Talking heads are killing me lately…especially as I suffer during my morning exercise. Here’s what I mean (and it starts with this question): What is it about Fox News?
It’s like they called central casting with the following request:
“Infotainment News Station is seeking male and female models: Smoking hot, credibly conversant, pseudo-intellectual male and female models needed to portray newscasters in an ongoing melodrama series. Age range 28 – 38. Models must be able to look slightly naughty, (Sarah Palin-ish, but younger), while spouting economic, political and business terms. Little previous experience necessary. Please bring legshots along with the traditional headshots for the audition.”
For me, the blather creates an overwhelming sense of doom and gloom, but as if it were presented by the Pussycat Dolls. I received a tweet from a friend, Gini Dietrich, who clearly feels the same. She told me about a new drinking game and I’ve modified it just a bit for sales professionals everywhere…
Sales professional drinking game. Take a drink every time you hear the following phrases:
- “In this economy…”
- “We’ll take a look at it after the first quarter…”
- “…economic downturn…”
If you can stand up after 60 minutes you may need to seek a good 12-step program because your alcohol tolerance is beyond the beyond.
I did grow up on Ziglar, Napoleon Hill and the other preachers of PMA, (“positive mental attitude” for those who didn’t…). I believe that you must dream big, set goals, find opportunity in everything and believe in the possibilities of people- I guess I am just looking for some place in-between the pundit angst and the crazy-eyed “ignore the data and just hold onto your dreams” options that some of my original mentors gave me. So help me with this- what language is available to those of us who are in the profession? How do we balance the reality that we truly have working knowledge of and the hope that we are basing the next phase of our careers on? Then how do we put it out there in credible ways for the people we spend our time with – clients, prospects, peers and partners – in a way that changes the lexicon of bleakness that we hear as if the needle was stuck on the old 45 rpm record into something more balanced and forward looking. I know that I want to be able to start with that new language right now.
Let me know your ideas. This is a blog worth responding to.
