines seem to dissapear when we realize that we’re all in this together.

It might be total semantics to a lot of folks. And maybe it just gets stuck up in my head because of the writer in me. But I have a really hard time saying that Brains on Fire “creates” movements. Because, really, can you create a movement? Or do you IGNITE them?

Think about it. When you create, you make something from nothing. You “cause something to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.”

But when you ignite, something already has to be there to catch fire. All the ingredients are there. Just waiting. When it comes to movements, the thing that we’re looking to ignite is passion. Feelings. Connections. It’s already there - sometimes it’s dormant in people, and sometimes it’s very active, but it already exists. It’s just up to us to find it, throw kindling on it and light the match. So we might create tools and opportunities, but create a movement? Nope.

You can tell when someone tries to create a program. Because if they have to create it, most of the time we’ve found that those folks are creating something so people can come and talk about them. They’re throwing a party and expecting people to show up. And that’s a DOA effort. That’s not igniting the passion within. Because when you ignite someone’s passion, you quickly find that to fan those flames, you keep the conversation focused on them and their passion.

So change your mindset. Don’t create. Ignite. And you’ll see the differences - not only the way you go through your process - but the results that it generates, like long-term sustainability. Which makes your marketing dollar go so much further these days.

Watching football last weekend, I saw a commercial for the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse. I couldn’t tell you what the commercial said, because I was in shock looking at a car that I found hard to believe was a Buick. All car commercials are basically the same, but, despite the droning ad speak, this car was something new. At least it appeared to be.

Now, for decades Buick has produced cars that I imagine were designed by a committee of tired, old, white, golfing buddies who never actually worked in the same room at the same time. The cars looked more like adequate results rather than ambitious, intensely focused statements.

So where did THIS car come from?

I went for my laptop to Google the car. Was it really as cool as it looked, or was it just a glamor shot Malibu with extra chrome?

Before I actually clicked on the Buick site, I stumbled across a video on YouTube called 2010 Buick LaCrosse eVent: Younger Side of Design. Now there are three words I never expected in the same statement. “Younger,” “Buick” and “Design.” I watched the video and though it was somewhat predictable, I was surprised to see that the new LaCrosse was designed not by old guys, but by passionate young designers. Not only were they young, they really cared and I sensed they felt they were on a mission. They talked about “creative freedom” and “opportunity for design.” I’m thinking “Wow, where have these guys been? Why is Mr. GM announcer guy talking when they need to make rock stars out of these guys?” I actually believe THESE guys and can connect with people who are passionate about creative freedom. One of the designers said something about simply wanting people to be able to open up their garage everyday and really like their car. I want a new LaCrosse based on that statement alone because it came from a real person. Sincerity speaks volumes.

Okay, at this point I’m falling in love with Buick. I’m thinking they’ve got something real to build on. They can create an underground movement. They can come out of nowhere and surprise everybody. I’m gettin’ all tingly. Then I clicked onto the corporate website. For cryin’ out loud! Who’s responsible for sterilizing Buick? All the soul, passion, and energy is nowhere to be found. Where is the story? Where is the creative freedom? Where is that youthful design rebellion? Where is the sincerity? Where are the real people? Show me the Genuine and Meaningful in GM.

Buick can be as much a people and passion story as engineering and design story. GM can offer return policies and guarantees all day long, but as we have preached from mountains all around the globe, people trust people, not corporations and certainly not automobile advertising. Remember “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile”? WTF? Did they really think we’d fall for that?

Buick, you can make a real difference for GM. I know, because I saw it. You don’t need bailouts, you need buy-in.You can be famous for the people who love you, starting with the real people who build the cars. Buick has a chance. It may not last long and it may be their last, but they have a chance.

May the most passionate win.

Passion translates better offline. (photograph via me, Eric Dodds)

In the world of marketing there is a constant flow of agencies telling you why what they do is better than what everyone else does. Lots of us pedal specialized metrics that (are supposed) prove our work. Don’t get me wrong - it’s not all bad. Us marketing practitioners are talented people tracking our success in innovative ways. But sometimes the constant push is wearisome.

I work closely with a handful of people around the country and we interact online everyday. We use multiple tools on the internet to share ideas and track our community-building progress. It is truly amazing to me in the context of history: technology has allowed multiple people, all in different places, all with different schedules, to combine skills and launch a project. It tempts me think that technology is the answer to most of the business related issues that we run into. I had a refreshing reminder, though, when I had a conference call with those people scattered around the country. We were nearing the end of the talk when someone said: “Let’s do this more often. We just got more done in an hour than we have online in two days, and hearing everyone’s voice keeps the fire burning.”

The reminder was simple: Passion translates better offline.

In the incessant smother of (amazing, groundbreaking) metrics and statistics in technology it’s easy for me to forget that those measures are made up of real people having meaningful interactions that keep their fire burning.