Differentiate or Die

 

 

Identity crisis is the mother of all evil. A man who does not have the slightest clue of what he/she stands for will abuse whatever role he/she finds himself playing. This is a no brainer. In my country, people still wonder why for instance, political leaders and a host of many other pseudo-leaders at all levels fall short of the confidence and expectations. I say look no further because the answer is obvious. It is identity crisis that will make a man mis-act. Without fear of contradiction, i wish to say that Identity crisis is the greatest crisis.

A wise man once said to me:

May the Lord grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change,the courage to face the things you must and wisdom to know the difference.

There is wisdom in knowing the difference. There are over 6 billion people in the world with varying distinctions and striking similarities. Its interesting to know that we even share converging aspirations across those boundaries of race,age,gender and locations. For instance, we all desire the attainment of the good-life and depending on the distribution of factors; resources, population and reason, the depth of competition vary in time and space.

Well, i'll keep it very simple by stating the obvious. The apparent nature of man and the resulting distributions fueled by intense competition makes it consequential for us to differentiate. Tarry along with me my dear reader. I don't not wish to sound anti-competition nor conceived as faint hearted. I am far from such. I believe in competition and comparative advantage which makes one win and another loose. I believe in the concept of deliberate establishment of clusters as a panacea for growth but i detest the event of identity crisis. I hate to be anybody but me.

I liken identity crisis to a state of death. Its like an hocus-pocus into a realm of nothing. Imagine a Lion acting like a domestic cat or better still a specie that doesn't even know its origins. Have you ever heard of a lion eating grass before? Well, your guess is as good as mine. It is however a thing of utter shame in today's world where humans in the face of competition and survival loose their identity. The holy book called it an abomination. A prince walking bare foot while slaves rides on horse backs. This paradox can't be truer in a world where a lot of people are caught up in the rat race. My pastor said the other day; even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat.

The danger of Single Story by Chimamanda Adichie in some ways drives home my apprehensions. Everyday i see the same event repeat itself. Its all around us. Ask a little child: What do you want to be and you are sure to get a predictable answer. What has happened to questing? Dreams have suddenly become familiar spirits. Its appalling to say the least. Start a business and before you say Jack Robinson, everybody is now doing the same thing. While this is not wrong, i am just weary of the seeming brain drain.

I love the art and science of branding for everything it connotes. The first law of branding is differentiation. I read a book titled the Brand Gap where again the author emphasized the importance of differentiation. Differentiation is everything but it begins with a conception of an identity which makes an entity indefatigable. In today's strategy parlance, differentiation comes out again as an option, the second option being cost leadership. However, frontiers of the blue ocean strategy; a concept which i strongly consider a derivative of differentiation essentially talks about doing practically the same thing in a different way. The blue ocean strategy is about changing some underlying assumptions in the existing value chain thereby changing the rules of the game. There are classical examples all around. Everything bothers on differences.

Enough said at this point, let me bring this to a close by asserting that the ultimate winning formula in life is to DIFFERENTIATE. The other alternative is DEATH. These three questions should help you in your journey of differentiation. The first two questions are tilted towards articulating you identity The third deals with your difference.

1. Who are you (Identity)

2. What do you do (Identity)

3. Why does it matter? (Difference).

May the Lord grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change,grant you the courage to face the things you must and wisdom to know the difference.
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