EPISODE 133

CHRONICLE: November 24th, 2023

Content from Bryan’s new Award Winning, Bestselling Book

• Readers Favorite Award Winner: Best, Non-fiction, Marketing book.
• Amazon Bestseller.

THE VISIONARY BRAND | The Product Vision | Innovate Don’t Imitate

" Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”– Steve Jobs

Creating a culture of innovation requires commitment, but most importantly, a top-down brand leadership that embraces failure and proactively pursues risk, both a requirement to be a Visionary brand. This formula creates a foundation for generational success.

I know Picasso once said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal,” but it is a short-term gain and not a long-term path to product innovation. Sometimes, this works, but this is the exception, not the rule.

Adaptation is one of the most significant IDEA generators, yet few embrace its power.

Adapting a technology from another industry to your product innovation pipeline is an awesome way to disrupt an industry.

Take the example of Nike’s Flywire, where the innovation team scoped the landscape for product inspiration and found it in suspension bridges. How could they find inspiration for a small product like footwear in such a large structure? Easy, they adapted the structural truss integrity into their shoes. They found a material stronger than steel, Vectran, that could stabilize the foot with minimal construction. From this innovative idea came the Flyknit product line, one of Nike's most successful products ever!

Finding ways to Adapt to Innovate vs Imitate is a vital piece of the Visionary formula I discuss in my new bestselling book, The Visionary Brand, The Success Formula Behind the World’s Most Visionary Brands. On sale now across all retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.

Nurturing a culture of innovation is driven by finding to adapt the world to your products. Being an innovator means embracing a culture authentically and initially created without the need to see what your competitors are doing. Why follow when you can lead? So, how do you create a Culture of Innovation?

• Create a clear Anchoring Strategy | What do you stand for as a brand?
• Committ to Failure | Blow things up, recreate, rebuild.
• Find A Better Way | There is always a better way to do something. Find it!
• Develop a Pipeline of Innovation | Surf this Pipeline for generations.
• Always BE the Leader | Let others follow.

Visionary brands have all of these in common and commit to their execution. Visionary brands are built around the foundation of originality and authentication.

Imitation is the short path to destruction, while disruptive innovation is a clear path to a successful product Vision.

Stay True, Stay Authentic, be Different, and be Great!

Enjoy the Journey!

Bryan Smeltzer, President

LiquidMind Inc.

#TheVisionaryChroniclesPodcast

#TheVisionaryBrandBook

@LiquidMindsite.com

@BryanSmeltzer.com

© All rights reserved, Bryan Smeltzer, 2023

Bryan Smeltzer is a consumer products business executive and entrepreneur. He has held executive-level roles in business development, Product, and marketing with some of the world's most prestigious brands, including Oakley, TaylorMade, Adidas, K-Swiss, and Schutt Sports, among other international brands. He also founded a men’s apparel brand, successfully running a profitable business for ten years, eventually selling to a VC firm.

He also hosts a Podcast called The Visionary Chronicles, ranked as the #1 Visionary and Top 50 Marketing Podcasts by Feedspot, and recently finished his first bestselling book, The Visionary Brand, The Success Formula Behind the World’s Most Visionary Brands, and recently received the prestigious Readers Favorite Award for BEST Non-fiction, Marketing Genre book.

With the book's release, Bryan created The Visionary Brand MasterCourse. The Master Course site at The VisionaryFiles.com includes a Master Course with 18 Video Learning segments and almost 2 hours of Visionary lessons training. Over the past five weeks, over 1,500 brand leaders and Entrepreneurs have taken the Master Course! Unleash your potential as a brand leader and take the Master Course.

He is also a member of the Board of Advisors at UCI’s BCIE along with their New Venture Program, an Innovation Advisor at the UCI’s Applied Innovation program at the Cove, a Mentor/Advisor to UCLA’s Price Center Venture Accelerator Program, and a Mentor/Advisor at the San Diego Sports Innovators Accelerator (SDSI) center.

Bryan oversees LiquidMind Inc., a global brand strategy firm that partners with start-ups and established mid to large-cap consumer brands to empower businesses to think differently, be different, drive a passionate culture, and execute relentlessly.

You can contact or  follow him at;

email | bryan@LiquidMindsite.com

Facebook | @bryansmeltzer33

Instagram | @bryan_smeltzer

X | @bryansmeltzer

LinkedIn | linkedin.com/in/bryansmeltzer/