Image via Facebook
Interpretation and argument appear to be a big part of legal work. This arguably makes lawyers well-suited to politics. Politics also appear to be mainly about interpretation and argument. Positions and opinions can be spun via rhetoric into “facts,” and actual facts spun into “alternative facts.” They can be defended with interpretation and argument.
In the same way, businesses with an unhealthy addiction to marketing uses it to interpret and argue facts, manipulate how they are presented, and also to create fake facts.
This opinion-led approach poses a problem in government (and organisational governance.) Sometimes, if not all the time, leadership has to deal with factual reality. Where truth is simply truth, and not something up for interpretation and argument.
These are all facts:
Climate change is happening.
The earth is an oblate spheroid.
Self-certification/self-regulation will fail where there is a strong profit motive.
For a healthy, more resilient, more agile, more inclusive ecosystem in government and organisations, their leadership must include more diverse professionals beyond lawyers. Their strategic activities must go beyond marketing and PR.
Remember the triple-bottom line?
