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| He's Hard On Housekeepers |
That's all to the good. But while I'm still a pretty big fan of the show, and probably will remain so for as long as Spacey and Robin Wright are around to chew the very expensive scenery, I can't help but think that the show has passed its peak... if only because my binge-watching was entirely sane this time around, and obvious drama turns and episodic arcs became, well, a little more predictable. (Don't worry, this will all come around to marketing and advertising soon enough.)
This isn't fatal or even all that surprising. There's 50-odd episodes of HoC in the can now, and at this point, we all know what we're going to get when we fire it up. But it struck me, on some level, as indicative of where you get as a consultant, especially when your client relationship gets more and more seasoned. How do you keep the relationship fresh when there's a world of other people with ideas and experiences that would just love to take your spot, or clients that would never turn down an opportunity to cut down their expenses?
1) Develop new tricks.
One of my issues with Season 4 is that Underwood kept going to the well of direct violence against the women in his life... and while that's entirely correct for the character, it also undermines the core hook of the show. Like Walter White in "Breaking Bad", viewers get pulled into rooting for the protagonist through his occasional virtues (in White's case, righting past wrongs, and in Underwood's, competence in getting his goals accomplished)... but when he uses the same methods, that competence is undermined, and we're just left watching to see what happens, rather than being more emotionally invested.
As a consultant, if you are all about one method -- analytics, creative, copy writing, design, list management, etc. -- you are going to eventually seem limited. Good craftspeople have more tools in the belt, and make sure that the task matches the means.
2) Don't play the game everyone else plays.
The best moments in HoC come when Underwood or his associates use creativity or a greater vision to out-maneuver their adversaries, because being in the presence of people who are good at what they do is, well, captivating.
In marketing and advertising, if everyone else is selling impressions on prestige and branding, consider a paid acquisition model -- because if those numbers work for you, you've moved from an idiosyncratic choice to one that's a business imperative. If your client insists on sticking with a practice that you know is a loser, think about steering into the skid to truly show the extent of the mistake (assuming, of course, that you are also able to run a test cell with a less ruinous message, to limit the damage and ensure the learning). Move away from single metric measures of success or failure, because life is rarely that simple, and it will give you more ways to achieve. And so on. While choosing the lesser of two evils is sometimes necessary as adults, it's also not the way to run a business.
3) Candor can devastate. Use it carefully.
The "showiest" aspect of HoC is when Underwood breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly about his inner motivations, in moments that none of the other characters hear, or react to. It's part of what leads to the whole MacBeth aspect of the show, along with Underwood's ambition and single-minded need for power, but what it also does is makes the audience complicit, an insider, someone with extraordinary insight. Only Underwood gets this power, even though there are plenty of scenes where he's not on screen, and these moments rarely disappoint.
Candor can intoxicate, and the right client can make you feel like you can fully "level" about what's going to happen in the business, or why something is going down the way it is... but it can also unsettle, since it can show that you only see one outcome. Especially if that outcome doesn't come to pass, at which point even the most impressed client has to wonder about your skills. My advice, learned from a long time in the trenches: be candid when you are completely sure of something. And try not be completely sure too often.
4) Control the pace.
In the current season, Underwood is undermined by the calendar of events in a political campaign, and has to take more drastic actions to put the odds back into his favor. As consultants, we usually have to deliver by certain deadlines, show results in time for Q4, and so on. But that type of thinking can leave opportunities on the table, and prevent more lucrative and successful initiatives, especially when you are trying to change what a brand means to the end user.
My experience says that if you can be direct and upfront about the desire to go beyond your limitations, you can often win more business and a longer rope. And even if you aren't able to get what you want right away, you lay the groundwork for winning it later.
5) Think from other perspectives... but never assume that such thinking will be airtight.
In the season finale, Underwood has to adjust when a risky ploy goes sideways, and the reason why is highly instructive. Since they know the background of the person they are dealing with doesn't quite jibe with his current situation, a leverage play is used to get him to do what they need... but the pull of the new position is stronger than what could be reached through realpolitick. While the outcome wasn't entirely shocking, and on further reflection seemed like a weak moment of plotting to my eyes, it's still instructive.
One of the easiest mistakes to make in marketing and advertising is falling for the Naturalistic Fallacy, simply known as "what is true for me is true for all." It's fine to put yourself in the shoes of a client or prospect, and work to find a solution from a different starting point. Just be aware that this is an easy way to make howling mistakes. So make sure to get "sanity checks" from outside perspectives, especially from people who are unafraid to tell you uncomfortable truths. It could save your business.
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