Break the Rules

At least, temporarily.

Lately, I've found myself doing more of something I used to enjoy quite a bit: reading. As a child, I was a voracious reader, devouring biographies, fiction, nonfiction, sports books, music tomes, and even the occasional book of poetry. Yes, you read that right - your pal Billy likes poetry, but I digress. Like many, other forms of media consumed my attention as I grew up to the point where reading seemed "quaint."

While I still occasionally read purely for pleasure (with the Alex Van Halen book "Brothers" being the most recent example), these days, I generally read to expand my knowledge of marketing, branding, and leadership. While I do so in 15 to 30-minute chunks, I find that it recharges me and helps me look at challenges from completely different perspectives. The book that's been my constant companion these days is "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin.

For the way I consume the written word, it's the perfect book as it's written in 2-4 page "chapters" that, while part of the overall message, stand on their own. One section that struck me is where Rubin talks about something he calls "Temporary Rules." The idea is simple: by setting self-imposed creative constraints, we free ourselves from the tyranny of the blank page and, more importantly, from doing what we've always done just because we've always done it.

• Write a song without using the letter "E"? Sure.

• Design a campaign with only one color? Why not.

• Build a brand story using only three words? Let's go.

These aren't rules meant to last forever. By contrast, they're temporary fences designed to force new thinking and in a business world where sameness is practically an epidemic, applying this kind of thinking isn't just helpful; it's imperative.

Take the branded merchandise industry, for example. If you walk through any industry trade show, flip through a supplier catalog, or scroll through social media long enough, it all starts to blur together: the same buzzwords, the same products, and the same strategies. Over time, it begins to feel like everything is the same. It's a sea of safe, a flood of formula, and an ocean of mediocrity.

By contrast, the businesses that stand out and truly move the proverbial marketing needle are the ones willing to play by the rules that didn't exist five minutes ago - and might not exist five minutes from now.

This approach doesn't mean blowing everything up just to feel edgy. It means being intentional about disrupting your thinking by forcing yourself - and even your team - to operate from a different angle. In other words, it's time to challenge hard-wired default thinking and shake off the dust of "this is how we do things" to purposely try something that might feel ridiculous at the moment to see where it leads.

It works by simply setting a rule:

• "We're only pitching three merch items next quarter, and they must all come from unexpected categories."

• "We're going to create five campaign ideas that intentionally have no call to action and focus only on brand story."

• "No logos allowed. We are going to sell the idea, not the imprint."

These are temporary while, at the same time, they are intentional and transformative.

We spend so much time chasing what has always worked that we forget to chase what might be better, original, and more impactful for the client. Ironically, the best way to get there often involves giving yourself rules that make zero logical sense but unlock something your safe zone never will.

So, if you're tired of sounding like everyone else, start by thinking unlike anyone else.

Give yourself a rule. Then break it.