How ‘The Slap’ could affect the brand reputation of the various players

There is an adage in marketing that no publicity is bad. Even negative publicity helps to keep the brand salient. At least for those in the entertainment business.  Many a marketing and PR guru will publicly disagree but privately nod at it. We know that bans and controversies sell more tickets, more books and get more eyeballs. So, you could argue that all this hullaballoo is really all good for Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett, The Academy Awards and Pfizer (yes, the pharma people, we will come to that in a bit).

In these modern times, the adage may need a little nuancing. We are in an era where it is no longer enough to keep your personal beliefs personal. What you stand for and believe in impacts your personal brand a lot more than it did before the days of social media and hyperconnectivity. Particularly if you are a celebrity.  Think Meryl Streep and her calling out of Trump’s mocking of a disabled reporter. More recently Neil Young and his row with Spotify on vaccine misinformation caused an exodus from the platform and I suspect people started hearing his music again. The Slap though would have different outcomes for the different actors. The consequences will be felt long after the headlines have moved on.

The Slapper

Will Smith is possibly the biggest ‘Black’ movie star currently. His appeal though, is wider than that. He is seen as a modern family man, practicing an open marriage but also a role model parent for many. Will Smith has played the role of a sensitive person with aplomb. Simultaneously, he has been a man of action. It is the composite and an amalgamation of the opposites that lies at the core of Will’s brand identity. It is probably why he has a wide appeal.

This act of reacting violently in front of a global audience to a joke (albeit in poor taste) about his wife plays out very strongly to one side of him – the emotional, action oriented avenging hero, out to protect his wife. It had immediate appeal with a part of his audience. However, it does destroy the sense of balance of opposites that is so central to his brand. His subsequent apologies have done nothing to change that. It has also taken away from the remarkable achievement of winning the Oscar. Will Smith’s brand standing has eroded, and he will continue to wear The Slap as an albatross around his neck.

Over the longer term, The Slap could strengthen some deeply held negative beliefs about race.

The Slapped

Chris Rock is to Will Smith what Arshad Warsi is to Akshay Kumar. Will is the mega star and Chris a minor one. Chris is the intelligent, wisecracking, funny, fast speaking guy. ‘Black’ is very much a part of his core identity. He has a career as a stand up and draws large crowds for his acts. Getting away by insulting the audience is a core ingredient of a stand-up comedy act. The audience expects him to be outrageous at times.

In this case, getting slapped makes him a victim rather than an offender. His actions are not incongruous with Chris the brand. His apology is also par for the course for comedians. Chris will probably draw bigger audiences and can wear The Slap as a badge. His brand standing has possibly received a boost, bigger than what being an Oscar MC got him.

Over the longer term, political correctness will draw even more rigid lines around what is acceptable.

The Subject of The Slap

Jada Pinkett Smith is an actor, musician, producer, entrepreneur, wife and independent woman, all in one. She is admired for her multifaceted talent and for being so much more than just an actor or wife of a mega star. Jada is seen as a person with a voice and agency. She does not come across as a person who needs defending. Though some questions have been raised since the video of her reacting to the incident have been going around.

Jada has maintained her poise and her statements have been unreproachable. Jada could have but has not played victim. Her actions have been largely in consonance with her brand image. Her brand standing has probably gone up and she emerges as a winner.

Where The Slap was delivered

The Academy has been working to respond to criticism of their values for a few years now. They have often been accused of being racist, big money less art, and big banner centric. The Academy has also reflected, through the cinema that wins, the mood of the US (sometimes the world). The award ceremonies have always defined standards in presentation and content. It is a global institution and a market driver.

This year’s Oscars were supposed to reflect how the Academy is more aligned to a world that respects and recognizes diversity and inclusion. Never has there been such a combination of winners – an LGBT actress, woman director, actor with disability, black actor. This was going to help strengthen the brand. That message has got lost. Instead, even though eyeballs have gone up what is remembered is The Slap and the awkward handling of it. The lack of a firm, value based response, has stripped some more gloss off the Academy. They have weathered worse before and may well escape without too much damage. However, the ride to change has slowed down.

