Fail Up (17 page)

CHAPTER 12

GIVE THE PEOPLE
WHAT THEY WANT

W
hen was the last time you had clear beer, rabbit jerky, McLean burgers, or used yogurt shampoo? Chances are, you haven't used any of these lately. Most have been sentenced to the museum of discontinued products or the history of really great ideas that turned out to be really bad ones.

These so-called innovations are all examples of corporations' stretching their brands or operating outside their expertise. No matter how excited the R&D departments were, most consumers rejected Coca-Cola® when it tried to change its formula and they didn't want Choglit, Coca-Cola's chocolate beverage. Consumers equally and emphatically rejected Crystal Clear Pepsi and Coors' clear-colored malt liquor, Zima, as well as its bottled water. McDonalds' and Burger King's low-fat or veggie burgers and Clairol's yogurt shampoo all met similar fates.

Americans expect beer companies to give them brown beer, not clear brew or sparkling water. They want dark Pepsi and classic, regular-tasting Coke. Most fast-food patrons will brave a salad, but they aren't looking for healthy hamburgers. Women by and large don't like the idea of food such as yogurt in their hair. Rabbit jerky may be okay for dogs, but Americans love their bunnies. They had difficulty separating Bugs and the Easter Bunny from jerky.

Stay in your lane. Drive with a purpose. Control your destiny.

To push my driving metaphor to the limit, I Googled “Stay in your lane.” Interestingly, the helpful hints offered on the subject by “Nissan Master Tech” have literal as well as figurative value:

“Look ahead to where you want your car to go.”

“Don't look at the lines on either side of your car.”

I loved this part about clutching the wheel: “Hold it like you are holding your boyfriend's hand …”

Taking my eyes off my destination, looking at lines of opportunity outside my expertise, and putting my career in a stranger's hands: These were all part of my embarrassing lane-changing experience.

The Tavis T-Shirt

What was I thinking? In my career, in my life, I've been very fortunate in knowing who I am and what people expect from me. I'm
not
an opportunist; I avoid opportunists. But a few years ago, when an enthusiastic associate made a marketing pitch, my inner entrepreneur was banking the profits.

“Man, people love you, especially women,” the marketer told me. “Let's do a photo shoot, put your face on the front and a couple of your quotes on the back. It'll be huge.”

He was pushing the idea of mass-producing Tavis Tshirts. I can still hear my asinine response when I saw the prototype, “Yeah, that can work.”

Again, what was I thinking? To my knowledge, there aren't any Paul Harvey, Charlie Rose, or George Will Tshirts. Not only did I fall for the ridiculous idea of putting my face on a T-shirt, I also invested money into producing hundreds of those things.

Long story short: There are a heck of a lot of T-shirts in my garage today.

The moral? Never lose sight of what your audience wants. I'm blessed with fans who expect hard-hitting analysis and insightful or challenging information that is presented with thought-provoking candor and honesty. When I interview people on my shows, they expect me to ask penetrating and poignant questions; during guest appearances on news shows like
Meet the Press
, they want me to raise hidden, underrepresented, or forgotten aspects of key issues. People attend my lectures and purchase my books, and parents send their kids through my foundation for training, because they are confident about the consistency of my message.

If I'm off message or trying to force people to buy or accept something they don't want from me, the results can be … well, let's put it this way: Anybody need a Tavis T-shirt?

The Difference Between “Want” and “Need”

I don't mean to suggest that you shouldn't innovate or experiment. You don't have to be so constrained that you confine yourself to the prison of other people's expectations. Sometimes people don't know what they want until it's presented in a palatable way. In the mid-1980s, people didn't know how essential computers would be to their nonwork lives until Steve Jobs and Bill Gates came along and introduced America to the world of personal computers.

What I'm suggesting is that once you've found your sweet spot, once you've defined who you are and know what you stand for, you will know how, what, and when to give to the people.

Let's look at the life of Nobel Prize–winning economist Muhammad Yunus. In 1974, as a university teacher in Bangladesh, Professor Yunus felt conflicted teaching the “elegant theories of economics” while the country was drenched in crushing hunger and mass poverty. He was consumed with a deep desire to do something to help Bangladesh's poor.

At first, Dr. Yunus used his own money to make small loans to 42 female villagers. The women not only used the money to start or enhance their small enterprises, they also paid the money back in full. Realizing the empowering aspect of this simple endeavor, the economist turned to established banks to expand the practice. Undeterred by bankers who insisted the poor were not creditworthy, he and his supporters created Grameen Bank (village bank) for the poor. In his 2006 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Dr. Yunus reported that Grameen Bank had written nearly seven million loans to poor people in 73,000 villages. The bank offered reasonable savings, pension funds, and insurance products; it underwrote student loans and housing loans used to construct more than 640,000 houses where women—for the first time—held legal ownership.

