misguided breaking rules advertising
——-
“The world is full of rules. Be the exception.”
–
Audi
==
“To every rule there is an exception—and an idiot ready to demonstrate it. “
―
Vera Nazarian
==
“Any fool can make a rule. And any fool will mind it.”
―
Henry David Thoreau
==
Ok.
This is a business thought. This is about rules, breaking rules … and how tricky it can be to communicate a thought well in advertising. Today I will harpoon the “break rules” Audi commercial.
Suffice it to say professional communications is always about walking the thin line of connecting with your audience thru visuals & words … and teetering over into the abyss of ‘just missed.’
Professional communicators are paid dearly to be smart enough to discern the difference between things like a ‘break the rules attitude’ <which is burdened by rebellious irresponsibility> and a ‘break stupid rules attitude’ <which is often an attribute and precursor to ‘someone who gets good shit done’>.
Now.
It is sometimes a very very thin line and sometimes bad shit happens even with good intentions. But. And this is a HUGE but. Professional communicators, PR people & advertising people & marketing people, get paid to walk the line and walk it well. So when someone does something stupid you have to scratch your head and wonder how the hell something like that happens.
To be clear.
This is different than simply doing bad advertising. This is different in that it is more a reflection of bad thinking … or … let’s call it misguided execution of what was probably a good idea <once>. These are the situations where I would imagine the intent was correct. I envision business people eating M&M’s sitting in a room discussing strategy and someone saying something like “people who drive our car are the ones who are not comfortable being a sheep in society … and try raising their family to think for themselves” … which is a nice thought.
And someone else said … “lets figure out how to show everyone they aren’t sheep and just do what everyone tells them to do.”
And then some brain dead person said … “they don’t follow rules.”
Doh
<insert mental image of train going off the tracks>
This is the scenario I crafted as I watched an Audi TV commericial.
Well crafted.
Kind of humorous <using some excellent hyperbole>.
Beautiful photography <as you would expect from a car manufacturer>.
And then … oops … it teeters off that fine line into ‘missed.’
Description:
One young boy with the gumption to challenge the very fabric of our society has cannonballed into a pool less than an hour after eating.
The world is full of rules, break them, challenge those in charge, and drive an Audi.
—
—-
Now. I did not have a visceral response like this when I saw it:
“I just saw the commercial twice.
Thank you Audi for undermining everything we need in society. Rules. Now you should try to teach this kid in class when the parents helps undermine the process too. It’s called ethics. Try it sometime. No Audi for me.”
Steve Nordwick
———–
Hugh’s Missing the Point
But I did say “shit, they missed the mark with this.” I clearly understand what they were trying to do and say.
It was tongue in cheek. They clearly tried to use an old wives tale ‘rule’ to make a point. It was hyperbole.
But … well … there is a huge difference between breaking rules and having the attitude to eye rules with some question rather than blindly following them.
And that is where they miss.
They want people who don’t simply follow rules like a sheep but rather look at rules with a discerning eye of ‘stupid or smart.’ And maybe that is where they truly miss the mark.
Smart.
Smart people don’t encourage breaking rules. Smart people encourage breaking stupid rules.
Smart people don’t break rules for the sake of breaking rules.
Smart people assess rules and break them when appropriate.
I am not sure I like the message which suggests kids should not only ignore a safety rule but ignore an authority figure. And I absolutely do struggle with depicting a parent who seemingly venerates and applauds a child flaunting not only rules but figures of authority <even a lifeguard has some responsibility and authority>.
I worry a little about its misguided judgement all within a ‘creating an entertaining commercial’ construct.
Look.
I do believe you can encourage individualism in some other way than ‘The world is full of rules. Be the exception.’ No. I KNOW you can encourage individualism and ‘smart behavior choice even in the face of rules.’
Yeah.
I’m sure I am over thinking this but valuing some sense of order thru rules … and personal accountability toward rules … is kind of what makes civilization run. And I feel like this communications goes beyond just breaking the rules … the parent is teaching him to disrespect rules <and smart rule breakers respect rules but recognize stupid rules>.
And more disrespect?
While I am clearly in over thinking mode … the pool is not theirs … it is a 
community pool with a lifeguard … which means it comes with some choice to assume some personal accountability within society guidelines if they elect to use the pool … which then assumes they are respectful of the rules, obey the rules posted by those who grant them the privilege to use the pool.
Yeah yeah yeah … that is overthink.
But … and this is a big BUT … I have written a number of times that advertising and marketing can affect behavior and attitudes. And if I truly believe that <which I do> then even some of the smallest things should be eyed with ‘responsibility’ in mind.
Look <part 1>.
Some rules are good.
And rules intended to keep a child safe <even if it is a stupid rule> is good. Telling a child that it is good to break the rules, no matter how seemingly small or stupid, suggests a bad lesson to a child.
Look <part 2>.
Beyond society … in business I know breaking stupid rules is sometimes necessary to get things done.
Excellent effective leadership actually seems to come with an unwritten responsibility to cut through rules that act as barriers to achieving what needs to be done <for the overall betterment of the organization>. I could argue that truly great leaders get where they are because they can do exactly that … legally of course, when the rules tell us otherwise.
Some people call this cutting through the red tape. I call it the ability to weave your way thru the organizational bullshit and get shit done.
