We were leaving church last night and, well… that’s not quite accurate.
The truth is that we ran into some dear friends that we haven’t seen in a number of weeks, and we stayed and talked until the trustees KICKED US OUT!
I know, getting kicked out of church sounds bad… and the truth is, it’s not the first time… but alas, I digress.
But in the hour or so before being thrown out into the cold (wind chills are in the twenties here tonight), we had the opportunity to cover a lot of ground from leadership to marketing, and then circle around to even more leadership… ending with, not surprisingly, a particular marketing situation in which leadership is sorely lacking!
Yeah… I guess you could say it was pretty much about leadership and marketing.
At its heart, it was really a conversation about leaders who have stopped leading in the marketing area of their business. And they have stopped leading… because they have stopped growing.
And when they stopped… the world, and their market, passed them by.
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They seem to be shouting, “Wait for me… I’m your leader…!”
And, please, this is no tiny enterprise either. International in scope, multiple BILLIONS in annual revenue… and hanging on to traditional practices and diminishing returns in the face of every shred of evidence that would indicate a radical shift is necessary.
No, that’s not quite accurate either. The radical shift has already happened… and they were not there.
Now for the first time ever, they are looking at the tail lights of their competitors… for the first time, they’re not quite sure what to do… and worse… for the first time, many on their team have lost faith.
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The whole discussion reminded me of the Joaquin Phoenix character, Commodus, in the movie “Gladiator”.
Approaching his father, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, after a critical fight… he asks, “Have I missed it… have I missed the battle…?”
His father responds, “You have missed the war…”
By definition, it is difficult for leaders to lead… from the rear.
Which, believe it or not, reminds me of another story… next time.
I look forward to speaking with you soon.
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