Vanity, Be Here Now!
So I went to a seminar in Columbus last week called Power Up and Lead. It was a program designed to “reshape the culture” of my company as we move forward into the next 10-15 years. Now I could be a skeptic and say in the 30 years I’ve worked for my company I’ve seen a similar “rebranding” at least 3 times and that there is nothing truly unique about the process… all companies feel the need to refresh and rebrand (case in point- I went to the clothing store yesterday to buy a pair of new shoes in black because I like the ones I have in brown and they told me oh those shoes have been replaced for the fall season) so I have no issue with it. And to be honest, I had a great time interacting with my facilitator and seeing old friends and meeting new ones. In our business, soft skills aren’t something that we usually champion… I mean, people who construct the lines have an almost military way of bringing new people in and coaching them up to get to a point where they can work on wires that will kill them if they aren’t paying constant attention. The introduction of phrases like “where’s your mood elevator” or “what’s in your results cone” probably are not going to go over well with them. Line work on an employee to employee basis will probably still remain a command and control realm. But I guess for someone like me who designs the systems and sits at a computer in an office a lot of the time, I can see the benefits of it. I enjoy soft skills and I think they are important to being a well-rounded person. And I guess that is where the question comes up for me. I don’t really think in all the years I’ve worked at my company the notion of being a well-rounded person is something that has been pushed all that much. To me it’s always seemed that the company wants one-dimensional people who can do their work well, do that work in a safe manner and contribute to the overall profitability of the company. This introduction of “be here now” and actually sitting in a large conference room and closing out eyes and learning to “calm our busy minds” is something totally foreign to the way we have done business for over 100 years.
So of course I had to do some background checking into the whole “be here now” and “power up and lead” thing. It turns out this program is put together by a company called Senn Delaney that also sold this package to The Ohio State University and Nationwide Insurance… both companies are big players in the Columbus area so if I put two and two together I get that this was something talked about among the big bosses of the companies and seen to be a “good thing” to introduce. But I guess this is where I have a problem… a university and an insurance company are stark contrasts from a company that has most of its front line people putting up wires and poles and not really having an office atmosphere. It’s hard for my company because of that diverse job structure. I think a lot of the linemen I talked with are simply looking at this as a two day vacation and won’t embrace. As one guy said in a breakout session “linemen are hard headed and have our way of doing things… we bring new people in and train them like we were trained.” I don’t really know if a concept like Be Here Now (which actually comes from a book by yogi Ram Dass) is going to play well with the line crews, but our company felt the need to introduce it to all 18,500 people who work here. I don’t make those decisions but someone way higher up the food chain said the Kool- Ade was good.
I read the Vanity Fair article about Taylor Swift and I realize it was either a controlled piece of tripe or Tay Tay is looking to redefine what a Stepford wife is. People always ask me why I am so Taylor Swift crazy and to be totally honest I AM NOT TAYLOR SWIFT CRAZY. The whole ‘cult of Taylor Swift” thing is what intrigues me. The way the public has accepted her transition from just another country singer into “the most influential musician in the world.” After reading the article and seeing that she has basically (1) sent her fans that post on her social media sites various gifts and trinkets (which also no doubt enhance her brand), (2) hang with a posse of 20 something girls who have no real connection with the masses (supermodels/singers/reality TV stars), (3) staked her claim to authenticity by writing songs about failed relationships… I ask myself where is the substance behind this person? She’s a child of privilege who wants to be the next Oprah and with the way she’s going she very well may be. She knows at 25 how to manipulate the media and present the image of this wholesome person who is seemingly too good to be true. The main competitors in her peer group (Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry) are not buying into the stuff Taylor Swift is selling and to be honest, after reading this article, I’m not either (not that I ever did). In my vast array of music I own 2 Taylor Swift songs, so it isn’t her music that appeals to me. I am intrigued by (1) the fact that she is tall and is unafraid to wear heels to make her even taller, (2) the way she dresses for being a tall woman… even though she’s basically a country singer turned pop singer she is more like a supermodel than singer, (3) the way she irritates the hell of out seasoned singers who cannot do anything but fall in line and say nothing about it if they want to stay relevant in The Age of Taylor. Like a Stepford wife, the whole Taylor Swift thing is beginning to seem hollow and false to me… or maybe even more frightening is the sense that this whole, almost Reagan-esque way of looking at the world is what music is coming to. Music in my opinion is about being unique and dynamic. Taylor Swift wants EVERYONE to wave her banner as she moves forward, everyone from Jay-Z to Kanye to yes even Mrs. Kanye (“she’s so sweet” Taylor says in the article). Is Taylor Swift the end product of the reality TV age? An end product that not only is the story but CONTROLS the story in a manner even more impressive than the Kardashians. I mean, let’s face it, I think most people think the Kardashians are nothing more than train wreck fodder… but for some reason people love to watch it. And they are everywhere- they are the story. They have no substance but they are the story. The Vanity Fair article showed me that Taylor Swift may be in that same category but she didn’t have to make a sex tape of change her gender identity to get there. Like the Kardashians, she’s extremely intelligent and knows what the market wants at this time. In a sense she has taken the concept of “be here now” and applied it to her empire. Good for her- but sketchy to me.
