Your name is your title
Social media expert?
Marketing guru?
PR wizard?
One of the most common questions asked in the discussion about personal titles and marketing superlatives is, if we shouldn’t call ourselves experts or gurus or ninja, what should we call ourselves?
In the martial arts, there’s one title that exists at the top of the hierarchy that eclipses all others that we can look to for inspiration: the concept of meijin.
Literally, meijin means “named person”. In the context of titles, a meijin is someone who is so well-known and so respected that their name is their title. They don’t need any other title, and their name is in fact a category of its own. For example, one well-known “name as title” person is Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris needs absolutely no title – his name is his title.
Look around the digital marketing space. Does Chris Brogan need a title? Not really, no. Does Avinash Kaushik? Does Gary Vaynerchuk? Does Seth Godin? These are people whose names are their titles. Look in your own industry, your own vertical. Whose name needs no explanation?
How do you become regarded as a meijin? The answer is as simple as it is difficult: by being the absolute best at what you do until your name is synonymous with that area of expertise.
What if you need to put something else on your business cards until you’re recognized by name? Luckily, we talked about that back in October when we discussed stacking heuristics.
One final caution: avoid at all costs billing yourself as someone else. Aspiring to be the next Steve Jobs or the next Bill Gates pigeonholes your reputation as being a shadow of someone else, at best a copy, at worst a pale imitation. Even more dangerously, it confines your own mind in a prison of someone else’s thinking. Oscar Wilde said it best – be yourself, because everyone else is already taken.
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What are your kata?
In the martial arts, there are series of exercises called kata (in Japanese), or forms. These are single or multi-person exercises that follow a pre-arranged sequence of techniques that are performed almost like a dance.
An astonishing number of martial artists no longer see the value in kata. To them, they are outdated, outmoded relics of a bygone era, and offer nothing for modern practitioners, especially when considering the threats and challenges we face today in the 21st century.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
While it’s absolutely true that facing an attack by someone wielding a spear or halberd is fairly unlikely today, the point of kata isn’t just to teach archaic methods for dealing with danger. The point of a kata is to pass along a story about how an important confrontation was won in the past.
Look at a kata like Kyogi, for example, from the Koto family. In its barebones form, it reads like this:
Avoid first punch
Avoid second punch
Step on foot
Knockdown
Pretty unremarkable story, which is why most people discount kata. But think about how you could condense down any story:
Boy loses family
Boy meets wizard
Boy grows his powers
Boy blows up Death Star
We of course expand that little sketch into the epic movie Star Wars. Likewise, with study and practice, we can dig into the story of Kyogi and glean some powerful insights about how to win against an opponent by keeping them constantly off balance and constantly reacting to changes they can’t predict.
The danger with kata is that we pay attention to the wrong things. Instead of delving into the kata and learning the story fully, we skip to the next story sketch, learn its basic outline, and move on yet again, never getting the full flavor of the story.
Sound familiar? That’s also what every digital marketer does with the social networking tool of the day. Instead of exploring all of the different ways we can use one network, we move onto the next shiny object without developing any competence about what we already have access to.
Instead of skipping around and dabbling, think instead about creating and collecting stories from your own work. How would you take an event like an important sale or an important social interaction and convert it into a story that can be told and retold in your company, your network, or your community? How would the story change as people retell it and practice it, refining it and adding to it?
That’s the essence of good martial arts kata and good marketing.
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How I got my black belt
As Facebook says it’s his social media birthday, I thought it’d be fun to share one of the most powerful moments I’ve ever experienced in my life, thanks to my teacher, Sensei Mark Davis.
Each fall, there’s an event called New England Warrior Camp (which predates PodCamp and BarCamp and other camps by quite a number of years) hosted by senior master instructor Ken Savage out in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The camp is held at a rustic Boy Scout camp site with over a thousand acres of fairly unrefined woodland.
Back in the fall of 2004, Sensei Davis put a few of us up for our black belt test while at New England Warrior Camp. We were given notice that at any time during the weekend event, we’d be asked to test. We had no idea what it would involve, or where in the thousand acre campground it would occur. Right around 11:30 PM on Saturday night, we were instructed to be at a pavilion in the woods on top of one of the taller hills, without flashlights or guides. We needed to use our ability to navigate at night to get to the testing site. After a brisk 10 minute hike (which felt more like hours of anticipation), we reached the pavilion and found the entire corps of black belts of every advanced degree waiting for us. Talk about a moment that truly inspires dread.
My test started around the third or fourth candidate in. I was told to stand in the center of the room and hold the space – that is, don’t retreat, don’t advance, just hold the space and protect myself using all of the techniques and skills I had been taught. Immediately, four of my seniors, the majority of them other teachers of mine, surrounded me, at least two of whom are literally twice as large and strong as I am.