The Gob Smacked

They happened to sponsor the awards. They also happen to be a pharma giant. Pfizer were the right company at the right time the last 2 years, with their high quality Covid vaccine. They have been much sought after by the world and the stock market.

Conspiracy theories, which always surface with events like The Slap, are spinning around the world at warp speed about how this is a gimmick by Pfizer. Apparently to launch their alopecia drug! If this were marketing, it would be the strategy of some who were using something (and not Pfizer’s drugs) when they thought of it.  We know how fake news flies and finds believers. This must be a scenario that no one at Pfizer would have thought of when they were sponsoring the awards! Yesterday’s world hero’s crisis teams are currently scrambling, working at damage control. Pfizer is a current loser in brand standings.

In the long term, organisations will think even harder about what can go wrong before committing money to the arts. Brand reputations are fragile things, needs great care to build and even more to maintain.

What do Indian students in Ukraine, stray cows, the Great Resignation and hotels in Jharkhand have in common?

Ukraine, is winning the media and sympathy war hands down. Except possibly in Russia, Eretria, North Korea and Syria. But the harassment of Indian students within Ukraine strikes a jarring note  and is probably an unintended consequence of the war fervour. ‘Save Ukrainian lives’ seems to have also translated into lack of care for African and South Asian students at the border and is raising questions about Ukrainian and European racism.

The banning of cow slaughter in certain states has resulted in a massive stray cow problem. Farmers and cattle herders have lost some income and looking after milch cows is economically unviable. This problem is now resulting in stray cattle now destroying farms. Negatively impacting farmer income is an unintended consequence.

As organisations responded to the pandemic and WFH has become the norm, the return is proving problematic in unexpected ways. The isolation and loss that people experienced has got many to question what is important in their lives. Many are also enjoying the lower cost of working from a small town home or simply not commuting daily. Going back to a physical office, metro living and that to at the same salary is no longer attractive. An unintended consequence of the opening up and revival of the economy, has been upward pressure on salaries and mass resignations.

When Bihar imposed total prohibition with very strict rules, anecdotal evidence says that hotels mushroomed in the border areas with Jharkhand. Those from Bihar, looking for a tipple, simply cross over, enjoy a night of revelry and cross back in the morning. Growth of the hotel industry in Jharkhand is an unintended consequence of the Bihar government’s policy of prohibition. Anecdotal evidence also points to increase in excise collections in the neighbouring state of West Bengal. Alcohol sales are well beyond what the state is known to consume on its own.

“The law of unintended consequences, is credited to Robert Merton (“The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action,” 1936). Tellingly he identifies ignorance, error, and the deliberate turning away of eyes from any unintended consequence, as the key causes.

The antidote to that is adopting a scenario based and ‘whole system’ approach to policy  and action. As we map out and think through various possibilities, we are able to visualise many more of the potentially unintended consequences and factor them in. Of course there may still be stray problems. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Have a favourite Unintended Consequence? Please share with the other readers.

Synopsis

Unfounded optimism, lack of caution & social distancing norms, and a bizarre sense of invincibility have deepened the ongoing Covid crisis. At a time like this, following the Stockdale Paradox may well prove to be the best strategy.

By Avik Chanda & Sanjeev Roy

15th May 2021

For over two decades now, psychologists such as Daniel Goleman and others, have been telling us that empathy is a crucial workplace competency. But empathy and its association with words like feelings and emotions continues to make people uncomfortable.

Empathy means being able to 1) understand the other person’s thoughts, motives, worries, etc. 2) understand their experience and feelings in a given situation.

Photo credit: pressfoto via Freepik

Author Brene Brown defines empathy as connecting with people so we know we’re not alone when we’re in a struggle. She says empathy is a way to connect to the emotion another person is experiencing; and it doesn’t require that we have experienced the same situation they are going through.

