Neglected brands and lost opportunity
neglecting or failing to adequately provide, plan or act on behalf of a brand – therefore misleading perceptions and/or forsaking the potential of business or opportunity: 1. By the time…
I’ve been designing and creating for the best part of twenty years and I’ve always prided myself on my ability to generate ideas and new approaches to solve problems and backed by experience I’m usually pretty confident in the those ideas. Creating subjective solutions for peoples brands and businesses – you have to be right!
But even with years of experience it can sometimes be difficult to evaluate the validity of those ideas. This is much more evident when you work independently – void of like minded, colleagues with whom to brain storm and bounce ideas off, who can pick, prod and poke your creation to find its weaknesses.
(I think in the current work from home climate a few more people might be able to attest to this).
This happened to me recently – I had idea, which I named ‘Let’s Say G’day’ (see ABOVE). On Tuesday 17th March I quickly put together a small graphic – a concept which I was going to post on Linkedin and basically see what people thought. The idea was about connecting our wider communities and in-particular local children’s daycare centre’s with elderly people in facilities or indeed their own homes who were going to be heavily impacted by social isolation and the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (This essentially an example of a model of care known as Intergenerational Care – which I discovered through an ABC documentary a few months ago. Read more here).
I didn’t do it.
I worried that people would think it was a nonsense idea, that it couldn’t be facilitated or was already in existence in another better format than I had imagined.
Self doubt had sabotaged me… it had stripped my I belief and stopped me from acting to do something for the greater good that needed to be actioned straightaway – I let the moment the slip.
Less than two weeks later – The Queensland Government issues a call to arms for the wider community to become a Care Army, to rally and provide hope and engagement for those isolated people.
The Lesson.
I’ve obviously been thinking about this lately, and decided to write about it for this reason:
I realise now that this story is less about my skills as a designer or my vision as a brand creator, it’s not even really having someone validate my idea – it’s actually about realising that’s it’s ok ask for help in the first place… no matter the situation.
There’s hardship all around us at the moment – there’s deep uncertainty, which can be pervasive – it can seep in and undermine our thought processes and objectives, irrespective of industry or job title. Uncertainty about work and income, financial commitments and anxiety about our loved one’s well being and the impact on their futures. Even when at task, during these trying times, the pressure of the situation at large can mean negative thoughts are pretty close to the surface.
So for the creative introverts and anyone else out there who’s feeling the pressure, be brave – reach out to those around you. There’s strength and empathy in numbers (even at a distance) – and Overwhelmingly I believe we’re all in similar positions – so the response could be more positive than you think.
