Changing the game in business is reaping in some big rewards. We try and stand high above in a very crowded space in so many aspects of what we do. Bloggers every day write for their audience with the hopes that the audience will share and a new readers will jump on board and also share. Standing out in blogging is difficult however we never give up and work our fingers to the bone day after day to get our articles out there and in front of the target market. Consistently writing articles that connect with the audience is not changing the game, it is being a player in the game. This is a big moment when the blog starts making some traction and your community and business is growing. Your subscriber list for the blog and the newsletter is growing, you create ebooks and webinars and the audience loves you and hangs on your every word. You expand to speaking gigs and you are well on your way to success. You are growing the business, growing personally and professionally. You are on top of your game and the blue skies are abundant in your world … until you stop and look and say what is next? What am I going to do next? What is next from here and being a game changer?
Changing the Game is Hard
Changing the game is hard. When we start to grow the blog, the business and tread upon new territory for us with ebooks, webinars and speaking gigs, it is not new to the outside world. Many came before us and many will come after us. There is the challenge of being different, more likable than the other 10 people that are doing the same thing at the same time and while this is not set to deter, it is to be considered and how you can really stand out. Each of us has a unique way of presenting our thoughts, ideas, knowledge that attracts people to us. But that in and of itself is not a game changer. How we create new ways to deliver is how we change the game.
Chris Brogan over the past year has changed the game. When he publicly announced his all day consulting fee, he separated himself and so many were outraged but yet he also set the bar for what can be achieved. has change the game but his hurdles were higher as he first had to establish that he was not really AJ Bombers. We all thought his name was AJ,a guy who owned a restaurant that made great burgers. Oh my how wrong were we! Both Chris and Joe were met with challenges, criticisms which made them have to almost earn our trust by performing all over again. Imagine. But really weren’t we giving them the opportunity to change the game?
changed the game with live streaming Mardi Gras. He gave us the experience of being there while sitting in the comforts of our own town. This also makes us want to be there and consider a trip next year. He continues to change the game for tourism in New Orleans as well as his company with Talking with Tom.
How we Change the Game
Changing the game is more than delivering differently on more than a few times. It does not even have to always be consistently, it could be one thing that is backed up with consistency. We saw this with the Old Spice campaign. They wowed and captured us and left us waiting on the edge of our seats to see that he was going to next. Owen/ changed the game with his . The game changer for both was that brilliant moment with they captured us and we wanted for more. In a space that has been established we have to dig deeper to make them want for more. But how? That is always the question that is filled so many times with examples but yet some empty answers. A perfect example on a larger scale of changing the game is Jimmy Fallon. Late night talk shows were already dominated by Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately and Carson Daly. Each had their own audience and breaking in was not going to be easy. He was a SNL guy who is very funny on SNL but could he interview guests? What was he going to do differently that would make him stand out?
has changed the game in late night tv. His show at first glimpse is not too different than the others. He starts with a monologue, has a band, a sidekick, and of course guests. However, his guests are not just there to sit and talk. No, the guests also perform, but not in an acting way of performing. Some of the guests play beer pong, pictionary, golf or some the games that show us a little bit about them. Their competitiveness, a little glimpse as to who they are outside of character and a fun/playful side. He has changed the game. He also changed the game with his use of social media and his hashtag of the week and of course, his parodies and skits. All the of the late night hosts are comedians and create parodies and skits of some kind, but, Fallon’s are so superior that we are left with wanting more and waiting to see what he will do next. His The Real Housewives of Late Night is a parody but as a series it takes it a step further as the wives are Fallon and members of the late night team dressed up as their “wives.”
In the Charlie Sheen craze, it was not surprising that Fallon jumped on in. His skit not only shows the depth of his creativity and incredible talent but it shows how inferior the other shows really are when it comes to changing the game. Funny, during the Leno/O’Brien debacle, Fallon was sitting back and changing the game while the network and Leno were worrying about who would be sitting behind the desk.
Why do we want to Change the Game?
If we are entering or are establishing ourselves within a space, some would question why would we want to change the game? While this seems obvious to some, to others it is not as obvious. What if we are not ready to change the game and we fail miserably or better yet, we fail and someone else runs with it? That is the risk that is associated with changing the game. Sometimes failing is necessary for us to grow, sometimes success is necessary for us to later fail and learn from that failure. Changing the game is all a part of success and failure where sometimes we are not changing the game in the entire industry as Fallon has, but are changing our game. Changing our game is where we start to build to eventually change the game.
How we Change Our Game
Our game is our current method of doing business, running our business, writing our blog, creating our additional materials such as the ebooks, webinars, live streams. We need to prepare just as much as we would as if we were changing the entire game. We will succeed at some parts and fail at others. We will learn what makes us likable, what people are driven to with us and how we can expand upon that. This internal expansion leads to the speaking gigs, garnering larger fees and capturing the audience and earning their trust and ultimately having them do what you are asking of them. We build communities to help one another, support one another and establish some new friendships that we would have otherwise not have been exposed to. These communities play a role in how we change our game and also why we want to change our game. If we are consistently pushing out great content but nothing else, the community is wanting more from us. They know what we have done but want to see what we can do. Look at what you are doing vs what your audience wants and expects from you and see how you can change your game and start setting the foundation to be a game changer.
How are you changing the game?
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