War and Common Sense, good bedfellows
November 4, 2008 by gbrown · Leave a Comment
It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labour of peace - Andre Gide
I’ve riffed already about Common Sense and truth.
Common Sense can dominate truth through hero worship by elevating the values of our heros to exemplifying the moral code we should all be following.
Soldiers who die in combat are heroes. That’s what our leaders keep telling us.
At school we learn of the “heroic” conquests of Custer, Wellington, Montgomery and Napoleon. All soldiers whose claim to fame lay on the battlefield.
The irony is that Common Sense needs us to believe ib these heroes. If there is no higher heroic sacrifice than giving your life for the political ambitons of our leaders then there will be plenty willing to do so both from the Madrassars of the East and the forces of the West.
Military heroism is no more than Common Sense coercing us to the bidding of our political leaders. Soldiers who die in combat are not heroes but the unfortunate victims of a political game beyond the average person’s comprehension.
Of course there are many instances where soldiers engage in heroic acts of self sacrifice and altruism but these ultimately were in the interests of their buddies, civilians or innocents and were not achieved through staring down the barrel of the gun.
There is nothing heroic about taking another person’s life. Ironically as our leaders make us fearful of the unpredictable and insane threat from suicide bombers - individuals so devout they are to give up their life for the cause, we with the other hand sign up countless youth to do the very same.
Real heroism is the bravery demonstrated by those unfettered by the shouters and the cultural demands of Common Sense in refusing to be silenced about the truth.
Sean Penn is attacked by Fox News and denounced by the wider media for being critical of the US foreign policy - drawing a line between it and the Islamic world’s wider loathing for Bush’s ambitions in the Middle East. The heroism lies in his desire to let it be known regardless of the apparent negative impact on his career.
It’s the same heroism demonstrated by John Lennon in his solo works highlighting the fallacies of Common Sense that underpinned countless politically charged conflicts in the 20th Century. As a musician, Lennon was never mainstream in comparison to McCartney because of his refusal to compromise his principles for public opinion.
The legacy of a PR game well played by avoiding offense may have made McCartney’s estate significantly richer than Lennon’s but compare for example “Mull of Kintyre” with “Imagine” or any of Wings’ offerings with “Working Class Hero”.
The irony is that as much as it’s needed, being truthful isn’t a great shot in the arm for your career. Politcians, actors and musicians all know that saying what you really think will alienate the wrong people. It’s a tough call - many would compromise in order to protect their careers. Yet, this is the nature of true heroism that lies at the heart of Uncommon Sense - endeavours that reduce suffering in the world without violent means which themselves put your own life and career at risk. That is real sacrifice.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” Einstein
Currently reading: A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
Technorati Tags: andre gide, john lennon, einstein, jack kornfield, a path with heart, common sense, graham brown, grahamdbrown, sean penn, fox news
Uncommon sense of the truth, or why do people like the bad guy?
October 26, 2008 by gbrown · Leave a Comment
Ask any hollywood actor about the role they’d next like to be cast in and its inevitably the bad guy. The reason? “It’s more fun”.
The reason why we admire the guy we’re often supposed to hate is that he’s consistent to his values, whatever they are.
Watch any budding singer nervously waiting for the panel’s response on Xfactor or Idol and it’s Simon Cowell’s opinion they all value. Hate him as you may, he’s upfront and consistent in what he says and believes.
That’s the reason we loathe so many politicians; politicians get lost in popularity contests and are haunted by the mistakes of their peers rather than motivated by the opportunity to make a difference.
Indiana Jones is the eternal heroic archetype that is the antithesis of the modern day politicians. A rougeish swashbuckler that has strong, unswerving principles yet riddle with imperfections and human weaknesses that would fill a year’s supply of tabloids.
Tony Blair epitomizes this paradox of the good guy we love to hate. With youthful zeal he took office ushering a change following 4 terms of stale and decaying political infighting. His motives were noble and his words resonated with the optimism of the time reflected in their party anthem “Things can only get better…”
Yet Blair’s downfall was no different from any professional politician - they feared making the mistake that would exocet their career.
