How Love Works

Think about love.

In the early days of running my own company, I was feeling nervous about a pitch meeting with a potential new client. My friend suggested matter-of-factly, “Just think about love.” I laughed at first, because love seemed like an odd thing to be thinking about while discussing digital media strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. But I decided to give it a try. I took a deep breath as I sat down to the meeting and called the word ‘love’ to mind. I felt my chest broaden and my shoulders release. It wasn’t romantic love, but rather the sensation of pure joy that comes when you hug your puppy, the feeling that anything is possible when the sun shines on your shoulders. I nailed the presentation and won the work.

It worked because love is what you bring to your very best work – the passion you feel for something you truly care about, the sense of integrity that comes with fulfilling your purpose, the patience and tenacity that get conjured up when you are determined to make good on a commitment.

Don’t think about robots.

While we may worry about machine learning and artificial intelligence taking jobs and dehumanizing work, we need not. It’s true that machines and algorithms have quick computing power and no pesky egos to contend with. However, the unique gifts of the human heart – empathy, vulnerability, emotional literacy – can’t be replicated.

Much of the innovation we see around us is born of experimentation by scientists and engineers who do it for the love of it, not because it’s efficient and logical. When you throw your heart into something without fear or analysis, amazing things can happen. The heart is a powerful motivator, a valuable asset and, ultimately, a differentiator.

Rock till you drop.

A young Steven Tyler famously predicted, “I’m gonna rock until I drop,” and, many decades later, he’s still in the game. I’m particularly fascinated by Steven Tyler, because he was a freshman when my mother was a senior at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, NY, and it’s a bit of mind-bender to think of him as a contemporary of my parents. At 72, Tyler remains a rock icon, his live performance schedule compromised only by a global pandemic. He’s not in it for wealth and fame anymore – he’s already achieved those beyond anyone’s dreams. He simply loves what he does.

The only reason to do something incredibly difficult – like being a rock star or building a great brand – is a deep, overriding, unignorable passion. Academics call this intrinsic motivation. Teresa Amabile at Harvard Business School has written extensively on the topic, and her research concludes that people are more satisfied, perform better, and stay longer at their jobs when they do work that’s aligned with their passions.

Be my valentine.

For some, Valentine’s Day is about candy and sweethearts. I prefer to think of it in more general terms, as a day to celebrate love. That includes love for the people in your life as well as love for the work that you do. In both realms, the love you give comes back to you double. Give it a try. Think of it as your Valentine’s gift to me: Bring that awesome love feeling into every meeting. Put your heart into your work. Rock ‘till you drop.

In the spirit of sharing the love, I’ll be making my new DIY brand workbook available for free on Valentine’s Day. The Envision Start Guide helps you build a vision for your brand in 10 steps. Get it here.

And if you’d like to learn more about using love to define your brand, drop me a line.