I go to my fair share of events with speakers billed as being ‘inspirational’, ‘motivational’ or similar. They almost invariably talk about how they made a mint in the face of life’s challenges, and tell you that this means that you can make a mint too! Yes, you! You can do it! Really! And you go away thinking – yes, I can! Go me! And then the thought hits you – er, how, exactly? Hmm… seems the inspirational, motivational speaker (we’ll call them IMSs) forgot to mention that bit. They’ve given you the business equivalent of a cheerleader routine – looks good, sounds good and is definitely showing support and faith in you, but nothing that actually enhances your ability in any way.
When I present seminars or speak at events, I always make sure to give people plenty of takeaways – focussing on the how and the what, concrete tips, tools and techniques that they can put into practice to improve their performance or personal effectiveness in some way. Something that really adds value – not just a few soundbites that they can stick on Twitter while they’re listening. But of all the IMSs I’ve seen, very few actually give you any useful advice on what to do or say in order to be successful.
To be fair, these IMSs do exactly what it says on the tin – they inspire and motivate. But is that enough? Is it, in fact, even realistic? The over-riding message seems to be “You can achieve anything at all as long as you believe in yourself/your product/your service/your Feng Shui etc.” If that were true, there’d be 100,000 X Factor winners each year, most of them rubbish singers with big dreams (or delusions). Somehow I don’t think positive mental attitude is enough, unless it’s accompanied by a great talent, product, service, marketing strategy, business plan, USP, financial backer, useful contacts, Feng Shui consultant etc. Even if you’re challenging yourself, you need to be realistic.
And speaking of USPs, another key message seems to be “Be special – you all have something that makes you stand out from the crowd!” Maybe I’m being defeatist (and unimaginative) but I don’t think there are enough USPs to go round – there’s a limit to the number of original ways you can be an accountant, management consultant, widget and grommet retailer or whatever. And standing out isn’t always such a good thing (see my earlier blog ‘I Was A Vampire HR Manager’ by way of an example.) Besides, if we all stand out, there’s nothing outstanding about being outstanding, is there?
The third piece of standard advice from IMSs is “Be yourself – don’t try to be something you’re not!” But what if the thing you are not is ‘good’? If you’re actually an evil psycho, a gratuitously miserable misanthrope with no social skills, or utter pants in some other way, then being yourself probably isn’t the best course of action.
Some of the motivating, inspirational commentary also seems a bit contradictory. We’re told to be authentic and true to ourselves – but also encouraged to develop, grow, adapt to changing circumstances and customers. Not that the two are necessarily mutually exclusive – but it does give mixed messages. Maybe it’s a case of being ourselves, but on a really good day, like the Berocca advert.
If IMSs just tell us the story of their success, does it really give us a much-needed impetus and make us feel (accurately or not) that we can be that successful too? Or does it just make us feel inferior because we aren’t, or can’t? I recently heard an IMS who gave the worst bit of psychobabble ever to a distressed woman in the audience who bemoaned her own lack of customers and revenue. The ‘motivational’ (I use the term loosely here) speaker replied “Maybe there is a fear of success there that is limiting you”. No, maybe there is a recession there, you muppet!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to decry IMSs, or pee on anyone’s fireworks (honest!) But it just seems to me that many of the ‘amazing’ IMSs we see at conferences and events are actually of limited value (well, apart from being worth shedloads on account of inventing a fab widget and no doubt the substantial speaking fees.) I would just like to hear more substantial and useful content from this kind of speaker – otherwise all we’re really getting is a bit of a pep talk!
