A blogger named Kevin Kelly wrote about setting a goal of 1,000 people who truly love what you do and will buy (just about) anything from you. I think the One Eleven team can embrace a more modest goal, but I think the idea of really embracing those that really “get you” is right on. That being said, how many “true fans” do we have? Hmm, I would guess, truthfully, that the number is pretty small, somewhere between 0 and 25. But, I think it is a goal worth having – and my goal this year is to get 50 people who we can name who truly love us – and then we’ll build from there.

Seth Godin has done it again. I love his blog – it truly inspires me (sign up at www.sethgodin.com) – every day brings another gem. Today, he blogged about mediocrity and how truly brutal it is to be a visionary – not only in pharma, but in life. Remarkable thinking and ideas are always met with resistance by those who want to keep things status quo. I do get it. I’ve been a pain in the ass rabble-rousing demander of change my whole life – and believe me, it is NOT always the path to popularity! I had a boss early in my career who did everything she could to help guide me back to the path of mediocrity – bless her heart, including sending me to the company psychiatrist to find out how to help me be “more like the others”. Brave soul that he was, he sent me on my own path and I’ve never looked back.

The truly new, innovative ideas will be beaten down – by your own colleagues (unless you surround yourself with like-minded thinkers), by your clients, by the industry – but without the challenge, what fun would it be to actually make it through the muck of mediocrity? Seth’s challenge to the innovators is to persist – stay the course you believe in and maybe you can be the one to bring about a change.

My mother tried really hard to understand why it was I had to take the path with the most resistance, but I think she appreciates the need to rise above mediocrity, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. Look around – overnight sensations take years – ask Steve Case about his 7 year overnight success -and I read somewhere that it took the Beatles 8 years to become a sensation in the U.S. – I have hope for One Eleven Interactive – my mom does too.