By Brooke Glasford
According to the Oxford dictionary the phrase avant garde refers to new and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature. Being avant garde means you are cutting edge and ahead of your time. As with everything in life, there lies the good and the bad – and while being ahead of your time can be incredible, it can also be incredibly bad for business.
Timing in business is much like timing in any aspect of your life, it is the ‘be-all and end-all”. Just ask the young couple who met in the wrong moment, or the parent who is just moments late, and misses their child’s winning moment. Bringing something to market well before the market is ready can be detrimental to your business – in 2015 you launched and it fell flat, but in 2020 someone can come with the same idea and execution, and it blows up. The difference is simple, the market wasn’t ready, it was not the right time.
When I was in school we had to learn a concept that just took me ages to understand – the Zeitgeist of the time. The Zeitgeist is a term from German philosophy, meaning “spirit of the age” or “spirit of the times”. It refers to an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a moment in time or history.
Understanding the zeitgeist of the time means that you understand and can clearly see the current trends and underlying tones in society and the greater world. You will find that there is a thread of connectivity throughout everything happening in the world, every sector and industry, every country, and every person. Recognising this thread allows you to pre-empt moves of the market, and the needs of the consumer.
We have all been made as innately creative beings, some people are better at harnessing that creativity, but it is in all of our DNA. While having our finger on the pulse of society is critical to making things that are saleable, things that people want to consume, a balance must also be found, that does not encroach on the creative process.
On finding a zeitgeist, these are things you can look at and questions to ask;
– What are the current world trends?
– What are the current industry-specific trends?
– What are people trying to look like and be like?
– What is the underlying tone of clothing trends currently?
– Where is pop culture?
Understanding the time you are living in sounds like simplistic advice but it can be challenging – especially when you are unsure of what to search for. What you are really trying to attempt is to give people what they are looking for before they know to look for it. To do this we have to remain connected to the ultimate source of inspiration to be completely aware of the zeitgeist of the times; and use that to connect the dots in our own business and product offering. Do you notice any threads of connectivity in your own work and connected industries? Let’s continue this conversation on my website, www.buildingbrooke.com
Image: An avant garde moment – the first iPhone released in 2007 was a foreign concept that has now become the norm.
