The Awesomeness Manifesto

Many of you have heard the term "Awesomeness" and some of you have even used it (I know I have). But have any of you written a manifesto on it? No? Ya, me neither. But Umair Haque, Director of the Havas Media Lab, a new kind of strategic advisor that helps investors, entrepreneurs, and firms experiment with craft, drive radical management, and strategic innovation has published an online article in Harvard Business on this very thing. Entitled "The Awesomeness Manifesto," Haque flips the script and describes how "Awesomeness" is the new innovation and if you're not striving to create an environment of awesomeness in whatever you do, then be prepared to be left behind in wake of true Awesomeites (people who practice Awesomeness...ya, I made that up). Below are a few of my favorite excerpts. To read the full manifesto, click here.

"I'd like to advance a hypothesis: awesomeness is the new innovation."

"Starbucks isn't just trying to innovate yet another flavour of sugar-water: it's trying to gain awesomeness."

"What is innovative often fails to delight, inspire, and enlighten — because, as we've discussed, innovation is less concerned with raw creativity. Awesomeness puts creativity front and center. Awesome stuff evokes an emotive reaction because it's fundamentally new, unexpected, and 1000x better. Just ask Steve Jobs. The iPhone and iPod were pooh-poohed by analysts, who questioned how innovative they really were — but the Steve has turned multiple industries upside down through the power of awesomeness"

"...Contrast that with the alienating, soul-crushing experience of trying to buy something at Best Buy — where salespeople attack you out of greed. (Or, as editor extraordinaire Sarah Green put it, "where you wander around for a full half-hour unable to find anyone to help you before you finally get the attention of some blue-shirted 12-year old who turns out to know nothing about the products she sells and ultimately end up committing hara-kiri with a Wii controller")..."

"Let's summarize. What is awesomeness? Awesomeness happens when thick — real, meaningful — value is created by people who love what they do, added to insanely great stuff, and multiplied by communities who are delighted and inspired because they are authentically better off. That's a better kind of innovation, built for 21st century economics."