If the goal of luxury brands is to encourage consumers to emotionalize their products, then one of the most helpful skills for a planner or manager of a luxury brand is to be able to connect to the emotional and spiritual drivers of contemporary culture.
One of the best recent publications that connects contemporary culture to an emotional, philosophical, and spiritual quest is The Tao of Wu, in which Wu Tang Clan member, The Rza explores his secular belief system.
In a fascinating and free-wheeling book – part chronicle of his life and part spiritual and philosophical discourse – it is a kind of nonfiction Siddhartha for the hip-hop generation.
RZA digs deep into Supreme Mathematics and the sutras of Buddhist scripture, establishing his key pillars of wisdom; and along the way incorporates musings on chess, vegetarianism, and kung fu. He even picks out various hip hop phrases like “get in where you fit in” and “it’s all good” and traces their Buddhist origins… seriously. RZA even cites Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hour Rule”, the point at which mastery in any field is presumably attained, and identifies the moment when he reached this peak in his quest to perfect his production skills.
Of particular interest to any luxury brands who have any kind of hip-hop following, or are in need of a more contemporary spin on their traditional strategies.
Download extract [PDF]
Buy The Tao of Wu Online