Over a period of time I’ve read posts by three highly-respected thought leaders with headlines indicating that “Passion doesn’t matter in business”, “Value is overrated” and “Networking doesn’t work.”
Here’s what I noticed when reading their articles. The first one went on to say how passion doesn’t replace the other also-important aspects of business. The second was more simply making fun of what he feels is an over-use of the word, “value.” The third was describing Networking as the person who does those hard-sell-type things that are actually the antithesis of effective Networking.
I agree that passion doesn’t replace. It doesn’t have to. It’s not an either/or. It’s both. Certainly, all things being equal, passion for what we do is very important.
Regarding value, the fact that the term can be overused at times doesn’t mitigate its importance. Value is the essence of business.
And, “Networking doesn’t work?” And pianos don’t make music when you remove the keys. But, then, while it may still resemble a piano, it’s not really a piano, is it?
I don’t believe the above writers meant any harm. Without knowing what is in their hearts I assume they wrote these things because…
1. They were trying to find a “contrarian, curmudgeon angle” in order to grab attention.
2. They fell victim to the error of not defining terms before forming opinions. Unfortunately, since all three of them have large amounts of people who unquestioningly buy into whatever they say and write, they did (in my opinion) a disservice to those people.
So, what does that have to do with a “Bafoostick?” Each article reminded me of a Rabbi who was teaching a lesson on thought processes. He said that if someone were to call him a “Bafoostick” he would first ask the person what it meant before deciding to be offended. In other words, be sure that your premise is correct. (He told the story so much better.) 🙂
The point is, before we comment on a thing, we should first know and clarify its (at least, our) meaning and place it within it’s full and proper context.
The desire for more readership is never an excuse for providing mis-information.
{Note from Bob: Although I didn’t mention names, I altered enough about the stories so that none of the authors could be identified via Google searches on the three topics (I checked to make sure). My point was not to “call anyone out” publicly but simply provide my personal view. Thank you for understanding}
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Bob,
In my humble opinion – this is the best post you have ever posted (at least that I have read). The applications are many, but the whole thing boils down to “make sure you understand before you explain!”
As “solution experts” most of us are so eager to get to the solution that we sometimes skip getting to know 1. The person or company, 2. The situation and most important to our client/associate/audience… 3. The problem.
I have a love/hate relationship with this issue! I love being reminded of it’s importance, but hate being reminded because I made this mistake.
My motto: (not to the extreme of course) “Ask questions until you have no more reasonable questions you can think to ask”!
Thanks again Bob! If I get some time later I will share a funny story that fits this topic.
Steve, thank you; what a terrific compliment. And, yes, you totally nailed the intent of the article. Will look forward to reading the story you mentioned, if you get a chance to post it.
Trying to decide which I like better~this post or Steve’s comment 🙂
Awhile back my mentor gave me a 6-word tool which I feel fits in this discussion: “You don’t know the whole story.” When I find myself in a situation where it’s hard not to judge (ie. seeing what I consider a provocative headline such as “Value is Overrated”) and I feel myself getting into a defensive mode, I remind myself of those 6 words. Doing that allows me to look at it from a different perspective. This has helped me to be more tolerant and open-minded when it comes to “contrary curmudgeon”~(love that term) stuff. Great stuff, thanks Bob!
Lastly, I am positive I am NOT a bafoostick!
Great post Bob. I think you really nailed it. The desire for readership might tempt a writer to take a shortcut. These examples were “attention” shortcuts – “lobbing” criticism – taking an opposite stand to generate “clicks.” As you have graciously pointed out, if the message isn’t sound, the clicks are hollow. They don’t evolve into relationship. Controversy can be a conversation starter indeed; if we choose to use that tool to “stir things up,” we are wise to consider what you have written here carefully. We are wise to consider what will be left after the controversy burns itself out.
Thank you, Linda. I like both Steve’s and your comments better than I like my original post. 🙂 And, I love what your mentor told you, and your interpretation. Thank you!
Dondi, thank you. I love your commentary about this. I feel a near-future “Scumaci-Burg Discussion Interview” coming up about this topic soon. 🙂
Always up for that! Love those interviews with you. I have also noticed that my vocabulary is growing and becoming much more interesting by reading your blog. Bafoostick! Thank you for giving us some great words.
Excellent, Dondi. I can’t wait!! (And, thank you for your compliment regarding the vocabulary words) LOL
Thank you for the post Bob. The most interesting point in this post is the lead in of “Thought Leaders”. It’s interesting that these leaders’ statements seem to arise from the the experience and ideals of past leadership teachings. The new global leadership teachings insist on movement toward relationships and the value they bring to individuals personally and professionally.
Dr. Don
Hi Dr. Don. And, interesting to me is that these three people are very successful and generally share excellent information. I’ve certainly learned much from each of them. In my opinion, they (actually two of them) got caught up in the need for a headline that pulled, and I think they (all three of them) didn’t take the time to clarify the meaning and establish the premise/definition. That’s actually one of the biggest mistakes I see people make on a constant and continual basis (I used to do that a lot myself and have worked very hard at overcoming it) and, without keeping in mind that people operate out of their own belief systems, which are often different from ours, it continues to happen.
Great post Bob. There is nothing wrong with writing provocative headlines and articles — as long as you back them up with solid logic or evidence. A good example is Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, where he makes the assertion that we should QUIT more often. Provocative? Yes. Backed up by solid logic and evidence? Yes.