I can guarantee that if you look throughout any successful organization you will always find some ‘smart’ rule breakers who work diligently to overcome or circumvent the rules, regulations, and policies that unintentionally hinder progress and make it difficult to accomplish shit that needs to be done.
Ok.
I mention that because creative people sometimes get mixed up between what they see in a business environment and what happens in Life environment. Lie isn’t always a Dilbert scene and Life SHOULDN’T always translate from some 
business perspective.
The mom in the commercial may be one of those professional ‘break stupid rules smartly’ people … but ‘managing’ her child takes a different skill.
A professional communicator should recognize that.
Anyway.
Close … but they missed the mark.
$, 0% griefs and 100% joy, 100% confident in is that 100% of us, 100% of the world, 100% of us want tomorrow, a business thought, a business truth, a certain percentage of listeners will not hear exactly what you said, A change has come over the affairs of mankind, a civilization evolution perspective, a combination of competency and chemistry, a culture of doing, a deadly fear of silence, a derivative of the best, a formula of do’s and don’ts, a free-ing thought, a full life, a generation of concerned citizens, a good business concept, a hopeful thought, a human defect or a flaw, A leader doesn’t have to be a giant, a lot of good little stuff happens, a moral compass, a real disruptive idea, a scared organization, a semi utopian belief, a severe shortcoming, a simplified version of a more complex organizational idea, a swinging organization, a thought on thought, a wise nation obeys the wise, ability to simplify the complex, ability to think critically and to communicate, ability to weave your way thru the organizational bullshit, about creation, about dreaming and business, about leadership and purpose and sense of belonging, about trust, absorb additional information, accountable decision making, accuracy in communication, accuracy of silence, achieving greatness, achieving greatness with an idea, Achieving stuff, acknowledge the truths, act their dreams, act their dreams with open eyes, action and consequence, action and consequences, actions, Actions are where intentions hit the road, actions express commitment, actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts, actions of the 1% look bigger than they are, actions today make who i am tomorrow, actually inventing a future, actually taking the time to do it, address real issues, adds up to a vision of a future world, adults create behavior rules of the road, advertising, advice leading to choices, affect behavior and attitudes, affected the effectiveness of the communication, affecting organization thru actions, affecting people’s conflict behavior, agency, aggravating non stop talking machines, aim of disruption, aiming high, aligning generational attitude and technology and consumer trends, aligning perceptions and behavior creates satisfaction, alignment, alignment has dimensions, All men dream, All people dream, all the noise, all we could and should being, allow silence to speak, amazing opportunity to see what is gained, america dreams shattered, america repairing it’s faults, america the adolescent, americans are ambitious adolescents, americans learn from mistakes, americans learned through trial & error, America’s character, amoral or moral, an ability to avoid structural organizational corruption, an attitudes & behavior guy, an awesome business quote, an ever-present opportunity, an ever-present threat, An exaggerated competitive attitude, an idiot ready to demonstrate it, an inspiring thought, an invisible or covert curriculum, analysis paralysis, analyzing actual behavior, and drive an Audi, and make it possible, And people follow, and questioning, andre gide, Any fool can make a rule, any fool will mind it, anything that can go wrong will, applauds a child flaunting not only rules but figures of authority, apply the same things they are doing, appreciation, architects of fate, are those with integrity in minority, argue dreams themselves have had a tough go of it, art of communication, art of winning resides in your capacity to draw the fine line, articulate nutjob, As a dream, as long as you are seeking, as you would expect from a car manufacturer, ask questions, Asking insightful questions, assess how smart people are, assess rules, assists readily, assumes they are respectful of the rules, assuming some responsibilities of their own, astonish people, at some point you are accountable, At some point you just have to, at the tempting moment, attack personal ignorance, attack profits and outputs at their foundations, attacking doubt, attitudes, attitudes and behavior, attitudinally, attract the talented and venturesome people, Attracting young talent, autonomy, averting chaos, avoid doing stupid shit that will keep you from being successful, avoid the gray, avoiding the business pendulum, avoiding the key topic businesses should be, bad because it is old thinking, bad things happen to smart people too, Balance is the key, balanced relationship, balancing dependence and independence, bane of the communications industry, be ahead, be better than us, be disrupted, be inspiring, be open to ideas, be open to new ideas, be quick and still not moving, be still in midst of activity, Be the exception, be who you are, beating the system, beauty is the truth, Because you make me believe in the impossible, become more silent than the silence around you, becoming quite flippant with promises, becoming worse at listening, beginning a presentation with silence, behavior, behavior and attitudes, behavior and energy, behavior in new economic world, behavior is determined by the subconscious mind, behavior management business, behind the inflammatory contrarian words, being a contrarian, being accountable, being an enlightened thinker, being as good as you can be, being challenged, being close minded is not a good thing, being contrarian, being decent is not your best, being distinct, being enlightened, being fair, being good at communicating, Being good isn't really about anyone noticing, being great takes work, being honest to yourself, Being open minded is a skill, being perfect is impossible, being scared as a leader, being smart about communications, being smart and tough, being soft in business, being successful, being yourself, believe, believe that customer is number one, believe your people are your greatest asset, best innovations are usually a reflection of smart dreaming, best solutions are often the ideas that are immediately obvious, best talent has to be won at almost all costs, better than every other country, big dreams are a contradiction, big dreams are visionary, Big dreams have a nice habit, big life events, big mistake big succcesses, big mistakes, big purpose that makes your life bigger, bigger than yourself and consume you, black or white, bludgeon other people into