In this article, we’ll look at  some myths about empathy that we have encountered in our work with leadership. These myths are why many continue to give empathy a theoretical nod but often a practical pass. We will address ways in which empathy can be practiced at the workplace. 

Myth #1: Empathy means being “emotional” at the cost of logic and reason.

Empathy is often seen as giving into emotions and losing objectivity or rationality.This is what makes many in the workplace uncomfortable with “being empathetic”.

The truth is that empathy is akin to an internal, navigational tool. It helps us to better understand those who we must work and interact with on a regular basis. Practicing empathy means making efforts to understand the other person’s experience and point of view; the way they think about what’s going on. 

Photo credit: pressfoto via Freepik

This makes empathy an important relationship management tool, whether it be with business partners or internal team members; it allows you to connect before you can “correct” or “work to find a solution”. Empathy allows us to understand the other person’s perspective and reach a mutually agreeable decision.

If a colleague were to share that ‘I am hesitant to state a different point of view because I might be ridiculed’, responses that may get a real connection going would involve acknowledging the person’s fears. If necessary, asking what caused such fears to take hold. And finally, if the need still persists, proceed to solutioning together. Sometimes, the acknowledgement may be enough. That is how one translates empathy into action.

This leads us to our myth #2, that empathy equals agreeing.

Myth #2: Empathy means agreeing to everything the other person has to say/demands.

Coming back to the idea that empathy is really a navigational tool that allows us to be on the same page as the other person. 

Whilst being empathetic means acknowledging the other person’s feelings and experience as being valid, you can be empathetic to someone and still disagree with them. The deep listening and connection are what allow you to remain firm.

A colleague or team member, who is continuously missing deliverables for some time may share how they are feeling overworked or struggling with something. Empathy in action would mean listening to them, acknowledging their feelings but stating that the tasks have to be performed. Asking the person to think of solutions and then helping them along as appropriate may be more useful.

Myth #3: Empathy is time-consuming and delays work

One that we hear very often is that empathy needs time and we just don’t have it… In the midst of our daily hustles, empathy often gets pushed to the back burner as we try to “just get work done”. However, short term effort in empathizing with others can lead to huge long term benefit and save both time and effort in the long run. 

In any parent-child or mentor mentee relationship, this is quite relevant. The more you “connect” and stuff up the “connection box”, the easier it is to set boundaries, provide guidance, help learning. Investing in connection strengthens the relationship that over time then is the foundation for crossing tougher bridges much faster! 

The more we see empathy as a critical business competency, the more aligned we are in the language we use to talk about it. 

Photo credit: pressfoto via Freepik

Myth #4: Empathy is a personality trait and not a skill.

The common belief is that you either are empathetic or not. It is believed, though inaccurately, that “it is what it is” and can’t be changed or improved.

However, as psychologist Jamil Zaki has portrayed through extensive research and interventions, empathy is a learnable skill. It is like a muscle that gets stronger and stronger over time through conscious efforts and training activities and experiential interventions such as perspective-taking, coaching, etc.

Learning to be a better listener, mastering the art of framing responses mindfully, taking time to respond, resisting the need to put everything in a positive light and so on are all learnable.

Empathy has always been an important leadership competency and the pandemic has brought it into sharp focus.

At Bullzi, we have created some very specific interventions to help leaders develop their empathy muscle. We have run multiple editions of our Connected Leadership Lab and Leading WIth Empathy. 

This article written by the Bullzi team is the second in the series Preparing Leaders For The Post-Covid Era that addresses key challenges and needs for leaders in a changed, post-Covid19 work landscape. Read the others here:  Chronic Stress In The C-Suite

The job of the C-suite has always been tough but the pandemic has exasperated the situation further. Amidst a highly demanding work environment, combined with fear and uncertainty regarding their and their family & friends’ health as well as a sense of loss of ”normalcy”, it seems, leaders in the c-suite haven’t really cracked the code on how to operate in this new, distanced world. 