Thanks for writing this Bob!
Bob, this one is going to require me to get clarity for myself. The ‘thinking style’ that I use most often is to initially disagree before I find similarities. This can often come across as me completely disagreeing with a thought or concept.
For example with passion, ‘following your passion’ doesn’t seem nearly as effective to me as ‘tapping into, harnessing, and focusing your passion’. So, if I’m understanding your point here, I’m not misleading if I say ‘Stop following your passion’, but I would be if I said ‘Kill your passion’. Am I tracking with you or does it appear I’m missing part of the point?
Jim, I think the biggest lesson here is that before we make a point and expect others to “get” what we mean, we need to make sure we are defining that point. Your second paragraph beautifully stated your premise in terms of your thoughts on “passion” so, if you were posting about it and led with that, the chances are excellent that most people – regardless of whether or not they agreed with you – would certainly understand where you are coming from. Of course, if you were writing such an article, you might also want to first provide your definition of “passion” in the context it is being used in your article. Does that make sense?
Bob, that does make sense. Thanks for the further clarification.
My pleasure, Jim. Thank YOU.
First and foremost, I commend you, Bob for displaying responsibility at the end of the post.
My motto is be quick to listen and slow to speak. At times I do find myself making erroneous statements because I assume I know the subject matter or should know the subject matter. In the case of this post, stirring up controversy or conflicting viewpoints for personal gain is never a good thing. It dampens the authenticity and validity of everything. Wonderful post, keep up the great work!
Thank you, Chi Chi. I love your motto about being “quick to listen and slow to speak.” Good one!!
Words are so fun.
I remember visiting another Toastmasters club and several of the members getting all ruffled up and agitated over the use of “kerfuffle” as the Word of the Day 😉
HI Beth, I looked up “kerfuffle” and see it actually does mean something. “Bafoostick” is (I believe) a totally made-up word utilized to prove the point that unless we have a definition we cannot logically have a response/reaction to it. I think. Then again, what do I know? LOL
The funniest part of the whole kerfuffle was that they were demonstrating the word during their protest of using it :-D. I think that my experience at the club and your “bafoostick” story illustrates your point that we often get upset over words before we fully understand the meaning or intent.
Reminds me of another joke story that’s gone around the internet. As part of “mens rules for women,” one of the very best is”
“If I said something that could be taken in two different ways, and one of them makes you sad or angry, I meant the other way.”
Hi Bob,
A fine post showing how negative emotions can manifest and misdirect others.
Greed: they want more readers or more sales. Anger: they are upset, angry, annoyed, and want to shout it out to their audience. Ignorance: they genuinely do not know what they are writing about.
The above paragraph is purely observational, not judgmental: I’ve been that guy in the past. Good thing I had 2 readers at the time 😉
Thanks for sharing another awareness-expanding post Bob!
RB
Beth, that’s true, they were. Is that one of those examples of “irony?” LOL. And, that’s funny about the two different meanings. Very cool. And an excellent disclaimer.
Hi Ryan. And, who knows which of any of your (or my) observations is true? All three of the people who wrote these things are actually extremely intelligent, successful people. Who knows exactly who thinks what and why? But, that it could be interpreted as such says something in and of itself.
Bob, I didn’t think you took issue with that. I just wanted to underscore your point that being provocative can be equal to being manipulative or it can be a sound marketing strategy. When there is nothing to back up your provocative statement the strategy may drive traffic but visitors will leave knowing that they were manipulated or (worse) thinking the writer is an idiot. 🙂
Reading your posts ALWAYS puts a smile on my face! 🙂
Russ, I agree. My challenge was not in the provocative headlines, or in their being contrarian. I try as often as possible to write provocative headlines as well as book titles and (where it fits and provides value) to be contrarian (though, never curmudgeon :-)). I hope I did not give the impression that I had a challenge with that. The key, as you said, is the info that follows the headlines.
Thank you, Julie. And, reading your comment put a smile on mine! 🙂
Got it. Makes sense. Thanks Russ!
All good points Bob. Thanks for the post.
David, thank YOU. Much appreciated!
Bob,
It took me a while to get back to share my little story, but I think it will be one that is interesting. Not long ago I met with a “sales coach” who was “pitching” to our company a process that would increase results. However, he had not done his homework. There wasn’t adequate time to accomplish the broad agenda he laid out, so he began to rush right into solutions. Only problem – he had no idea if there was a problem (which there always is room for improvement), what the impact of it might be, or what kind of attempts had previously bee done to solve it.
So….I waited patiently through his story after story of solution examples (none that even came close to an actual application) to ask him if he had ever studied the research (or read the books) by Neil Rackham – and how that information might be helpful. Unfortunately, I was met with a somewhat perplexed look, as if to say “who is that” or “why are you asking me a question about him?” I never explored which it was. However, I did end up on this nice man’s email list, and not long ago, received one about how he had just completed teaching a course on the S.P.I.N. Selling method – to which I replied, “great to hear”.
I left my meeting with this gentleman wishing there was a polite way to help him without insulting him (how to you offer advice to someone who wants you to hire them for their expertise?), because I hope he will be successful. Then, it hit me! I sent him a copy of Go-Givers Sell More. I’m sure it won’t be long until I see him emailing about how much he recommends that book (if he is indeed as smart as I think he is!).
WOW…Interesting, indeed. THAT was a cool story. Thank you for sharing it with me. And, thank you for sending him the book. Much appreciated!!