Authenticity’s evil twin:
TMI. Too much information.
The word authenticity has many meanings. Depending on who you are talking to, it could mean anything from ‘keeping it real’ (whatever that means) to oversharing about every aspect of your life, all the way down to your medical history. In some cases, and places, that can make sense and be incredibly freeing. In others, not so much. Strategic authenticity is about those ‘not so much’ situations.
Let me point to another real world example which you may, or may not, like. I was working as a Creative Director at an agency and had hired a new kid right out of college. Great personality. Diligent and ambitious. And an avid user of Instagram. I made the mistake of following her there, because we were (and still are) friends, and she did not report directly to me. At the time, I made it a habit not to follow subordinates social accounts, the same way as I elected to not hang out with them after work. I’m sure you can guess all the reasons why, which I’d sum up in three little letters: TMI.
Were I a member of the CIA, I would absolutely love social media. With innocent post after innocent post, users inadvertently drop single, seemingly insignificant data points over and over, 24/7/365. All you have to do is pay just a little bit of attention, and you’d be able to assemble a hefty dossier on even the most savvy social user. This friend of whom I write was/is certainly socially savvy, but boy howdy did she ever drop data.
One day, in an attempt to give her a little unwanted fatherly advice, I made a simple suggestion about her Insta feed—of her last 50 posts, count the number that featured her holding a drink (or what could possibly be construed as an alcoholic drink), or a photo of a drink. She was more than a little insulted, and I’m not sure she ever took me up on the challenge. But I did. And the answer was somewhere north of 50%.
It may not be fair, but many companies today are scouring applicant’s social feeds for exactly such intelligence, and making hiring decisions appropriately. With fully half of your Insta post suggesting that you’re a pretty heavy drinker…? Again, not fair, but if you’ve got two applicants for the same position and one has revealed a little TMI about their leisure activities, who are you going to hire?
A couple of years later, I actually witnessed a similar thing happen, only this time it was TMI on Facebook. The guy was a highly qualified manager who, unfortunately, was also highly prone to, let’s say dabble, it political conspiracy theories on Facebook. He was a finalist for a position in a non-profit organization at the same time he was rather LOUDLY questioning the validity of non-profits as business entities. On Facebook. Where anyone who did a basic search of his name could see it. Too bad about that job, dude. Too much information, too.
Am I saying that the woman who authentically enjoyed having a cocktail or two during off hours should suddenly go teetotal? Or that Mr. Fair and Balanced should never voice his opinion. Absolutely not. But please, please, PLEASE, at least put that through a Strategic Authenticity prism before posting.
So what elements make up a sound Authenticity Strategy?
The varnished truth.
Serve your hottest takes at room temperature.
…and there’s much more to come.
BOOKWARD BOUND / Daily Build is just what it says: the writing I did today in order to get my book a little bit closer to its publication. It is presented here exactly as written and complete with all the misspellings and grammatical errors you’d expect of a rough draft. Don’t worry, it’ll be edited later. The above was written during a livestream video of BOOKWARD BOUND that you can find on my YouTube channel any time you’d like. -DP Knudten
@2020 DP Knudten LLC – all rights reserved.
