That Knicks photo actually opens up a fascinating counter-point. They rode their 1973 nostalgia for 53 years without a title, proving powerful lore can sustain a brand's relevance for decades even without recent wins. It made me wonder: what is the shelf-life for a company trying to do the same? How often do you need to win?
this is a really good point, and one someone else poked me on today IRL too. (their argument was that even if google dies a death at the hands openai or whatever, they'll still have lore, the way ibm and xerox do. which feels right, and i think i need a better theory of how losing fits in to all this. people love an underdog! and they love a valiant defeat!
That Knicks photo actually opens up a fascinating counter-point. They rode their 1973 nostalgia for 53 years without a title, proving powerful lore can sustain a brand's relevance for decades even without recent wins. It made me wonder: what is the shelf-life for a company trying to do the same? How often do you need to win?
this is a really good point, and one someone else poked me on today IRL too. (their argument was that even if google dies a death at the hands openai or whatever, they'll still have lore, the way ibm and xerox do. which feels right, and i think i need a better theory of how losing fits in to all this. people love an underdog! and they love a valiant defeat!
yes! my first corporate gig was at IBM and the "lore" is what kept many of us going, despite the reality we found ourselves in.
oh how interesting! i’d love to chat about that at some point
happy to!