That’s why I can’t help but admire politicians and pundits, like Cowell, who say it as it is and you can either like it or lump it. Names such as Ron Paul, George Galloway and commentators Christopher Hitchens, Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore. Whether you agree with their political standpoint or not you know exactly what you’re getting.
Hitchen’s “Love, Poverty and War” is an interesting collection of his writings. I don’t always agree with what he says but I admire his quest for finding the truth.
His opening chapter demonstrates his bravery in taking on an icon of hero worship - Winston Churchill. Common Sense holds that Churchill was a heroic, stoic leader who galvanised the masses with his wartime rhetoric. Yet, how much of this “aura” is genuine?
Obviously somewhere between 0 and 100 percent. The nub of this riff is, however, not how much is true but how people react to being inquisitive about the nature of the truth.
Our Common Sense creates a communal identity that stands challenged when tested by such questions. If, for example, Churchill wasn’t as heroic as I once thought does that itself challenge the nature of “Britishness” and thus my own identity (should I care about such things). If I did, the question would be an uncomfortable one and best shouted down.
So you have to respect the names I’ve already mentioned in having the balls to stand up for truth in the face of Common Sense constantly shouting them down. Ron Paul, for example, is on record stating that US foreign policy is the root cause of the Sep 11th terrorist attacks at a time when hysteria prevented many from making such claims for fear of being, in modern McCarthyesque terms, labelled “unpatriotic” or, worse still “siding with the terrorists”.
Hitchens is equally admirable.
He publicly is critical of religion for its influence on modern society which he sees generally as negative. “God is not great” is the title of one of his books, giving you an idea on where he stands on the whol creationist debate. I don’t agree with him on many of his points but I respect his ability to demand an open forum for enquiry which questions the rationale behind so much of our Common Sense when so many try to shout it down with emotive terms such as “unAmerican” or “blasphemous”.
It’s ironic, then, I should use a Churchill quote in summary: “the truth is incontrovertible”.
Ironically though Common Sense is often the main reason why it will never win out because the good guy, like the politician has to do everything but make a mistake and the truth is all about inviting criticism in.
Currently Reading: “Love, Property and War: Journeys and Essays” by Christopher Hitchens
Technorati Tags: graham brown, grahamdbrown, christopher hitchens, hitchens, noam chomsky, michael moore, tony blair, george galloway, ron paul, truth, love poverty war, churchill
Uncommon Sense is Meatballs…
October 25, 2008 by gbrown · Leave a Comment
I’m a big fan of Seth Godin, you probably know already (I’ve already blogged down the line about The Dip). I borrowed one of his riffs earlier when I blogged about Sliced Bread and why we need to challenge the received wisdom. Godin was the first author to switch me on to the idea of the Purple Cow. For our business, our research and our clients it gave weight to the need to rewrite the rules and have confidence to enjoy a dose of Uncommon Sense.
Meatball Sundae continues where he left off Purple Cow, encouraging us all to avoid possibly the biggest marketing pitfall out there - adopting new technologies to provide the icing on the old fashioned marketing cake. Lipstick on a pig… as some politicians would say.
So much of old fashioned marketing is broken, metrics being one of them. In this video I provide my ideas about what marketing metrics technology companies should be using particularly when engaging younger consumers. Included are lifetime value, churn and net promoter score.
Just talking about Web2.0 will not make any difference. As Jack Welch says “What you measure gets done”.
If you want to pan for gold, pan upstream ie if you want change you need to change the source - this has been the theme of my recent presentations to Vodafone and Telenor. If we continue to only measure short term metrics such as ARPU, awareness and market share no matter what we do, we will continue to replicate the same results.
Now is the time to include other metrics alongside those mentioned to help marketing reconnect with consumers.
Technorati Tags: meatball sundae, seth godin, graham brown, the dip, uncommon sense, vodafone, telenor, mobileyouth, youth marketing, arpu, net promoter score