understanding or believing, bludgeon with words, bold and taking some risk, bombastic behavior, book recommendations, bookending alignment, boomers who can communicate and motovate all age groups, boundlessness of friendship, brand, brand ambassadors, Brand preference is often simply dancing on the head of a pin, branding, break stupid rules attitude, break them, breaking a stupid rule, breaking life decisions down, breaking rules advertising, breeds an aspect of complacency, brilliant in simplicity, brilliant insightful epiphany type business thoughts, builders versus renovators, building a culture, building awareness is not enough, building character, building the global generation, bull in a china shop living, burdened by rebellious irresponsibility, buried in your own silence, business, business aspect of this thought, business character, business competition, business differentiation, business innovation, Business is pretty simple, business marketing, business people wanting to talk about business, business thinking, Business Thoughts, business training, business world is going to start playing an incredibly important role, but doesn’t everything, but then I did it, by their dreams, cacophony of uninterrupted noise, called ethics, can actually be a low cost provider, can encourage individualism, can someone really give 110%, cannot be happy and scared, cannot cram the embryonic world of tomorrow, capable of the extraordinary, capacity of the human mind, capacity to draw the fine line between what should be changed and what should not, capacity to drawchanged and what should not, capitalism and morals, capitalism communism, Capitalism shouldn’t cripple individuals, careers, centralized focus with decentralized implementation, certain internal fortitude to be a great listener, challenge those in charge, challenging & tricky, challenging the status quo, change, change a reality, change a reality that may need changing, change agents, change begins in the head, Change comes upon us whether we want it or not, change forces prioritizing, Change is about adapting, change is easier if you simplify, change is scary, change is the constant companion, change is the constant companion of every generation, change occurs, change takes remarkable effort, changed behavior, changing attitude, changing behavior begins in the head, changing behavior begins in understanding, changing objectives to make change, changing point of views, chaos, chaos control methods, chaos creates opportunities, character, character driven leader tends to be respected, character driven leadership, character to be silent, chemistry, cherishes all who make up the nation, childhood shapes our behavior, children of the next transformation, choice, choice between alternatives, choice by numbers, choice cannot be made with statistics alone, choice to assume some personal accountability, choices, choices leading to full life, choices we make or do not make, choose to disrupt, choosing to be true, choosing to play the game your own way, civilizations cannot live in despair, clarity, clashing together of old and new thinking, clear responsibility, clearly in overthinking mode, client, client services, close minded versus open minded, cocktail of happenstance, collaboration, collector of moments, coming up with solutions, commitment is the stuff character is made of, commitment to doing, committed to showing up everyday, committment, common, common sense in business, communicating well, communicating with lots of prospects simultaneously, communication, communications rules of the road, community individualism, company communications campaign to build positive awareness, company of adventurers, company of voyagers, company philosophy doesn’t really matter, Competing against other companies in the business world, competing directly against them, competition, Competition brings out the best in products, Competition brings out the worst in people, competition in business, complex character, complex simplified, complexity equals value, Complexity is a destructive path, complexity often hides within some bright shiny object, concept of chaos, concept of maximizing each moment, condoning mediocrity, confidence stifles the screaming of obvious insecurity, confidenscreaming of obvious insecurity, conflict, conflict and people, conflict lead to a spark of energy, confrontation between the vested interests, confronted with a clear choice between right and wrong, confused with lack of involvement, connecting the real to the possible, connecting with people who matter, connection to the silent life of things, conscientious stupidity, consensus, consequences, consequences of silence, consequences of words, consistency, consistency is underrated, consistency of character, consistency of character is underrated, consistency of values, construction versus deconstruction, consumer attitudes, consumer buying process, consumer buying system, consumers are complicated, consumers not driving everything, content dissemination trends, contradictions, contradictions of life, contradicts the old traditional industrial civilization, controlled autonomy, controlled chaos, conventional wisdom about how humans behave may need rethinking, conversations, core competency, corporate values, corrolation between education and values, courage and faith, courage doesn’t always roar, courage is about resiliency, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, cowardly decision making, create new categories in people’s minds, creates something new, creating desired behavior, creating positive touchpoints, creating something dynamic to replace, creating the next generation of thinkers, creating the next generation of thinkers using the web, creating unity behind leadership, creation means destroying something, Creative Destruction, creative people sometimes get mixed up, creativity, creativity process, crippling of the social consciousness of individuals, cruelty and retribution, crushed by doubt, curiosity, curiosity is good, curiosity is the enemy of ignorance, current behavior triggers, cynical, cynicism, dangers and risk tangled in every life decision, daniel pink, dawn of this new civilization is the single most explosive fact of our lifetimes, daydream because my future is still undefined, days of thunder and chaos, deadly fear of silence, deal with the elephants within their organizations, deal with those mistakes in a way, dealing with adversity, dealing with everyday life, dealing with extenuating experiences, dealing with the elephant in the business room, dealing with the elephant in the room. leaders cannot ignore elephants, death is a forever nap, death of industrialism, death-thinking DNA, deceiving others, deceiving yourself, decentralizing communications tasks, decide what your best is, deciding what it means to be, deciding what it means to be a successful human being, decision making, decision making under uncertainty, decision responsibility, decision utility, decommoditization, decommoditizing, Deconstruction