Every Company Needs a Good Map

A business that tries to project a certain image of success will often have its product "super-sized" and on display. The chocolate Titanic is just one of many sculptures in a chocolate shop I visited in Berlin. They had other monuments but for an American the ship was the most relevant. Now that I have launched my book series, (1st review posted by Lewis Green) it takes on an even more relevance.

What is the message of the giant chocolate ship? What does the enormous hamburger say about that business? What does the giant blow-up character tell customers about the store it sits upon?

It is just like the grand lawn around the palace at Versailles. It is like the great Red Square in Moscow.(This link is to an EarthCam pointed at the Square.) It is like the large boulevards of Beijing. It meant to be a projection of power. It is supposed to say that this company is doing so well it can afford to take some of its earnings or resources and use them to show off.

Is there a right time to make such a statement? I think so. The right time is when you can do it with honesty. Consider the dot-coms who bought Super Bowl ads when they had just a few customers. Consider the rock stars that buy mansions before they have a second record. We admire success but we dislike show-offs. We respect the honest achievements of other and we are offended by the dishonest display of pretension.

As you consider a grand statement, consider the way it will be viewed. When Bill Gates declared that he saw a computer on every desk and that computer running Microsoft software, people ridiculed him. When it was just about a reality people worshipped him. Go, and do thou likewise (Luke 10:37).

What grand gestures have you seen that backfired? Why did they?

Here is one CK thought was a bad one by Dow. Do you agree?

What grand expressions worked? Why do you think so?