Arcbound Update #24

FROM THE FOUNDERS

If you build it, they will come—even in the rain.

In Nashville on Sunday, May 7, there was a thunderstorm.

There was also a Taylor Swift concert.

When the clouds began rolling in that afternoon, Swift posted on Instagram, promising her fans that she was “ready to play.” Her fans began showing up midday at Nissan Stadium, just like they had for the two previous Nashville shows.

Then the lightning started.

After a four-hour shelter-in-place warning, Swift’s 220-minute set started at 10:10 PM, wrapping just after 1:30 AM. Nearly everyone stayed until the very end.

Here’s what Swift fans know:

• Taylor would only cancel in a dire emergency (excepting the pandemic, her shows have only been canceled once—in 2011 due to bronchitis)

• Taylor loves performing in the rain

• Taylor loves her fans

All 70,000 of them were willing to wait out the lightning because they knew she’d show up. And Taylor showed up because she knew the fans would be there.

For the last 17 years, Taylor Swift has been building a brand. Fans know who she is, what she stands for, and what she’ll deliver to them. And it doesn’t matter if she’s standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, re-recording her albums, or performing in the rain—they’re right there with her.

At its core, building a brand like Taylor’s is about three things:

1. Authenticity: The more authentic you are, the easier people will find it to connect with you.

2. Consistency: When you show people who you are and produce content that is consistent and expected, people stick around.

3. Intention: Your content is curated to match your values and meet your audience where they’re at. Everything comes back to the most important component—who you are.

You don’t have to be Taylor Swift to watch your brand do epic things. You just have to know that what you’re putting out into the world is as authentic, consistent, and intentional as possible.

And then maybe one day you, too, will meet a crowd of 70,000 in the pouring rain who stuck around simply because they knew you would be there.

THE ONE AWAY SHOW

Colin Hunter is an Author, Mentor, Entrepreneur, Coach, and CEO of PotentialSquared, a business that was created to inspire leaders by disrupting the way they engage and develop their people. Colin is passionate about creating immersive, measurable, and virtual playgrounds to disrupt the way people are led and inspire new ways of thinking, systems, and habits. Through award-winning leadership, personal, and innovation development programs, Colin and PotentialSquared are leading the way in Virtual Reality for leadership.

Colin joins Bryan Wish on The One Away Show to discuss finding common connection points, group dynamics, and how to be an engaging leader.

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF
Rob Volpe is an award-winning author!

Huge congratulations to Rob Volpe, whose first book, Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time, was just awarded the 2023 Silver medal at the Independent Book Publisher Association’s Benjamin Franklin Awards in the self-help category.

Rob’s book is changing lives—readers are thinking differently about their relationships, their conversations, and their decisions. They’re becoming more empathetic when the world is experiencing an empathy crisis, and the accolade is well-deserved!

After seeing firsthand the decline in our empathy skills—and realizing what it will take to fix them—Rob, CEO of Ignite 360, wrote Tell Me More About That to share the 5 Steps to Empathy with readers everywhere.

ON THE JOB FRONT

Michigan State Football is searching for an Assistant Director of Football Creative to join the team in East Lansing, Michigan. As an Assistant Director of Football Creative, you will be responsible for capturing and creating content that moves the program’s brand exponentially forward. This newly created position provides creative flexibility in a strategically redesigned unit. The department is looking for someone who is strong in the realm of graphic design, has experience in photography, and preferably has some knowledge of video.

Ian Lutfiyya is a tenacious, results-driven leader with 10+ years of product, sales, and marketing experience. His work has leveraged market intelligence, relationship management, and data-driven strategic reasoning to consistently exceed goals and drive product innovation.

Ian’s strong contextual communication effectively connects stakeholders, product ideation, and GTM execution to manage $5B+ of client marketing capital. He has demonstrated a proven ability to cultivate growth through accountable leadership as a multi-faceted leader delivering impact across organizations.

A self-described eternal optimist, Ian has vast expertise in product strategy, GTM commercialization, and commerce solutions. With his experience in managing dynamic relationships with clients/partners, developing long-term growth strategies, and achieving targets through data-driven decision-making, Ian's skill set aligns seamlessly to provide day-one business impact.

FOR YOUR HEADPHONES

Arcbound CEO Bryan Wish joined Nicole Jansen on Leaders of Transformation to talk about the foundation of personal branding, his own journey of discovery, and how to make sense of your unique story so you can use it to make a difference in other people’s lives.

They also explore the future of the publishing industry and what Arcbound is doing differently to bring the best publishing solutions to our clients at a fraction of the traditional cost.

If you’ve ever wondered how to bring the many life experiences you’ve had into a personal brand that you’re proud to share with others, this episode is for you.

FOR YOUR INBOX

The Creator Economy is a class of businesses built by more than 200 million content creators, curators, social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers that use software and finance tools to assist them with their growth and monetization.

A healthy team is a performing team. Square Fare is a woman-owned food company that focuses on team performance by bringing delicious, healthy food into the workplace. Started by an investment banker who knows how hard it is to eat well under deadlines, Square Fare focuses on food that tastes great and makes you feel your best—physically and cognitively. We offer catering and do plated events, buffet-style food, and single meal boxes. Our ingredients are organic, locally-sourced, and our food is fresh, clean, and done as a collaboration between our chefs and nutritionists.

The kicker? When ordering single-meal boxes, we are able to individually tailor each meal to the calories, macros, and allergies of each guest.

To work with Square Fare, reach out to Claire Goldwitz at: [email protected] or (917) 679-5306

Thanks for letting us play a role in launching your arc.