is not for the faint of heart, Deconstruction thinking, defining happiness in moments, delightful read for a business book, deliver consistently, democracy, democracy is tough, democratic uprisings, depression versus recession, depth of character to face everyday life, depths of despair, desire everything at the same time, desired, destroy the dream, destroying some of the accepted beliefs, destroying the personal baggage you carry, destroying to create, developing cross cultural skills, developing minds of next generation of thinkers, developing social and emotional competencies, didn’t know you could get buried in your own silence, difference between following and leading, different generations’ and their likes & dislikes in the work place, different world with different rules, differentiating in commodity like categories, differentiation, difficult lessons, difficult to be a great listener, difficult to discern good guys from bad guys, difficult to know everything, difficult to manage expectations, disappointment created by expectations, disappointment in yourself, discern the difference between desire and need, Discerning between desire for speed and need for speed, discerning the difference between attitude and behavior, discerning the important from the unimportant, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, Disciplined on the small things, discovery, discovery is messy, discovery of something uncovered from another, Discussing dreaming is fun, discussing the challenges of managing generations, discussions lead to outcomes that affect far beyond ourselves, disrupting and destroying the status quo, Disruption, disruption and business, disruption category, disruption creates, Disruption is about discovering new futures, disruption is actually a destination, Disruption is bad, distinct, distinctive in the developed world, distinctness builds value, distinguishing right versus wrong in your own head, do not fear the event, do not go gentle, do not go quietly, do the job despite mistakes, do what is right, do what you say you will do, do whatever you need to do, DO with the information you gained, do your best, does anyone really want to be a slave of the ordinary, does not become more valuable because it becomes complicated, doesn’t diminish what we have done, doing, doing a decent job day to day, doing bad advertising, doing great things, doing is what matters, doing nothing with the intent to do something, doing right even though it may be wrong, doing starts at the top, doing the best they can, doing the best you can, doing the right thing, doing the right thing is hard, Doing the right thing isn’t always clear, doing the right thing takes work, doing the right thing versus pleasing, doing what is right, doing what you say you will, doing whatever it takes to get the young people into your organization, don’t apply one iota of that knowledge to their business development program, don’t expect anything more than, don’t fill empty space because it is empty, don’t know the answer, don’t lose your perspective, don’t reflect on the beauty of the wildness, don’t simply follow rules like a sheep, Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, doomed thinking, double down on trickle down, doubt, Doubt and truth intersect, doubt resides between certainty and uncertainty, doubt something, doubt something once unquestionable, Doubters hesitate to change, doubts of words, dream big, dream big because, dream in the dark recesses, dream in the dark recesses of the night, dream incubator, dream of operational excellence, dream will always triumph over reality, dreamers of day, dreamers of day are dangerous men, dreamers that change the world, dreaming is not just for kids, dreaming not just for kids, dreaming with hope, dreaming without doing is not worth a shit, dreams and dream incubators, dreams with open eyes, drivel hidden in buzzwords, driven by fear, driven mostly by fear of losing, driven mostly by our subconscious, drucker as a futurist, drucker new realities, Drucker’s New Realities in 1990, dynamic beyond our own purposes, dynamic for purposes bigger than ourselves, Each generation faces radical adversity, Each generation facilitates extraordinary change, Each generation gets left behind, each generation has faced some radical change, each moment is a brick in the foundation of life, each second is a universe of time, earning trust, easier and easier to blindly move down a beaten path, easier to be lazy thinker, easier to quit, Economic and social tensions, economic power structures were changing on the cusp of the computer age, education and collaboration, education is not always equal, education to enlighten, Education will always be a recurring issue, ee cummings, effective communication, effective disruptive thinking, effective teaching globally, effectively using quickly assembled solid building blocks, either choose to disrupt, elephants and leaders, eliminating the unimportant, eloquent use of time, embarrassed by silence, embellishment, embodies contradictions, embodiment of your philosophy, embody its principles in other organizations, embrace curiosity, embracing failure, Embracing fragmented knowledge while empowering it, emotional, employ these unnecessary noises, employees, employees have ability to create impressions, employees of all ages like to be led, employees running scared is bad, Employers are getting better at squeezing, empower the youth, encouraging, encouraging curiosity, encouraging hope, encouraging understanding of choices, endless in-between, energy, enhances the quality of the decision, enlighten the people, enlightened, enlightened accountability, enlightened business, enlightened business thinking, enlightened business wisdom, enlightened common sense, enlightened communications, enlightened conflict, enlightened conflict site, enlightened curiosity, enlightened decisions, enlightened dreaming, enlightened ideas, enlightened leadership, enlightened learning, enlightened life, enlightened listening, enlightened management, enlightened managers, enlightened people, enlightened quote, enlightened quotes, enlightened reading, enlightened silence, enlightened speaking, enlightened thinkers, enlightened thinking, enlightened thought, enlightened thoughts, enlightenment is a tough issue, enough time to establish a behavior pattern and belief system, environment is not conducive to being a listener, envision the impossible, erodes both faith and integrity, essence of leadership, essential to maximize organizational energy, estimated 60, even a lifeguard has some responsibility and authority, even if it is a stupid rule, even in the face of rules, even opportunities missed is good, events are meant to be commanded not feared, everlasting, every child deserves a chance, every generation gets older and thinks older, every minute is another chance, every moment counts, every one is an architect of life, every one plays a role in fate, Every word has consequences, everyone