3 Things B2B Can Learn from Star Trek

Everything old is new again - an early casting comparison for the new Star Trek 

**Film spoilers alert**

B2B folk and Trekkers have a few things in common:

We both attend conferences.
We have serious debates about how our respective fields should progress.
And we both tend to resist change.

That last one is particularly sensitive for...um, both of us. And we've both recently had big, whopping changes handed to us, then been told: 'Deal with it, or you don't play here anymore.'

The B2B challenges that have commanded more attention over the last year - getting onboard with Twitter and social media, to blog or not to blog, diving into the Buyersphere, finally addressing your techie, scary, and hugely relevant Search marketing needs, the worth of it all - these and more have been thoroughly investigated by my fellow Beyond bloggers.

I just want to make you feel better.

So if you want some recent facts and advice, check out Which Half of Your Advertising is Working by my Beyond buddy John Stanton. 

If you want to know how a JJ Abrams blockbuster can give you strength in these turbulent B2B times, read on.

1. Revisit, recycle, reinvent.

As a longtime casual Trekker (love the stories and themes, forget the deeper details), I was floored by how an old, old space/time machination was used to reinvent the sacred text of Trek: the wormhole. Evildoer goes through wormhole into the past, blows up Vulcan (Spock's homeworld), and thus changes...everything. Because when major details of the past are changed, an alternate strand of reality begins...and suddenly young Spock and Kirk hate each other [video].

Not incidentally, this opens up a big new opportunity for screenwriters to give all the old characters completely new storylines. As a fan, you get the compelling cosiness of familiar faces plus interesting new twists that keep you guessing. I was amazed no one had done it before.

Trek Tip: Gaining traction for your brand and your offering in a seemingly hostile space like the Buyersphere is both possible and simple when you have the right people onboard. And you'll probably be amazed you didn't do it before.


2. Sometimes you have to ignore your prime directive.

In Trek, the prime directive forbids Federation explorers from influencing the evolution of less technologically sophisticated societies - like, you can't just give them warp drive, no matter how useful an ally they might be.

In a similar violation in the new film, old Spock (wormhole again) tells young Scotty how he (S.) has in the future invented an even more amazing hyperdrive thingy - then actually gives him the code! That is clearly a no-no, and Spock surely knows better...but it saves the Enterprise from getting crisped later on. Naturally.

Trek Tip: Get out of character. Think of something you'd absolutely never try, and give it a go. Whether it's a favourite marketing rule or a safe mindset or a beloved brand guideline, kick it.

3. It takes all hands on deck to defeat the evildoers, save your planet, and discover new worlds.

I keep banging on about Spock, but without Sulu's futuristic swordplay, Chekov's teen navigational genius, Scotty's engineering wizardry, Bones' cynical insight, Uhura's keen ear for subspace subtleties, Kirk's daredevil energy, and the whole crew's success-or-bust loyalty...well. They'd all be dust before an hour was up.

Trek tip: There are no red shirts. When you prepare to enter the Buyersphere, you need everyone to participate, especially when it comes to social media.

If you need more convincing, please do check out John Bottom's Great Social Media in the Workplace Debate. And in the end, you'll not only save the ship, you'll boldy go [sorry! had to!] beyond business as usual.

PS: Cast comparison image is from Screenrant.