Trump’s outspoken stance about illegal Mexicans flamed protests to boycott several of Trump’s properties. And remember, Macy’s and NBC cut their ties with him.
Then remarks Trump made about Megyn Kelly during the first debate, caused many viewers to boycott Fox News.
His statements and actions call for boycotts, and he also seems to care little about the calls for boycotting any of his companies.
Are you an introvert still not sure about your voice being heard, or do you think it’s only being more extroverted that can help?
5 lessons from Donald Trump boycotts for introverts to know
Don’t dismiss yourself. Rarely, maybe never does Trump back off or back down. He’s even gets criticized for not apologizing. What’s a lesson?
Your introversion needs no apology. If anything you might have to speak up about how the only thing making you more of an introvert is how your energy source is more of yourself, and less of being around others.
Can you hear Trump apologizing for being more of an extrovert? Or someone who speaks his mind? Nah didn’t think so. Let that be your lesson.
Ignore misconceptions. Myths and misconceptions get spread similar to a message in the telephone game. This game played around the world, starts with one person whispering a message to another. Then it is passed through the group of people playing until the last person says the message to the entire group. Typically variations happen in the retellings, so by the time the last person gets the message, it can be so different it’s laughable.
Over time, misconceptions about introverts turned into myths. Myths like – we are shy, we are anti-social, we are weird, we are aloof, we don’t like to have fun. You likely know many or most of them.
Can you ignore introvert myths knowing that they are indeed, misconceptions? www.introvertspring.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/15-Introvert-Myths-Infographic1.jpg
Be authentic. An anonymous but appropriate quote, “Own your life, or someone will own it for you.”
If we follow what happens when we believe misconceptions, some might think, “Well I just need to become more like an extroverted person.”
Are you kidding me?
Don’t we have enough of a time maintaining our energy to do our job well, do nurture our most meaningful relationships?
Now we consider being someone we are not?
Boycott any action that erodes your authenticity.
Find inspiration from outside yourself, like your competitors. Inspiration can come from any personality preference. Look into some of what’s happening with the Trump campaign, even though people might not like his directness or his ideas, he stays ahead of the pack. It seems he often finds what his competitors often avoid talking about and then wades deep into those contrary waters.
What competitors do you know of in your business?
How can you find inspiration in what your competitors are not doing?
Boycott lesson, stop doing business like the others when you find you can.
Boycott perfection.
Stirring up some of the Trump boycotts is his admission of not being politically correct. A most interesting series this week talks about how it is Trump leads many political polls by checking his political correctness at the door.
Political correctness is rampant today. It’s about criticizing language, actions even laws or policies that offend a particular group of people. This new phenomenon, in my opinion, may cause many people to say nothing because of the possible repercussions.
Focus on this: how is perfectionism (something many people of any personality style are haunted by) similar to political correctness?
Indeed, political correctness can cause us to stall and lose perspective, liked perfectionism causes us to procrastinate. If you suffer from perfection, boycott it! Strive for results and let go of any potential fear of outside judgment.
[Tweet “If you suffer from perfection, boycott it! Strive for results and let go of any potential fear of outside judgment.”]
Business boycotts have lessons.
Are boycotts even effective?
According to some research, it seems results happen when the target company already has a declining reputation. If the company already has a bad reputation, ironically, boycotts don’t effect much. Involving the media is important. This finding might explain why most parties involved in the Trump boycotts, including Trump himself, are faring well or mostly unscathed.
Hi Patricia,
FANTASTIC Article!
For sure one lesson we can learn from Trump is to be who we are in our authentic selves and remember as business owners we are not interested in those who don’t like our messages. We are interested in those who are attracted to it.
Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to be everyone’s friend because we don’t like controversy.
What we don’t realize is that we are ourselves and speak in our own unique voices with our own unique perspectives there are people who are craving that authenticity.
This is why advertising no longer works… people simply don’t trust it and for a lot of good and some bad reasons.
Love, love, love this quote in your article: “Own your life, or someone will own it for you.”
