No matter what industry or category you compete, people want to hear your story. They want to know what makes you leap out of bed in the morning. And if you’re two soft-spoken roofers from the Canadian Rockies, they want to breathe the same mountain air as you.

Before embracing video marketing, Craig and Mike made a prudent decision to focus on long-term strategy. They began gaining unusual clarity on their brand identity well in advance of bringing in lights, cameras and film directors. In other words, they played a much longer game by getting their brand story straight in the first place.

Social media has been described as equal parts:

Fake. Artificial. Superficial. Disconnected. Divisive. Materialistic. Goal-oriented. Comparative. Competitive. Self-Indulgent.

In other words, the platforms tend to reflect shallow thinking and phoney-baloney behaviours that are for the most part, anti-social. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Have you ever listened to a story … and not fully heard it?

Ever watched a movie, read a book or hummed along to a tune without fully understanding the entire scope, relevance or meaning of that work of art?

That’s precisely what’s happened these past six weeks with a real-life friend. An honest-to-goodness BIG LITTLE LEGEND in his own right.

Books are gifts that you can open again and again.

They let you travel without moving your feet, packing bags or hopping on an airplane. A uniquely portable form of magic that ensures you are never alone.

It’s been said readers are leaders. If you are curious about exploration, contemplation and imagination and thirst for a different journey through 2024, this post was written specifically for you.

Discover how 24 In 24 just might be the most adventurous solo trip you take this year on this edition of Leaders & Legends.

Karen is standing in a small dark room in rural Ethiopia. She and her husband holding an unlit candle. On the opposite side of the room, they see the dim outline of a birth mother, cradling the flickering light of a single white candle.

The woman had walked for two days from her tiny African village to make one of the most excruciatingly difficult decisions any mother would ever have to make. In complete silence, she approached Karen and used the flame from her candle to light hers.

Then she blew out her own.

What is the difference between a Sales Organization and a Brand?

How about the difference between a Story and a Narrative?

Why is a highly distinctive Identity so crucial to any long-term strategy? 

Just several of the dozens of provocative questions readers have been asking since the November 2021 release of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS. When the book was first published 24 months ago, there was no way of knowing how many sparkling questions it would ignite from genuinely curious people like you; willing and eager to understand this subject at a much deeper level.   

Up until several weeks ago, Travis Kelce was a well-known football player within the confines of NFL fandom. A 4-time all-pro and 2-time Super Bowl champion, Kelce has become a global household name ever since the story broke about his rumoured romantic connection with a certain American pop icon.

What’s your strategy to stand apart from all the other accountants, attorneys, consultants, contractors, dentists, manufacturers, tattoo or country music artists, home renovators, retailers, realtors, financial planners, wedding planners and software developers in your space?

Writer’s block.

A maddening, excruciatingly painful disease. 

Tracy is a businesswoman, windsurfer, tea-drinker, wife, and mother of two. Makes her home on Canada’s east coast. 

Kristy is a businesswoman, fitness buff, tea-drinker, wife, about to become a first-time mother. Makes her home on Canada’s west coast.

Once upon a time, there used to be a saying in the 20th century that went like this:

Any press is good press. Any publicity is good publicity. 

It’s around 8 o’clock on a December Saturday night. 

On a sleepy, slow-moving train heading west out of Ottawa.  

Margaret is a businesswoman in her mid-sixties who just delivered a most valuable reminder 10,000 miles away from the place I call home.

 The King is gone, but his impact is still being felt around the world.

When Jim called several weeks ago and told me the number, I nearly fell off my chair and spilled the coffee.

“Can you repeat that number again?”

What can artistic, cinematic masterpieces teach CEO’s start-ups, marketers and business mavens everywhere about what it takes to elevate one’s game?

Unpredictable, uplifting, insightful and inspirational movies go a long way towards getting to the heart of any emotional truth we all face in our daily lives.

Rachel, Jessie and Charlie have never met each other. They live in different parts of the country and, in Charlie's case, an entirely different continent and era. Yet, all three have used the power of magic past, present and future to transform their world, their fortunes and the lives of others.

Have you ever wondered why a certain, select few organizations enjoy a disproportionate share of profits, victories, and championships?

It was several years ago when Dana first explained the perfect metaphor to describe the human dynamics of social media. And it still holds true.

Who is the happier person?