The c-suite is being called upon to show the way to their organizations out of the pandemic-induced challenges, double down on motivation, and reinforce the sense of purpose and connection within the organization, besides adjusting their own leadership approach for a technologically-driven, distanced work environment. All of this is leading to chronic stress in the c-suite. 

What impact is it having on individuals and on the organisations they lead? We attempt to answer in this article.

Unacknowledged stress in leadership

This Elemental article takes a deep dive into the topic of pandemic-induced long-term stress. It brings forth key insights on what chronic stress can do to a person’s mental well-being in the long term; it highlights how prolonged stress results in a higher chance of leading to mental disorders such as depression or PTSD, etc. 

The impact is likely, to a lesser or higher level, depending on the proximity of one’s experience with the pandemic. Loss of family/friends, business continuity stress, anxiety about the future, isolation…all of these are likely to contribute to higher anxiety and stress in any person.

The article also attempts to explain the impact of a loss of social connection and  sense of “normalcy” on how effectively we can deal with chronic stress and the unusual emotions we are experiencing right now: why, for example, we no longer enjoy or are excited about doing some of the things we absolutely loved pre-Covid. 

What we are experiencing right now is a form of collective grief or stress – even for those who haven’t personally experienced loss of loved ones or loss of job – there is a sense of gloom they might be experiencing due to the sheer difficulty and uncertainty of what’s going on all around us.

Since the beginning of 2020, we at Bullzi have been tracking leadership and organisation ‘state of being’ through our own surveys and desk research. We have also run new age psychometrics (with our partner organisation NUVAH) that specifically track resilience, anxiety and state of being. At each stage we have found that leadership stress trends higher than average stress, yet it is not acknowledged. 

Chronic stress and resilience

While an appropriate level of stress can often be helpful to get the thinking fluids flowing, prolonged stress can be detrimental for any individual’s long term well-being and will also, at some point, interfere with their work needs.

Over the past 3 months we have invited over thirty five C-suite members to take part in a psychometric (from our partners NUVAH) that measures resilience. While overall resilience scores are in the positive zone, scores on stress and sense of being in control are generally in the orange and red zones.

The relationship between stress and resilience is a peculiar one – while ordinarily, both stress and resilience co-exist and in a way, effectively dealing with some stress does contribute to building personal resilience; long-term stress lowers our ability to adapt to and address demanding situations. 

Leadership resilience and its cascading effects

When it happens to leaders in the c-suite, this lowered resilience also has an impact on the organization’s overall performance and long-term resilience. Resilient Leaders boost organizational resilience and culture and vice versa.

While there are many factors such as strong  core values, relevant mission and customer value proposition, agile and adaptable structures and processes that help the organization build its resilience; if the organization is the vehicle, leaders are akin to the drivers responsible for direction and action in this regard. And thus, leaders need to be ready for the next battle – whenever that may be. This goes beyond the ability to plan and make the right business decisions; it requires  the ability to have clarity and the right outlook to deal with adverse events. Resilience is not an end result, but rather a process of adaptation and growth in a complex and risky operating landscape. 

On the other hand, a culture of resilience within the organization also helps individuals build a resilient outlook in their personal lives. It’s a reinforcing loop. When the organization has clearly defined processes and approaches to build a culture of resilience, it makes it easier for the individual leaders in the organization to deal with uncertainty and complexity. But it is the leaders who have to lead the way in terms of defining an organization-wide culture of resilience.

Organizations must ask themselves, whether this is a virtuous cycle or a vicious one.

When individuals’ well-being, besides financial outcomes, is treated as a priority…when the organization helps its people be better prepared to deal with the stress associated with complex or unpredictable situations…when safe spaces are created for individuals to acknowledge and reflect on setbacks, work through challenges and draw out  learnings for the future…when an “always on” work environment is discouraged, the leaders are better able to cope with highly demanding needs at the workplace.

On the other hand, when an organization prides itself in constantly operating in a “fire fighting mode”…when the next crisis is always just around the corner…when focus on personal well-being and mental health is labelled “selfish”, the leaders will soon find themselves spiralling down the rabbithole of difficult situations, leading to more stress and therefore, more challenges and so on.  

