Finding strategy in an alien invasion
The game of life has many opposing variables.
You have leaders. You have followers.
You have wins. You have losses.
You have order. You have chaos.
Regardless if you call it karmaic balance, yin and yang, or just a strong belief in perseverance: the Earth continues to rotate based on the ebb and flow of moving variables.
In other words: You want to lead? Be a strategist.
Do you remember the 1997 sci-fi action flick Starship Troopers?
It’s one of my favourite cheese movies of all time. It’s a story set in the future that follows a group of high school friends that enlist with the army to go to war against an alien threat. Big ugly bug aliens. It’s a cult classic that spun into a whole trilogy of terrible follow up movies. It’s like watching Alien, but replacing seriousness and thrill, with awful 90’s clichés.
In Starship Troopers, the main character is pretty boy John "Johnny" Rico, who entered the mobile infantry. His girlfriend Carmen became a spaceship pilot, and Carl, his psychic best friend played by Neil Patrick Harris (before he became a wildly popular actor), joined the military intelligence.
Without spoiling the movie - which I’m sure you’re already planning to look up on Netflix today so here’s the link - I’d like to point out how the roles they chose apply to the different roles in marketing.
Here’s what would happen if, instead of going to war with aliens, the trio decided something less violent: join a marketing agency.
Instead of being in the mobile infantry unit, Johnny would be the resident community manager. His ear is to the street. Knower of all that is current. He sees first hand what customers are looking for. He provides deliverance on a daily basis.
Carmen would be their digital marketing manager. Her role puts her in the skies, watching for opportunities, and diving in with full-size campaigns that target KPIs. It might even involve wearing a few different hats at times.
Carl would be their VP of marketing. He’s the ultimate strategist. He may not be great at posting on Twitter or designing the next newsletter, but he helps keep the ship heading in the right direction. He shuffles a lot with the big wigs. He may not be affected by losses on the battlefield, but he’s more focused on winning the war.
In this example, you may think that Carl is the ultimate strategist. And winning the war is dependent on his ability to develop a sound strategy. But when it comes to winning, all three roles require a high levels of strategy.
The battle isn’t won because Johnny ran around incoherently spraying bullets, or Carmen blindly chasing anything in her path. Before “how” gets answered, strategy begins by first asking “why”. A good, self-starting marketer will figure out the tactical element of their job function. Johnny will seek to improve his output by adjust the language of his tweets, the content strategy of his Instagram posts, and get feedback in the community subreddit. Carmen will analyze each of their verticals, producing new strategies and implementing A/B tests for optimal delivery. Strategy isn’t just for management; it applies to any role a marketer can take on.
I first learned to ask “why” in my Applied Strategy course in college. We’ll close my three important lessons trilogy from George Brown College on Friday. ✌️
This is for all you new people. I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don't do your job, I'll kill you myself! Welcome to the Roughnecks!
―Jean Rasczak (Michael Ironside), Starship Troopers (1997)
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