Sensei Davis called out for the test to begin, and the world suddenly caved in.
All four attacked at the same time, dealing out as many physical attacks as they could safely without causing permanent injury. At the same time, half of the room was shouting encouragement, to keep going, to keep fighting. The other half of the room was shouting insults, slurs, and encouraging me to give up, to go home, to quit.
To this day, I have no idea how long the test actually was. I remember glimpses and flashes of moments, but once it started, time and space disconnected, and didn’t resume until after Sensei Davis called for it to stop. I had no idea whether I had passed or failed, only that I had survived.
After all of the candidates had been put through the test, Sensei Davis gathered us all together and told us what the test was about.
Sensei Davis picks and designs his black belt test to emphasize only one core aspect: the ability to keep going in the face of adversity. It’d be simple to pass a test at what you’re good at. Sensei Davis does the opposite. For students who are experienced fighters but not strong academics, he will design a test that consists of textbook-perfect performance and recitation (in Japanese, no less) to push their weakest area of learning. For students who are good at technique but less strong at improvisation, he will design a test that is entirely improvisation. This is the hallmark of an outstanding teacher and an excellent test for endurance.
Our test was to see if we could keep going when every instinct, every part of our minds, bodies, and spirits was being pushed to give up. Physical attacks punished the body, while insults, mocking, and taunts encouraged our hearts to give up. To keep going in spite of all that was the entire test, because that one ability – perseverance – defines so many of our successes in both the martial arts and life. You can have all the advantages in life possible: a wealthy background, beautiful looks, a strong intellect. None of it matters if you give up and fold at the first sign of trouble. Conversely, when you look at all of the people in the world you admire as legitimate successes, all of them share the same unwavering perseverance, the same endurance to outlast temporary difficulties in order to win. Perseverance conquers all.
That is the gift that Sensei Mark Davis has given all of us in our training and lives. Helping us forge that indomitable will on the anvil of the dojo training floor has made many of Sensei Davis’ students immensely successful, and that’s a gift we can all only pay forward and pass along. I don’t exaggerate when I say that everything that I’ve accomplished in my own life is due in very large part to the training I’ve received from Sensei Davis.
Happy birthday, Sensei Davis, and thank you!
If you’d like to bring the same magic into your life, I’d strongly recommend visiting the Boston Martial Arts Center, Sensei Davis’ outstanding school, unsurprisingly located in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Three Words for 2012
Every year since 2006, friends of Chris Brogan put together our three words for the coming year that define what we’re focusing on in the coming year. They’re not goals, but more like rails or guides that help keep us moving in the general correct direction. Here are mine for 2012.
Story
When I look at what I’ve created in the past few years, there’s value in the content. How-to lessons, detailed research, data and techniques, but something’s been missing. Something’s been lacking. On the way home from the dojo one night, I was listening to master teacher Stephen K. Hayes talking about how the deeper lessons of both Buddhism and ninjutsu are transmitted. He said, “We’re going to tell a few stories here, and hopefully this will evoke some stories in your mind of your own. That’s how this training works.” At that moment I realized exactly what has been missing from a lot of my work. In 2012, one of my three words and focus points will be on better learning this skill.
Restoration
One of the more interesting healing classes in World of Warcraft is the restoration druid. Rather than heal with holy powers and flashes of light, the druid uses the powers of nature to restore allies to health. Regrowth, nourish, rejuvenation, lifebloom, swiftmend, tranquility. Here’s what’s powerful about the idea of restoration druid spells on real life: so much of what we’ve done in the past few years has burned everything to the ground. We’ve exhausted our email lists. We’ve tapped out our social networks. We’ve cut staff down to the bone to scrape up a few extra pennies per share on earnings calls. In short, we’ve depleted all of our resources and wondered why our marketing is getting less and less effective. In 2012, one of my study points will be restoration. How do we continue to be effective as marketers while restoring our resources to health?
This extends to personal life as well. When you go all-out, inevitably, something has to suffer. My question to myself is, how can I bring restoration and regrowth to areas of my life other than business?
Compassion
Originally I had chosen something else for the third word, but as I was looking over the years, I thought it’d make 2012 more challenging and interesting to focus on something I’m not good at. Compassion I mean in the Buddhist sense – the ability to see through your own issues and feelings enough to understand what someone else is going through and provide some kind of legitimate help. One of the greatest dangers of social media, particularly as you start to develop any kind of following, is that you tend to attract like-minded people. As a result, you hear less and less about things you disagree with, things that challenge you, things that make you think. When all you hear is how awesome you are (whether you are or not) you face the great danger of your ego overwhelming any good work you’re providing. I have heard in the back of my mind from time to time the ugly, egotistical whisper that says, “this (person/place/thing/task) is below me”. It’s exactly at those moments when compassion can provide a much-needed bitch slap upside the head to bring reality back into the picture.
