A good friend with a quirky sense of humor, stopped by the offices of VIM Executive Coaching last week and said, “I don’t know about you, but after I fulfill my lifelong dream to go to Harvard Medical School, I want to be a Twitter influencer.”
You have to appreciate my friend. A former executive chef, he became wealthy by starting a national chain of gourmet ice cream and coffee stores. At 64 he is hardly a social media influencer let alone possessing the figure of a svelte Reality TV starlet. However, as humorous as he can be, he is a deep thinker who meditates and works in his rose garden most every day.
After he told me he aspired to be a trendsetter and influencer he followed it up, quite seriously with this: “You know, I think that’s what’s wrong with most of us. We all want to chase trends and influence, but we don’t want to lead. I think that’s dangerous, don’t you?”
Dropping the Gauntlet
In essence, he dropped a conversational gauntlet at my feet. He was right, of course. With the rise of social media, whether you love or despise it, we also experienced the rise of on-line trendsetters and influencers.
Historically, trendsetters are hardly a new phenomenon. Whether we are talking about Coco Channel, Benjamin Franklin, Andy Warhol or Hedda Hopper, we have always followed the advice of those whom we believe to have the inside track on good taste, the arts, wit or the latest gossip. With the advent of social media, companies pay good money to have a “star” tell us to buy a certain shade of lipstick or visit a resort because he goes there (when, we don’t know, but he assures us he does).
It is good advertising and marketing and certainly appeals to a demographic, but the problem arises when executives believe that staying relevant within their organizations means following every trend and social media nuance. It is the equivalent of chasing a long tail, and it’s rather risky.
It is impossible to follow every trend, every social nuance or to always be an influencer. In fact, to do so becomes silly or a parody. Our friend above, at 64 is hardly the kind of person to get on TikTok or Twitter and create a lot of buzz. In fact, he doesn’t even try. Though he is “the boss” and influential within his organization, that is not why his managers and employees value him.
He is valued because he knows who he is, and because he values everyone in his organization. It is called authenticity. He tries to cultivate authenticity within every conversation by truly listening and truly caring. He once told me: “You know what I believe in? I believe in compassion.”
Compassion is reflected every time he visits one of his store (units), when he listens to every suggestion and takes to heart the problems in his organization. It stems from his practice of mindfulness. We must also remember that social media influencers and trendsetters can and do, fade-away. Generations grow older, tastes change and organizational dynamics change. Mindfulness and compassion don’t change.
At VIM Executive Coaching, we strive to teach the unchanging and the relevant. We leave the fleeting social media trends to others.