The Spin Doctor and The Bullsh*t Artist

From Chapter 4 of "Selling the Truth: A 'Semoir' with Insights for Life and Business" by Hersh Rephun

Shortcut to a Ditch

To understand further how to avoid compulsive deceivers, we must truly understand spinning.

To spin is lead your audience (customers/associates/team/ business) away from the truth. It’s a natural tendency that begins in childhood. We don’t want to disappoint our parents or get in trouble, so we “spin” the story away from our own culpability: “I went outside to make sure none of the other kids were doing anything bad...” This continues in our teenage years. “She said she couldn’t do it, so I just did it, so you wouldn’t have to.” (“She” is the moniker Mom takes on between the ages of 13 and 17.)

The “Spin Doctor,” while ingrained in our consciousness as a clever and useful team member, has no place in branding and business. It’s a crisis management role, and even then, I reject it for a number of reasons:

????????? Spinning presumes the gullibility of the audience, so the risk of making things worse is immediate.

????????? Disinformation is a band-aid at best, and eventually it will be ripped off—by you, or someone else.

????????? The truth is more powerful when you own it.

????????? If there’s a problem, pretending it isn’t there will not make it go away.

????????? As Mark Twain said, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”

Compared to the Spin Doctor, the Bullshit Artist is less useful still. A spin doctor may at least have the good intention of sparing their client embarrassment over a regrettable incident. The Bullshit Artist is typically engaged in self-preservation and is weaving a litany of lies so disconnected from the truth that the only eventual outcome is total image immolation. Where a Spin Doctor might change strategies, a Bullshit Artist commits to wherever the narrative takes them. This leads to their storytelling wearing thin, due to the randomness, intricacy, and desperation of their lies.

For example, imagine you have hired Lemil to watch your beloved cat while you go on vacation, and upon your return, the cat, Miss Evelyne, is nowhere to be found. Lemil appears as baffled as you are:

Lemil: I don’t understand.

You: What don’t you understand? Where is Miss Evelyne? Lemil: Where is she? (walking around the house) Evelyne! Miss

Evelyne! She was here a minute ago. The front door. Did you leave

the front door open?

You: She doesn’t run out the front door!

Lemil: Obviously, she’s here, then. I didn’t lose your cat, for Pete’s sake (laughs). I mean nobody takes care of a cat like I do. Look, here’s her yarn—she did the funniest trick with her yarn today.

You: (looking around the kitchen) What’s this? This is veal! And it’s for dogs! Miss Evelyne doesn’t eat meat!

Lemil: Of course, she doesn’t eat meat. I know that. The store delivered it by mistake. I opened it before I realized it was the wrong item...

You: There are two full scoops missing! You fed her this poison! Lemil: Absolutely not! Oh my God! How could you think that?

The Bullsh*t Artist pushes credulity to the limit. They’re also likable enough and so committed to the lie that you want to believe them.

Lemil: Let’s run upstairs. Miss Evelyne is probably on your bed…but honestly, I’m kind of pissed off that you would jump to the conclusion that I (heading upstairs) ... Evelyne! Miss Evelyne! Where are you, sweetheart?

Indignance is another telltale sign of Bullshit Artistry. You: Ahhhhh!

Lemil: What?

You: There’s a fresh mound of dirt in the yard! You killed her and buried her there!

Lemil: Buried her? Now, you’re just messing with me. Is that it? You’re messing with me. It’s not funny, considering I did you a huge favor staying here for four days.

Bullsh*t Artists are also notable for their lack of shame. And it’s worth mentioning that those who tend to be vulnerable to this crap are projecting a deep want onto the bullshitter. They really want the B.A. to be reliable, trustworthy, and whatever else they subconsciously know them not to be. So, on the other side of the

B.A. is someone who hasn’t learned the Knowing from Chapter 3.

You: So, if I go outside and dig up that mound of dirt, there’s no way I’m going to find Miss Evelyne in there?

Lemil: Absolutely not!

(You grab a shovel and race out back.)

Lemil: And even if you did find her in there, I’m pretty sure she was alive when she got in there. Like a joke gone wrong. You know what a joker she is. I really hope to God she did not get in there thinking it was going to be funny.

You: (discovering something under the dirt)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Lemil: Dammit, she did, didn’t she? Let’s hope she’s okay.

Do Bullsh*t Artists enjoy a good long run sometimes? Sure. Can they benefit from this book? Of course! This book is about growing, as well as moving through the challenges of brand building and business leadership (but you and I both know, Bullsh*t Artists don’t necessarily want to grow). The truth is...

????????? The truth just doesn’t appeal to them all that much.

????????? The “compulsive liar” is a thing. They would sooner lie than tell the truth. And while this may be subconscious (or semi-conscious), they may well be addicted to lying.

????????? It isn’t always malicious, but it is very insidious. You could really even like the person (so appealing, sometimes, like a Siren), but the message is still hurtful and harmful, even if they haven’t meant it to be.

We don’t need anyone to sugarcoat the truth for us (which is often what Bullsh*t Artists and Spin Doctors are all about). In the larger sense, I’d say that for human beings to expect only good news and good times is so unrealistic as to be harmful. Just as we really don’t want our kids to feel pain, disappointment, sadness, and depression, these are part of life. So, if we shield them from these things, we’re setting them up for a rude awakening under less sympathetic circumstances. The truth often hurts, but only for a minute. Misinformation, half- truths, outright lies, and patronizing tales peddled by Spin Doctors and Bullsh*t Artists are actually the hardest to swallow.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of my book! You can get on the pre-order list HERE.

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