Here’s to the Crazy Ones #40
Possibly my favorite quote and one of my favorite ad campaigns ever is Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. Visit the YESS! offices, and you’ll see every one of the campaign posters I’ve been able to collect, which I treasure. I’ve read this quote to leadership teams, my family and groups in trainings I’ve led. It’s always emotional because it speaks to me at the core.
What I appreciate about this quote and campaign is that it’s dedicated to the Visionaries of the world. The people who dare to push the envelope, ignore their need for approval, see a need and go for it despite what those around them deem a “crazy,” “ridiculous” or “unreasonable” idea.”
I love working with these people. Though it’s not always easy, it’s never boring. They push you and everyone else around them to be better, to think harder and to make what seems impossible possible. They are the inventors, the mad scientists, the founders. The ones who won’t take no for an answer and never settle.
They don’t fit in, but they are inspirational, challenging and infectious. They are the reason many people find out just how incredible they are, and they ensure we’ll never settle. They’re not easy. They are tenacious when others give up. They are the reason innovation and creativity happen. They find solutions where others can’t and bring fun to the ordinary. They’re difficult to keep pace with and often are so unconventional others judge them harshly.
I am grateful many of them found companies and find grounded, centered, rational counterparts who balance them in a magical sort of way. Though they don’t always see eye to eye, they do complement each other like the perfect puzzle piece, ensuring the best of both is accentuated, not diminished. That is, if there is mutual respect and trust in the relationship.
If you’re fortunate enough to know or work one of these “crazy” ones, thank them. They know they don’t fit in, and they proceed anyway. Thankfully, they take the rest of us along on the ride into an unprecedented future.