Leaders, remember… your “Words” matter!!

 

 

Over the years, I have posted numerous essays that focus on the impact of leaders and leadership across organizations large and small.  I had had the honor to lead small teams (2-3 team members as a brand manager at Kraft Foods) and large companies (3000+ team members as President & COO of Bolthouse Farms) and have learned a ton on that leadership journey.  As I wrote years ago in the essay (“Authenticity, the foundation of leadership”, https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/06/authenticity-foundation-of-leadership.html), the alignment between the “words” and “actions” of a leader are closely watched and deeply important.  The concept of leaders working to stay close to the “rail of authenticity” that I describe in that essay is still a foundational idea that I share with leaders all the time.  The “alignment” (and at times the “misalignment) of a leader’s words & actions can be at the core of an organization running effectively and being led well ... or the opposite.  Additionally, I have written a number of essays (one titled “Our Actions Betray Our Intent,"https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2017/06/our-actions-betray-our-intent.html ) describing how the alignment between “words & actions” are always reviewed or “watched” very carefully by organizations and ultimately a leader’s actions are scrutinized and “tell the tale” of what the leader really thinks is important or where her/his priorities truly lie.

In this context, I am currently overwhelmed (and angered) by the widespread mendacity 

mendacity, (noun) 

1.     the quality of being mendacious; untruthfulness; tendency to lie. 

2.    an instance of lying; falsehood. 

of prominent leaders across the business, media, and political landscapes.  This isn’t just a little bit of “spin control” here and there, but the outright disregard of the truth, and the comfort in creating, communicating, and spreading lies… often dangerous and felonious lies… is a trait in our current culture that needs to be called out and stamped out broadly!   For leaders of organizations of any shape, nature or size, this is trait of “public mendacity” is unacceptable and one not to be modeled… it is a trait to be fought!  I have chosen just a few examples that follow to bring this trend into sharp relief.  I will limit the direct quotes to a minimum not to further spread mistruths, but will share enough to illuminate the idea, and you the reader can do further research to validate the content.

 

“Mendacity in Business”

 

While the private sector is unfortunately full of examples of CEO’s (and many other senior leaders) “misrepresenting” the truth, you need to look no further than Elizabeth Holmes and her actions as the CEO of the disgraced firm Theranos.  Her lies about the efficacy of her testing technology, combined with her falsification of key financial records landed her (and other Theranos executives) under criminal investigation that lead to Ms. Holmes being found guilty of numerous felonies, now serving a 9+ yr prison term.  Leaders, remember … YOUR words matter!

 

“Mendacity in Media”

 

Again, as above there are numerous instances where key media leaders create, communicate and knowingly broadly share complete falsehoods to millions and at times billions of readers/listeners/followers.  One current & extreme example is Elon Musk, owner of the platform formally called twitter.  In a recent post, he shared the falsehood that Great Britain was building some type of “detainment camps” on the Falkland Islands… a complete falsehood.  While he ultimately took that post down (which he seems to be doing very often recently) it had almost 2 million views before it was taken down; while this instance of 2 million seems huge, the scope and impact of his privately owned media platform regularly generates billions of views of other posts equally untrue.  Leaders, remember … YOUR words matter!

 

 

“Mendacity in Politics”

 

Now this is a complicated and “touchy” space but one that needs to be called out… now more than ever.  Politics and political campaigns have always been an environment of hyperbole, exaggeration and “spin” and the American political landscape has been messy from the beginning.  There are famous allegations in the 1800 presidential race between Adams and Jefferson of one candidate alleging the other was the “devil” and even had a forked tail!  While a bit nutty in hindsight, still a clear falsehood.  In today’s race the falsehoods are uglier, and much more dangerous and I want to specifically reference the lies told by a certain republican V.P. candidate about the citizens of Springfield Ohio.  I am disgusted and offended by his rhetoric about certain legal residents of that city (as is the Republican Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine) the audacity of the candidate knows no bounds.  He recently admitted that his allegations were untrue and suggested that it was fine for political leaders to knowingly share lies in order to get the attention of the media…. incredible!!  In what insane and distorted reality was someone taught that it was ok to spread lies about communities (lies that have led to numerous bomb threats and other public dangers) in order to garner public attention…unacceptable and dangerous traits like these need to be called out and repudiated!  Leaders, remember … YOUR words matter!

 

I will close my “mendacity examples” and refocus us on the important role and impact of leaders.  Leadership is hard, and no leader always makes the right calls.  You try hard, gather the facts, weigh your options and make your decisions the best way you know how… but you do so aligned to the TRUTH!  Leader’s “words & actions” are so closely watched that to treat them unknowingly, or carelessly is dangerous and will have an impact.  Leaders losing the guardrails and framework of truth and knowingly working from and spreading falsehoods is beyond cavalier and unacceptable… it is dangerous and at times criminal.  Reflect on what you see around you today and work hard to NOT follow the path of some of the leaders I shared above, but to be an example to your organizations of a leader who is working hard for their “words & actions” to stay as aligned to truth and reality as possible!

