There he was on stage, singing to 60,000 plus people.
Everyone is waving and singing right along with him.
“Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A.”
Bruce Springsteen was working the crowd, and they were loving him in return. And the sing-along continued for most of the night.
The concert was in Spain.
Bruce Springsteen sings…in English…to 60,000 Spaniards who sing along with every word.
The New York Times columnist, David Brooks, happened to be at the concert. What was happening piqued his interest so much, he wrote about it.
Did it occur to them at that moment that, in fact, they were not born in the USA? How was it that so many people in such a faraway place can be so personally committed to the deindustrializing landscape of New Jersey to Nebraska {no offense to anyone in NJ or Neb}, the world Springsteen sings about? How is it they can be so enraptured at the mere mention of the Meadowlands or the Stone Pony, an Asbury Park, NJ, nightclub?
Brooks’ hypothesis: the power of having a specialized interest and committing yourself to a specific business, customer, approach, message and even music genre reveals and showcases your brand and identity. It creates people inclined to pay attention.
David Brooks, I agree completely.
For decades I’m been preaching and teaching about the overwhelming benefit of standing for something…something in particular.
Not everything.
When you chase every dollar in an effort to make money, you actually end up with fewer dollars. No one knows what you stand for. And if they don’t know what you stand for, they don’t know why they should call you or take your appointment or look at your emails.
In an effort to be everything, you become nothing.
This, intellectually, makes sense to almost everyone.
But it doesn’t match our actions.
When you’re in the “every dollar counts” mode, you believe your business will be open to more opportunities, you’ll find more customers and your chances improve. You’re afraid to “limit” yourself.
What really happens is no one knows what kind of business you’re looking for, people don’t refer to you and your generic, watered-down message doesn’t connect.
Stand for something.
Volvo stands for safety. Disney stands for putting magic in your life. Starbucks stands for the coffeehouse experience. Bruce stands for the working man from Jersey to Nebraska.
Branding yourself is an act of sacrifice. You sacrifice being everything. In return you become something…something certain people (not everyone) wants.
Bruce isn’t complaining. He’s made a few bucks with this approach.
Now it’s time for you to choose…what do you stand for?
Go forth and do great things,
Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams