As CreateWOW embarked on decorating our new office space, I sent out a tweet asking if someone new of a product or a solution to make an entire wall an erasable white board.  I did get some answers, but none that I would have been comfortable with.  Some required a VERY EXPENSIVE paint. Others suggested large sheets of melonite that I’d have to secure to the walls (landlord frowned on that idea).  So, eventually, I gave up on the idea.

It was hard at first, because I am such a visual person, I use an easel and HUGE note pads just to flesh out illustration ideas.  Imagine the space it takes to really flesh out a social media marketing campaign!

Well, yesterday, during a client planning session, I realized what my brain had been telling me for a few months now.  The dry erase wall is a good idea.

A Plan Is Worth 1,000 Words:

a plan is worth 1,000 words

In a matter of minutes, the clients and I flew through sheet after sheet of pad paper and pasted them to the wall.  The conversation was flowing so quickly that just keeping up with the ideas was a challenge. After we’d “Dumped” our wish list on the papers, we then, rearranged the pages and put the plan in systematic, chronological order.

PERFECT.

The clients left assured that the directives they assigned us were understood and the plan to achieve their goals was in place.  Smiles. Handshakes. Pats on the back. It all seemed so simple, but without the plan up on the wall, it was just words.

Try this approach next time you’re in a planning or strategy session with your clients or coworkers. It’s a little overwhelming for the “Non-visual” people in the room, but I guarantee when they see the path ahead of them, they’ll take the next step with you without asking another question.

My friends Mike Wagner and Jocelyn Wallace may have a thing-or-two to add to this post, yes?

Do you have other tips or techniques to help clients or coworkers visualize a plan?  Is it a whiteboard? Is it PowerPoint (God I hope not…

Let us know.  Or better yet…  show us…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Assassins. Espionage artists. Spies. Mercenaries. Survivalists. Turtles? Whatever you call them, the Ninjas’ brand is simply cool as hell! They have an aura of overwhelming power, intelligence, stealth and magic that no other warring agent can touch.  Sure, the “Ninja” brand has been copied, stolen and spoofed, but it just can not be duplicated. Now THAT’S a strong brand…

So, when it comes to really stepping up and differentiating your product or service from your competition, why not pull some hints from the code of the Ninja into your branding?

Follow The Code Of The Branding Ninja:

A Branding Ninja must…

1. Never betray the clan.
Truth and honor are the core of the ninja brand. If your ninja brand can’t be trustworthy and loyal, then you have no foundation for the relationship (in business or life).

2. Accomplish the mission; failure is not an option.
Ninja branding is all about making the mission successful at virtually any cost. So what do you do when the challenges become overwhelming? Go into ninja-mode and kick some brand arse!

3. Put the clan and the mission before himself.
When working in a team environment, focus on the brand mission over your personal needs. Rogue ninjas are simply a detriment to themselves and the overall brand mission. It’s called teamwork, ninjas!

4. Escape if captured (no excuses).
Stealth. Speed. Nimble action. They’re all actions of the brand ninja. If you get stuck in you mission or captured by adversity, reject, re-focus, re-purpose and re-launch! A ninja held prisoner is soon a dead ninja!

5. Kill only when necessary for survival.
If threatened by conflict, competition or failure the ninja will always strive to redirect the end to his favor through any means necessary. And only as a last resort, he go for the death blow.

6. Avoid striking a member of the same ry (school).
This discipline should go without saying, but it goes back to working within a team. A team of brand ninjas all tirelessly work toward the same mission. To have infighting and dissension amongst its ranks would doom the brand mission.

7. Strive for peace, harmony and enlightenment in all things.
Once you have a TRUE brand mission on hand, the direction to take should be one of serene discovery. If your brand mission is on path, resistance will be futile.

8. Aid a genin (fellow ninja) from the same ry.
If one ninja should stumble or fall, the genin to his sides will pick him up and correct the course. Mentoring and unfaltering support within the branding ninja ranks is imperative for mission success.

9. Never use the terms “ninja”, “shinobi”, or “assassin” when speaking in public.
The branding ninja shouldn’t need to overtly reveal his brand mission objective or tactics. The mission will speak for itself and the actions of the individual will be irrelevant to its success.

10. Always observe others and know your surroundings.
This is the external version of #9. If you observe with sharp diligence and objectivity, the scope of your branding territory (target market, niche mission, competitors’ flaws, etc.) will be revealed.

10.5 Understand you are always being observed. Always.
Just as you are watching others, they are watching you. Always protect your brand, your mission and be prepared to react with lightening speed and power!

The above list was taken from the Ninja Code of Honor during Japan’s Sengoku period, when, according to reports, the ninja discipline was born and developed between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Of course, I edited and kept the disciplines that spoke directly to branding and teamwork, but can you see the correlation?

SO… Which of the above codes can you work on to keep your brand TRUE? Is your brand ninja-like or do you need to go back and do a little TRUE ninja branding boot camp?

Keep Cooking! (with stealth, power and mystery in your brand)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

What’s that behind you!