The new National Hockey League season starts tomorrow, to no great fanfare stateside (the first games are played in Prague and Stockholm). Whatever you think of hockey, one of its basic adages has great relevance for sustainable marketing: “Keep your head up and stick on the ice”. Let’s parse.
Head up: Watch what’s going on the ice around you, and what’s about to happen, and be prepared for a hit or a check. You can dodge that hit coming your way. When it does come, the hit won’t catch you by surprise. You’re more likely to fend it off or just get up and keep playing. But get hit with your head down and you can get hurt.
In business, likewise, awareness of emerging threats allows your company to adapt to them, avoid them, fend them off, or, if they’re unavoidable, minimize the damage. Competitors, trends, products, marketing tactics can pop up out of nowhere, particularly in the fast-growing sustainability sector. Being prepared for what’s coming will keep the element of surprise from hurting your triple-bottom line.
Stick on the ice: it’s possible to bat the puck into the net off the air, but most of the time you score when the puck is on the ice. In this fast game, you don’t always know where the puck is, but you can be where it will be. When you’re in the right position and ready with your stick, you’re more likely to score on a deflection, by your stick simply being in the way.
Same thing in business. Keep your main marketing tools closest to where they have the best potential to succeed. Watch for new trends, new niches, and go where they’re going even before they get there. Unforeseen opportunities will fly your way, and if your sustainable business is at the right place at the right time, often you won’t have to do a thing to make them work for you.
Here’s to another great hockey and sustainable marketing season!
