How Great Brands Innovate, Set the Market Pace and Win Together

In my last article, I shared the 4 letters that create irrational desire that brands use to accomplish their big goals and bring new ideas to market with astonishing speed and success.

T . I . M . E. =

Team

Identity

Messaging 

Experiences

In this article, we’re going to deep dive around the concept of TEAM, and a framework that I’ve used not just inside of my own companies, but with the ones we work with too. It’s called the Unicorn Innovation Model:

I will take a deeper dive into components of the model (and also use some examples of brands and businesses that are doing this well) over the next several weeks. The good news is I’m also publishing a book called Unicorn Team that will reveal the entire playbook of how to implement in your business.

The first thing you need to know is that this model works no matter what size you are, even if you’re a person with an idea and haven’t actually brought it to market yet. It works if you never want to scale your business, and want to work from a coffee shop in Europe with a virtual assistant and your laptop as the main resources on your team.

The second thing you need to know is no one is self-made. The greatest ideas and the most iconic brands usually put the founder on a pedestal, but outside of the visionary idea they have, they need other people and resources to get the impact they desire. That requires choosing the right people during the right phase of the business and brand building. 

The third thing you need to know is leading people isn’t easy. I know that’s pretty obvious, but avoiding leadership is the top reason ideas fail to launch and scale. We also live in a world where people with real talent and top skills can easily choose to set up a solo YouTube channel, learn how to monetize it, and decide not to work with other people. So, you have to be able to clearly communicate why another unicorn who can help you get this idea into the world would bother working with you at all. 

That’s why creating an “innovation culture” - again, at an size - is critical to stay relevant and future-proof your brand. This model’s purpose is to not just create that culture, but to rally the right people around your ideas so that you can create the world you want to live in and leave behind. Ultimately, that’s what great brands do. Even if that idea is as simple as “find a way for my coffee to always be at the perfect temperature” or as complex as “creating a colony on Mars.”

Let’s go over the main parts of the model.

The first part is NAVIGATE.

Before you can even find the people, you need to suss out if your idea is worth pursuing. We live in a world where we’ve been told that more ideas are better. I would say it differently. More better ideas are better, and further: those are the only ones worth implementing. In a “content is king” atmosphere, we are pummeled with ideas from others, and we are also swimming in idea heaven (or hell) inside of our own minds. If you want to make people want what you have, you have to choose the winning ideas over the mediocre ones. You do that by doing a quick Visionize - Strategize - Mobilize treatment on the idea, as depicted in the model. 

The second part is MOTIVATE.

This is where you assess the type of unicorns you need to rally and enroll into this vetted idea, and what the proper mix of their energies (as well as their actual skills and experience) fit into the vision, strategy and mobilization of the idea. There are 9 types of unicorn leaders, and depending what the idea needs, you need to take this idea to market successfully.

The third part is COMMUNICATE.

The biggest issue teams have is clearly communicating and getting ahead of breakdowns. The model prescribes three core tools: Brandcast, Stratagem and Prototyping, which help the team handle any pressure, friction and noise they encounter while bringing the idea to market.

SUMMARY

Strategize your brand goals around Brand T.I.M.E. and watch the ROI on all of your marketing efforts increase, and also make you the brand people want to work for and be a part of too.

In my next article, I'll show you the actual frameworks under Brand T.I.M.E. and how to use them inside of your brand strategy efforts.

What was your biggest takeaway from this article? And if it helped in way, please share it with a colleague or friend.