2. The Power and The Pain of New

Why do we embrace new “stuff” but fear new experiences? In business and in life, great things usually await once we venture into “new” territory. This week dives into the two sides of new and encourages you to embrace the feeling of vulnerability that comes with choosing new so that you can progress and prosper.

[ EPISODE 2 TRANSCRIPT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY WEBSITE ]

Click here: https://diamondbrands.media/
Episode 2 Transcript: https://diamondbrands.media/brand-gems-episode-2-transcript/

Transcript

[0:00 - 0:34]
Hello, I'm Andrea Wade, the host of Brand Gems, the podcast where I highlight a person, brand or organization and discuss the key elements that contributed to their success. I'm a marketing strategist, brand architect and an MBA who likes a little fast company and Forbes mixed in with her Netflix Binges. I'm also a consultant who enjoys discovering those rare nuggets that make a business unique. Listen to Brand Gems for ideas to leverage in your personal and professional endeavors. Now let's begin the treasure hunt. 

[0:35 - 1:19]
Hello! This is Andrea Wade. Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of Brand Gems. I thought it'd take this week to talk about the power and the pain of being new. I think this topic is especially relevant given that this is my second episode and it's actually a little bit delayed by my own desired schedule because I ran into some issues. I ran into some audio issues where the sound wasn't working and that threw me in a complete tail spin to the point where I was starting to stress and have anxiety and just thinking. Oh gosh. It's week two and I'm failing already. 

[1:20 - 1:58]
And then I just had to take a pause and take a step back and realize that I am in control. So that's what I did. I said I had to back up, I had to figure this out and regroup. And it's actually probably for the better because even if you listen to the first episode. What you heard is that how long I've been thinking about actually doing this. And then for me to take that step and to have things not go right or not go as planned for the second episode. My inclination was just to want to throw in the towel. But I think that is where the learning came in. 

[1:59 - 2:19]
I had a different episode planned for this week, but I'm going to put that one on hold because I think this topic is a bit more relevant, at least as far as my own personal journey, and I think that you'll get a lot out of it. So why don't we go in a little bit and explore a bit more the power and the pain of new. 

[2:20 - 3:09]
When we think about new in the context of items or objects, there's usually an excitement or a thrill that comes with that. If you're thinking about maybe a new pair of shoes or new outfit or a new car, a new house, there's just that joy you know. You've worked hard and you were able to acquire something and just all the thoughts and the dreams that you have about that particular object. And there usually isn't any hesitation. Maybe the hesitation is depending on the magnitude of the object, the price or something, there might be some hesitation or some concern. Obviously there's excitement with getting a new home, but that's a big commitment. But these are things that we aspire to. 

[3:10 - 4:01]
We look forward to new in that context and there's just all kinds of positive thoughts associated with it. But then when it comes to trying new things particularly as we enter adulthood there's a bit more hesitation, there's bit more concern and caution with undertaking those things. We tend to have a fear of the unknown. Maybe just even the mere thought of it makes us uncomfortable. There are things that aren't predictable with something new be it a new hobby, a new job or moving to a new city. So it's really interesting that new can take on these two different or cause these two different feelings in us.

[4:02 - 4:52]
I venture to say that it isn't newness that gives us these feelings of anxiety or concern or fear but it's more the state that trying something new puts us in. If new is equated to unknown then in a sense we are vulnerable. And being vulnerable is frequently uncomfortable. Actually, let me clarify. It's not that being vulnerable is uncomfortable. I think that it's being vulnerable at a certain point in our lives is uncomfortable. Because if we think about it when we're kids were frequently vulnerable. We just maybe don't know it. And there's so many things. Everything is new. 

[4:53 - 5:41]
We're putting all kinds of situations where we're doing something for the first time or experiencing things and that's just what we know. But it's when we get to the point that we expect things to be a certain way or we're used to having a certain amount of control over how we show up or what the outcome is. Because we can never control what people think of us. But at least when we think we have control of the outcome, that it's. When we don't have that control, when we think that we are vulnerable that it makes us a bit nervous. So how can we better handle the mental gymnastics? I guess that comes with being new or facing something new. 

[5:42 - 6:06]
I think if we start with just understanding the feelings that can be stirred up then we'll know how to deal with them. Think about maybe a time when you were in that new situation. I remember a time I started a new job. I was so excited to be joined a talent agency. And I remember I'm a pop culture junkie so this was just all of my interests coming together. 

