It’s dirt season here in the United States. Every four years, potential political leaders emerge, to run through the gauntlet of attacks, smears, and mud-slinging; detractors maligning and defenders aligning, all part of the indispensable, ugly, and remarkable process of leadership selection in a free republic.
There’s a price to pay for rising above the crowd and seeking to lead. You become a target. Dirt bombs and mudballs find their way into your orbit, because if you win, someone else loses. And that happens in business as well.
Leaders – including market leaders – end up with dirty uniforms. Consider it, not a tragedy, but a badge of honor!
If you are a thought leader, or a dominant player in the marketplace, or an innovative competitor creating disruption, one of the spoils of success is that you’ll be attacked. Perhaps you’ve actually earned the opprobrium of your detractors by wrong or ruthless business practices (that kind of dirty leader isn’t good!), but perhaps your character is being publicly assassinated simply because of jealousy or hatred. It’s hard to break new ground or expand into new fields without stirring up some soil.
One way or another, few leaders escape getting dirtied. It comes with the territory – the territory of success!
Military, business, political, even religious leaders have all been muddied, bloodied, and publicly crucified – figuratively and literally – whether or not they deserved it. Leaders who are unethical reap what they sow, but even those who are sincerely trying to do the right thing will be spattered with mud, and moving from obscurity to the spotlight means that more folks will see the dirt – and perhaps even seek to add to it!
Of course, it’s important to manage your brand and your market image as positively as possible. To minimize PR damage. To quell lies and distortions. But the bottom line is, any dirt that comes your way may well be an affirmation that you’re on the right track. It may be that adding a little plastic bag of soil to your “award and honor shelf” will help you remember that earthly success has an earthy mark, and a bit of dirt thrown your way is something to secretly smile about. All the good ones get a little muddy!
Tags: barack obama, dirt, elections, john mcain, Leadership, mudslinging, sarah palin
A key point you made, Steve, is the importance of managing your brand. A big part of that task is the building of a solid reputation in the first place, which takes time and real efforts, rather than stage-managed events and sound bites.
I managed p.r. for the metro New York McDonald’s co-op a while back, and McDonald’s had an excellent philosophy about reputation and brand management. They called it the “trust bank.” Their strategy was to do as much as possible to make deposits into the trust bank, by community involvement, good service, honesty, etc. When the inevitable mud gets slung, whether by competitors or by bad luck (ie., food poisoning, a shooting in a store), the public may be sympathetic. For McDonald’s, they looked at it as making a withdrawal from that trust bank, and they continued to work hard to put more credits into the account for the next bad day.
For politicians, it can hold true as well. In the current campaign, though, we have two relative newcomers to the national scene who have not had time to build big accounts in their trust banks. That may be why Obama and, to a much greater degree, Palin face challenges in the credibility department.
It is impossible to have a squeaky clean image when one works in a political office or for a company or cause that only cares about making shareholders rich in the short term. This is the nature of the universe. However, if you are doing right and creating value in something and giving it away for free you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams both monetarily and publicly.
Steve, I don’t believe that innovators and thought leaders are attacked with such ferocity as American political candidates are. People often blame the media, and yes, they want to gain market share – that’s their job. But the political camps are more to blame.
Heroes and well-respected leaders are usually admired. Only when they fall from grace and make a mistake do their brands take a hit.
The U.S. political system is so mired in nastiness; it is embarrassing. Did you know that Canada is in the midst of a federal election now – called and finished within six weeks? Now, that’s more like it.
Elaine, I agree with you 100%. U.S. elections are dirty beyond the pale.
Instead of talking about the issues, both sides lie and distort. It is absurd.
A campaign should, rightly, be hard competition but hitting below the belt should not be acceptable.
Great points! People are determined to bring down leaders so if you plan on being one, certainly expect an attack and know how to properly handle it. People will view you in an even better light than before.
@David – great illustration with the trust bank. It’s really your main hope of keeping the sympathies of the audience when mud (deserved or not) gets flung.
@Levon – by and large, I agree; though even the best still get dirtied by those who are jealous, displaced by your success, or just plain mean. But a good conscience is a wonderful companion in those cases.
@Elaine – great point about the Canadian elections (and no, I wasn’t aware). Wouldn’t a touch of civility on this side of the border be nice?
@Neil – I don’t know how anyone can stand being in public office. It’s like painting a big target on your back. Uggh.
@Nick – I guess it’s not IF you’ll be attacked – it’s what you do WHEN. Good point.
Steve, I often asked myself why don’t we have better people running for political office? Let’s face it, it is usually not our best and brightest running for high office.
Part of the answer is what percentage people want to deal with this and put their families through it? You cut your pool of potential people and you cut your pool of smart, competent people.
In business and the professions, no matter how successful someone becomes, they are never subjected to anything close what a major politician has to endure.
Sure, a business person or professional may get a bit dirty but not covered from head to toe in mud, unless they have done something really, really bad.
Neil, I agree. Attempting to go through the political process is now a sacrifice in whole new ways – like, be prepared to be trashed no matter who you are (or aren’t) or what you’ve done (or not done). A lot of smart, honorable, experienced citizen-servants that could be helping this country advance are undoubtedly sitting on the sidelines, understandably unwilling to place themselves on the spit so they can be slow-roasted. It’s a real shame.
I realized she has passed away but if she were here running for office:
If she dispensed medicine to children, the opposition would headline their next ad, “Candidate Theresa: drug dealer to orphans.”
If you elect M. Satan Theresa, she will insist on free drugs to all children by age 3.
Mother Theresa is old and out of touch. How dare she minister to the sick, when she could have been glued to a computer screen. How dare she not be young. What an outrage. Let’s make fun of her age by showing some shots out-of-date technology and fashion and combine it with some throwaway cheap shots about her supposed policy prescriptions.
The Obama and McCain campaigns are both class acts and their surrogates are even classier…
Steve, this is an excellent post. The thoughts are right in line with my favorite author, Florence Shovel Shinn. Thanks for taking the time to put something positive out there. Being reminded of our goals keeps us on our path to success.