to get the outcome. Accolades then follow
and celebration begins - without a single
acknowledgment to “luck”.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not chastising
hard work neither I’m I undervaluing
it. You need to work hard, you need a
strategy and all of these are at play and
must not be ignored. But why is it at the
last minute we call upon good luck yet
when the outcome is positive we don’t
want to give “luck” credit?
With the same example, if the result is not
an outcome we expected or wanted, now
luck has to blame. A case of bad luck is
the most frequent response we give. We
did everything right and nothing wrong,
“luck” was just not on our side. But how
could luck be on your side when you chose
to not recognize her when the going was
good, but quick to remember her absence
when the going got tough?
What also needs answering is whether
this behavior and response is part of our
irrational thinking at play or our rational
thinking taking over. I tend to think it is
a mix of both - when things are good our
irrationality leads us to believe it has to
be due to the effort and hard work put
in, while when things are bad, our mind
seeks answers and perhaps because of
being/getting mentally fatigued thinking
of plausible reasons, we tinker between
an irrational and rational response to the
situation. The fact is, “luck” always had a
hand in many successful stories.
A most recent example is the unbelievable
feat achieved by Eliud Kipchoge when he
ran a 42KM marathon in under 2 hours.
Yes a lot of planning was done and Eliud
trained hard for this. But when it came
down to the last few moments, a lot of
things depended on luck despite the heavy
science and talented athletes behind the
feat.
At some point in the race, Eliud stumbled
but did not fall - that was luck. The
weather conditions did not change
halfway into the race - that was luck. The
pacesetters did not bump into each other
during the transition causing Eliud to get
confused - that was luck. To have all those
elite athletes (elite in their own way) agree
to pace set for Eliud was also luck. They
were not obliged to do so, but they did so
anyway… maybe with the help of some
monetary motivation but then again, as
“luck” would have it, a gracious billionaire
was bank rolling the challenge.
As much as we may hate to believe it,
luck is and has been a core ingredient in
the pursuit for success or failure, both in
personal and work life. When we look at
brand building as well, luck has had a
hand in the way things have panned out
for countless brands. Bad or good, luck
has been there. Yet I wonder why it is
rarely given the credit it deserves.
Eliud trained hard and worked hard - that
cannot and will not be taken away from
him, but we must also not take away the
factor of good luck, (or whatever you want
to call it) that was part of the eclectic mix
in achieving this huge milestone.
Clayton
Christensen
talks
about
businesses not relying on luck as a recipe
for innovation in his book, “Competing
Against Luck”. I agree with this based on
my understanding of what Clayton was
saying. He is not giving luck a bad rep -
but simply saying luck should be your last
input not the primary motivation. Many
people have often interpreted this to mean
luck does not exist and so you make your
own luck.
I have come to see and realize that it is
disillusion at best, if one believes that
either luck does not exist or you make your
own luck. You can plan for success so well
that luck simply wants to accompany you
rather than stay away - that is not making
your own “luck”, but rather creating an
ambiance where luck can coexist with your
efforts. But will you acknowledge “good
luck” when the outcome goes as planned?
When it comes to brand building, in
addition to acknowledging consumer
irrationality and how we can leverage it
to build strong brands, we should also
acknowledge luck - in good times and in
bad times. I have seen some terrible brand
building ideas succeed and it has largely
been because of luck.
Similarly, I have seen some great brand
building initiatives that had proper
planning and tremendous effort that
yielded a great outcome, in part due to
luck - good luck. The latter example also
had a negative outcome and in nearly all
cases (if not all) it was a case of bad luck.
“Luck”- good or bad - has had a significant
impact on building or destroying great
brands the world over.
Sun Tzu coined a famous quote that said,
“A strategy without tactics, is the slowest
route to Victory….tactics without strategy
is the fastest route to Defeat”…for those
involved in brand building, I would tweak
this powerful quote slightly and say, “A
strategy that acknowledges the need for
good luck and tactics that leverage on
consumer irrationality, is on the fastest
route to victory.”
So I urge you, give “luck” the credit she
deserves… if you chose not to, I only have
two words for you… “Good Luck” because
you will certainly need it.
Irrationally yours… Andrew Riungu!
The views and opinions shared herein
are for the author, and are in no way a
representation of any brand or company
that the author has, or currently works for.
Andrew Riungu works for
Safaricom Limited, within the
Research & Insights department,
where he is tasked with helping the
brand address the evolving needs of
the diverse consumers Safaricom
serves. You can commune with him
on this or related matters via email
at:
Andrewm.Riungu@gmail.
com.