My task for 2012 is to be more rigorous and more disciplined in my own mind, guarding against that ever-growing danger.
So there you have it, my three words for 2012: story, restoration, compassion. Blog yours and leave a link in the comments!
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The foolproof way to win
There is such a thing as a foolproof way to win. There is no easy button for it. It requires you to act bravely, egolessly, and boldly. The foolproof way to win is to help everyone involved win.
Here’s an example from earlier today. I was having a discussion with a friend about an intellectual property issue in which there were multiple valid parties who could have claimed ownership of an idea. The way to lose? Lawyer up, whip out your cease and desist letters, and go to town. I’d win the battle but lose the war.
The way we won? We took the idea in its original incarnation and improved it. Bent it enough that the original, very generic idea became better, stronger, and more unique. Now everyone’s happy. The original IP holder has their idea intact and doesn’t need to go to court. My friend can enjoy their new and improved version that will stand on its own and be different and better. Everyone walks away a winner.
Why doesn’t this happen more often? Why has the term “win-win” become so cliche as to be meaningless when it’s actually a perfectly valid strategy? The reason why is that you have to be willing to let go of winning in order to win. If you’re tightly clenching onto the idea that you are right, that you must win, and that everyone else must lose in order for you to win, then “win-win” is as much a dream as it is a cliche for you. That’s why so many people mock it or make light of it: they simply can’t do it.
If you can let go of the desire to win in order to free your mind to bigger possibilities, “win-win” can manifest itself.
In ninjutsu, the pinnacle of achievement, the height of martial prowess, is working in such a way that everyone wants you to win, knowing that they win in the process. When you can find a way to win that helps the people around you, the entire universe will work hard on your behalf to see you succeed. It isn’t easy. It isn’t simple. It isn’t obvious. But it’s worth it.
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Basics before the basics
How many of you remember the classic martial arts movie The Karate Kid? If you’ve never watched it, go find it on the movie rental service of your choice.
Remember how Ralph Macchio’s character Daniel was put through a series of seemingly pointless exercises by his teacher Mr. Miyagi, the most famously quoted being “wax on, wax off”? As humorous as those examples were, they served an important purpose, to teach Daniel about the basics before the basics in the martial arts. Wax on, wax off was a rote drill designed to teach the chudan-uke mid-level block to a punch, and by having him practice it over and over again in the context of a chore, Mr. Miyagi got the motion into Daniel’s muscle memory.
The martial arts in real life are filled with these kinds of exercises, designed to give beginners a strong foundation in the basics before they even start fundamental techniques like basic routines (kata). In my own training, we have conditioning exercises to strengthen key muscle groups, agility exercises, coordination exercises, and so on. Each of these exercises contributes to the base skills needed to make techniques work. These are called the basics before the basics, the raw materials that we fashion building blocks from.
It should be no great stretch of the imagination, then, to envision the basics before the basics of digital marketing. What pre-requisites would you expect of a new employee or a new vendor that would come before even wondering if they know how to use Twitter or Facebook to generate results?
Here’s a short list of some things I might look for, some of the basics before the basics of digital marketing and social media:
1. Is the person a strong writer? Writing is the foundation, the bedrock, of most content creation. Even things like audio or video often rely on a written script in order to deliver maximum impact. Can you communicate ideas clearly? Can you create language that is persuasive? If you can write well, you can apply that skill to nearly every form of content generation.
2. Is the person a good analyst? Given a set of information, a set of data, can they extract something of value, some insight from it? They don’t have to be a Ph.D. in statistics, but they should be able to look at a pile of data, make a chart from it, and at least see if there’s some kind of trend, because that’s the foundation of web and social media metrics.
3. Is the person a good researcher? When posed with a question, can they come up with a solution by any legal means necessary? Can they Google intelligently? Can they put together discrete information sources and find an answer? Can they learn independently, without much guidance or hand holding? The ability to find the right answer and the persistence and willingness to get one is also a foundation skill.
As you can see from this short list, there isn’t a lot that’s needed as the basics before the basics. Like a good boxer, you don’t need a huge toolkit to be effective, but you need to be able to use the tools you have with excellence and consistency.
Those of you who come from an education background should immediately recognize the old cliche of reading, writing, and arithmetic in the three core skills listed above, the basics of the basics. In our quest for the newest shiny objects, we often lose sight of the fundamentals that can make us great, that are pre-requisites for us being great. While it’s great to have the newest, shiniest, most buzzworthy tools and services at our fingertips, it’s ultimately meaningless if we don’t have mastery of the basics to use them.
Side note: the mid-level block is surprisingly difficult to do correctly. In the picture above, from Flickr, if you do it wrong against something like a kick, you get your arm broken. Don’t try martial arts without the supervision of a qualified instructor.
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