1. The recent death of Mrs Thatcher caused an
interesting discussion the other day. We were
talking about strong views and opinions and if they
were good or bad.
In these days where everything is instant and on
tap (news, TV, weather information for just a
starter) via the internet the pressure is on to
provide an opinion. (Listen at TV interviewers
talking to a guest expert – they will be permanently
fishing for controversy as they ask their questions.
That “controversial” statement will then be clipped and presented as “news” on
future bulletins.
“Mr Such-a-body confirms ‘NO CHANCE’ of
resetting targets this year despite what figures
say”
will be headline on the next news bulletin.
And then – when controversy real controversy – does come – people in the news
are fined/banned and knocked back into line. See this screenshot from the BBC
sport website about snooker player Mark Allen.
The full article is at this link
This article was first published on the Sharp End Training Blog
http://www.sharp-end-training.co.uk

2. For snooker players like Mark – and anyone is a relatively small industry (anyone
outside the top 100 snooker players IN THE WORLD can pretty much forget
making a living out of the game) getting a reputation as being awkward and
difficult can be a problem.
Mark did actually go into a press conference with a sticky tape mask over his
mouth – to make a point.
Rewind 30 years to the days of Mrs Thatcher – who DID have strong
opinions…And still generates strong opinions to this day.
A friend of ours sent a eulogy to Mrs Thatcher yesterday to his email database
and received spam complaints, unsubscribes (as well as replies of support). Mrs
Thatcher was different though – she DID carry a body of support – enough that
she could pretty much ignore all opposition
But being controversial (just for the sake of it) can induce the “Don’t know –
don’t like syndrome” where people can research you, check you out via your
forum posts, blog etc and decide they would rather skip you and do business with
someone else.
Do you court controversy? Do you actively look for things to “speak out” about?
Leave a comment below.
This article was first published on the Sharp End Training Blog
http://www.sharp-end-training.co.uk