Mini Series Part 1 - Grand Visions Live Beyond Their Maker

Often, I see things, read things or even experience things that make me think about branding. I see something that would make a great metaphor for branding; I read something that may not be about branding but the principles align; or I experience something that makes me think, "great idea".  But I tend to think these ideas are too small or tactical to warrant a blog post.  However, recently, I've had many of these little thoughts. So I have created a mini series, where I would feature some of my brief thoughts throughout the week:

Part 1 - Grand Visions Live Beyond Their Maker

Last weekend, I was in Barcelona visiting a friend and taking in the sites.  I'm a big fan of Gaudi's work, because of his extraordinary vision for architecture and refusal to follow standards.  The last time I saw La Sagrada Familia, his spectacular basilica, was seven years ago.  In 2003, what you see in the picture was still open to the sky with parts of the ceiling lying on the floor.  Needless to say, I was blown away walking into the basilica, seven years later, greeted by this spectacular view!

This got me thinking - La Sagrada Familia began construction in 1882. That's 128 years ago. And its visionary, Gaudi, was only around for 44 years of that!  This means that his vision; his grand/opulent/seemingly impossible dream has had to move forward without him in an attempt to come to fruition. Something I would love to see in my lifetime.

This grand vision, which was last seen by Gaudi looking something like this:

Had to go from that to this...

Note: Image from Wikipedia 

...without the oversight of Gaudi - the original visionary. Rather his vision had to be translated by others along the way. Yet, his idea was so clear that it's being executed pretty close to his original dream:

So, I think brands can take a lesson from Gaudi's Basilica.  If a brand has a purpose that is so grand/beautiful/innovative/purposeful, it will last beyond the original visionary, as it will motivate others to see the vision through and make it a reality. I have heard some people say that their brand could never be as strong or well-executed as Apple, because their founder isn't around anymore, where as Steve Jobs is. I think La Sagrada Familia is a great example of how a truly spectacular dream/purpose with high aspirations can live well beyond its founder in attempts to become a reality.

However, like building Guadi's Basilica, brand purpose doesn't happen over night. Rather, you have to work on it everyday. Making decisions to ensure the integrity of the vision is still maintained. In fact, I remember there being controversy around La Sagrada Familia when they decided to go with poured concrete instead of chiseled granite as it was becoming to expensive, yet they wanted to see this vision through despite major financial trouble.

This brings me to another interesting thought this example provokes - having purpose is not budget dependent. What I mean is, you don't need to say, which I have actually been told, "we can't define a brand purpose this year as it will be too expensive to execute". Well, this is totally wrong. Rather, you do need a purpose at all times in order to make tough decisions that guide your organization forward in a consistent and relevant way, no matter the economic conditions, in an attempt to see the dream through.

All-in-all, I think La Sagrada Familia is a wonderful example/metaphor for how having a strong/exciting/crazy brand purpose can last well beyond its maker, exciting and motivating people for many years to come!