Professor Yunus could innovate in his chosen field because he was clear about his role. Because he adopted a mission “to help the poor” rather than tell the people what was good for them, he was able to give the people what they wanted. Keep in mind: He recognized the potential of these people even though they never imagined they could be served in such a magnanimous and life-altering way. In his book,
Creating a World Without Poverty,
he wrote:

“If poverty is to be reduced or eliminated, the next generation must be our focus. We must prepare them to peel off the signs and stigmas of poverty and instill in them a sense of human dignity and hope for the future.”

In his latest book,
Building Social Business: The New Kind
of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs
, Dr. Yunus offers a recipe for tackling poverty and hopelessness all over the world, including America. “Social businesses,” he insists, are businesses that are not designed for profit but are driven by social needs. As an example, he details a joint venture between Grameen and Danone (also known as Dannon), the French dairy conglomerate. The collaboration led to the creation of a small factory in Bangladesh where mostly villagers, given the resources to help themselves, produce and sell fortified yogurt that helps tackle the scourge of malnutrition among Bangladeshi children.

All over the world and in ghettos and barrios across America, hunger, poverty, and unemployment are just a few of our shared plights. There is unimaginable opportunity for visionaries to address these issues, empower the poor, and change our world for the better.

As a child, Majora Carter spent a lot of time daydreaming about how she could change her world for the better—by escaping from the South Bronx ghettos. Education was her ticket—first to Wesley University where she studied cinema and film production, then to grad school at New York University. Money woes brought her back to the Bronx, back to her parents' house, and, amazingly, back to a community she learned to love.

In the South Bronx, she discovered a need and a role for herself that would address that need. Carter told CNN in 2008 that she saw an underserved, ignored, and literally dumped-on neighborhood—her neighborhood in need of support and redirection.

“People wanted things like clean air; they wanted safe places for their kids to play where they wouldn't get hit by a truck. They wanted living-wage jobs that didn't degrade the environment or kill them,” Carter pointed out.

In 1997, Carter helped secure a $10,000 government grant for the development and restoration of Hunts Point Riverside Park in the South Bronx. Over a five-year period, in collaboration with other community groups and public agencies, Carter helped leverage more than $3 million to rebuild the park.

That event was just the beginning of a career highlighted by the development of an 11-mile-long South Bronx waterfront, an urban green-collar training program for the formerly incarcerated, urban forestry, green roof installation, community garden projects, and other efforts that are too numerous to list. In 2008, a writer for
The New York
Times
dubbed Carter “The Green Power Broker” and “one of the city's best-known advocates for environmental justice.”

Carter is a visionary who recognized the people's need. She developed a company, Sustainable South Bronx, and set out to aggressively address similar needs far beyond the Bronx, across the United States, and around the globe.

It all began by discovering her passion and then defining the role she was meant to play.

When “Need” Meets “Passion” …
Watch Out!

As an entrepreneur, I encourage people, especially young people, not to go looking for a job. I tell kids to take the word “job” out of their vocabulary: “As gifted, skilled, and talented as you are, I want you to discover your calling, find your purpose, and take action.”

Our troubled world needs visionaries. Money is important, I know that. But the sole pursuit of money can lead to an empty life. Find that vocation, that calling, that purpose you are uniquely suited for—become the best at it, and I sincerely believe you will get paid.

Dr. King, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, put it this way: “If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” My refrain on Dr. King's advice is: Build that mousetrap better than anybody else, and Wal-Mart will find you!

The point is not really about mousetraps or making money. It's about perfecting the gift and addressing the need. When you perfect the gift, the need becomes apparent. If you are passionately driven to serve children and perfect a unique way to serve them, there is a place for you in abandoned communities throughout this country.

We can best give people what they want (and what they need) when we are authentic. If we are true to who we are, our gift will make room for itself. It will expand and open up opportunities for you to do more and to help more people.

In our fast-paced, superficial society, it's hard to get centered. It's difficult for us to get comfortable with our true gifts. Often, as we try to keep up with the pace of the world, we attempt ten million things and never discover our true vocation, our true purpose.

The challenge is to find ways to mute the noise and hone in with laser-like precision on who you truly are.

I believe that we are all here for a reason. We are charged to discover our unique gift and use it to make sure that this earth is in a little better condition on the day we exit than it was on the day we entered. We begin that journey of discovery with simple questions: What burdens your soul? If seeing homeless people causes you to break down and cry, find a way to lift that burden. Let your soul burden point you to your calling—define your passion and audaciously set out to make a difference in people's lives.

When my “need” met my “passion,” things seemed to flower and flourish for me. Outside of my ill-advised T-shirt venture, I've learned to cultivate my gifts and think long and hard before I change lanes. Yes, I continue to pursue countless interests—that's how I'm hardwired—I appear on radio and TV, write books, and operate communication and advocacy enterprises. However, none of these activities falls outside of my core gifts. They are all vertically integrated pillars of my passion.

Here's the bottom line: You can't give the people what they want until you know what you really want, and you have to be as passionate about both your vision and its manifestation.

In 2011, I am celebrating 20 years in broadcasting because I had no other choice.

So avoid potholes on the road of life, such as what other people think you should do, or even what might seem like the most prudent thing to do. Be still, get clarity, and always be loyal to what you love.