Alan Philips’ Life Lessons On Turning Spaces Into Experiences, And Ideas Into Brands
Worried about AI-powered robots stealing your job? Wishing you could take your side hustle full time? According to brand experience expert Alan Philips, the two are related – and the long-term solution is self-aware, purposeful creativity packaged into a distinct brand. Furthermore, he believes that the bricks-and-mortar business spaces should always manifest the most interesting features of the brand they house.
As the former SVP, Brand Experience of WeWork, Philips knows – and empathizes with – the unfulfilled career needs that drive so many people to rent a desk at a co-work space. (According to a Bankrate.com report, 44 million Americans are currently engaged in some sort of side hustle–and that’s not including those in full-time startup employment.) By his measure, the Millennial move toward entrepreneurship, shared spaces and purpose-driven business is all part of a sea change, from the Industrial Age to the Age of Ideas. In this new age, creativity is a value driver, a primary source of happiness, and the one quality that will ultimately save human workers from being replaced by robots. It will also transform the ways we utilize physical space.
Books are more welcome than ever in the Age of Ideas ALAN PHILIPS
“Creativity is the last sustainable competitive advantage and primary driver of future value creation,” states Philips on his website TheAgeofIdeas.com Furthermore, “creative self-actualization” can manifest in many forms, whether it’s inventing the first-ever butcher block paint kit (and saving DIY remodeler customers thousands) or designing a shoe store that looks like an art gallery. As the Brand Experience wizard of WeWork, he regularly scheduled entertainment, educational and community-fostering events that made headlines and served as a “funnel” to get curious potential clients streaming in for a tour.
Philips is also bullish about bootstrapping: he says the production and programming tools—and education to fill in technical gaps– are accessible to everyone, thanks to the Internet. In his new book, also titled The Age of Ideas, he explains how anyone can transform a commodity product– like a building, t-shirt, or coffee cart — into a winning brand that will resonate with an audience.
