What's the point of popular?
You'd think that it's the most important thing in the world. Homecoming queen, student body president, the most Facebook friends, Oscar winner, how many people are waiting in line at the book signing...
Popular is almost never a measure of impact, or genius, or art. Popular rarely correlates with guts, hard work or a willingness to lead (and be willing to be wrong along the way).
I'll grant you that being popular (at least on one day in November) is a great way to get elected President. But in general, the search for popular is wildly overrated, because it corrupts our work, eats away at our art and makes it likely we'll compromise to please the anonymous masses.
Worth considering is the value of losing school elections and other popularity contests. Losing reminds you that the opinion of unaffiliated strangers is worthless. They don't know you, they're not interested in what you have to offer and you can discover that their rejection actually means nothing. It will empower you to even bigger things in the future...
When you focus on delighting an audience you care about, you strip the masses of their power.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Seth Godin wrote something for me?
My husband sent me a link to Seth Godin's blog post for today and I thought he was making it up...Wait, marketing guru Seth Godin actually blogged about losing a school election? Wow. I'm posting the text of Seth's post below. Be warned: if you're not a regular reader of Mr. Godin, you should know that he's a pretty frank writer, doesn't pull punches and features an abundance of common sense that's not always what you might call "politically correct." Here's the post with it's lesson I'm taking to heart this week:
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11 comments:
Laurie, I don't think the election you lost was a popularity contest by far. The person who was the clear front runner came into this process relatively unknown to the many residents that voted for her.
You didn't lose this election because of the popularity of your opponents or your lack of it. This election was far from a popularity contest. You lost the election because people knew enough about your performance on the board and the ramifications of your actions and opinions to know they didn't want you to serve another term.
Since you seem to appreciate frankness, I hope you will appreciate mine and reflect realistically on your three years of service.
I think you're missing the point of Mr. Godin's post, which is his premise that all elections are, in one sense, popularity contests. It's a perfectly debatable position.
I've always been very reflective throughout my three years of service. I'm not going to stop now (although, truthfully, I have not spent much time doing deep thinking on this election...yet). I think it's interesting that you specifically mention "realistic" reflection, as that's part of Godin's premise: that most people/voters don't know the reality of an individual candidate's impact, work or effectiveness. Would you not entertain the possibility that just because the majority of people who show up to vote (aka just 20% of the registered voters in Ridgewood) choose something, that doesn't mean it's the "right" thing in the big picture? Isn't there a possibility that some voters, including even you, might not know everything about everything? After all, we all come to the voting booth with our own frequently narrow view of the world based on our own personal experience plus what we read in the (fallible) press, what we read on unattributed blogs and anonymous comments, etc. It's not a criticism, just an observation.
I seriously do not want to get into a defensive conversation right now about the election. As I said, I'm still sorting through it. I just thought this was an interesting post by Mr. Godin and just one perspective of many (along with yours, thank you) to consider.
Laurie, I did get the point of Mr. Grodin's post. I simply do not think that it applies specifically to this year's BOE election in Ridgewood. Just because I don't agree with you that this post was "written for you", doesn't mean I do not know what I'm talking about. If you choose to accept only your own narrow view of your defeat at the polls this year, that is certainly your choice, but I doubt you'll have any great epiphany about what happened if you do.
Hey Laurie, it's just another view I'm offering. Yours to ponder or reject. Either way is fine with me at this point as you no longer serve on the board.
Don't sweat it Laurie...6:14 doesn't get it and prob never will. I understood what you and Seth Godin were saying. (And I also got the joke when you asked if he "wrote it for you.") I think you're right that too many people have no idea what BOE members do and just react to whatever sounds good. The fact that people re-elected Sheila Brogan, who was responsible for so much that is wrong with the schools, AND simultaneously elected Christina Krauss as "change" just shows how messed up this town is. You didn't play the game and you got screwed.
No need to be so judgmental of someone you don't know or so defensive 9:34. You obviously feel some loyalty to Laurie, but that in itself is not a reason to speak harshly of me for having a different opinion. People express their views on blogs and often views differ. I happen to think that many of the voters in this election actually reacted to the performance of the two incumbents and the board in general. I mean no disrespect to Laurie, but the likelihood is that if Mr. Clark had stayed in the race, Ms. Brogan would have been out too.
Again, just because I do not agree with how Laurie applied Mr. Grodin's words to this particular election, doesn't mean that I am somehow incapable of seeing his or Laurie's point. I just don't agree with it.
Let's see if you can get that.
Laurie,
I see the parent survey is continuing and coming out next week. If I remember correctly you had a lot to do with that survey. I hope you can take pride that your work has a continuing positive impact on Ridgewood.
THANKS!
No need to be so judgmental of someone you don't know or so defensive 9:34. You obviously feel some loyalty to Laurie, but that in itself is not a reason to speak harshly of me for having a different opinion. People express their views on blogs and often views differ. I happen to think that many of the voters in this election actually reacted to the performance of the two incumbents and the board in general. I mean no disrespect to Laurie, but the likelihood is that if Mr. Clark had stayed in the race, Ms. Brogan would have been out too.
Again, just because I do not agree with how Laurie applied Mr. Grodin's words to this particular election, doesn't mean that I am somehow incapable of seeing his or Laurie's point. I just don't agree with it.
Let's see if you can get that.
7:42, exactly what good did last year's survey do? Please be specific. Thanks.
to 12:00 pm;
Since I don't work at the Board of Education I can't be SPECIFIC as to what if any effect it had or will have. The survey might have started people thinking, or it might be just paperwork. Time will tell.
I do know that as a parent it was an opportunity to express my opinions, anonymously, long pent up. I noted that when the results came out, specific negative comments I had voiced (alluding to, but not naming a specific teacher) were included.
Will this change anything in the long run? I don't know. I am one person, with my own opinions. If other parents feel the same way about the existence of a very few poor teachers in specific programs, perhaps it will help, maybe not.
I am glad for the opportunity to express my opinion, and hope it will have an effect if the same complaints keep showing up.
Opening communication is the one specific I can point to, a good start.
I am hoping that this years survey will have more specifics about tutoring, instead of lumping together "core courses".
Venting on a public survey is all well and good if the information gathered has a direct impact on what happens next in our schools. Venting for venting's sake means nothing.
Claiming that the survey is helpful and thanking Laurie for her work on it sounds like your assertion that, "too many people have no idea what BOE members do and just react to whatever sounds good". That's exactly what you are doing. I would love to see a compilation of last year's survey results along with the specific actions the BOE took in reaction to them, but I doubt that any such actions were taken. So much for the survey.
The survey results are available on the District website. The BOE will incorporate the results, including what they gleaned from the comments (all of which were read), in its goal-setting process this summer. In addition, some if not all principals discussed their schools' results at HSA meetings, along with specific actions they would be taking or were considering. If you want to know more about how your school reacted to the survey, you could contact your principal. And if you want to know more about what the Board is doing with the info, contact someone at the BOE.
And while I get your point, I also feel that for some people, venting for venting's sake was actually worth something.
The survey was designed to be more a long-range tracking of parent satisfaction. I will be most interested to see how the numbers change over time, getting better or worse.
Thanks.
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