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Make Heroes of the Brave

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Amy LewisI’ll admit it, I’m a fanboy of Amy Lewis. Smart, connected, sassy and fun.

Last week I had the honor of listening to Amy present to a packed venue on Content Marketing where the Tweetable quotes flowed like water. Let me be clear, the entire event was packed with super smart advice, tips and inspirational quotes. One in particular hit me personally like a freight train.



Amy was quick to point out that the concept came from Chuck Hollis (VP and Global Marketing CTO at EMC) during a Geek Whisperer podcast she was participating in with him the previous week. Amy had asked him a question (at about the 17:45 mark) about forcing employees to participate in social media or choosing the people who raise their hands. Chuck explains that he finds success when he introduces selective social modeling.

Find the thought leaders, find the brave, find the passionate – make heroes of them.

What I love about this concept is that it should inspire both the would-be heroes as well as their managers. Stop waiting to be chosen and step up. Stop prodding the unwilling and take advantage of the people who already want to shine.

Comments

  1. Martin (Marty) Smith (@ScentTrail) says

    Phil,
    Agree this was an inspiring moment in an inspiring Meetup. So much of our marketing lives these days feels like it is proving something we know to be true to unbelievers. Another inspiring quote Amy made that night was, “I am not in the lead horses to water business anymore”.

    Inspiring because she is so right. We are beyond the tipping point. Far enough beyond the tipping point on key concepts such as social media marketing and the NEW SEO that it is creating that our attention must be turned to the brave.

    If we spend one more moment attempting to lead horses to water we are crazy. Horses drink when they are thirsty. Every minute we spend cajoling and pushing is wasted time and TIME is the only thing we can’t make more of so we must use it wisely.

    The other beautifully simple implication of this move away from pitch men and women to being The Brave is companies have a Darwinian choice. They too pivot and reward the brave or the brave will leave. These crazy Internet marketing times we are creating and inheriting require courage and the ability to FAIL miserably and completely many times before a tiny glimmer of success.

    If companies can’t find their institutional courage they will become zombies populated by the un-brave and so fodder for any digital battlefield you can name (Internet marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, cause marketing, social marketing and video marketing to name the first ones that come to mind). Ours is NOT a time for the timid. This time is all about The Brave.

    Great Meetup I was proud to be part of.

    Marty

    Reply

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  1. Making Heroes of the Brave and Get Out of The Horse Watering Business | Commons Revolution | Scoop.it says:

    […] Amy Lewis introduced me to the phrase "make heroes of the brave". It's quite possibly the most awesome 5 word phrase I've heard in a long time.  […]

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  2. Make Heroes of the Brave and Get Out of The Horse Watering Business | Making #love and making personal #branding | Scoop.it says:

    […] I’ll admit it, I’m a fanboy of Amy Lewis. Smart, connected, sassy and fun. Last week I had the honor of listening to Amy present to a packed venue on Content Marketing where the Tweetable quotes flowed like water. Let me be clear, the entire event was packed with super smart advice, tips and inspirational quotes. One in particular hit me personally like a freight train. Awesome message: “Make heroes of the brave.” – @commsninja #SEOMeetup — Dan Speicher (@DanielSpeicher) March 26, 2013 Amy was quick to point out that the concept came from Chuck Hollis (VP and Global Marketing CTO at EMC) during a Geek Whisperer podcast she was participating in with him the previous week. Amy had asked him a question (at about the 17:45 mark) about forcing employees to participate in social media or choosing the people who raise their hands. Chuck explains that he finds success when he introduces selective social modeling. Find the thought leaders, find the brave, find the passionate – make heroes of them. What I love about this concept is that it should inspire both the would-be heroes as well as their managers. Stop waiting to be chosen and step up. Stop prodding the unwilling and take advantage of the people who already want to shine.  […]

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