🍊Content Quick Start: What does your industry get wrong?
Someone's got to tell the emperor he's got no clothes on
Remember the fairy tale about the emperor’s new clothes?
A couple of con men convince the emperor the fabric and thread they use is so fine, so unique, so valuable, that it can only be seen by the most discerning of eyes.
To anyone of any taste, worth, or quality, they say, it’s obviously gorgeous. Doesn’t the emperor think so?
In reality, the shysters are just holding their hands in empty air, pretending there’s fabric there. These guys must kill at charades.
But the emperor doesn’t want them to think he’s too lowbrow to see this impressive material. So he agrees that yes, the fabric is beautiful, and he wants a suit made from it at once.
Of course, none of the court wants the emperor to know they can’t see the fabric, so they all go along with it.
(The fear of standing out as someone who “just doesn’t get it” is strong in this story.)
At the end of the story, the emperor, arrayed in his “new clothes,” parades through the capitol.
The citizens are all worried about looking dumb, so they look at this man in his skivvies and rave about how beautifully he’s dressed.
Finally, a small child (the thought leader!) says, “But he’s not wearing any clothes at all!”
And once one person admits it, other people, relieved to drop the charade, admit that’s what they thought, they just didn’t want to say anything.
What are the “emperor’s new clothes” in your industry?
Every industry has them.
They’re the bits of “common knowledge,” “accepted limitations,” and “best practices” that people agree to without looking at them too closely.
They’re things like:
People don’t read long articles
Sales is all about the number of contacts, not the quality
A strategy takes at least 6 months to put together
Some people go along because they honestly can’t see these ideas are outdated, limiting, or flat-out wrong.
Some people suspect they’re not really helpful ideas, but they don’t want to rock the boat (or look stupid) by saying so.
Thought leaders call them out. They come right out and say the emperor has no clothes.
Then they go one step further: after identifying why the “common knowledge” is wrong, they propose a different viewpoint and explain why it is better.
Think about the accepted wisdom in your industry you disagree with. Formulate a stance on why it’s wrong and offer an alternative.
Build content around your point of view and share it with the people who need to hear it.
Some of them will probably be really grateful for the chance to put on some pants.