[6:07 - 6:50]
And I remember getting ready for lunch. Probably wasn't the first day because I'm sure we had some group lunches then but sometime that first week and getting ready to go to lunch and it was maybe about 12:00 12:30 or something. And first I'm sorry, let me give a little bit of background. Talent agencies have a very unique culture. And if you aren't familiar, the structure of talent agencies is that it's very competitive to get in. Usually start as an assistant with the goal of getting promoted to the mailroom as part of the agency training program. And then from there you can get promoted into some of the different areas. 

[6:51 - 7:28]
Traditionally, you can be a music agent, TV agent, film agent, TV and film being the primary areas. And the music was a major area, of course, but most of the talent agencies initially started with film and TV. So as they've expanded into other areas, like now they have marketing groups, they have digital and new business, licensing, endorsements, all these other areas, the traditional lines of business, they've brought in people from industry, meaning you could bring in people that didn't necessarily grow up in the agency system. 

[7:29 - 8:27]
So I was one of those people. I was brought into the marketing group as an executive. I did not come up through the training program, so there are certain things about the culture that I did not know coming in. So anyway, back to my story about lunch. I'm getting ready to go to lunch. It's maybe about 12:15, and as I bump into an agent on the elevator and he asked me if I was leaving for a lunch appointment, but again, it was early enough anyway. I don't remember how the exchange went down exactly, but he basically looked at me, looked at his watch and said, you're going to lunch now, this is when Kindergartners ate lunch. I didn't quite get what that meant, but when I came back, I asked one of my colleagues who had come up through the training program and what that meant, and he explained to me that Hollywood lunchtime was 01:00. 

[8:28 - 9:01]
Pretty much that was the time that everyone went. It's when if you were filming a TV agent and you're having lunches with people at the studios, everyone knows that all of Hollywood is at lunch at that time. The phones don't ring, the assistants can go to lunch. It's the universal time. I did not know I was not coming from the industry, so I was new and I had all of this excitement, but yet it quickly turned to fear and anxiety about all of the things that I did not know. 

[9:02 - 9:36]
So at that point I realized, okay, I need kind of a shorthand, I need a coach, someone I can go to to help me understand more of these cultural cues. Things, again, that I hadn't been privy to because I didn't come up through the agency system. And I knew that was going to be critical to just me fitting in.  So my colleague agreed to be that person for me, and I just made a point to be hyper aware, and particularly for that first year, just because there were a lot of things that I wasn't familiar with. 

[9:37 - 10:08]
So take away from this is that being new in a new environment, maybe find someone who can give you the clues or the shorthand to best navigate that environment, rather than, yes, there will be things you don't know, and it can be scary and intimidating, but find that person, they can help you to survive and thrive. Now, also, keep in mind the power of being new. If you think about in the past few years, there's been a lot of disruption in different industries due to new players. 

[10:09 - 10:53]
If you think about RideShare and the Ubers and Lyft, or Airbnb, or if you think about streaming, a few years ago, Netflix was new. Now there are a lot of other competitors. So when you think about it, although being new or taking that first step for something might be scary, there's a lot of opportunity there. There could be opportunity there. And even if it's just you being in a new role or joining a new company, the power is that you're bringing a different perspective and you're looking at things through a different lens. So that power of observation can help you with your role. It can help the contribution that you make to the team or to the company. 

[10:54 - 11:24]
Similarly, if there's an idea that you're working on and you're worried that, oh, gosh, there's so many people or companies doing this already, but what you have is that, again, you're going to be new and you're going to be bringing a different perspective. So that's the brand gem for today is that the same time that being new and the unknown uncomfortable, the fact that things are unpredictable can be a little intimidating. 

[11:25 - 11:54]
Those are also the things to embrace. Embrace the possibility, embrace the excitement, embrace the stimulation that comes from exposing yourself to something new. New people, new ideas, new environment. Take in all of that and just continue to educate yourself. So remember that there are two sides of the coin of new and that they can work together and yield great things. 

[11:55 - 12:01]
Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Brand Gems. I'll see you soon. 

[12:02 - 12:11]
You just listened to another episode of Brand Gems. Be sure to follow so you don't miss future episodes. And please share with anyone you think will find the information useful. 

[12:12 - 12:13]
Until next time.