Every 4 weeks, I publish deep dives into B2B thought leaders, breaking down the content strategy they used to go from unknown consultant to top tier personality.
Vultures have a bad image.
So despised that their name has taken on a second meaning:
“A person or thing that preys greedily and ruthlessly on others, especially the helpless.” Collins Dictionary
India and Nepal used to be home to millions of them.
But, when farmers began medicating livestock with drugs that were toxic to vultures, the vulture population took a nosedive.
That drop in population had unexpected consequences because the vulture does important work. They feed on carcasses and, in doing so, clean up the environment. They save humans from infectious diseases that live on rotting meat. They also reduce emissions from that meat.
But, with the numbers dying out, know what’s replacing the vulture?
Those rotting carcasses are supporting a boom in the population of feral dogs.
Unlike vultures, feral dogs are a nuisance to human activity. They carry a threat of violence and disease.
But, not enough is done to protect vultures. Why?
The bad image.
“He’s hanging on my f***ing neck like a vulture.” Joe Pesci in Goodfellas
Our reality is shaped by the frames through which we see the world.
Imagine a reality in which we viewed the vulture as an environmentalist. They clean up the planet, and being green is a good thing.
Protected and celebrated for the good work they do. Farmers would be prohibited from using toxic medication on their livestock. Consequently, vulture numbers stabilise, and the population of feral dogs is kept in check.
But notice, in this fictional reality, the vulture didn’t change. It’s the same animal, living the same way, doing the same job.
It’s our frame of the animal that changed.
Diamonds were one of many gemstones used in jewellery until De Beers reframed them in the 1930s as the symbol of ‘everlasting’ love.
Land Rover was designed for military use, then off-road agriculture, but today, it's framed as a status symbol. A large, powerful vehicle for the suburbs.
Electric cars were environmentally friendly, boring, and low-performance. Tesla reframed them as innovative, fast, and futuristic.
Those are all macro-level examples of reframes, but they happen at a micro-level.
Every Undisputed Authority creates new frames around old ideas to change the way a market sees that idea. Then, they hang their framework and thinking on that overarching frame.
Subsequently, they own the frame and any momentum and success that goes with it.
The content game is about developing a new, interesting frame around an old idea, then supporting that frame with a body of work that captures your perspective on the solution to the problem you solve.
Become the environmentalist, not the vulture.
P.S. Story on vultures comes from this piece in The New Yorker
Want to become a thought leader?
Every 4 weeks, I publish deep dives into B2B thought leaders, breaking down the content strategy they used to go from unknown consultant to top tier personality.
