In S2E6 of The Good Fight, which was our first go-to drama during the Corona lockdown, the focus is on Adrian Boseman (played superbly by Delroy Lindo ). Thanks to his appearance on a cable news show as a legal pundit, he becomes a viral sensation. They invite him back for a couple of shows and increasingly try to channel (pun unintended) his angst into a stereotype. In his third and final appearance on the show, Adrian rebels and lets it fly, causing the channel to let him go. The episode’s last scene has him looking in the mirror, without the greasepaint. I really liked this story arc. It’s almost as though, after he experiences viral fame, he sees it for what it is, and how he can’t play along, and gives the system the finger.
Or maybe I am projecting. Not that I ever became a viral sensation, but my favourite phrase in this context has been “Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige.” (Edward Norton, Birdman) Now that’s a very arguable point of view. In my defence, I don’t think of it in the scathing, condescending manner of the original quote. It’s a tempered, mellower, “I can’t bring myself to do this sh*t” perspective.
The episode made me reflect on this. And so did Karthik’s post from around the same time – Modi’s coronavirus speech: from the digital marketer’s playbook. The post is an insightful take on the structure and execution Modi’s 8PM speech. But what interested me more are these perspectives – A digital marketer’s primary concern and reason for existence (and awards, of course) is output and outtakes, and not necessarily outcome…. Outcome, or the value or impact the output has created, takes time. It interested me because I have, especially in the recent past, been focused on outcome. Probably the result of digital acquisition entering my arsenal. But I understand what he is saying from my own experience – specifically when I was heading Myntra’s social media. While outcome was in the radar, output was what we went for. (details) And perceptions were formed.
Some introspection led me to understand that though I am willing to do the output for brands that I handle, my personal choices are outcome driven. The reason I write this is because like I have blogged and tweeted before, we increasingly live in a world of abstractions, in which signals are the heuristic used to evaluate the underlying quality of anything. This has an impact on careers and social lives, because.. perceptions! It is therefore important to understand the trade-off before making a choice. For instance, all my jobs have been referrals, and my managers have been kind enough to “repeat” me in other organisations. People whom I interacted with in various jobs are happy to refer me, thankfully. But as Karthik told me in a conversation, the lion’s share of his assignments come from previously unknown entities. Now what is a more anti-fragile approach? Very debatable.
The ideal balance is easy in theory – great product, great marketing, and finding leading indicators that are signal-friendly . But there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Your brain will start getting hardwired along a certain mindset after a while, and changing patterns is not easy. For example, I think of prestige as the good fight, and have to consciously play it down when dealing with brands! Because outcomes, like sustained popularity, takes time. On the other hand, output is relatively faster. But perception matters, and is impacted by signals. Thus, a lot of times output and outcome become binary choices. So, to paraphrase Peter Ustinov, when you are making your prison of happiness, make sure you furnish it well. 🙂