Take advantage of corporate
turmoil
NoSpin Debunker
#49: August 5, 2002
Please take 5 seconds for the new NoSpin Poll about who is to blame for
the waning confidence in US business.
“Nobody got rich being
honest,” says Harry Wormwood (a
despicable, spoof businessman) played by Danny DeVito in the classic kid’s
movie, Matilda.
If one extrapolates from
many recent polls about corporate misdoings, a higher percentage of people in
the U.S. now believe that statement than in any other decade since the
1930’s. Thanks mainly to some
“C-Level” corporate crooks (and their accountants and bankers) who have brought
the house down upon themselves and impacted the finances of millions of others,
confidence in business leaders is frightfully low. Oh sure, the Feds are not
blameless for a hodgepodge of inane regulations, but nobody put guns to these
peoples’ heads to abuse both the spirit and laws of American business.
In one of Matilda’s best
quotes, Harry says to his gifted daughter, “I’m smart. You’re dumb. I’m big: you’re little. And there’s
nothing you can do about it.” Or is
that a CEO, CFO, COO, CIO crook talking to virtually any of his/her employee
minions or to customers, prospects, investors, accountants, bankers or even the
government? Corporate arrogance and
greed run amuck.
By definition, marketers
are capitalists. I am a marketer and devout capitalist. Few people really want
more big government to cure the country of its economic ills. And then again,
not too many folks are foolish enough to believe the “few bad apples”
theory—that all of the hoopla about corporate crooks is about a handful of bad
apple CEO’s (like Adelphia’s Rigas’ who should be indicted for corporate
stupidity rather than mere fraud).
The vast majority of CEO’s
in the U.S. are NOT crooks, but they are foolishly remaining silent about the
current mess and most are in hiding. Is your CEO one of those who is acting like
other cowardly lemmings: laying low and keeping an invisible profile until some
of this blows over? Are you listening to the PR gurus who are publicly
lambasting Martha Stewart for not telling her story and privately telling their
clients to keep as a low of a profile as possible?
What people want from
businessmen and businesswomen is not perfection but rather leaders who act
honestly and professionally—and go do it every day, day after day. They want
quality goods and services that they can rely on—at reasonable prices. They want
workplaces that they are proud to say that they are a part of. They want companies they trust enough to
invest their own hard earned dollars.
Six months ago I wrote a
Debunker about CEOs’ Marketing
prowess and questioned how good a lot of CEOs really are at marketing their
company’s products and services. This Debunker is an update for CEO’s who want
to make a Marketing splash—and it won’t cost them a thing.
I’m going to clue to you
in to a BIG secret. In this lousy economy tainted by corporate fraud and deceit,
you’ve got the best chance that you’ve ever had to distance yourself from the
pack and create an advantage for your company’s products and services in the
marketplace:
Don’t hide like
most CEOs—especially big company CEOs are doing right now. Rather:
1) Let your CEO (and CFO,
COO, etc) loose to be more visible and accessible to the press, customers,
prospects, employees, investors and others—than he or she has ever been.
Especially the press. Without sugarcoating it, talk about the good stuff that
you are doing in your business—and be open with information—even if yours is a
private company.
2) Talk and act the
opposite of the ways corporate crooks in the news do. Set a daily example and
show that commerce can be conducted honestly, fairly, and above board. Do what
you say you’ll do. Build and grow a sustainable business—step by step—without
cutting corners.
3) Be willing to talk about
the current crisis in business today. Publicly criticize the crooks and others
that do live up neither the spirit nor the letter of past and new laws. Take the
initiative to start cleaning up your profession. Don’t do business with shady
companies and crooked executives who don’t act like yours.
You’ll stand out. You’ll
be different. You’ll be remembered. You will sell more products and services.
That’s good marketing.
The only thing it’s going
to take is some guts.
Please let me know what YOU think about this
debunker! And
please add these unconventional business professionals to the Debunker mailing
list.
If you would prefer to be removed from this email list, let me know.
Tom Ranseen
NoSpin Marketing
615.383.7157