Tag: values

The truth

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The Stanford Prison Experiment is an extremely popular experiment in social psychology. It featured normal people taking on the role of prisoners and guards. And most importantly, it featured fights, abuse, dehumanization, nervous breakdowns, bullying, and more. Despite a series of dubious practices, for decades it was considered a legitimate study.

The BBC Prison Study is a not-quite-as-popular experiment in social psychology. It featured normal people taking on the role of prisoners and guards. And most importantly, it featured camaraderie, compassion, some moderate conflict over food, negotiation, the institution of a commune, and long discussions on how to govern the whole group. Despite the fact it was reality TV, it led to a number of academic papers that were eventually accepted in official psychology curricula.

The point is, not always the story that is closer to facts and reality is the most popular. A story just has to be repeated enough times to become plausible, and when that happens, it is very difficult to later convince people it was a hoax, and actually things work in a different way.

This is something we know.

And it is our responsibility as marketers, advertisers, communicators, and change-seekers, to use such power with great care.

You’ll never get it

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If after 15 months of covid crisis your organization does not have a plan to promote virtual get-togethers with colleagues, it failed.

If the only meetings are work-related meetings, if the participants rarely are from outside your team, if 1-1s keep being cancelled and postponed – because, you know, managers are busy -, it failed.

If there are no conversations around mental health, well-being, separation between work and personal life. If it is not offering some sort of incentives for therapy. It failed.

If the only times the company and the teams meet, it is the managers doing the talking, and all the other employees listening, it failed.

If what gets rewarded is still achieving personal goals, if cooperation is not actively stimulated, if teams are just a way to build walls rather than a way to reach out and help, it failed.

Just because your numbers are cool, it does not mean your people are too.

If you have not understood this during the past 15 months, you’ll probably never get it.

The lives of others

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We are experts on how to live the lives of others.

We know exactly what others should do, say, wear. We know how they feel and what motivates them. We tackle their problems better than if they were our own. We plan, argue, debate for them. We know everything, we hear everything, we understand everything.

And when it is our turn, we are stuck.

We are wonderful spectators and mediocre actors.

Because being under the spotlight is never easy. It is not for us – and indeed, we come up with many excuses when that happens -, it is not for those around us.

Start here to develop empathy.

Start here to get going.

Superior

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Acting as if you are superior – because you know more, because you are more integrated, because you are more skilled, because you are righteous – will most likely achieve little.

Leveraging your (supposed) superiority to elevate others, on the other hand, has the power to change behavior, improve lives, and spread around you. Of course, the action assumes that you do not feel superior at all. Few have the capabilities to take this stance.

Criticism

FabrizioLeave a comment

What you do is always going to be met with criticism.

Not everybody is going to like it, not everybody is going to agree with it, not everybody is going to want to hear, read, listen more.

The way you approach this basic fact is going to determine how much you are going to achieve. Make it a focus, try to change minds, invest in proving them wrong, and you will be depleted in no time. Take it as an assumption, filter what can help you, muscle through the rest, and you’ll have a real shot at unleashing your potential.

You are not here to please everybody.