Archive for February, 2010

I know someone with volunteerism in her blood. She’s sat on just about every board in her profession – sequentially, that is. She doesn’t board-bag. She ads value.

She’s starting her own organization now. The natural progression from member to leader to creator. It isn’t easy. She’ll be the first to tell you.

To make room for her new pursuits she had to quit a board with a cause she believes in and a president she admires. It was going to be hard, something she wasn’t looking forward to.

So how does someone so involved, so committed, quit?

She committed – gave her word – to the president that she would start the organization she’s working on. And that by so doing actually be able to help his organization more sustainably by feeding him new young leaders with an understanding of community involvement.

A great learning moment for me. Quit something by continuing to add value beyond your commitment. Quit something by remaining dedicated to the purpose – ensure it isn’t a fleeting interest.

Like the artwork around its vats, the New Belgium brand is made up of many individual parts, while well considered and considerately crafted.

Craft beer on a Wednesday afternoon. One of the perks of working for yourself.

OK, so we didn’t drink beer. But a prospective client and I spent the better part of the day visiting the New Belgium brewery in Ft. Collins, Colorado yesterday. I’m recommending some branding initiatives for this prospective client, and New Belgium provides an excellent analog to what we’re after. (We’ll see where it goes.)

The New Belgium brand is special on many fronts. But one dynamic we saw first-hand stuck out above all the others.

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Mos Def gave an interview at the end of a performance with K’Naan on Austin City Limits not long ago. (You can view the episode here and the interviews here.) Apparently this was the first hip hop episode for the venerable country-cum-Americana-jam/hippy-band show. It was also the first time I heard such a genuinely honest response by a creative mind to the all-too-common question of inspiration.

You could see Mos Def hesitate at first. A self-censored moment where he wondered if a transparent answer would somehow mitigate the fantasy we put around artists in the entertainment industry – the necessary fantasy for him and those like him to sell records and fill concert halls. But he came through, mos def:

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