Ever wish that marketing directors would share the "cheat codes" for getting to their position? A few mentors did that for me when I was new, and so now I'm sharing them here.
Cheat Code #3 - Leverage Us vs. Them
It isn't uncommon when marketers get together to hear an "us vs. them" story. (Especially for marketers working with engineers.) And every time I hear a marketer talk in an “us vs. them” manner about their own team, I want to scream: "Nooooooooooooo. You're doing it wrong!"
“Us vs. them” is powerful. It can be incredibly effective when focused on a competitor, but completely marginalizing when you do it in-house. Here's why:
When you tell an “us vs. them” story about a competitor, it is focused externally and creates a villain for your collective story. It allows you to cast your company or your client in the role of the hero. The more struggle in the tale, the better, because the harder we have to work to overcome the villain, the more satisfying the story. It's the reason why in the movie,
The Karate Kid they had many scenes to make sure you really loathed Johnny Lawrence and Sensei John Kreese before the final match. After all, it feels better to struggle and win over the bad guys than it is to beat your friend.
These "us vs. them" tales give people identity and focus.They rally and create momentum.
When “us vs. them” stories are told within a team, they are damaging. The stories create "good guys" and "bad guys" internally. This happens whenever engineering talks about sales as if they are just handwavers, or management talks about people on the front line saying "if they would only" or when marketers talk about the rest of their team as if they don't have a clue.
The thing is that you can leverage “us vs. them” to powerful impact. You just have to be aware of whether the stories you tell are focused internally or externally. We all want to be the hero. We have to make sure we align our narrative accordingly.