Perspectives

In his latest column for Forbes, 7wire’s Managing Partner Glen Tullman talks about how the controversial Cadillac ad shown during the Winter Olympics presents a surprising lesson for bosses.

Read the full article here and an excerpt below:

“There’s been a lot of media bickering about the new Cadillac commercial that debuted during the Winter Olympics. And while the debate has been predictably loud and polarized, it’s actually worth thinking about if you’re a boss, a business owner or in any kind of leadership role.

If you still haven’t seen it, or heard cable-news folks shouting about it, the ad is basically a 30-second monologue on the virtues of American ingenuity and effort, delivered with playful intensity by actor Neil McDonough. Here it is:

“Like a lot of things nowadays, the spot got instantly, almost comically politicized. Pundits on the left assailed it as a symbol of American greed; The Huffington Post’s Carolyn Gregoire wrote that the ad glorifies “blind mania for working yourself into the ground.” The right rose to Cadillac’s defense; on Fox News, self-proclaimed “capitalist pig” Jonathan Hoenig hailed the ad as a “tremendous” celebration of “Americanism” and the pursuit of profit through hard work.

I think both sides are looking at it the wrong way. They both seem to assume that work is a necessary evil, a miserable sacrifice we all make in the name of paying the bills, getting ahead, and accumulating possessions.”