LinkedIn Has Created a Spiral of Business BS

You know what it takes to be a star on LinkedIn?

You need to post a lot, make infographics, make claims about what is dead and what has changed forever.

So how can you possibly do this if you are Joe Schmoe at ABC company?

You have to make up things.

If others are making up things weekly, how can you, Mary Canary, break through? You'd better post constantly also.

Just make things up.

A spiral of BS.

Not everyone is making things up. I'm not talking about those professionals. But those professionals are rarely "top voices".

I started pushing on this with my obsession of data and analytics. When I would see a post that, in my experience, seemed off, I would politely ask the author to share the data. In my request for "the data", I get one of 2 general responses.

1. No response at all
2. Backpedaling over a couple of messages that "well this only applies in xx case etc" where I would just say "That's fine. I just wondered if you could share the data" and they would eventually just say this is their opinion

Opinion?

You used percentages, charts and you're using those numbers to make a giant, strategy changing claim. That's not an opinion. That's a fabrication.

I often find myself in business conversations, sometimes in formal ones in meetups for Pavilion, a membership group of executives. I try not to get into my anti-mainstream stuff as long as I can but there are always a few of these executives that legitimately make thoughtful observations about how the mainstream approaches aren't really working for them. And then I can't hold it in and I start explaining my perspective.

My perspective:

Do you want to do something?

Or do you want to play a game?

There are plenty of short-term gains from playing a game. And so, many play it, and justify their decisions based on how the game is played. Look at the profiles of so many executives... look at their headlines.

They show their professional accomplishments on how many multi-million dollar exits they were a part of. There's nothing wrong with it. They are extremely good at playing the game. They might even make the all-star team. That's how good they are. At a game.

How good are they at what a majority of the world's population (most are non-executives) sees as business? In my experience, many are really bad at it. The activities of running a business that creates a lot of value for the people doing it is tough. It takes a very long time to get where you need and want to be. It doesn't always make you wealthy. It takes constant re-evaluation of your approaches.

Investors generally have no interest in that. They have no interest in business. They need the game to play out so they can get their money out. You may say that is "business". I say it is a game for a very small number of people to win, and millions of others to lose. And so they'll hire others that are interested in the game. Get locked in to a contract where even if you don't do well, you still get paid a lot. Cool game.

And so many want into that club of executives that play that game and win often enough to launch them into astronomical financial gains. So there are the winners, and so many waiting outside to get in the club... and they'll do what they need to do to get in. They'll even fabricate information to support their ambitions.

My headline photo is from one of the whiteboards in my home gym where I've been doing my own programming (think of that as designing workouts) for 9 years and collecting data along the way. I have some good education on this as I studied Biomechanics, Motor Learning, Exercise Physiology, and Plyometrics for fun in my late teens and early 20s. I got my BS in Kinesiology with a minor in Pre-Med, though most of the exercise physiology related work I already knew so I tutored others in the classes I was taking. I know a lot about how the body works and how to make it more fit and strong.

I just completed my 5th iteration of our programming structure, one of the most minor iterations I've done as I've dialed in some great frameworks that are customizable, easy to adjust on the fly, and work for an older me (and Veronica) as I finish up my 51st year on the planet in 2024. That data is in a few places and I've leveraged it to make changes, experiment, and see how it affects my body, my mind and also observing how it affects my wife, Veronica.

I have a lot of data and continue to collect it.

And it has been 9 years.

I am not running a world famous gym. We lovingly call our gym, Lone Star Gym. You've never heard of it.

Just like very few people in the world have heard of your company (outside the tiny number of you that work at famous brands).

How could I get attention on LinkedIn? I'd have to post a lot and make a lot of claims and probably misuse my data, exaggerate it, or just make stuff up.

Reality is that my journey in building something real in this small scale example of building a great workout framework for myself and Veronica has taken years. And we didn't get wealthy from it.

We did, however, really do something real.

It has created so much value for us.

If I was going to share some summaries of my data and make some claims, I'd need to be on point. I would need to be accurate. I would invite some outside analysis.

In reality, as it is my home gym, I'd say that I am doing this because of that and here is the data. And I would probably say that if I were really testing things scientifically, we'd know for sure if I'm right but here are the results I'm getting. I would be real about it. I would steer clear of making claims.

Because I am not playing a game.

Not even in my home gym.

I do get it though.

Playing games is fun. And winners in the game so many call "business" get rewarded with a lot of money.

And even if you think I am being a little too picky about all this, like I am causing too much trouble for such an accepted thing. Yea, I know. I get that a lot.

Even if you think that please do this:

When you see an infographic or claim based on numbers, ask for the data. And if you don't get it, dismiss that claim, opinion, or hard-to-believe truth.

When you feel like you need to post to be seen... don't claim things as truth that you have nothing other than your personal experiences to back up. Let everyone know you are just talking. Don't use graphics displaying numbers that you guessed at. Don't make up things.

If you like the game for what it gives you, I get that. It just isn't for me.

I remember I read somewhere that if what you're doing, what you're building, what you're setting your goals for only extend to the time that you'll be alive, your vision is too small.

And back when I first read that, it made me think of legacy. As in, what would be here for my kids, and their kids, etc. And maybe that is what that quote was all about. It was trying to convince me that making millions for myself was admirable because it was me thinking of something bigger than me. I would be thinking of my extended family and those that haven't even been born yet. Seems admirable.

I do not see that the same way anymore.

It is now connected to my point here.

Do you want to do something that has a vision beyond yourself?

Or do you want to play games?

I for one, don't see those paths crossing.