Caesar salad and champagne chicken make for a delicious lunch. They taste even better on a beautiful day looking out at Lake Erie. I was among a cheery group of advertising people eating and watching a presentation about cable TV.
Turns out people still really like TV. Americans watch more of it on more channels than ever before. A trend that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
I learned a lot of cool stuff about the TV industry beyond the dramatic increases in channels, options and overall viewership. Perhaps the most intriguing thing I picked up is a term called timeshifting. Don’t know what timeshifting is? It’s when you record live TV through TiVo or DVR or watch it later. Most people already have a name for this activity, but to the cable TV industry, you are a timeshifter. (Sounds powerful, right?)
As the presenter was explaining why timeshifting is actually good for businesses that advertise on TV, you could see the collective state of cynicism among my colleagues. What’s next? Should we start calling taxes public investments? From now on, you’re no longer sick; you just had a minor health pause. And a phone book can just be a Paper Google.
To the presenter’s defense, it probably wasn’t his fault. These kinds of ideas only come out of conference rooms 53 floors up.
Still, however minor, this temporary evasion of reality reminds us of a timeless principle.
No one thing is ever perfect. Everyone has weaknesses and challenges they need to address. Sometimes we’re tempted to sweep them under the rug or dress them in different clothes. To make something sound better (or at lest less bad) than it really is. But you never win when you try to deceive people.
The first problem is by not admitting to your (inevitable) downside, you fail to give credibility to your (potentially remarkable) upside.
The second (and most severe) problem occurs when your audience realizes you tried to deceive them. And they always will. Sometimes that level of suspicion and distrust becomes insurmountable.
Don’t take the bait. Face your weaknesses head on. We know they’re there and it’ll be harder to trust you if you try to hide them in the closet.
Honesty and trust, like most things in life, are eternally reciprocal. And good nature is much more fun to reciprocate.
Photo credit: Engin Ergodan