else follows, everyone sits in the conference room, everything is evolving, except your own people, executing well is essential when resources are low, existing, existing style of traditional management thinking, Expectations gain momentum with time, exponentially tougher to prove otherwise, expounding on living a life in the now, external people get confused, extreme situations demand extreme solutions, face conflict, facing overwhelming responsibilities, facts and truth, failure of imagination, fairness, fall back on old opinions, falling short of best, Far too much thinking, Favorite Quotes, fear, fear of choices, fear of less than perfect, fear of silence, fear saps energy, fearlessness, Featuring eager young things using snazzy mobile devices, fell and echoed in the wells of silence, few words, fighting chance of being successful, fighting for what you believe in, filling space with words, find new thoughts, find self-value in problem solivng, finding both comfort and newness, Finding pospects is all about numbers, finding the right words to say, finding time, Finding time to do the things over, finding what is possible from impossible, finding your way is tough, flippant with promises, focus an eye on the everyday, focus on what is important, follow his damn ass toward another frickin’ adventure, follow the truth, follow through with action, following, for customers and prospects, fragmentation, free your mind, fresh and visionary ideas, friction, friend of good, from the spark comes improvement., fun, functional, functional superiority, fundamental feature of a successful company is, future leaders do we believe we are developing, gain some new identity aspects, gaining new customers, generalities are a feel good drug, generalities have no value, generation gap is bigger than ever before, generation of measurement, generational ideation, generational things, generations, generations changing behavior, getting a new start means destroying some old things, getting ahead, getting ahead doesn’t mean being ahead all the time, Getting Ahead means Being Ahead, getting done what can be done great, getting good shit done, Getting trapped is part of business, give permission for excuses, give words and inspiration and direction and hope, giving hope in the face of fear, goes beyond just breaking the rules, going with your gut, good advice is priceless, good decision making, good efficient and effective organization, Good leaders appreciate the value of this business stamina, good listening, good people, good pragmatic organizational discussion, great intentions, great leaders don’t respond, Great leadership is inspired by great ideas, great listener gives words their courage, great listeners, great listening difficult, great organizations, great work, greatest accept the burden, greatest danger is aiming too low, grounded in what is important, growth, guilt and obligation, guilty of not my problem, gumption to challenge the very fabric of our society, guy who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, hand over some hard earned money, happiness, happiness is made up of minute fractions, happiness of life is made up of minute fractions, happiness runs the risk of being overwhelmed, hard choices, hard decisions, has always been existent in the workplace, HAS to set his management team to a higher standard, hate competing on low price, have integrity, have to contribute some new thinking, having a desire to add complexity to a beautiful simple idea has nothing to do with the idea but rather with the person, head in the business game, heard it all before and they don't give a shit, heightening value in life choices, heights of leadership is rare air, here is what i would do, hidden words sometimes they find new thoughts, hiding behind statistics, high school, highlights the company’s lack of hierarchy, hope, Hope is a tricky thing, Hope is not a feature, house of cards from which to build an organization, how leaders inspire action, how to act rules of the road, how to be an explorer, huge asinine sink hole waste of money idea, huge difference between breaking rules, I did the best given what I had, I just run off course, i like numbers, I love silence, I see NOW is my moment, I think business, I think I am making the right choices, I think opinions, i want you to be better, I was quiet but I wasn’t blind, I will pretend to listen, ideas, Identifying REAL opportunities or ideas is difficult, identifying who you are, if i only had time, If only it were all this simple, if you are running a business, If you give your word you are beholden to keep it, ignorance, ignorance is the enemy, ignore an authority figure, imagination, implies listen to me, implies wholesale change, impossible for leaders to lead in a traditional way, improves culture, improving, improving ourselves, improving yourself by learning, In between where you were and where you will be, in business I know breaking stupid rules, in terms of positioning, in that moment i swear we were infinite, In the one life that we've got, inability to manage expectations, inaccuracy of the words we use, inaction, incentives, incompetence, incompetent managers, increased expectations, individuals and institutions either adapt to, inefficient crevasses in an organization, influencers are still influencers, information that has now become obsolete, informing a decision, innovation is impossible to budget, inside out leadership, Inside out leadership leads to minimizing ambiguity, inside people there is a lot of stuff, inspires, instinctively complicates life, instinctual, instinctual behavior, insures due process for truth, intangible rarely has value, intentions, interesting people have contradictions, inventing a future, invested in the research, irrational behavior, is anything back or white anymore, is not my idea, is someone to follow, Is there conflict, is your best just mediocre, isolating variables using statistics, it all matters, it can matter, it can matter what you do in a moment, it conditions them not to think for themselves, it is a mistake to not listen, it is about balance, it is easy to be a lazy thinker today, it is not an easy discussion, it isn’t process it is the work, jean marie dru, Jean Marie Dru drew up the idea of disruption, journey of thought, judgement, judgment is not easy, juggling versus balancing, just going to leap into some sort of glorious new age is very unrealistic, just this once, keep your head in the game, keep your mind open to solutions, keeping your eye on key business issues, keeping your word, kids don’t know what they don’t know, kind of implies listen to me attitude., kind of thinking drives me frickin’ crazy, knowing what is right is not enough, knowing why, knowledge as wealth, kodak, lack of alignment, lack of focus and wasted energy, lack of responsibility, lacking hope, lacking sophistication or good sense and intelligence, larger share of the future, lazy business, lazy decision making, lazy logic, Lazy smart people can get left