Enough of the Platitudes – Answer the Rest of the Question (Social Media Rant Alert)

Paul Harvey had a popular radio broadcast back in the day.  I used to listen to it on WLW out of Cincinnati.  His unique voice and speaking style earned him quite a following.  He was probably best known for his interesting and quirky stories that usually began with:  

“You know what the news is, in a minute, you're going to hear... the rest of the story."

To paraphrase and twist that famous line...

"You know the platitudes… but I doubt you’ll hear the rest of the story.”

Are We Entering the Age of Deep Thoughts and Shallow Actions?

Twitter has taught me is there is no drought of platitudes, quotes, pithy sayings and deep thoughts.  Blogs (including this one at times) are overflowing with big ideas, lengthy prose and well-constructed sentences about strategery.  Mainstream journalism is filled with interviews with big thinkers and wonderful accolades for leaders who have “vision.”  Business books now follow a familiar formula, chapter by chapter – start with a story, add facts, add two images, close by connecting story to your point of view and ask a question.

It seems to me that with all of our social media and traditional media all we get now is an ongoing stream of quick quotes hoping to elicit that famous stoner response – “Wow man, that’s deep.”

But no one wants to address the rest of the question…

Examples:  Searching SHRM Tweets

To pick an area I have some familiarity with I chose “employee engagement.”  Doing a quick twitter search for “SHRM10” and employee engagement I pulled a this sample of tweets:

• Employee engagement is the holy Grail! Trust, pride in corporate symbol, opportunity/well being=3 main drivers
• Massive collaboration to initiate and integrate sustainability. Direct employee engagement at innovation rather than competition
• Al Gore at #SHRM10 "employee retention and engagement key to future of business”
• The number one engagement factor for employees is that "senior management cares about me as a person".
• Cross departmental teamwork is critical to overall engagement.
• Leaders must have a compelling, positive vision with clear goals to build engagement
• engagement requires commitment
• competence, engagement, and now contribution of heart and minds key to talent mngt.

You get the idea.  So based on this information I now know…

• Pay attention to your employees.
• Teamwork is important to getting work done.
• Engagement is important for business.
• Leaders must have a vision and clear goals.

Is this new to anyone out there?  I’m guessing no.  

Knowledge Is Good

I saw that quote on the bottom of the statue at the beginning of the Oscar worthy movie Animal House.  At the time I think I was the only one in the theater that laughed but it has stuck with me until today.  Too me, that statement sums up a lot of what I'm seeing in all the media - but more so in social media.

I think many of us (and now there are many more due to social media) think it is more fun (and pseudo-productive) to tweet and say and blog platitudes than to really answer the tough questions.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that telling someone “engagement requires commitment" is like saying people need air.  I get it that – now tell me how to DO it.  

Maybe, like me, they don’t want to give away their secrets – after all the “how” to do something is much more valuable than the “what to do” – especially if the “what” is something that we know intuitively, has been proven to work, and has been a staple of good businesses for many, many years.

I just find it interesting that there seems to be so much value in big picture statements that really don’t get us anywhere.

Are the rest of you feeling the same way?  Are we too focused on sounding smart versus acting smart?

And is social media creating the opportunity for this?

Or is that just a deep thought with no action?  I’m thinking it is.  Oh well.  Gotta go tweet that.

Comments

[Drew Hawkins]

This post honestly made my morning. What you've written is definitely something I've thought of before. There are so many "here's what you should do" postings without anything specific or concrete. Many share ideas but don't have the actions to back up what they say. I also rarely tune-in to webinars anymore because most say the same thing, just use different words.

I think we spend so much time learning (I'm guilty myself) about how to do things better, get caught up in deep thoughts and clever quotes that we focus less on doing. Ironically, I think I've done more true learning from doing - and messing up from time to time - than from listening to a speech (even though many are really good!).

Shallow ideas are good sometimes, but in small doses. Now....back to work for me

[Paul Hebert]

Doing is good. That should be on your statue. I don't want to knock all "deep thoughts" some are good and can actually change your point of view and get you to think on a new track.

Your point on webinars is right on! I've hit a few in the last couple of weeks that took an hour to communicate less information than what is in your comment above. And they think it was successful I'm sure.

