 |
| Lighting it up...! |
more of the "SOS"....
But, if you aspire to be a thoughtful and effective CU marketeer, it is probably wise and necessary for you to spend some time with Thorstein Veblen and his work "The Theory of the Leisure Class".
Perhaps you need to do so simply because, you would like to consider where your moral compass should lie, as a cooperative, non-profit leader in a for-profit, take no prisoners, "buyer beware" world.Veblen, the economist who created the phrase "conspicuous consumption", will not only make you think; he will make you choose. Capitalist or "progressive"; Republican or Democrat; conservative or liberal; for-profit or not-for-profit; sinner or saint; Mr. Veblen challenges you to consider the hard-edged realities of an
 |
| "WE-SELL" !! |
But even in 1899, Thorstein Veblen was not optimistic about the logical "endgame" of a race to the bottom in a marketplace, increasingly unrestrained by local accountability, uncertain ethical values, and flexible moral scruples. Veblen predicted that marketing would eventually feature the following:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
OF MODERN MARKETING?
- Attention to overstatement
- Fabricated demand
- A low traffic in salesmanship
- Promises much, delivers a minimum
- Promises much, delivers nothing
- Creates an artificial scarcity
- Enlarges the list of life's "necessities"
- Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi
- Encourages contemptuous consumption
- Promises a margin of something for nothing
Future predictions from 1899?
2 comments:
Let the buyer beware.
Are we There Yet?
We are getting awfully close, but I am not sure if the “blame” should lie solely on the shoulders of “The Marketeers.”
Since I am sure that you are a well-read individual and I certainly respect , if not always agree with your positions, I offer you the following Latin phrase: “nanos gigantum humeris insidentes.”
For those readers that may not have the depth of knowledge, this is attributed to Bernard of Chartres, its most familiar expression in English is found in a 1676 letter of Isaac Newton:
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Perhaps the Marketeers are simply following the lead of the CEO’s who employ them.
Perhaps it is the CEO’s that have given up the ghost of serving for the more expedient and personally more profitable position of growing, with no thought of serving.
I am not sure when this all changed or if this has always been the case.
If we are to accept your implied position, it appears to date back until at least1899 and the work of Thorstein Veblen.
I suppose it all comes down to what your your personal, professional and organizational goals are.
It also appears that the credit union community is not that much different than the rest of the business world.
The recognized leaders in credit unions, the leaders that are admired and emulated, are those that are not only profitable, but those that have the most assets.
It is always amazing and more than a little disconcerting that when I attend a credit union conference, my fellow attendees’ entire attitude changes when they ask what are my credit unions assets and I respond that we are well past one billion dollars.
I am also a little amazed that the “leaders’ of trade association and those individuals that are recognized by the same trade associations, are either the biggest credit union or those smaller credit unions that have achieved dramatic growth.
I suppose that size does made and sheer size is a sound measuring stick for recognition and emulation. After all it’s a lot easier than measuring ethics and morality.
Post a Comment