Recently author, marketeer, blogger and all round “good bloke” Seth Godin wrote about Finding Your Brand Essence on his blog. His comments, which I capture below (with amendments to the formatting and a typo or two removed) resonated with me:

I got an email from someone who had hired a consulting firm to help his company find their true brand selves. They failed. He failed. He asked me if I could recommend a better one. My answer: The problem isn’t the consultant, it’s the fact that if you have to search for a brand essence, you’re unlikely to find one. Standing for something means giving up a lot of other things, and opening yourself to criticism. Most people in the financial services industry (or any industry, actually) aren’t willing to do that, which is why there are so few Charles Schwabs in the world. First, decide it’s okay to fail and to make a ruckus while failing. THEN go searching for the way to capture that energy and share it with the world. Clothes don’t make the man, the man makes the man. Clothes (and the brand) just amplify that.

I shared them with Lynne and Kathy – my coaching team. Kathy recommended Godin’s book Linchpin and I added it straight away to my Amazon wishlist. Lynne wrote (which also resonated with me):

What popped in my mind is Wayne Dyer’s revelation that “you aren’t in charge of your own reputation.” And the subsequent freedom of that. People are going to think what they think, based largely on a whole bunch of stuff that you don’t control, like their own experiences and perspectives and filters. What counts is that you find the solidity of the truth within you, and stand on it and for it, no matter what anybody else thinks. There’s never a crowd on the leading edge.

Reading both Seth’s and Lynne’s words I am struck by the implications of their words. To me, they suggest we are all leaders and we get to choose what leadership messages we share. It’s not that everyone will follow – and still, we lead.