Leaders in the c-suite are increasingly called upon to advance the mental well-being agenda but can they really do so without putting it in practice for themselves?

This article written by the Bullzi team is first in the series Preparing Leaders For The Post-Covid Era that addresses key challenges and needs for leaders in a changed, post-Covid19 work landscape. Look out for the others in the coming weeks.

Born to Lead

Even in a room full of strangers, he makes his presence felt. Carries about him a sense of self assurance that seems to suggest there is no room for doubt or anxiety. Has been an entrepreneur ever since business school and has stayed with the business he co-founded  20 years ago.

Manu Dogra, Director and Co-Founder of Netcarrots Loyalty Services, sees himself as a ‘logical, organized, structured, objective driven and decisive professional’. That is as clear a description that you can ever find of a person driven by his head. His other partners have gone on to create and lead other businesses as part of growth strategy whereas Manu has remained to run Netcarrots. He has led it with a sure and firm hand. Bouncing into work day after day, year after year.

Loss Of Mojo

Mojo is the quality that fills us with energy, makes us more attractive to people and creates a virtuous cycle that makes us successful.

The loss of mojo is often imperceptible, creeping up on you in small insidious ways. Manu had a very clear idea of what constituted quality and he was driven by the thought of providing value for his clients. That remains at the heart of Netcarrots’ survival and growth as an organisation. Improving a presentation, refining a programme design, adding a layer to the strategy were all enjoyable tasks for Manu. He had begun to get more irritated and impatient with his people. Gradually it moved to him exerting more control and enjoying it even less. At one point he even remarked, “ why don’t people come to me any longer, they know I can help make it better?” His team were often trying to avoid him and the downward spiral continued. The bounce in the morning was less and the drag through the day was more. This was being carried back home as well.

Epiphany

Manu realised that he needed to address this issue. For him Reflections helped him unpack his own emotions, take a long hard look at himself and finally find some solutions. He was the one who had stayed on at Netcarrots and continued running it. Manu realised that he had been holding on to many things for long and that he needed to let go of some. He also realised that his need for personally being involved with every assignment and project was partly responsible for holding back the growth of the organisation and the people. He realised he had to find a different avenue to satisfy his personal need to ‘create’. Manu rediscovered the joy of working with his hands to make things, and its therapeutic value for him.

The Little Black Book And The Rediscovery Of Mojo

What is truly inspirational about Manu’s journey is what he has done with these realisations and how he has managed to find his mojo back.

Manu questioned the beliefs and values that had guided his life till then and had led to the  loss of his mojo. He rearticulated his ‘modified values’ and wrote it all down in a little black diary. He changed long held beliefs like ‘Everything has to be done just right’ to ‘there are different ways to do things’ and so on. This is  the little black book that he refers to ever so often to guide his actions. It is this discipline of continuously doing things differently that has made him so successful in making the change. He has moved from being a micro manager to an empowering leader, from being directive to being supportive when needed and from being only head driven to acknowledging the ‘heart’ as well. In his personal life, he has created a little workshop in his garage, where he spends time, just by himself, making things with his hands. He hums and sings to himself and feels a sense of fulfilment. It is his personal mojo recharging centre!

Netcarrots has since then been experiencing must faster growth as an organisation. The dark circles from under his eyes have gone. Manu actively thinks about how to help his people grow and invests resources behind those activities. And whenever in doubt, he whips out his little black book to remind himself of what he needs to keep doing to keep the mojo rising.

Sanjeev Roy is the founder of Bullzi Inc. Amongst other things, he is a Coach and runs Reflections – a programme for leaders to reinvent, recharge and reenergize themselves. By Finding the Best in themselves.

Reflections will be running between the 8^th and 11^th of April, 2020. To read more stories of how others have rediscovered their mojo, log into www.bullzi-inc.com. To enquire and register for Reflections, click here.