bigheadsnetwork:

Learn What Others Are Thinking To Uncover New Ideas

http://news.investors.com/article/602516/201202281330/go-outside-your-network-for-innovation.htm

BigHeads 2012…brace yourself

thebigdecision:

Practicing What We Preach

When you’re a smaller player in the “agency” world and you want to GROW…there are  two “popular” approaches to take:

1. Talk to a venture capital group about grabbing an investment

or

2. Talk to a BIG marketing agency about an acquisition

Around the beginning of 2011 I had reached the point where the thought of taking either of those routes made me fucking nauseous (THIS POST really said it all).

So, I made a decision to practice what we preach…and dedicate some of my time to speaking with unexpected and unorthodox sources to see if they might inspire some ideas that we could use to continue evolving and growing the company (hell, we bring diverse sources to brands/companies…so why not ours, right?).

In the end…I had some exciting discussions that opened my eyes to opportunities that I never would have imagined. For example:

- A discussion with a manager for musicians/bands (ones you know) got me to start thinking about some rather unorthodox INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY opportunities

- A discussion with an interior designer got me to start thinking about SPACES…yup, spaces (more to come on that down the road)

- A discussion with that reality star showed me that, if you have the right “brand,” you can LICENSE the living shit out of it (just imagine the opportunities for BigHeads)

- A discussion with a television producer opened my eyes to an approach that could blow our business through the roof (I’ll get into that when the time is right)

So, 2012 is here!  And while I plan to have more conversations with unexpected people this year…I also have set aside time to pursue the opportunities from my 2011 discussions that my team and I felt would be the most strategic, compelling, smart and, well, fun.

We are coming to get ya, 2012….so watch your ass!!!!

thebigdecision:

The YOU-factor

I had a great conversation yesterday with a friend (and kindred spirit) who I love speaking to because we always seem to be going through similar professional experiences…and she is truly one of the few (maybe, only) people I can speak to who GETS what the fuck I am talking about when it comes to the whole BigHeads “thing”.

Anyway, as we both methodically work on our projects…we often find ourselves wondering if we are moving too slow and potentially risking someone doing the same (or a similar) idea in a BIGGER way.  

Now, I’ve written about (and addressed) this whole fear of others “Catching Up” in an earlier post (read it here)….but yesterday, as she and I spoke, I realized that I left out one of the BIGGEST reasons why you never have to worry about others stealing your thunder…and I probably overlooked it in that original post because it is so obvious. 

It’s the YOU-factor!!!

Yup…no matter what others do…no matter how closely they come to creating something similar to what you’ve created…you need to always remember that they don’t have the key ingredient that makes your version the BEST version — YOU!

And while they might outgun you…or grow faster than you…or make shitloads more money than you…there will ALWAYS be clients/customers/collaborators/etc. who ONLY want work with you because of your passion…because of your knowledge…because of your approach…because of, well….YOU!

And that can NEVER be stolen or replicated…