Leadership Singularity
How Marketing Can Save The World
John Caswell
Jonathan Cook
Virginie Glaenzer
Patrick Novak
Copyright 2020 John Caswell, Jonathan Cook, Virginie Glaenzer, and Patrick Novak
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9798666567159
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the first responders, doctors, and business leaders who knew from the start, that the only way to save humanity was for all of us to do our part selflessly and collectively. As long as we are humans on earth, well always be in this together. Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this, youll be inspired to take responsibility at whatever corporate level youre in to meaningfully contribute to ethical leadership and marketing practices that promote the stability and wellbeing of your community, coworkers, employees and customers.
Contents
NORTHSTAR
Leadership Principles In A Pandemic
This book started as a blog, by author Virginie Glaenzer, that turned into a tweet, that got a comment, that brought together four strangers from entirely different backgrounds just weeks before the worldwide COVID-19 virus drastically changed how humanity conducted commerce, marketing, and corporate leadership.
The authors initially came together before the pandemic. They aimed to solve the critical question currently plaguing international economies and all human existence: How can a global coalition of business leaders build trust, inspire confidence, and expand ethics-infused commerce through innovative marketing strategies?
We were seeking to address this issue before the pandemic. When it struck, it only added to the fire within each of us. Interestingly it led to us re-validating our market research and initial hypothesis in ways that we couldnt have imagined.
In this book, we lay bare a few of the long-held truths. We unpack some of the evolutionary psychology that led us to our current marketing and leadership practices. We deconstruct the restrictive scaffolding that maintains the obsolete system. A system that no longer promotes anything like the social fabric we need for the sustainability of our planet.
The current reality has us all in a frantic search for adaptable and scalable solutions. The authors put the context surrounding the pandemic under a microscope to engineer, improve, and launch a new framework built for the future.
It shouldnt have taken a damn virus to show us just how sick our corporate dysfunction was. Luckily, theres a community of cutting-edge leaders, marketers, and practitioners prepared to provide a cure.
As cultural norms change daily, no government or corporate entity will have all the answers. Leadership Singularity offers a new leadership framework and emerging principles through which we can build new corporate strategies that create better companies for humanity.
Our framework wont return business practices to a pre-pandemic state. Instead, it will give leaders the tools and techniques to empower corporate leadership that can change the future of humankind.
Earth is a place where every species should thrive. Its an incredible place, and we are meant to be well and with, ethics, morality and practice we shall.
CHAPTER 1: What Is This Experiment?
No matter where you are in your journey, stop and look around. Reflect. This time next year, nothing will be the same. Mandy Antoniacci
Who was it that suggested that we should never waste a good crisis? When we got together to write this book, we were in the middle of a crisis. Society was at odds with government and business. Nations were at odds with each other. There was a growing polarization of society - and an increase in nationalism fueled by partisan politics and media.
At the same time, we were suffering a significant systemic change in our climate as a result of an uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, unabated population growth that gave rise to modern manufacturing. Through all of this, we saw an exponential increase in inequality.
And then on top of that came an even bigger crisis: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Every single one of us was affected in some way. There will be many books written about COVID-19. This isnt one of them.
It is about another pandemic, and it offers a remedy. Its hard to avoid clichs such as were all connected and weve never had better access to information but these are double-edged if we arent able to counter any adverse effects. Those responsible for how our societies operate have a new responsibility. Between us, we must think more conscientiously and far more long term.
Our world has become a very different place as we have evolved and quite dangerously a result of recent political history. We need divergent thinking, more ingenuity and considerably better leadership if we are to sustain ourselves in the future.
The Pandemic of Marketing
The noise from marketing consumes our society. This noise is in a constant battle for our attention. We are now discovering many mind-bending statistics about the effects of social media on our lives. Social Media is described every day as both how and why we are infected.
Society has long been fed a diet of misinformation, saturation, and in many cases, overcomplicated information. Its increasingly difficult to avoid the cacophony of criticism. Almost everyone we speak to describes the irritating and irrelevant marketing stuff that wasnt asked for and served only to condemn the brand.
Far too often, marketing has been the label given to those in that department in effect separated from the business. That has partitioned the expertise so that its out of reach. Consequently, this has reduced its chance of generating the value that it should. This kind of thinking creates a dangerous boundary. It puts up a wall.
We see the advertising industry decimated. Many commentators suggest it is now all but devoid of the creativity that once caused the sector to shine. The creativity used to have forced creatives to find work in other industries.
Many more businesses are starting to appreciate how each individual is a human being. They are beginning to see the value of considering people as an opportunity for collaboration and value exchange rather than a dollar sign, a number, or a cog in a corporate wheel.
Together, consumers (all of us) have the power to overcome the negative impacts of the pandemic of marketing by voting no to what we dont want. This reality is at the core of how wholesale change can happen. Can you imagine the collective bargaining power of the consumer together with the commercial might of all business (and the attendant supply chains) being shifted by such a sea-change in business ethics?
Collectively, commercial enterprises have more power than governments. Media owners and marketers have a responsibility to both the businesses who need them and the consumers who consume them. Government stands by and may attempt to remain politically correct but will support a productive economy every time.
Whether consumers realize it or not - they have the power - to vote yes or no to all of it. Unfortunately, its not often that everyone comes together in a movement to make a mass change. And imagine if they (we) were persuaded more often as a force for good. Suppose more and more conscientious business leaders with the gift of ethical marketing used that power more often.
