« Looks like the partay is over. | Main | What kind of hand are you holding? »
Passion is power!
I'm in sunny and hot Las Vegas for the next two days MC'ing a conference on everything brands and branding, and there are no less than fourteen expert speakers on the agenda. If the attendees take copious notes, download all of the presentations and read all of our books, they'll go back to their organizations with more knowledge than they'll probably know what to do with.
You may be thinking, "Well then, they must have received information, not knowledge." Is there a difference? Once the right people have received information about how to improve something, doesn't that information become knowledge?
The British anthropologist Gregory Bateson wrote that information is "a difference which makes a difference." The real challenge of creating an engaging and enduring brand has nothing to do with information or knowledge (or semantic debates), just like our country's future has nothing to do with the endless debates around economic indicators. It has to do with purpose, desire, influence, and making a difference.
Knowledge is not power; not until that knowledge leads to some kind of transformation. And transformation, my friends, always takes passion.
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c684b53ef0105353d0cf4970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Knowledge is not power.:
The comments to this entry are closed.
(Rest assured, we will never provide your email address to anyone. Period.)
RSS feed
Tom on Twitter
@tomasacker
Tom is timely, thought provoking and all about the new brand vision packaged as a Seinfeld stand up. I went to school on his ideas.
Jeff Taylor, Founder, Monster.com and CEO, Eons.
I couldn't agree more, my friend. Too often, we are tempted to forget that information does not become knowledge until you add experience.
I posted on a similar topic recently at http://marketingspoonful.com/?p=568 to remind folks that information does not become insight without exhaustive and sometimes exhausting thought and reflection.
It also reminds us that there are no quick fixes or silver bullets when it comes to positioning and promoting our brands. We have to put in the effort.
Thanks and have a great day.
Posted by: David, Kansas | October 08, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Great branding still comes down to extraordinary execution of brilliant ideas. Books or panels of branding experts cant do that for you.
Posted by: allen adamson | October 14, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Ain't that the truth Allen! But, they can stimulate new ways of thinking about the marketplace, and a brand's role in it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by: Tom Asacker | October 15, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Hi Tom!
Just wanted to thank you for a FANTASTIC job of MC'ing Brand ManageCamp 2008! Your uncanny ability to simplify the complex and tie everything together into one cohesive flow of information was invaluable throughout the two days. I know loads of attendees told you themselves, but I just wanted to type it for all to see!
Thanks again for all your efforts in helping to make this year our best one yet!
All the best,
Len
Posted by: Len Herstein | October 16, 2008 at 04:27 PM