Optimize your resume... and remember "D/P/A" and "ATS"!

 It may seem odd that someone at my career point ( 39+ years of a business career and "retired" as of Feb 2024) would pass along advice about resume building.  While admittedly a bit out of norm, I have had a number of experiences over the past few months that has brought this topic into sharp relief.  A number of "young friends" ( no names in this essay, but all under 30 and all focused intently on job searches) have been working to apply to a myriad of jobs, all posted on line, and working to have their resume cut through the crowded online ( and often Linked In) landscape. 

 A few of these "friends" have applied to roles where there are literally hundreds of others who have applied for the same job on-line... think about it... trying to have your resume "fight" its way to the top of that list.... no small feat!  I am proud to say that a number of these "friends" have actually worked their way through that crazy landscape and have landed offers, roles, and key interviews for some very exciting companies/roles... and all have worked hard to make their resumes really work hard in that challenging competitive world.  With these examples in mind, I want to pass along two thoughts that may be helpful as you work to "optimize your resume."

"Remember "D/P/A:

A number of years ago I posted an essay focused on branding and brand differentiation.  This essay, titled "D/P/A:  a model for Marketplace Differentiation," ( you can find it by typing "Differentiation" into the search function at the left on homepage of this blog) was focused on the three key principles of brand differentiation that I was taught in my early marketing roles at The Coca Cola Company.  For a brand to compete, thrive and grow in a competitive marketplace, a marketer needed to remember the following three concepts, captured in the acronym "D/P/A:"

D: “Distinctive:” the job of the marketer was to work ceaselessly to find “distinctive” insights/concepts/messages/images to break through that clutter and create a “distinctive” spot in the landscape.  Your job with your brand was to ensure that you were NOT the same as other offerings ... you were competing against "sameness," not just Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, etc.  This concept must be translated to you and your resume in the same way... how are you distinctive ...what parts of your backgound, education or work experiences make you truly unique?? Your job is to ensure that those elements come to life in your resume as job #1.

P: “Preferred.” When I say, “preferred”, I mean that we need to be “preferred” vs. competitive alternatives by the “core user” and the “primary shopper/purchaser” for our business/brand.  Put yourself in the hiring manager's shoes and ask yourself... what are they looking for?? what do they need?? what candidate/resume would be preferred by them??  All of these questions are key as you think about your resume and your need to "tailor" it to each new role.  Each resume you post for each job needs to be edited/adjusted/optimized to try to be "preferred" for the role in question.

A: Advantaged. This final element pushes us to look at then entire “value chain” for a brand/business, to insure that we have a brand that is “advantaged” vs. competition.  How are you and your resume "advantaged" vs the other folks (potentially hundreds) also competing for that same role

Use the "D/P/A" model as you work to optimize your resumes ... I know it will help you be a stronger candidate and cut thought the competitive clutter.  While I recommend this model as a key foundation for stronger resumes, it means nothing if it fails to get through the "ATS" filter!

"Remember ATS"

ATS, or "Applicant Tracking System" is a AI powered tool used by a growing majority of hiring companies to manage the interview/hiring process. A recent post on "Jobscan" described it as:

What is an ATS?

An ATS is a computer software program that manages the hiring process. It does this by collecting and sorting thousands of resumes. Hiring managers can then screen candidates using the ATS, as well as track their progress through the hiring process. By digitizing the hiring process in this way, an ATS saves employers time and money. 

Here is link to a video that gives some great advice in this space:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jQwXfsOds4.  This reality that an "ATS" AI powered tool will do the first screening of your resume REQUIRES you to ensure that your resume not only works in ATS, but tells YOUR "D/P/A" story in the ATS landscape.  I had an unusual experience personally in this area that brought this idea to life.

Now that I am "retired" from Bolthouse Farms, I am getting calls to do some consulting...which on the whole is great!  For one client, a global consulting firm, I had to upload my bio into their portal as part of their onboarding process.  I didn't think much about that process until I was asked to "check" to see if their "ATS" tool had captured my bio accurately.  To my shock and concern, it was ALL WRONG!  I didn't receive my MBA from The College of Wooster ( that was a BA from Wooster, and an MBA from Vanderbilt) and my last job WASN'T as Chief Customer Officer for Kimberly Clark ( where I worked as a Marketing Assistant from 1985-1987, and I am proud to say that my last role was as  President and Chief Operating Officer of Bolthouse Farms! ) The reality is that it didn't matter what my bio was TRYING to show, all that mattered was what the ATS tool did in reality show.  Use the advice in the video above, or one of the tools (below)that were featured in a May 2024 blog essay on "Zapier" to help you build a strong, "D/P/A" driven resume that ROCKS through an ATS portal!!

The 5 best AI resume builders

• Teal for tracking multiple job applications

• Enhancv for building with an AI assistant

• Kickresume for generating a resume from scratch

• Resume Worded for leveraging your LinkedIn profile

• ResumeNerd for adapting your resume as you browse jobs