What can Eric Cantona tell us about building a strong brand? - Krishna De: Branding, Personal Branding, Employer Branding, Social Media Marketing, Communications, PR, Online Identity

August 10th, 2006 by Krishna De / Print This Article / Email This Article /

My friend and mentor Chris Barrow is a lover of football and often uses situations in football to illustrate situations to his clients. Chris is a master on his feet and has no problem holding the attention of his audience whether it be from 2 to 200.

One quote he mentioned recently is attributed to Eric Cantona the footballer, in 1995:

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea”.

And the interpretation from Chris? As you develop a strong business, you will most certainly begin to find others look to approach you in relation to collaboration.

Watch out!

I am the first to encourage collaboration and networking, however make sure that you don’t link up with people who are after part of your reflected glory and your compelling vision unless you have boundaries. Even better would be a collaboration of equals.

Not a week goes by without someone wanting to connect to me to collaborate. In the last month alone this has happened over 8 times.

So as your business grows, consider yourself as the trawler, the smaller business as the seagull and the clients as the sardines.

You see with a strong brand you are forging ahead trawling for fish, but that less strong brand is the seagull is looking to eat the fish you have left behind and did not get in your nets.

Another way Chris put it:

There are people who know alot of people but not a lot of things and there are others who know a lot of things but not a lot of people.
In this world, the people who know alot of things but not a lot of people usually end up working for people who know a lot of people but not a lot of things.

So before you agree to meet up for that coffee, or say yes to collaborating with someone, just go back and consider your vision. Does the collaboration move you towards your vision faster than without it?

What ever you decide to do, be sure to leave the other person in a gracious manner - as I say - “you never know who you may meet on the way up and see again when you are on the way down”.

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