What we should learn from the Oscars

It was only a week ago. I can barely remember it. How about you? There was something about a plasticine Billy Crystal making his return – it was almost like human Photoshop. And a very strange leg that took on a life of its own from Angelina. J. Lo? Wasn’t there something about her too? And that’s really the long and the short of it, because this is what happens when you’re on a lifeline. You lose relevance. But the lesson isn’t just about the Oscars. This is about every business. It’s not about the slow death of an awards show. It’s about how we deal with change. Everyone loses touch at some point. But some recover, and most don’t.

Of course, being the second most watched show in America seems significant enough. It even took an uptick in the ratings from last year’s debacle. But the Academy is an organization clinging. Not only are the Oscars reaching about half the eyeballs they used to, but, more importantly, they have lost cultural significance. People used to turn to them to know what was good. Now, we turn to them to know what people wear.

The simplest truths of it is this: You’re better off being on your way up with half the audience then on your way down with double. If you watched and if you remember any of the show, then you know it basically read like a love letter to the movies. Clip after clip of over-the-top scoring, sequenced for maximum emotional impact. Not even things that filmmakers now aspire to. Louder. Sappier. More dramatic. They even added more movies in hopes they would attract more audience last year. But turning up the volume is really the last thing you want to do when you’re losing touch with your audience. It costs more. It does little. And it uses up resources. It’s also exactly what most people do the moment things derail.

The Academy is chasing, when they need to lead. Their strategy is basically to try to reel more people in with a outsized show and hope they can sway people through pyrotechnics and self-aggrandizing drama. But you can’t make people feel something they don’t feel in the first place. Saying “this is important” will only matter if someone actually thinks it is important. It’s not trumpeting your significance that you need. It’s being significant. It’s creating something that captures the values your audience is just half-a-step shy of having, and letting them find the way there. Through you. But getting bigger, bolder, and more mega-ultra-super-premium never achieves this. It’s a snow job to mask the simple fact that you’re no longer in touch.

It’s also the most natural thing to do. It’s the most natural thing to do, because your body is going to scream out that this thing you’re doing – it worked in the before. It seems like it should work again. That, surely, for some reason, you’re just not getting your point across now. People aren’t getting you. But that’s not what’s going on. What’s going on is that you’re not getting them. You did at one time. Now you’re not. I’ve seen so many wedding businesses employ this model. I’ve done it, myself. You open your doors, things go well, but then something happens. You’re not quite sure what, but business is different. Your brides are different somehow, or, maybe they’re the same, but that sameness is no longer the “it” thing. It’s yesterday’s thing, and deep down you know it. So you extend your reach. If I can just get the people in the door, you can persuade them. And maybe you will. But you’re not persuading the people you really want to. Because like the Academy, you’re are preaching to a shrinking choir, and you just can’t quite seem to get ahead of it. If this happens, let go. You need to retool.

Don’t worry about the bigger and better. Don’t worry about the more expensive promo, the really cool video, or the viral piece on YouTube. It’s not attention you need. As they say in Glengary Glen Ross, these are for closers. These are for you on your way up, after you’re back on track. But if you’ve hit a rough patch, these things are a distraction you don’t need. The great part is what you do need is really much simpler than that. You need a bit of old-fashioned ingenuity to rework the puzzle that is you. And you everything you need. It’s in your head. It’s who you are. And it’s absolutely free. You just need to believe in yourself enough to let go of who you were, and let yourself be a little frightened. Don’t worry. If you’re not frightened, you’re not taking a big enough step ahead.

Because here’s what you’re not seeing. You don’t see how much you’ve changed. But you have. You know more, feel more, understand more. You need to retool these things to communicate to people in the here and now. Ask how your beliefs are relevant with today’s culture, today’s style, and today’s language. Because your experience is more valuable now than ever, and the world needs that. But you’re shooting and selling the way your old-self did without all that extra goodness you now have.

If things took off for you the first time, you probably tapped into some part of the cultural consciousness without knowing it. This time, you’re going to have to tap into it with knowing it. And that’s harder, because your business is on the line, your head is cluttered, and your vision much more complex. But it’s going to be better for the exact same reasons. Because the clarity you gain will be from a you who sees more deeply into themselves and everything else. Your message will be that much more powerful, that much more inspired, and that much intimate. Don’t keep that from the world. Don’t hide it from yourself. Stand up, and let it out. People will hear you.