Something To Crow About

I just came back from Kauai, Hawaii where Beth and I celebrated our anniversary. It was a spectacular trip full of scuba diving, a helicopter ride around the Na Pali Coast, eating seafood…and looking at chickens.

We were looking at chickens because, well, there are a LOT of chickens on Kauai. I mean they are ev-er-y-where. Go to the beach? Chickens. Go out to eat? Chickens. The Scenic Look Out at 3600 ft. in Waimea Canyon Park? Yup, chickens.

Kauai is largely rural and chickens had always been part of farm life. But hurricanes Iwa in 1982 and Iniki in 1992 destroyed thousands of coops and set the birds free. There aren’t any mongoose on Kauai like there are on the other islands, so without predators the population exploded.

And these aren’t ordinary white hens. These are spectacular birds. The roosters have amazing plumage. Reds, oranges, greens, turquoise, iridescent purples.

Instead of despairing about the feathery infestation, Kauaians embraced it. They recognized that the chickens made Kauai unique. Memorable. They put them on T-shirts, coffee mugs, signs, bags of chips. Kauai decided to own the chicken.

So take a look at your brand. What do you have that is a little out of the ordinary? A little unexpected? Celebrate it. Own it.

Crow about it.