What's in a name?

"Why did you name your company Rogue Industries?" 

"Isn't rogue a bad thing?"

"Rogue means scoundrel or dishonest right?"

Scoundrel or dishonest is one definition of the word and may be the most common but don't fall into that trap! 

Let's take a look at all the meanings/uses of the word rogue:

rogue     (rōg)  Pronunciation Key  

n.  

1. An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.
2. One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp.
3. A wandering beggar; a vagrant.
4. A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.
5. An organism, especially a plant, that shows an undesirable variation from a standard.

adj.  

1. Vicious and solitary. Used of an animal, especially an elephant.
2. Large, destructive, and anomalous or unpredictable: a rogue wave; a rogue tornado.
3. Operating outside normal or desirable controls: "How could a single rogue trader bring down an otherwise profitable and well-regarded institution?" (Saul Hansell).

Take a gander at the ones in red and it will start making sense.  

My personality fits the first definition. I love what I do for a living and love working with my clients. "Clients" often become "friends" and friends enjoy each other. Meetings are known to include laughing, thinking, listening and problem solving (sometimes a practical joke or two). We do serious work and a lot of people depend on the decisions that are made but negative emotions and mocked up intensity are not the tools of the "thinker". Pearl (my mom) has always told me to live my life in the "spirit of play" and I'm committed to living it out.

Check out the red adjective usage. This concept is what really differentiates Rogue from my Marketing brethren. My job is to understand the standard conventions of Marketing and to take it to the next level by creating brands and strategies that fall outside "normal". Know the rules and bend them. Set new levels of market expectations. Build advocacy and zealotry with your clients. You won't get to that point with conventional strategy and rote/ predictable execution.

Rogue's charter is to develop exceptional brands.

Exceptional brands and strategy require that you break convention. 

Exceptional brands dominate their market space.

Exceptional brands disrupt their competitors. 

Exceptional brands are legendary.

That's the point.  Think better... think Rogue.