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Everything is Marketing – Leadership Lessons from Charlie Sheen

Brand Positioning 3

By Luke Sklar and Amber Hudson

Welcome to the Everything is Marketing blog. We are here to prove that every single issue in life, every person, story or event, has a marketing lesson. And we want you to join in the conversation. So crack those knuckles and weigh in on the discussion, share your thoughts and ideas, agree or disagree. Bring it on; we want to hear from you!

At first I was rendered speechless by the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen. Then it struck me like a fake machete, Charlie Sheen offers up some great leadership lessons. Stay with me folks. Ahem, 10 Leadership Lessons from Charlie Sheen:

  1. Surround yourself with porn stars
  2. Wage war with your ex-wife
  3. Do drugs and drink excessively
  4. Take narcissism to a whole new stratosphere
  5. Drink tiger blood
  6. Hide in bathrooms naked
  7. Lambaste your boss
  8. Set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest person to reach 1 million Twitter followers
  9. Each day look in the mirror and say to yourself “It’s perfect. It’s awesome. Every day is just filled with just wins. All we do is put wins in the record books. We win so radically in our underwear before our first cup of coffee, it’s scary.”

NOT!!

Just like George Costanza had the epiphany of making it Opposite Day, to be a great leader just do the opposite of Charlie Sheen. The real lessons:

  1. You are the company you keep
  2. Build positive relations
  3. Have laser-like focus on your goals and eliminate what may derail
  4. Let go of your ego
  5. Share your power to empower others
  6. Confront a difficult situation head on
  7. Provide constructive criticism
  8. Stay true to your values
  9. Take an objective look at yourself once in a while
  10. And yes be honest (we’ll give Charlie this one)

So the overall marketing lesson? Great leaders are like brands. Check that, they ARE brands. Consistent delivery of a positive and authentic promise will stand the test of time and be shockingly train wreck resistant.

Next up: Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson and John Galliano – The Three Amigos. (kidding)

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Luke Sklar Published March 11, 2011 by Luke Sklar This entry was posted in Blog, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Resource Centre and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.