Tag Archives: honesty

Leadership is Tough it just takes Heart

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Leadership is tough, Leadership is part skill and the rest is heart. The skills are easy to learn, difficult to adhere to over time. Leadership is practice and persistence. In easy times the residence is less but as you move forward the head wind grows.

Today leaders are forgiven their violations by fans, ideologist and time. Our culture has gotten a case of ADHD when it comes to failures of leadership. Years ago the famous Tylenol PR moment was their honest sincere admittance of error and the world rejoiced. Now everyone apologizes daily and moves on. Now everyone has apologies and they have no value. How many times have you heard “My Bad” the required phrase that means nothing?

It is up to us as consumers of media and leadership to call BS and ask for more. No attacking others or diluting your errors by pointing to others mistakes.

The new PR is:

  1. Meaning less “My Bad”
  2. Show that others do it
  3. Call someone “Poopy face”

This has to stop. Leadership requires sincere apologies that are based details and accountable change after the fact. Leadership comes from within not from demands external, think sincere. Leadership cares at a deep personal level about the event, those surrounding the event and the ultimate outcome.

Leadership knows that true change is an individual thing and you can only change yourself. Leadership holds themselves accountable. Leadership means what it says and wins on their actions not pointing to others. Leadership is due for a comeback, request it of yourself, your family, those you work with and those who lead the institutions you believe in. If they say do no evil make sure that is true!

Integrity in Communications

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The phrase is “Crimes of Omission” I am sure many consider this a phrase and not a true legal precedent that in general pertains to liability based on non-performance to contracted duties. Ok now a new word to think about “Contracted”. Contracted in a legal definition requires enforceability; however as marketers we have responsibilities to consumers and as Product managers we have responsibilities to our teams. All have the responsibility to enforce inclusion of all data in any arguement!  

This comes to mind for me lately on two fronts. First is reviewing resumes and the second is in business plan presentations. In both cases it is clear that presentation is about the best ideas and proving a hypostasis that a candidate or plan is the best way to proceed. 

WRONG!

Inclusion of ideas that distract from the presented path strengthens the value of the argument. Linear arguments that ignore, minimize or deny Risk are deeply flawed and should be rejected. Arguments that deal directly with all the facts display honest demonstrate confidence and the ability to deal with the realistic Vagaries of the natural world. 

We have discussed before the dishonesty of the “Straw Man” statements that have become very common in today’s media and are creeping into the workplace. Call foul on this everywhere please! The other day I was working through a business case and ecosystem mapping for a new company, the entire document was dismissive of others ideas, approaches, potential and efforts. I hope the author is still with us after my response as it is a fair plan with a better than average chance for success. However I took apart each assumption with simple open minded HONEST research and questions.

A SWOT that is not honest has no value, so when selling yourself or your ideas, be honest, it shows confidence and leads one to believe that you will respond with a consideration of reality and facts vs. ideology.  Honesty is not self depravation so don’t create a negative view of your business case. Things are not black and white, If-Then statements in a dynamic system fail more often than succeed. Long term systems in the real world have no Imperatives moral or constructive!  

 A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position