behind, lazy thinking, lead from the inside out, leaders actions create culture, leaders and character, leaders and leadership and character, leaders are becoming blind to their semi-peer flaws, leaders are still and active, leaders don’t give features to entice employees, leaders have strength of character, leadership, leadership and guiding and aligning organizations, leadership is about integrity, leadership split, leadership type thinking and words, Leadership will be defined by the inside aspect of businesses, leading, leading a business, leading features and young employees, learn and listen, learning, learning begets more enlightened ignorance, leave the mouth and lose their courage, leave unsaid the wrong thing, leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment, leaving something unsaid can be good, left free, less important to do things first then to do things right, less than perfect, less than zero, lessons, lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone, letting go is difficult, letting go is not simple, let’s be open-minded, lies, life, life challenges, life counts all lies, life decisions, life formulas, life happens, life is a struggle, life is about making choices, life is complex, life is not a mission, life is not a straight line, life is not as big as we make it out to be, life is not as simple as it seems, life is often not lived best gently, life is tough, life just seems bigger than it is, life lessons, life not defined by meeting objectives, life thoughts, life’s untruths, life’s white lies, limitless, listen a little more, listen for the answers to my questions, listening, listening and learning, listening and questioning, listening and responding, Listening is an underrated skill, Listening is hard, listening to all the things you can’t hear, listening to choices, little ideas and little change, live life to the fullest, living life backwards but still question, logic, logical decision making, look at the compass and let's go, look throughout any successful organization, lost sight of what a business is supposed to be, made me think of this, maintain autonomy, make competitors irrelevant, Make people feel and think differently, make sure words do not get lost, making changes personally, making choices, making good, making hard decisions, Making specialists generalists, making the hard choice, making the simple complicated, making trouble, making your own decisions, manage the category not the brand, management, management by exception, managers, managing business, managing change is tricky, managing customer information, managing people to be successful in life and business, managing perceptions, Managing perceptions of how you are getting the shit done, managing time, managing transitional moments, mankind progresses through thought, Many times in life’s journey, marbles on a table, marketing, marketing can affect behavior and attitudes, marketplace, maximizing moments, maybe life is not that complicated, Meaningful differentiation is difficult, meaningless chaos, meaningless destruction creating chaos, measurement of failure, measuring generational attitudes, measuring generational behavior, measuring life, meeting the challenges of concentration, meeting the construction versus deconstruction gap, messaging, midst of change leaders kind of make it up as they go, misguided breaking rules advertising, misguided communications, misguided execution of what was, miss the simplicity in life, missing out on what life has to offer, missing the point, mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, moments are like a balance sheet, moments in daily life, moral compass and doing the right thing, moral fiber, more silent than the silence around you, most important factor in affecting our lives is our thoughts, most people cannot recognize simple solutions, most things in life are not black or white, motivated by a desire to achieve, motivation, moving quickly smartly, must break their silence, My advice to leaders, My words like silent raindrops, need to make sure we do that every time, new business landscape, new knowledge, new thinking, No excuses, no formulas nor are there any checklists, no lazy thinking, no matter how seemingly small or stupid, no need to make up something new, no one wants to trust chaos, no substitute for judgment, nobody (and everybody) gives a shit about your company philosophy, nobody gives a shit about your company philosophy, nobody’s life is perfect, not a plan to win a fight, not always right, not being so disruptive, not everyone can give good advice, Not everyone can lead, not everyone will be your friend, Not feature-driven leadership, Not just for the sake of destruction, not many of us have time, not meeting an objective is not failure, not only is great listening difficult, not only to say the right thing at the right time, not run out of things to be dissatisfied about, not some blind irresponsible thinking, not suggesting this is the easy way, nothing beats experience, NOW is always our moment, now is the time to listen, numbers are facts, numbers are facts crap, numbers are facts nonsense, numbers are not accountable, numbers can play a role, numbers have a role, numbers show possibilities, numbers will confess anything, obey the rules posted by those who grant, obligation to do, obligation to do the right thing, observation and listening, obsessed with time and maximizing it, obvious solutions, obvious solutions are often the most difficult, odds are you are not unique, offering solutions, often an attribute, old but not old, older experienced people who know how to transform. experienced but flexible, older leaders into convulsions, once doubt enters it takes on huge proportions, one foot in history one foot in future, one little piece at a time, one step at a time, only eloquence left, only etching out one little piece of the bigger picture, only few find the way, only get out by going through the trap, open our minds, opportunity to avoid responsibility, optimism, optomistically cynical, or making excuses, ordinary people don’t think they are remarkable, organization not aligned, organizational, organizational behavior, organizational change, organizational marbles, organizations, Organizations will slow to think, others judge us by our actions, our brains drop out, overcoming optimism, Overturning Conventions, owning a contradiction, part of a leader’s burden is, Particularly in business, partner, partnership, patient quickness, pause and think, pay attention to these 5 things your business, pay close attention to life, pebble cast into a pond, People are always reflecting, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, people constantly defending and explaining, people don’t follow intentions, people get confused about simple, People have higher expectations the bigger the title, people need help, people need some ideology, people need to take a view to face all problems, people who give best advice have been through the most, people