Social Control

08 March 10

Waaaay back in the day I worked for a big, bureaucratic company that believed memos-in-triplicate were the cutting edge of efficient communication. Even if you are fortunate enough never to sell your soul into one of those places, you're well aware of how they operate.

And here's the problem with working in those places: There is so much "cover your ass" effort going on that output is far less productive than it could be. Often, the boss would stop by and say to a team: "We need to do [whatever]" and we'd do it, just to keep our jobs, even if it wasn't the best use of time or money. This kind of thing happens so often.

Whether or not you're stuck in an environment like that, the problem exists in healthier, less bureaucratic organizations as well where the boss has a "hobby horse" and everyone is expected to jump on.

If your boss comes down from the clouds amidst lightning and singing angels and gives you a task, carefully consider whether it is truly going to advance the cause of your brand. It might not. And if it doesn't, you're stuck: Do you say something, risk your job, and save the brand? Or do you keep your mouth shut, do the job, and hope that there's someone else to blame when the boss wonders why his pet idea didn't work.

Here are a few things you can do:

1. Bringing in an outside opinion can help. A marketing firm that doesn't have an employment stake in the company can potentially offer clearer and unbiased opinions on the feasibility of the project.

2. Do some initial market research to see how your audience will respond. Gather feedback before investing too much time, effort (and your career) into it.

3. Start small. Rather than adopting a full-scale campaign, try a localized one and bring the results back to show just how the audience really is reacting to the initiative.

It's a difficult situation to be in but taking baby steps rather than a leap toward a commitment you can't retract is a wiser move.

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