At least knowing there is an issue is one way to make sure you adjust for it.

Thanks for commenting Drew.

[Trish McFarlane]

This made my day too. You're right about a majority of tweets that speak to the big picture instead of the "do" part of the equation. I'd much rather see something like:

Tweet- "Employee engagement is driven by three factors. Check out this link to learn what they are and how to implement them." Http://skjaoidu

Definitely food for thought and I think you just inspired me to write a post that builds on your idea. Maybe. If not, I'll just tweet out something random and nebulous.

[Paul Hebert]

It's getting boring - almost - except for folks like you! Don't know where it will end up but I know it can't go on like this for much longer people will drop out.

[Tom Miller]

Paul - spot on... I'm curious to see the outcomes once "Social Media" matures a bit and people/marketplace have an understanding of how to assign value to all the information coming out. Almost seems like the marketplace is "resetting" and the companies that have ideas AND can perform on them will be in good shape.

Some of the recognition/incentive "tweeters" crack me up... My fave (unnamed, but you know them) reminds me of an old school Southern Baptist church with the stale sayings on the sign outside ("CHRCH... what's missing?"). Worthless platitudes that waste time and muddy the waters.

I guess the burden is on all of us to say something that is worthwhile and actionable. You're doing a pretty good job of it!

[Trish McFarlane]

Thanks Paul. You know, I have to still say that if I never gain anything more from Twitter, having used it to meet you and other people who get it was totally worth all the time and effort I put in. I have to still believe that there are more relationships like that to be made. More people to collaborate with and change the world with.

[Paul Hebert]

It takes a while for anything to find it's level - and unfortunately we get more impatient as things go along. But I also know that you can't learn and apply these new tools and techniques without getting in here and getting dirty. I think that many who use the media incorrectly will find it won't work for them and will eventually fade out leaving those that do add value to really enjoy it. That's what I keep my fingers crossed for. Thanks for stopping by Tom.

[Paul Hebert]

Agreed - nothing is perfect and as I mentioned in my comment to Tom's comment - I think the abusers will tire of it and leave us, who use it to drive relationships instead of "sales", alone to enjoy it.

[Johane Desjardins]

I agree wholeheartedly...Another culprit could be SEO techniques and tactics that help perpetuate rampant platitudes. How many posts and websites are written just to boost ranking instead of providing real insights and value?

I appreciate your blogs for calling it like it is...It's so refreshing, especially in this industry.

[Paul Hebert]

Great point. Once the "masses" adopt all the different tools the noise will end up getting smaller (I think) and real value will emerge. Hopefully, we'll move from making "impressions" to making connections.

[Brian Rhea]

Great post, Paul! Reminds me a bit of an article in The Atlantic from a few years back:

"My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/

I don't want to sound too facetious, but if saying that "engagement requires commitment" is like saying "people need air", then saying that most Media is shallow is like saying "engagement requires commitment."

Most movies are unwatchable, most news stations are babble, and most tweets are worthless. It's on the individual to have a filter that finds the great voices - like yours, Drew's and a host of others I wouldn't have discovered without Twitter and blogs.

I completely agree with your observations, but I don't think it's any more likely for the abusers to get tired and go away than it is for spam e-mail to disappear. They're not going anywhere, we just have to get good at using filters.

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks for commenting Brian. I don't think I'm saying media is shallow - I'm saying that for some reason - over time - I'm seeing more, not less, shallow usage of the media. It's as though because the early adopters were successful in using the media now every late adopter is jumping in and creating more shallow content in hopes of getting some traction.

I do think filters are the key. Not unlike the do-not-call legislation (please - I'm not advocating more legislation just using it as an example) it reduced the number of telemarketing pitches to our homes. Filters - or better aggregation - was foretold in the book "The Long Tail" - and I'm just hoping it gets here faster.

That - and I think it behooves those of us who use the media to learn and grow - and educate and communicate - to step up our games as well. If we can put a wider gulf between valuable information and platitudes it will be easier to separate the two.

Happy 4th of July - and to all - remember the sacrifices of those who allow us to celebrate our freedoms!