with more wisdom. people who have experienced more, people won't be sure that you have done anything at all, People working toward a common business purpose, perception map assumes everyone is equal until proven otherwise, perfection procrastination, performance, permanently dissatisfied company, permit the thought, permit words that are lost to be found, persistently curious, personal accountability, personal accountability within society guidelines, personal creative destruction, personal development journey, personal thoughts, perspective, perspective can help with the complex, philosophy means tangibly & functionally, Pick your moments, pooh wisdom, positive friction, positive friction or owning a contradiction, power of disruption, power of words, powerful idea in business today, powerful words, PR people & advertising people, practical, predictions, presentations, presenting, presenting to people what you have, pressure to maximize time is actually leading to minimizing time, prioritizing actions, prioritizing what is right or wrong, process, process is a means to an end, procrastination, procrastinators, Procrastinators get a bad rap, procrastinators have a tough life these days, productivity, professional communications, professional communications is always about, professional communicator should recognize that, Professional communicators, Professional communicators are paid dearly, Prospecting is not about getting the business, providing perspective, prudent growth strategies, purpose I don’t mean some altruistic vision, purposeful fragmentation, purposeful in your actions, purposefully wield silence as communication, pursuing the way, pushing shit around, put an intention out there, puts you where they are not, putting pressure on yourself with to-do lists, quality of being simple or uncombined, quality versus quantity online, questioning everything, questioning the unquestionable, quiet of confidence, quiet of confidence stifles the screaming, quite surprised to see how often common sense, quotations, quotes, randomness of life, rare to make complicated simple, rational behavior, rational people doing irrational things, reach for the stars, real action steps, real art of conversation, real opportunities or big ideas, reason to believe, reate that disruptive type strategy, recognize that business is about dollars and cents, recommendation, refreshing approach to thinking, regrets, regulating affairs of mankind, relationships, remaining selectively quiet, research, resilience, resiliency, resiliency and character, respect, respect for individual choice, respect rules, responsibility, responsibility to explain, restless consistency, right but wrong, right is right, risk, risk aversion, running a business, safe, satisfied with maintaining the status quo, saw an Audi TV commercial that, say it is happening when it isn’t, Say something meaningful in an interesting way, say that something is happening when it is, saying the right words, saying the wrong thing means versus silence, saying the wrong thing or saying nothing, scared, scares the shit out of most businesses, scares the shit out of them, seamlessly step into, see a diminishing ability in leadership to effectively deal, see things a little differently, see within the circumstances, see your own reality, seek every way possible to complicate our lives, seek out events without fear, seek out the genius in the ordinary, seek out the small to insure the big turns out right, seek truth, seeking, seeking the way of truth, seem to be using it to mean something good, seemingly trivial triggers the big, self doubt, self esteem and thineself, self reflection, self reflection on behavior, self truth, Senior manager flaws, senior people and lazy thinking, Senior people are supposed to be role models, serious life decluttering, shades of gray, share authority without losing it, share of wallet, sharing experiences, short term concentration capabilities, short term irrational behavior, silence defines, silence defines accuracy in communication, silence doesn't erase existence, silence has become a lost art, Silence is a funky thing to most of us, silence is about balance, silence is an art, Silence is so accurate, silence speak, Silence takes courage, silence versus missed opportunity to say the right thing, silence when wielded well creates accuracy, silly expectations, simple, simple gestures, simple is hard, simple isn’t the least, simple solutions are often the best solutions, simplicity, simplicity has gone the way of the dodo, simplicity in life, simplicity is an acquired taste, simplicity of solution, simplicity seems too chaotic, simplicity takes remarkable effort, simplifying to make choices easier, Simplistically the excuse is time, simply encouraging an addictive relationship, sitting in a room discussing strategy, slightly more hopeful look at the world, slippery slope, slippery slope of despair, slow down on that whole disruption talk, slowing down actually makes us more ethical, small effort impacts total effort, small gestires in trivial looking moments, small gestures in trivial looking moments, smallest actions contribute, smart behavior choice, smart behavior choice even in the face of rules, smart enough to discern the difference between, smart people, Smart people assess rules, Smart people encourage breaking stupid rules, smart rule breakers, smart rule breakers respect rules, so desperate for the big idea, So many words get lost, So much of modern life seems to be about more, so much to do I can barely keep my head above water, so what do we do, soft choices, some honesty, some moments deserve to be pulled out of trivial status, Some rules are good, some sage executive, some wars are worth fighting, someone does something stupid, someone just frickin’ lead, someone says pause and think, someone who gets good shit done, something good to be said about silence, something to think about, sometimes bad shit happens even, sometimes it is less a thing when it is out in the open, somewhere above the least and significantly below the most, sorting out the truth, sounds like a ball buster who is never satisfied, speak after listening, speak up and shut up, speak up when they have an opinion, speak when spoken to, speaker has absolutely no responsibility to explain, speaking, speaking and silence, specifics are invaluable, sponges for information at this age, standing on the uncertainty pedestal, stated with false enthusiasm, statistical decision theory, statistics, statistics cannot make the decision for you, statistics getting in the way of a good decision, stay or go, stimulus, straight lines, straight lines are rare in life, strategy, strength of character, strength of character to make change, stress, stress can short circuit what we know, stress situations are judgment moments, stressful decisions, strip away the undoable and identify the doable, struggle between energy and indolence, struggle between vitality and decay, struggle to find a greater compliment in