All Dreams on Deck – Charting the Course for your Life and Work” by Jeremy Cage

Mary Olson-Menzel: As an advisor to businesses across the country, how did you get your start?

Jeremy Cage: I began my career at Procter and Gamble – which not only gave me a strong business foundation (given their strong focus on training), but also gave me the opportunity to work internationally – facing a diverse set of business and cultural challenges. All of those experiences, along with similar experiences at PepsiCo and as CEO of a Lighting Technology company combine to inform how I advise companies.

Mary Olson-Menzel: What is your advice for organizations who are trying to build their brands in today’s marketplace?

Jeremy Cage: That’s a very broad question – but at a foundational level – they need to clearly identify an unmet consumer need then offer consumers a superior proposition to meet that need. I know it sounds so basic – but we work with so many companies that have lost sight of the consumer, and are launching initiatives just to make the numbers for the quarter or year. With that in place, the key marketing challenge is obviously to build trial and household penetration. How to do that is going to depend a lot on the service or brand you are building.

Mary Olson-Menzel: How does that advice differ for an organization just entering the market versus an already established brand?

Jeremy Cage: For a brand that is just starting out, it is even more critical that the product or service you are offering is both distinctive and relevant. If you are highly distinctive, but not really relevant, you’re a fad – here today and gone tomorrow (that’s OK if that’s your business model). If you are highly relevant but not distinctive, you are a commodity – which is typically low margin and favors the big guys. SO you need to focus on being both highly relevant and highly distinctive to even stand a chance.

Mary Olson-Menzel: What is your advice for people trying to grow and develop their teams?

Jeremy Cage: Put a performance objectives and development process in place from the very start. I see far too many companies (especially small to medium sized ones) – where the employees have no concrete idea what success looks like for them – both in terms of the business, and their own skill development. Putting a simple, non-bureaucratic system in place makes it clear not only what is expected of the individual, but also what the company is going to do to help build his or her skills. It also keeps communication/the conversation about development more ‘front and center’.

Mary Olson-Menzel: What is your advice for young leaders?

Jeremy Cage: I think that all leaders – not just the young – are typically dreaming all wrong. Many of them Dream Vaguely, and Dread Specifically – meaning that the dream they have for their business and their organization is too vague – and as a consequence they end up focusing too much on the fears, dreads and obstacles – which ends up preventing the business or organization from ever achieving its full potential. So my counsel – to leaders both young and old – is to flip that on its head. Dream Specifically and Dread Vaguely. The more you do that (for all aspects of your life by the way), the more successful you will be. That’s not everything, of course – but it’s establishes a solid foundation upon which to build.

Mary Olson-Menzel: How is this advice different than the norm?

Jeremy Cage: I am not actually sure what the norm is anymore! – but I don’t know of any other firms approaching business and organizational planning the way we approach it with our clients – both big and small.

Mary Olson-Menzel: How can an executive use this book to follow his or her own path more successfully?

Jeremy Cage: The book provides a very simple framework to help readers get significantly more intentional about the dreams they have, both for their businesses and their lives. If you take a moment to think about it, Dreams are actually the most powerful force on the planet. Every brand, service, country, achievement, and relationship started as a dream. And yet the vast majority of us rarely take time out of our increasingly hectic lives to not only think about, but get intentional about our dreams.

Mary Olson-Menzel: How can executives use this book to coach existing leaders?

Jeremy Cage: In a couple of ways. Regardless of your position within an organization – you are leading something. A project; a product launch; a training program; an acquisition; a strategic plan; a consumer understanding program. You get the idea. The book will help existing leaders get much more specific about whatever it is they are leading; it will help them climb up what I call the “ladder of intentionality”; it will help them plan and prepare better; and ultimately will help them build the courage muscle they need to actually make ‘it’ happen.

Mary Olson-Menzel: Innovation means something different to everyone, how would you describe Innovation in your words?

Jeremy Cage: Many folks in CPG fall into the trap of thinking that innovation means a product launch. Innovation from my perspective is a culture that needs to run through the veins of every function and department within an organization if it is to thrive over the long-term. Again – I think it should always be driven by the consumer or the customer (who may be external, or internal). True innovation is rare – but is consistently highly disruptive. It can be a business model innovation (Amazon); Product innovation (cell phone); Go to market innovation (Direct store delivery); etc

Mary Olson-Menzel: What are the key qualities that organizations need to thrive in our world today?

Jeremy Cage: I think that all organizations – both big and small – need to be swift, agile, and prepared to obsolete themselves in a heart-beat – given how fast the consumer and media landscape keeps changing. The more they stay focused on meeting the unmet needs of consumers and customers, and act quickly to address those needs – the more they will thrive.

Mary Olson-Menzel: How can they build on those qualities to set themselves apart?

Jeremy Cage: Do it repeatedly! It’s easy to ‘re-organize’ once and feel like you’re done, you’ve done it. Given the pace of change it should be an on-going conversation with the leadership team, not a one time event.

Mary Olson-Menzel: What is something unique about you that you would like to share with us that wasn’t shared in your book?

Jeremy Cage: I believe there is great freedom and power in being naïve. If you think about some of the greatest accomplishments in business of in human endeavor, they stem from someone being naïve enough to ask the ‘stupid’ questions, give it a try, and then having the courage to pursue it. And the world gets transformed. We go to the moon, we drive electric cars, we fly in airplanes, we eradicate diseases. You get the idea.

Mary Olson-Menzel: Your optimism is contagious, how do you continue to find joy in your work?

Jeremy Cage: Children are joyous – because every day, they are learning something new. For me, I still find joy in keeping my learning curve as steep as possible – both at work or in my personal life. That’s what drove me to accept a position as CEO of a struggling company in a new industry. It’s what drove me to start or co-found several different companies. It’s what’s driven me to learn new sports and new musical instruments. It’s what drove me to sail around the world with my family. All keeps the learning curve steep.

Mary Olson-Menzel: Who were the 3 most influential people in your life?

Jeremy Cage: My wife
My father
Dr. Richard Strawn

Mary Olson-Menzel: What’s next for you and what are your dreams for the future?

Jeremy Cage: A couple of dreams:

1. Help grow the businesses I have either co-founded or am on the board of as much as possible.
2. Help both our kids launch successfully from college.
3. Begin sailing the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in the Fall of 2019.
4. Continue to grow support for our 501C3 organization – The Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba
5. Get involved in Ocean clean up in some way (not sure how yet)