branding

The Power of Passion

Cliched as that sounds, this was a random thought that jumped out at me recently.

What is passion? And why is it relevant to the marketeer / entrepreneur / employee ?

If you allow Hollywood’s version of it to prevail then your immediate image is the ‘up against the wall smoldering embrace’ version of it. As Wikipedia sees it, passion is ‘feeling very strongly about a subject or person, usually referring to feelings of intense desire and attraction, be very passionate about something.’

But what about the lil’ old man (OK so they’ve got young people too but for the sake of imagery bear with me) huddled over the precision work required in building the finest watches in the world? What about the craftspeople who build luxury items of the highest order like a Ferrari where each piece is a work of art in itself? The writer who does what he/she does for the sake of doing it and nothing else? The musician who writes music for his soul and not with a commercial focus first?

Extend that further and consider the businessman - the entrepreneur who builds an idea simply on the basis of ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time.’

These are true examples of passion as well I believe.

And if you look at the best brands, the greatest leaders and the forward thinking visionaries of any field, you’re bound to find this commonality amongst them - the commonality of passion.

With little more than sweat and dreams, they build brands that are powered by an intense inability to fail.An energy that is awe inspiring.

They’ll try anything at least once - and this opens up new business models, new marketing campaigns, new public relations gambits, new opportunities and new services. Think about it - Amazon.com, Ferrari, Nike, Google, Hotmail, Apple. All companies that were born out of the simple belief that it could be done better. That it should be done better. That it would be done better.

Passion is also one of the few things that separate employees from employers. Winning brands from the me-too pack of followers.

Business owners - dreamers - are typically willing to do what no one else will, to get what no one else can.

Employees on the other hand, work for a paycheck and miss out on that last mile of effort which yields tremendous returns.

Think about it - how many employees have you seen that have crossed that invisible barrier and become empowered through their passion for what they do?

What brands have you seen - personal or commercial - that have been fueled by passion? What are you passionate about?

© 2008 Journeys Through The Line.