Boycott’s in the end sometimes help, not always, but sometimes. Look at Disney. I can’t even recall how many times they’ve been boycotted, lol…
Appealing to everyone is a losing proposition. There are always at or near 50% of those who we come across who don’t like us for one reason or another. Out of the 50% who do like us maybe 15-20% of them will actually buy from us.
We have to remember who we are trying to reach and then create the message that will do it in our own unique ways that fit our personalities and temperaments. Sometimes we just have to grow into it and have a few experiences to remember that what feels negative today will pass and we will be better for it in the long run.
I really appreciate your message in this article Patricia!
I hope it benefits those greatly who will take a step out of their comfort zones and grow into new opportunities as they do so.
Thanks for allowing me this forum to express my thoughts and opinions as I was reading your well thought out and written article.
Have a great end to your week my friend!
~ Don Purdum
Thanks Don. And it is indeed a lesson in stepping out of our comfort zones – to grow! I am so delighted you say that.
I think a lot of choices regarding being my authentic self boil down to how much energy it takes to do otherwise. It’s exhausting enough being me, so to try to be more extroverted just isn’t going to happen. Sometimes you just gotta say, “Oh well, oh well, oh well” and move on.
I think our resistance to sometimes be anything but authentic is a huge energy vampire. Thanks Jeri!
Hi Patricia,
You may not agree with what Trump as to say but you have to admire his lack of fear of being himself or being looked at differently.
Great advice here Patricia. If you can identify something that your competition is not willinging to do and dive into it you will surely stand out. People will take notice and your presence will expand.
I don’t know what impact the boycotts are having on Trumps businesses. I mean I never thought they were over the top successful since he’s filed so many bankruptcies for them.
~Lea
A pleasure to meet you Lea. Thanks for pointing out that we have to be willing often to stretch out of our comfort zone, as in the example of doing what your competitors are not doing.
Can’t avoid thinking that it would have been better if Trump had been an introvert because it would have stopped him from doing what he’s doing i.e. appealing to Americans that feel let down by Washington.
Having said that you really have to admire his thick skin. And it pays off with disgruntled US voters. Honestly can’t blame them because they have not benefitted from corporate America being in charge of US politicians.
As you know, I agree with the points you make about perfectionism and so forth. But I sincerely hope Trump will not be elected president of the United States. It would be a disaster for the world in many ways and will speed up the end of America as a super power.
Catarina the positive outcome of Trump speaking out is that OTHER presidential candidates are forced to talk about their positions on issues important to many Americans. In addition, even though it may be just my feeling, as citizens we are putting more pressure on incumbents as they see/notice/hear how we are reacting to the discussions after the public debates.
It all depends on what Trump’s end game is. Does he have a plan or doesn’t he? Either way he’s likely to end up as an independent candidate i.e. make it difficult for the Republican party to win. Remember Ross Perot?:-)
Whatever his end game, and regardless of possibly running as an independent, his speaking out on issues is hopefully going to change the gangster politician mentality we have in the USA.
Agree with you about the need to change how special interests rule in your ccountry. But he’s a crude, parvenu bully. Am beginning to fear that he may be elected POTUS because how tired the majority of Americans are with D.C. and how it works.
A Harvard professor, Lawrence Lessig, may also run for president in order to stop special interests. Not sure he’s presidential material either.
Let’s see what happens.
Hello Pat,
Its my first visit to your site and i must confess that you’re doing an awesome job here, keep it up mate.
Being an introvert is sometimes good and if you’re one, just ignore what everyone else saying and be yourself. Sometime, the opinions of others do not matter so far you’re on the right direction.
Also like you mentioned, i agree with the idea of finding motivation from your competitors. Just figure out which areas they’re avoiding and then, use them to your advantage.
A pleasure to meet you Theodore. A key in all the noise from our competitors is to find some way to bring the right attention and time to what we offer for the same audience.
Everytime I hear that extremely extroverted man open his mouth and speak, I am just horrified at the thought that he could conceivably be President. I don’t really think he will but the prospect of someone so totally self-absorbed is horrible. He is the exact opposite of all the traits I appreciate in introverts.