Friday, September 14, 2012

Action - the first fundamental

(Inspired by the recent swift shift in economic policy action by the Indian government with inputs from the chapter on Brand Appeal from my book Decoding Communication)  

Keep pushing
Action is life. Action is doing something with a commitment to achieving an objective. It, unsurprisingly, is also the first fundamental of communication. This implies that every other aspect of communication, like transmission, interpretation and response, are founded on action. This draws from the timeless concept of causality - cause and effect, connecting the now to the future through Action.

And, for action to have a positive impact, not just any action is enough - it has to be the right action. Right action is itself quite ambiguous, and has been central to philosophical, scientific, sociological and religious debates without bias. In a broad sense, right action could be interpreted as that which is done at the right place, at the right time, by the right persons and with the right intent. While the place, time and people are the locators of right action, the correctness of intent is measured by collective values in a given cultural context.

Action is often seen as different from communication, though in fact, they are the same. Every action is communication and every communication, action manifest. Action is also the basis of Goal Achievement, one of the four drivers of human behavior. It displays a direct commitment to achieving goals, something that benefits society as a whole.

Action is imperative in building Brand Appeal, the positive attraction that many brands display. Its importance is evident because it features in all the four quadrants of Brand Appeal -  Rational, Emotional, Communication and Aspirational. Action is the seed of Rational Appeal, the appeal of logic, by displaying Conscious Effort and Utility bettering the ability to achieve a desired goal. It is also at the core of Emotional Appeal by adding Positivity and Hope to any situation. Positive Action is as essential in building Trust, the most important aspect of Communication Appeal. And, Action is also core to Aspirational Appeal by giving Winner's Attributes to the doer, often seen in sportspersons who train for years just to compete in an event, the outcome of which is completely indeterminate.

Action is life and if the etymology of the word 'inanimate' is any indication, it shows how connected life and action are. The word inanimate means 'without life' and is built from the words that mean without action.  At every level we perhaps instinctively understand that only by the use of correct action does our future comes more in our control, something that man has always wanted. Though we may often miss the obvious concatenation that sews thoughts and words to our future through the forces of positive action.


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