A friend send me a link to an article from Forbes Magazine about Corporate Cliches today that really hit home for me. I spent 15 years working in the corporate environment, much of that along side Accenture consultants, so I literally knew and probably used about all of them! Which makes me laugh and is a great reminder of how glad I am that I am no longer in that environment of corporate blah, blah, blah. I always enjoyed (actually enjoyed making fun of) the crazy excessive use of these cliche’s that nobody uses anywhere except corporate america! I used to call them the “comfort food of corporate america,” but upon further thought I’ve decided to call them “Corporate Porno.” Why did I change it? Well, I felt it needed to be a stronger statement and I really think “corporate porno” is more accurate. Here’s the thing:
“Neither really serves any purpose except to make us feel good when we’re not getting what we really want.”
Corporate Porno is just amazing in how it actually works. It just plain makes people feel good! Whenever someone hit’s play on the corporate porno, everyone just feels better. It does not matter (one damn bit!) what is being discussed, it simply gives everyone common ground and makes everyone feel like they are all “on the same page.” Well, OK, yeah, I just used some corporate porno.
What does this have to do with anything?
Well, as I was reading all 89 of those little ditties, it made me think about one fo the decisions I made that allowed me to launch my dream life.
I decided to be myself.
Unfortunately, in the corporate world, you can’t always be yourself. That may be one of the reasons people tend to be so unhappy there. However, as an entrepreneur, you MUST be yourself. You have to be relaxed and genuine. It’s the only way to build trust.
And with all the NOISE and chatter going on with social media, everybody and their chiropractor having a blog and the 600 digital cable channels, you damn well better be exuding some personality!
My company is about building brands around PEOPLE. People have personalities, they have idiosyncrasies, and they are not perfect. That’s what makes them people and that that’s what makes people like them. So, you absolutely MUST be yourself! That is your biggest asset.
Your personality sets you apart from big, corporate giants and that is a very good thing. It’s not easy to be yourself publicly, trust me, it’s been one of my biggest challenges. But the fact remains that people like, trust and want to work with me way more when I’m myself. Right now, that is the single biggest advantage I believe I have going for me.
Yes, being yourself will indeed scare some people away and that’s OK. I’m sure just putting the word “porno” in the title of this blog post will scare some people away. But I truly believe that more people will be attracted to the genuine nature of what I’m saying here.
So, put away the porno, relax, be yourself and say what you really mean. It’s cool. Chill. 🙂
What is your favorite corporate cliche?
Image Credit: Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
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