Yes… I may actually fall off the Taylor Swift bandwagon thanks to Vanity Fair. Please don't strike me dead Tay Tay.
So of course I had to do some background checking into the whole “be here now” and “power up and lead” thing. It turns out this program is put together by a company called Senn Delaney that also sold this package to The Ohio State University and Nationwide Insurance… both companies are big players in the Columbus area so if I put two and two together I get that this was something talked about among the big bosses of the companies and seen to be a “good thing” to introduce. But I guess this is where I have a problem… a university and an insurance company are stark contrasts from a company that has most of its front line people putting up wires and poles and not really having an office atmosphere. It’s hard for my company because of that diverse job structure. I think a lot of the linemen I talked with are simply looking at this as a two day vacation and won’t embrace. As one guy said in a breakout session “linemen are hard headed and have our way of doing things… we bring new people in and train them like we were trained.” I don’t really know if a concept like Be Here Now (which actually comes from a book by yogi Ram Dass) is going to play well with the line crews, but our company felt the need to introduce it to all 18,500 people who work here. I don’t make those decisions but someone way higher up the food chain said the Kool- Ade was good.
I read the Vanity Fair article about Taylor Swift and I realize it was either a controlled piece of tripe or Tay Tay is looking to redefine what a Stepford wife is. People always ask me why I am so Taylor Swift crazy and to be totally honest I AM NOT TAYLOR SWIFT CRAZY. The whole ‘cult of Taylor Swift” thing is what intrigues me. The way the public has accepted her transition from just another country singer into “the most influential musician in the world.” After reading the article and seeing that she has basically (1) sent her fans that post on her social media sites various gifts and trinkets (which also no doubt enhance her brand), (2) hang with a posse of 20 something girls who have no real connection with the masses (supermodels/singers/reality TV stars), (3) staked her claim to authenticity by writing songs about failed relationships… I ask myself where is the substance behind this person? She’s a child of privilege who wants to be the next Oprah and with the way she’s going she very well may be. She knows at 25 how to manipulate the media and present the image of this wholesome person who is seemingly too good to be true. The main competitors in her peer group (Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry) are not buying into the stuff Taylor Swift is selling and to be honest, after reading this article, I’m not either (not that I ever did). In my vast array of music I own 2 Taylor Swift songs, so it isn’t her music that appeals to me. I am intrigued by (1) the fact that she is tall and is unafraid to wear heels to make her even taller, (2) the way she dresses for being a tall woman… even though she’s basically a country singer turned pop singer she is more like a supermodel than singer, (3) the way she irritates the hell of out seasoned singers who cannot do anything but fall in line and say nothing about it if they want to stay relevant in The Age of Taylor. Like a Stepford wife, the whole Taylor Swift thing is beginning to seem hollow and false to me… or maybe even more frightening is the sense that this whole, almost Reagan-esque way of looking at the world is what music is coming to. Music in my opinion is about being unique and dynamic. Taylor Swift wants EVERYONE to wave her banner as she moves forward, everyone from Jay-Z to Kanye to yes even Mrs. Kanye (“she’s so sweet” Taylor says in the article). Is Taylor Swift the end product of the reality TV age? An end product that not only is the story but CONTROLS the story in a manner even more impressive than the Kardashians. I mean, let’s face it, I think most people think the Kardashians are nothing more than train wreck fodder… but for some reason people love to watch it. And they are everywhere- they are the story. They have no substance but they are the story. The Vanity Fair article showed me that Taylor Swift may be in that same category but she didn’t have to make a sex tape of change her gender identity to get there. Like the Kardashians, she’s extremely intelligent and knows what the market wants at this time. In a sense she has taken the concept of “be here now” and applied it to her empire. Good for her- but sketchy to me.
Yes… I may actually fall off the Taylor Swift bandwagon thanks to Vanity Fair. Please don't strike me dead Tay Tay.