“Who do you want to be
like when you grow up” –
Not an unfamiliar question. We’ve all heard it when we were
children.
And in a society obsessed with hierarchy, it’s a question
that haunts us through different stages of life. The inevitable comparisons
with a colleague, a friend who’s doing better is an always uncomfortable
reality that needs dealing with.
The unforgiving pressure to emulate someone is a burden that
most of us have had to either carry or dismiss.
I find this behavior manifesting in the world of branding
and communications too. Often, companies are asked to define their ambition by
consultants and marketers – do you want to be as INNOVATIVE as APPLE? Or as
instinctive as Samsung? Do you want to be a Toyota? Or a Dove?
The thing is that as a person, I don’t want to be like
anyone else.
I am a rockstar in my own head.
The hero of my own movie; every day when I think of what I need
to achieve in the week, year, in 5 years.
While I talk about myself, I believe that is exactly how the
generation that I belong to, and the one that follows, thinks.
Sure, we like a SRK, put Tendulkar on a pedestal. Some even
think it would be great to have the sharp intellect a Modi does.
But no one wants to be like them. We all want to be our men.
Our own definition of success.
And its people like us who are creating the brands that will
define our tomorrow. The Flipkarts and the Methods of the world.
They don’t have a brand to idolize. Or a blueprint to follow.
So the next time someone asks them “who do you idolize”; don’t
be surprised if they have a blank look on their face.
We’re not a generation of narcissists, but we’re no longer a
generation of idol worshipping, blue print seeking followers either.
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