What does it mean to you: Being a disruptor brand? A provocateur? An innovator?
Sometimes, it can be far simpler – a change of perspective.
Last week, a very good friend of mine, Yinka Euwola, said something that has really stuck with me, and it has really got me thinking about the mindset to, not just innovate, but to step outside what we know, don’t just accept the norm as being RIGHT.
She said that if a client says “no, we don’t do things like that here”, then reply with “then I’d be happy to be the first.”
Read that again.
Wow.
What does it say to us as (female) business leaders to want to make change.
To accept. To do things the same, without question.
OR.
To challenge. To do things differently, with curiosity and compassion.
It got me thinking about my own clients and how I constantly encourage them to challenge what they know, what’s been, what IS and to step into something new – all with the lens of improvement and necessity rather than just a frivolous exercise.
Because big things happen when we make change, no matter how small.
Like:
Empowerment of your voice.
Confidence with your presence.
Ownership of your brand.
We call this being an ECO business leader. And it’s all achievable, it’s on the other side of fear and outside the mould.
Take my client, Karen Patterson, of The Ruth Foundation for the Arts.
She’s about to launch and go into the world to deliver real impact to incredible artists around the US, off the beaten track. In memory of the amazing Ruth DeYoung Kohler II and her lives’ passion for creativity and artists in unexpected places, the Foundation is steeped in legacy and the past work of this powerhouse of a woman.
It was a delicate and sensitive project to unpack what had been, understand the vision for a new organization in her name – to build something, a first, for the future.
We took her through the process – that messy, chaotic design process – and landed in clarity, strength and understanding of what the Foundation IS, whilst honouring what is WAS.
It was a privilege to be part of this work and reinforced to me the importance of evolution of a brand, to keep check on the vision and lead from the future.
To be the first.
To be supported in that process.
To win.
So, what can you challenge today – a norm – how can you question, reframe or view it in a different way, with fresh eyes? How can you make it better, different, new?
If you need some help, I’ll be happy to be YOUR first call.
Thank you, Yinka, for cracking open my thinking (yet again), and keeping things moving forward.
Lauren 🌱
