I have always wondered that we keep on buying formulas of how to solve problems and get success, but we do. The success market is great. Try e.g. to google “How to succeed” and you will see a never ending number of formulas.

We are talking about an enormous industry living on service to companies and private persons. But; do they have any effect? Do you have the components in the company or at home? Do you know how to use them; and ultimately do you like them? The question might also be: Are you able to copy a success or the way of solving problems? And: - how many times did you leave a successful seminar with fine possible solutions to all of your problems – and how many times did you accordingly realise, that you did not implement the solutions; as you found out that in reality it was not possible.

Successful companies have their own DNA which cannot be copied
An advertising company called “Anomaly” proceeded in an abnormal way when defining their business foundation. “Thinking like businessmen and acting like clients” was the mantra and today their DNA. The foundation was not found in the collection of formulas. It was built by completely new components and mixed in a new way. From the beginning Anomaly wished to be the new offer in the medias, absolutely detached from the traditional way of thinking.
 
Thus Anomaly has a diverse number of employees with totally different competences and many of them quite atypical, compared to the normal way of recruiting.

Thus silos are not discussed at Anomaly. And Anomaly is also responsible when taking new initiatives together with the customers.
Today Anomaly have offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Toronto and they have become one of the agencies much discussed when speaking of reinventing yourself.

Anomaly – a good example of finding your own formula of success
When focusing specifically it might be said that the success of Anomaly is due to the lack of “googling”: “How to success in the advertising industry.” Instead they chose their own way of solving the demand for a marketing partner. They had to act in another way and to think about the customers of tomorrow and what they would be searching for. And they did. E.g. with a complete new account solution between agency and customer. The morale could be: “Do not define your company by reflecting yourself in the success of others. Define your company by interpreting the present and future demands of your products.”
And by trusting your intuition.
And note: This is not a formula. It is an insight to be remembered if you are inventing or reinventing yourself.

And finally a quote by Mark Twain, used by Anomaly in their web page:
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” Well said and absolutely worth mentioning.


* The title is from a book written by Michael Johnson and my aim with this article is not to discredit Johnson for his points of view.
My aim is that there are no formulas of solving problems. You might find inspiration, but that is an entirely different matter…