Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 01/14/19
In the footsteps of Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, and Billy Crystal, no one is willing today to accept the job of emceeing the Oscars. What was once a huge visibility, highly sought position is now a position wrought with danger. Why? Because something someone said a decade or more ago may upset someone today who will bring all the weapons of the political correctness minority to bear. The once-important defense of the ACLU, for example, has now become an offensive weapon.
I would submit that every one of us in our youth, or under stress, or drunk, or in an ignorant moment has said something we regretted, either immediately or in retrospect. I’ve heard “national leaders” such as Jessie Jackson have to apologize in the media for anti-Semitic slurs inadvertently caught by a live mike—and they were forgiven after an apology.
I know of no restriction on free speech so onerous or malicious as political correctness, where even innocent utterings (“You said ‘he’ and not ‘he or she’”) or even a failure to reference absolutely every interest group (“You didn’t mention our community, which is disrespectful”) can create furious backlash. California is legally mandating the number of women who must be included on public boards of directors, and it’s only a tiny leap to then require that no more than three Caucasian males be allowed on any one board, for example.
The United States grew to historic greatness as a melting pot, not as a salad. We all ought to have less of a sense of self-absorption, more forgiveness, and less need for retribution over every slight we can imagine.
We need to stamp out bigotry and we need to stamp out scapegoating. Otherwise, there will come a time when we won’t be able to tell the difference.
Political correctness does not legislate tolerance; it only organizes hatred. —Jacques Barzun
Workshop Workshop
Learn how to create, organize, deliver, and support a workshop with minimal labor and time. A lot of people attend my sessions twice, the second time to watch how I do it. This is the first reprise of a session I did five years ago. You’ll emerge with a template to create and deliver workshops effortlessly and rapidly for any client or for public sessions.
http://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/workshop-workshop
The Next BIG Thing
Join me in Las Vegas for an intense day during which every participant will develop their next big thing. Examples: Million Dollar Consulting, The Purple Cow, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, the black swan phenomenon, the dysfunctions of teams. Emerge with the wherewithal to be seen as an iconic presence in your field. Never offered before.
https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/your-next-big-thing
Fifth Annual Million Dollar Consulting® Convention—2019
Almost 60% of our 2018 attendees immediately signed up for next year in Washington, DC during cherry blossom season. You can save $1,000 by registering in the next month. We already have an Emmy-winning anchor woman and Hall of Fame speaker; the global leader and author on sales strategy; two marketing and strategy experts from Europe; and someone who will demonstrate how you can instantly create super media promotion, among others in our lineup.
Jeffrey Summers
Hear! Hear!