Random Acts of Silliness

It is hard not to watch the spectacle of the US Presidential impeachment process and not conclude it is a testament to caprice and cowardice. The brilliance of the US Founding Fathers is in stark contrast to the antics on display.

Too often, company "cascades" are "events" when they should be about communication. They are "produced" with more effort going into videos, banners, "logos" and t-shirts than on congruence, clarity, engagement, listening, dialogue and follow through. 

Leaders need "training" only for specific skills they may lack or may wish to polish. Overall, they need to be challenged, mobilized, aligned, focused, energized, mentored, coached and held constructively accountable...in part by each other! Any change program not premised on this is a chimera (illusory and impossible).

Great brands do dumb things. Recently, I noted a famed service apartment hotel, so manic about "revenue" that they flood their outlets with loud, impersonal events that provide a short-term boost, while undermining their brand standing. Then they accept group bookings whereby several hundred people, utterly bewildered by their surroundings, pile into elevators all at once, while residents are left "stranded" for almost 30 minutes trying to get home. In this location, new buildings are springing up everywhere. Not sure if the "opportunity cost" of such revenue has been addressed.

Mercedes is losing sales and profits, having gone for what many allege is a short-term corporate greed fuelled "tactic" of producing less expensive cars. They lured some new business, while alienating their loyal premium fan base, who for example now frequently arrive for undifferentiated service attention, at a service department teeming with multitudes with appointments amidst phones that aren't answered. 

On the plus side, all this shows there is great opportunity for sanity, brand clarity and real engagement. From politics to service centres, we can opt to commit to real value, results that matter to those that matter most to us and our brands (political or commercial). Don't follow the herd. It's called "leadership" for a reason.