Don’t make me stop this car: Why your boss rejects social media

“Geez, Mom, you almost hit that car.”

“I see the car, hon, and I wasn’t even close.”

“Well you’re almost out of gas. I guess you just want to get stuck at the mall. Heh.” (shaking head like Mom is completely clueless)

“We have plenty of gas.”

“We better fill up on the way home. I don’t wanna get stuck in the cold all night.”

“I’ve been driving longer than you’ve been alive. Just leave it to me, okay? And, by the way, I am not an idiot.”

I don’t say that last sentence out loud, but I think it after almost every conversation with my teenager. Is your boss thinking the same thing when he talks to you about social media?

After reading about Bob and considering Kat French’s excellent post about exploring social media without getting fired I clicked over to “Social Media Advocates, We Have Work to Do.” And I started to wonder whether the very people who are advocating social media are undermining it.

If we approach business leaders like swaggering “know-it-all” teenagers they’re not going to hear the benefits of community building. They’re going to hear this:

“I know how to run your business better than you do.”

“You don’t need to know what I’m doing. I’ve got it under control.”

“You’re a dinosaur and will never ‘get’ this stuff. Leave it to us young geniuses.”

“Defining the ROI isn’t important. If you don’t do this now, hey, it’s your funeral.”

I’m thinking this isn’t the best approach. Just sayin’.