When Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to the United States, he started a small bricklaying business with fellow bodybuilder and immigrant Franco Columbu. The business wasn't off to a good start. Even though the pair undersold the competition, they had difficulty finding work.
That is until the friends realized they could turn their collective "weaknesses" in the form of thick accents and a "foreign first impression" into their strength. They quickly re-invented their business model into a service that was much more expensive than the competition and sold themselves in a way that played up their European heritage. They would seduce their LA customers by saying that their method of bricklaying was different because it was:
"Austrian Bricklaying".
In 1971, Los Angeles was hit with one of the most significant earthquakes in its history, and to keep the story short, let's say that Arnold and Franco did very well before they pursued their full-time bodybuilding dreams.
This is one of my favorite brand/marketing/business stories because is demonstrates the following:
1. Sometimes, the best marketing involves exaggerating certain "truths."
2. Occasionally, brands are built not from strengths but from turning perceived weaknesses into strength
What Arnold and Franco did was tell a story that the LA residents wanted to believe.
Was it accurate? Well, not entirely. Was it compelling? Absolutely. I can imagine the owner of an expensive LA pad chatting to her friends about the "European Bricklayers" she just dropped a pretty coin for. That's a good story.
Like Arnold's story, the iPod Shuffle (remember those?) marketing strategy also turned a weakness into a strength. The "Life Is Random" concept was born from the device's lack of a visual display. And like the "European Bricklayer" angle—it worked.
Another way to look at this is to spend time shoring up the areas you aren’t naturally good at. In the past, I wasn’t the most organized person, which isn’t my natural strength. But after years of intentionally focusing on my organizational abilities, I now realize that I am often one of the more organized people on a project or initiative!
Our biggest weakness can sometimes be repositioned into a strength if we know how to market, package, brand, or transform it into a strength. In fact, for some people—this is their greatest superpower.