Since When Did I Become A Grumpy Old Man?

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“Since When Did I Become a Grumpy Old Man?” By Kevin Dwyer

Something insidious seems to have happened as I have got older. The world as seen through the prism of popular culture continues to be dumbed down. Stupid seems to have become mainstream. This appears to have occurred both in general and business society.

Now, it may well be that I am just becoming one of the grumpy old men from The Muppet Show. I offer the following for you to judge.

CEOs and their executive teams who preside over share prices which fall, are involved in scandals, or are sold on to private equity firms because the executive team cannot get sufficient value out of the assets are given bonuses on top of extremely high salaries.

Politicians not only get away with plausible deniability, but seem to believe that it is a legitimate tactic in executing their responsibility to spend our individual money to build a collective future society for our children, better than the one we were born into. Promises become core promises and non-core promises. The truth becomes what people believe is the truth, not necessarily what is the truth.

People who would be lucky to have a serious following of friends at their local pub, gain national and international notoriety based on actions within a voyeur’s house that would have had them arrested or ostracised from a society with reasonable morals.

Buzz words dominate business. “Going forward” is used as a phrase relating to time used instead of next month or next year, a minimum of ten times in a morning television business news report. If they can do the opposite of going forward in time, then I’d really be listening. Phrases which confuse rather than inform become the norm, for example, “People” becomes “Human capital”, “Employees” becomes “Associates” and organisations “Push the envelope”.

Athletes who can perform their particular skill at a higher level than most others and are paid astronomical salaries to do so, become a protected species if they lose their way and succumb to repeated use of drugs, both legal and illegal. Compared with the “man in the street” they get repeated chances for redemption before the law is applied.

Leaders do not lead. They prefer to pretend that they are like us; so as not to scare us and possibly lose our support. They do not see their role as envisioning and building a better future, persuading us along the way by the force and logic of their idea. Rather they want us to see them as their mates, liking them and supporting them as evidenced by opinion polls.

 Kevin Dwyer is a pragmatic change management advisor and founder of Change Factory. He comes from an old school that experienced and led change first and learnt the theory later.

Kevin’s interest in sales is in developing the reinforcing loops of corporate goal, strategy, marketing and sales tactics, KPIs, recruitment, career and competence development, coaching and counselling that influences more customers to move through their buying process with the selling organisation.

You can learn more about Kevin and The Change Factory here

Footnote: Kevin is a highly valued and respected member of the Top Sales Experts team and although my “reading time” is becoming limited by the day, I always find time to read his excellent monthly newsletter, “Winds Of Change” It is refreshing, insightful, inspiring, often humerous and compelling reading. If you have an interest in all things “leadership”, I urge you to subscribe – full details are on his home page here -JF