the world, struggle to think of anything more miserable than, struggle with depicting a parent who seemingly venerates, struggle with warring impulses to speak up and shut up, struggled to adapt to the change, stuck someplace that isn’t moving toward where, Stuff I Like, stupid or smart, Success is getting people to think and act differently., sucked into the generalities sink hole, suggests a bad lesson to a child, swallowing nonsense, takes focus, talk far enough up to them, talking, talking about the power of disruption, tangible display of hope, tangible not-just-feel-good value, tapping into what people really think, teachers, Teachers do the best they can, teaching, teaching rushing from one thing to another, tell someone what you are thinking, Telling a child that it is good to break the rules, Thank you Audi for undermining everything we need in society, That burden is the price of leadership, that equals winning, that i was yesterday, that i will be tomorrow, that is a Business Truth, that is what words do, that which is simple is valuable, that’s the way its done, the answers are within you, the art of rhetoric, the bigger picture, the courage to listen, the difference between breaking a rule and breaking a stupid rule, the discussion is a solution, the life stress test, the moment before the moment, The moment was important because you made it so, the more powerful will be the smaller players, the most powerful weapon in life is not a mission, the numbers told me what to do, the odd moment of beauty where time is not the same, the organizational crack, the power of silence, the rocky road is the high road, the same process and same vocabulary, the small gesture in the trivial moment, the Time versus Expectations continuum, the truth may hurt, the unimportant, the useless information garbage, the why behind what you do, the world is always changing, The world is full of rules, the world needs to be more connected, there is a time to not talk, there is no formula for good choices, there is too much work to do, there’s that damn elephant but there’s nothing I can do about it, they don’t follow rules, they get good shit done, they have to respect you, they know how to lead, They leave the mouth and lose their courage, they want you to lead, thineself in brand is often overlooked, things that fill the space, think about why you do something, think before you speak, thinking, thinking about what you do, thinking about why you do things, thinking before speaking, thinking harder, thinking impossible things, Thinking is at its best, thinking is good, thinking is messy, thinking out loud is lazy, thinking too much, this i am today, this is about leadership, this sounds pretty common sense, thorn in the side of evil, thoughtful and relevant, thoughts, thoughts initiate action, thoughts initiate action and progress, thrive on dreams and possibilities, thru visuals & words, time, time is a disposable product, Time is the new Currency, time management, Time pressure enhances the odds someone will make a less ethical, time research, time stands still, Timing and situation matters, To every rule there is an exception, to feel good being associated with us, today’s business environment, Today’s competitiveness, today’s cynical questioning world, top down thing benefits all, torture numbers, torturing numbers, tough decisions are tough, Tough shit if life gets in the way, transactional branding, transformational people, translates into less real listening, trapped by fear, treat people fairly, tricky it can be to communicate a thought well, trivial moments, trivial moments are more difficult, trivial moments in bigger life, truly miss the mark, trust, trust & integrity tied to its purpose, trusting in your words, truth, truth and expectations, truth has never been more difficult to discern, truth is difficult, truth is rarely simple, truth is what really happened, truth or lies, truth or nothing, try and listen, try raising their family to think for themselves, trying to gain respect or perceptions of commitment in other ways, trying to preserve will lead to stagnation, tying intentions to actions, uncertainty is a bitch, uncertainty takes on geometric proportions, unclear leader, understand how great you are, understanding what you do as an organization, unexpected innovation, unfocused leaders, unquestionable, unrealistic expectations, unshakeable, use your imagination, useless things that dot the monologue, using a shitload of words, using some excellent hyperbole, utilizing time efficiency models to squeeze every productive minute, Vague feels good, value of doing nothing, value of not wasting words, valuing some sense of order thru rules, vibrantly alive in repose, vision, walking beyond our own footsteps, walking the thin line of connecting with your audience thru visuals & words, wandering aimlessly, wasted energy worrying, we actually waste a shitload of time, we all have the same amount of time, We are all disruptors, We are all manufacturers, we are dealers in hope, we find ourselves disoriented, we invest so much time trying to manage time, We just have to do the best we can, We reflect to move forward better, weave your way through business issues, what comes next, What comfort do we find, What comfort do we find in all the noise, what do you do when you get what you want, what has happened to leadership, what I know opinions, What if that is all there is, what is right and what is wrong, what is the alternative, what the company will do for them or give to them, what we are seeking explanations, what would you sacrifice to win, what you elect to do with it, what’s the sense of our small effort, when viewing the flat grid and quadrants, when you are silent, When you do things right, who can shout the loudest, Who is leading the damn company, who we are today, who we were yesterday, whole staff must have a proprietary feeling about the company’s work, Why are we embarrassed by silence, Why would anybody disrupt, why you do the things you do, why you should listen, Winnie the Pooh was a pretty smart bear, winning is often in the sometimes random nuance, Winston Churchill, wisdom, with regard to listening, withheld work of art is the only eloquence left, Withholding words, Withholding words is a version of eloquence, within the empty space, Without trust people will become cynical, woefully inadequate data, words, words equal action, words equal intent, Words help you see things, words reflecting experiences, words that become deeds, Words to actually doing, work hard and good things will happen myth, working backwards, world is full of rules, yed with responsibility in mind, you and i issues, you appear dishonest, you become a discoverer, You become silence, you can make any moment, you cannot dwell on every moment that slipped by, you hear silence speak, you just find now moments, your best member of your team has the energy and focus, your business will have a fighting chance of being successful
Written by Bruce
Leave a Comment