Migratory birds navigate 10,000 miles a year by starlight. City lights lure them off course, disorienting them and pulling them away from their migration route.
Happy Monday. Shoutout to birds, man.
What a curveball from Mother Nature, eh?
Not one under par, not Larry, I’m talking about those feathered nomads with stretched skin and hollow bone where their arms should be. The ones that rock in the treetops all a day long, hoppin and a boppin and singin their song.
Watch a bird fly this week. That flight shtick of theirs is pretty insane. We didn’t figure that out until the Wright Brothers. Nature had to limit their powers and made them blind to glass, if not they’d be running the show.
And here’s the thing about birds: they migrate. Robins, terns, warblers, geese, all of them. External circumstances hit (no food, too cold, whatever it may be), and something inside says go. So, after they get done singing their sweet song on your doorstep, they pack their bird bags and boogie. Multiple times a year, they take matters into their own talons and fly to where they can survive, thrive, and belong.
We’re similar in that way.
When life gets hard or the going gets rough, we have a premonition that pulls us toward a solution. Sometimes that’s a person. Sometimes that’s a community. Sometimes it’s a product or service that solves what we’re facing. It’s human nature baby. We seek.
But, nature is vicious.
A bird migrating at night sees bright lights on the horizon. Its instinct fires up: warmth, shelter, food, everything we need. It flies toward them, running on fumes. Lands.
It’s just a city.
No food, shelter, or salvation. Just artificial light, concrete, and maybe some golden arches they can build a nest in if they’re lucky. Other times, they’ll show up to a place that should be warm and blooming with food, but the climate shifted. The plants haven’t grown yet. After flying thousands of miles, there’s nothing to eat.
Trust dies on arrival. I’m pretty sure this is how Angry Birds came to be. I’d be furious too. I hope they get some royalites from the game at least.
Here’s what separates us from birds: we’re storytellers.
We have the power to use language to shape narratives, to sell visions and to promise things. Birds operate by reading nature. Wind, temperature, light. They respond to what is, not what they wish were true. But we can talk around reality. We can be one thing and say we’re another. That’s our superpower and our curse.
But because we can communicate, we have a responsibility.
Say exactly what you mean. Say it consistently. In every conversation, in every promise. If not, thats how things can get sticky. But most importanly, deliver it when the birds make it.
Trust can compound or collapse in the follow-through. Marketing is no different from any relationship.
When you communicate with enough clarity and consistency, something wild happens. The right birds naturally find you. And they don’t just come once, they keep coming back. Year after year. Because they experienced what was promised. They felt the warmth.
Now, you could try the other route. Flashy signals. Gimmicks. Blow whatever bird whistle needs blowing. It works for a bit, you’ll get the attention. Maybe you flip a few bucks. But for the birds that arrive and find nothing, they tell the whole flock. And word of beak is strong my friend, it is strong.
Once trust is broken, no amount of flashy signals will bring them back. You’ve burned through the only currency that truly matters.
That’s how relationships work. That’s how brands work. That’s how everything works, actually.
This week, pick one thing you’re building or one relationship you’re tending. Communicate with honesty. Follow through with consistency. Then watch what happens when people realize they can trust what you say.
Watch them migrate.
—
The Giard & Co. Migration Test
Is your message clear, or are you saying different things in different places?
Does what you deliver match what you promised?
Are you doing this consistently, or just when it’s convenient?
Would the right people choose you again?
Storytelling is a superpower. Used well, it builds trust. Used poorly, it burns it.
At Giard & Co, we help brands use it well. Let’s chat!