The Power of Branding: Iron Ore

“There is a great lesson of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, that a thing must be loved before it is loveable.”

– G.K. Chesterton

Take a trip with me on this one.

You know the power of branding imagery as a leader when…

I sat down with talented designer and friend Jeremy Dolph this morning to go over the designs he created for me for the new Iron Ore logo for the book and leather journals. I was looking for something to help draw some elements of Righteous together when something clicked…

But first peek under the Righteous Co. hood…

I’ve been working on three pillars of labor with RCO with Coaching, Content, and Experiences for a few iterations. It’s become insufficient because it lays out the what I’m doing, not the who am I doing the what’s for. If you can follow that.

So when I wrote the book Iron Ore in 2018 (I’ll sidestep the journey to get this puppy live for another time) and freshly engaged with leading the Exodus 90 men, I didn’t know how to include service to the heart of men as a Righteous Co. element. As a book geared for men, I knew I had some weight to it but wanted to build around it. I was already doing some coaching with men and in ministry but it felt like it’s own offering. Then in 2019, I ran a mastermind test group with some ministry leaders under the label, but it didn’t fit and transferred the energy into the Iron Ore Men’s Retreat in 2020 and now four deep. So, with the addition of the podcast, there are different offerings on the table.

I imagine a number of iron blocks on a table – different sizes and shapes strewn about and looking to fit. I’ve been workshopping with the good men in the Forge mastermind group I’m in and incrementally making gains. A lot has been building up as the various irons laid out on the table, testing the pieces to fit but without satisfaction and some dissonance.

Back where we started…

After seeing the various logos, we settled into combining two of them. Both were excellent but together were killer. They tell a story and capture an aesthetic but more importantly, it cracked a code.

Here’s a text I sent him after,

“This gave me a jump start on pulling some of the pieces together. That question you posed about “where does the coaching fit in?”, sparked a thing that was just out of reach – it’s all cohesive under the one banner. The pieces were all there and starting to find their way together, but the power of seeing that brand live – magnetic.”

Then like an energized magnet, all the iron clicked together on the table. The larger question of coaching for men and leaders resolved itself internally. The who, is men. The central thesis and why of the book that started all of it is, “What are you made for?”.

Instead of three pillars of labor with Coaching, Content, and Experiences that had barriers to them – there is now a cohesive element, a brand to which the offerings work together and complement each other while drawing in and reorganizing ancillary offerings too.

The Book – with the four subsequent written volumes and leather journals (yes it’s being published!)

The IO Men’s Retreats

Men’s Breakfasts

IO: Podcast

Men’s 1-1 Coaching

One Pillar – Iron Ore for Men. Reorganized with a central message.

All of it supporting the central question, “What are you made for?”

 The answer: Greatness in God’s design for your life.

 With clarity to that, it also means other aspects of Righteous Co. needs reshaping. I love working with entrepreneurs and ministry leaders on organizational vision. I love the productivity element to help support the dreams and doings of those that answer the question of “What are you made for?”. This piece will take time and the dream of bringing Ani into the business with Bloom for women will, well, bloom, when we’re not so always pregnant.

With that. When you have the right effort, the right story, the right purpose, the right designer, led by the right God – the right image and branding can pull your dream and doings together. All of this in a simple graphic.

Keep dreaming and doing out there.

Oh, wait? You want a sneak peek? Well, ok…

Adam Jarosz is bringing fuel to the productively faithful – subscribe here to get The Climb articles right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along the Righteous journey on Instagram @righteousco.