Executive micro-management mentality

Here's one more installment in what has become (so far) a four part series about the silliness of implementing social media at companies.

The first three parts of this series are:
1) Advertising agency campaign mentality
2) PR agency pitch mentality
3) Ridiculous social media client mentality

This time we look at stereotypical behavior of senior executives when confronted with "that social media thing."

In my experience, there are three stages that many senior executives go through.

Initially, senior executives are ignorant of or simply ignore the potential benefits that social media and real-time marketing provide.

Then they start to hear bad things and then agree with the legal or HR people to ban participation.

Some time later, many executives have an epiphany and want to implement social media right now. The change typically comes because they read an article in Harvard Business Review or the Wall Street Journal. Or they feel a need to keep up with a peer company that is getting press for their real-time efforts.

EXECUTIVE MICRO-MANAGEMENT MENTALITY

• Executives ban what they don't understand. "Please issue the guideline banning Facebook and Twitter. And let's step up our Six Sigma and TQM efforts right away."
• Every executive has a social media horror story they read somewhere that they always tell when the subject comes up. "Yes, but the Kryptonite Lock example shows how much of a bad influence bloggers are!"
• Executives learned in MBA-school that the stock answer to any request is to ask for "Return On Investment." But if they see a need to do something, they do not hold themselves to the same ROI standard. "Before we can agree to the blogging thing, I need a detailed ROI calculation on how much it will benefit us. Oh, and by the way, I think we should give each of the 5,000 salespeople the latest version of Blackberry. It will only cost $2.5 million this year and my say so is your authorization to proceed. And fire up the G-IV, I have a golf game on Nantucket tomorrow and want to arrive tonight by 7:00."
• Executives listen too much to the lawyers and trust legal opinion when it comes to social media. I never understood this. What the heck does the average lawyer know about social media? No more than I know about the law but I would never advise an executive on a legal matter. "Okay. So if you review every tweet before it goes out, you legal guys are comfortable with us getting onto Twitter?"
• Executives listen to their peers more than their staff. "I was on the golf course and I heard about this Tweeter thing. Where's our Tweeter plan?"
• Executives think social media is just for the young. And they think the only qualification to get the company going is age. "My university-bound daughter is on Facebook. Let’s give her an internship this summer to get her to do our Facebook page."
• There is a competitive nature at play with many executives. "My golf buddy who is a CEO has a blog. I want you to make me one too. Can we have it done by Thursday?"
• Executives think going viral is easy. And they think humor is even easier. "Maybe we should put a clown in the video - that's always funny! How quickly can we get a million views on YouTube?"
• Executives insist on talking about the company's stupid products. "Love the video, but we need to get more copy from the Benford 5000 brochure into the middle section."
• Executives think they can do things on the cheap because social media is not real media. "Remember that Pepsi Super Bowl commercial? I want something like that, but don't spend more than $10k. Oh, and use an approved corporate vendor, like the video guy who tapes our town hall meetings"

How about it? Any more examples?

Image: Shutterstock / Helder Almeida

Comments

[Mark MyWord]

What about the obvious problems of FBCD (FaceBook Compulsive Disorder). Sometimes these media toys create a competition between doing ones work, which is what they are being paid to do, OR chatting?

[Frank Tocco]

Great information and very helpful.
Very interesting post,
Thanks for sharing this excellent idea.. Really very useful idea..

[Scotlandgee]

Great post David,

How about a post on how to overcome these objections?

Or if you have already penned something simliar, I would be interested to read.

Thanks

Scott

PS "New Rules of PR and Marketing" is a bible and good ammunition against the above objections!

[David Meerman Scott]

Scott -- thanks. Well, I think my entire body of work - 7 books and nearly 1,000 blog posts talk about how to overcome the nonsense of old thinking.

[Simon Espley]

Well written David, your best yet. Lots of laughter this side - as I recognize so many of those classic responses from the larger companies I have dealt with!

[Ted Page]

David,

I think maybe you don't like golf. For a lot of CEOs it's the original social media.

Ted

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Simon.

Ted - Indeed, Golf is the original social media. I hadn't thought of that...

[Jeanne Brown]

I think this is precisely why marketers need to keep showing the data and proving the value of marketing efforts. They need to become the trusted advisors to leaders, and hit them with numbers, facts, and results.

[Tara Parks]

This post is painfully true, David!

To the viral video bullets, I'd add: "Executives want you to make a video that is hilarious to your target audience, AND hilarious to every member of the stuffy exec team, AND has no chance of offending any clients, AND doesn't poke any fun at the company or have the potential to embarrass us...and they want you to do this with no budget and very little time. GOOD LUCK!"

[David Meerman Scott]

Jeanne -- so true. It is an opportunity.

Tara - YES - and what's the chance that it is funny after that?!

[Kelly Monaghan]

Terrific series!

I smell another ebook.

[Ron Carter]

Your series of recent blog posts have been informative. Well thoughout and candid.

Keep up the insightful writing.

Ron

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Kelly and Dan!

[Web Design Jacksonville FL]

Well crafted David, your best yet. Plenty of fun this side - as I identify so many of those traditional reactions from the bigger organizations I have worked with!