Caught in the heat of an argument, the challenge is to find the lucidity to defuse. Do that while you are in a position of power, and you will have made real progress.
Going head against head, second guessing, paying back, raising your voice, smashing and controlling. Those are short-lived strategies that will just feed into the next argument.
What is strength?
What is currently happening in American politics is a matter of positioning.
Trump (the incumbent) is going after Obama in an attempt to reposition the previous administration as corrupt and indecent, in order to extend such a label to the democratic candidate that is going to challenge him in November. Biden (the challenger) is indeed approaching the election with two main topics: “I am not Trump” (not a great idea, by the way, positioning-wise) and “I was part of one of the most successful and popular administrations in the US history” (that in terms of positioning could be seen as a sort of “line-extension”, again not a great idea). And so, Trump is going after Obama to go after Biden, attempting to undermine the image of integrity and likeability the two (but mainly Obama, to be fair) have established.
Now, what Trump is doing is a legitimate strategy. Will it be effective, though? The fragility of the story Trump is building is probably not on his side. You can tell another product is inferior, or has flaws, or is not up to the task, yet that’s not something you can base on hearsay and speculation. Most of all, though, I believe what Trump is doing is not a winning strategy because he has decided to play in the challenger’s field. Instead of leveraging topics that are common to his admistration and to his past success, he is going after something new, a domain (integrity and likeability) that is not really his own.
Curious to see how this will develop in the coming months.
Not succeeding does not necessarily mean failing.
Not being right does not necessarily mean being wrong.
Not being good does not necessarily mean being bad.
Not agreeing with something does not necessarily mean opposing it.
We use categories to make sense of the world, yet categories are not dichotomies. If anything, their meaning is much better understood with a Greimas square.
Be aware of contradictions and implications, not only of contraries, when you are trying to understand what’s going on.
You can find great lessons everywhere, even in books you are just reading for pleasure and enjoyment.
“There is satisfaction,” he said to Dalinar, “in creating a list of things you can actually accomplish, then removing them one at a time. As I said, a simple joy.”
“Unfortunately, I’m needed for bigger things than shopping.”
“Isn’t that always the problem? Tell me, my friend. You talk about your burdens and the difficulty of the decision. What is the cost of a principle?”
“The cost? There shouldn’t be a cost to being principled.”
“Oh? […] Isn’t a principle about what you give up, not what you gain?”
“So it’s all negative?” Dalinar said. “Are you implying that nobody should have principles, because there’s no benefit to them?”
“Hardly,” Nohadon said. “But maybe you shouldn’t be looking for life to be easier because you choose to do something that is right! Personally, I think life is fair. It’s merely that often, you can’t immediately see what balances it.”
Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer
Why do people keep going out and gather in groups when they are told to stay in and avoid in person contacts?
Because it is very difficult for each one of us to picture what could be, what could happen, the damage (or good) we might be bringing about. Until that is finally here and now, close.
And of course, because asking people to change habits, to let go of freedom, to do something that is not on their agenda, can only be effective if your communication is clear, straightforward, honest and transparent.
That’s what authority is based on today.
Both these points, by the way, are good reminders for all those working in marketing and seeking to make a change.
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