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What’s a CoNTRaRIAN Entrepreneur?
Check this iconic quote is from Apple’s 1997 advertising campaign that encapsulates the essence of contrarian entrepreneurship…
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels…because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
There are many faces to a CoNTRaRIAN…
CoNTRaRIANs…
- Look for ways to DISRUPT current business models.
- Are driven to CREATE something new.
- BUCK trends and common conventions.
- Don’t ‘pivot’, they BREAK AWAY from what the herd is doing.
- JUMP not stagger away from the ‘norm’.
- Have DISTAIN for the status quo .
- Offend some; amaze others.
- Make people nervous.
- Apply their mindset to every challenge regardless of how big or how small.
Being CoNTRaRIAN is an effective business strategy…
- It works because it’s unique. Few do it.
- Most businesses do the same thing, which results in all having similar strategies.
- “Undifferentiation” is happening. Too much copying going on.
- Businesses refer to the same books and case studies.
- COPYING, CLAPTRAP, ASPIRATIONS, NARCISSISM are overused; words like “Better”, “Best”, “#1”, “Save the World” pervade, stultifying creativity and innovation.
We need an intervention to get off this track.
Success today requires businesses to stand out and be different from their competition in a way people CARE about.
A CoNTRaRIAN mindset is an excellent tactic to look for ways to be THE ONLY ONE that does what you do.
Most businesses go with the flow…
- They follow common methods prescribed by textbooks.
- They copy what their competitors are doing.
- Benchmarking seems to be an acceptable tool to feed strategy.
- CoNTRaRIANism is perceived to be a high risk approach even though there’s nothing more risky than being the same as everyone else.
- The heavy inertia of past methodologies prevents business from reframing their strategy to be the ONLY ones that do what they do.
Examples of businesses that have practiced CoNTRaRIANism…
The Grateful Dead — build stands to allow their fans to record and share their music. Gave special deals to their existing fans rather than using special offers to attract NEW fans.
The Heart Attack Grill — Las Vegas, where obesity and unhealthy eating is the theme.\
- Famous for their Bypass Burgers from a Single to a $24 Octuple Bypass at 20,000 calories.
- Offered Flatliner Fries, which are deep-fried in pure lard.
- Wine is served in an IV drip bag.
- Guests are referred to as “patients”.
- Diners wear hospital gowns when entering.
- Servers dressed as nurses and doctors.
- Anyone over 350 Ibs. eats free.
- Rated ⅘ by Tripadvisor, and ranked #155 out of 1,170 restaurants in Vegas.
Uber — Disrupted the traditional taxi model and ventured into the untrodden realm of ride-sharing.
Netflix — Rather than conforming to the rental store model, they introduced a subscription-based streaming service.
How does a business leader cultivate a CoNTRARIAN culture?
The end game is to have a culture that encourages CREATIVITY not COPYING; INNOVATION not IMITATION.
Some specific behaviors than need to be developed and rewarded:
1. Question the status quo and established norms.
2. Try. Try. Try.
3. Create, don’t imitate the crowd.
4. Think independently.
5. Ask yourself “How can I do this differently?”
6. Empower people to take risks and innovate.
7. Use customer complaints as a way to disrupt how the organization does business.
8. Connect and engage with other disruptors.
9. Celebrate incremental CoNTRaRY successes.
10. Look for long term sustainability in CoNTRaRY ideas.
11. Emphasize value creation over competition. Make it about being unique in delivering value that people CARE about as opposed to battling with competitors.
12. Ask “How can we take at least a right angle turn away from the traditional approach?”.
13. Establish ‘The Office of the Contrarian’ in your organization - leaders can take on the role of CCO
3 CoNTRARIAN Moves I made taking a startup internet company to A BILLION IN ANNUAL SALES…
The startup was in its early stages, so I had to look for innovative ways to stimulate performance and growth.
1. Business Planning - My Strategic Game Plan process emphasizes EXECUTION over precise direction-setting and disrupts the traditional planning approach.
2. Differentiation - My ONLY Statement process revolutionizes the standard Unique Value Proposition approaches that rely on meaningless CLAPTRAP & ASPIRATIONS to create competitive differentiation.
3. Customer Loyalty - Building and executing a Recovery Strategy to turn a service OOPS! into a WOW! is instrumental in building strong customer loyalty with retention rates at astronomical levels.
Recovery strategies are virtually nonexistent in organizations today!
The addition of a Recovery Strategy to ‘Do it Right the First Time” successfully exploits the power of ’FIX & SURPRISE’.
CoNTRARIANism isn’t a ‘bad word’. It’s the new way to get the creative juices flowing in an organization to stand out from the competition and deliver benefits that people CARE about.
Related: How Devoted Customer ‘Heroes’ Make Unparalleled Winners