Chris Brogan recently shared a post titled\u00a0no enemies. And that\u2019s a nice thought. It makes me feel fuzzy and warm inside. Except it is hardly the world we live in, and in fact I would say the opposite: if you\u2019re not making enemies, you\u2019re doing it wrong.<\/p>\n
Last year I wrote a post about the fact that\u00a0you\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0enemies\u00a0and explained how they can light a fire\u00a0beneath\u00a0your digital marketing.\u00a0I think the reasons outlined in that post still hold true today.<\/p>\n As Robert Greene stated in the\u00a048 laws of power:<\/p>\n Law 2: Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies<\/strong><\/p>\n Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy.\u00a0\u00a0They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies.\u00a0\u00a0If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This law is crystal clear when you look at some of today\u2019s most popular brands of media.<\/p>\n Think about it, on the web enemies are a shortcut to attention. The strategies of some of most popular sites can actually be defined in one word: conflict. There is a reason TechCrunch, Gawker and similar publications have risen to meteoric heights of popularity. They\u2019re not making any friends by telling stories through a polarizing lens. That\u2019s not their purpose. And in a world where\u00a0every company is a media company, the approach most potent for you may not be so different.<\/p>\n Yet most business and people shy away from this. They\u2019re afraid of what others might think: their bosses, peers or industry. But those things do not pose relevance for a leader who\u00a0fears nothing.<\/p>\n As strategists we can\u2019t be closed off to a certain approach because it carries certain risks or taboos. Just the opposite, we need to be open to any and all possibilities.<\/p>\n If you are truly passionate about your category\u00a0your opinions\u00a0about it will naturally be strong. This will run counter to what others think and that\u2019s perfectly OK. Don\u2019t shy away from it. I\u2019m not saying to be\u00a0disingenuous\u00a0or not true to yourself. I\u2019m not saying to lie or make things up. I\u2019m saying to let your raw\u00a0passion\u00a0for what you do shine, whether that runs in opposition to others or not.<\/p>\n If your communications involve walking on eggshells and you\u2019re afraid you might make an enemy or upset someone, you\u2019re not really embracing the social web. Making enemies is a natural byproduct of being a part of our society, and thus if you\u2019re truly being social this will happen on the web. If not, how much\u00a0personality\u00a0are you really injecting?<\/p>\n This is not a negative thing so don\u2019t take it as such. The web and the world itself involve balance: between enemies and allies, friends and strangers, supporters and defectors. We need enemies to push us to the next level, challenge us and cause us to think and improve. They give us perspective and remind us of our purpose.<\/p>\n Embrace the full range of emotion and possibility in your content and interactions even if it might involve creating an enemy. Letting that stop you inevitably means falling short of your potential as a creative.<\/p>\n Quick end note \/ disclaimer: I don\u2019t mean to make enemies randomly or simply piss people off and damage your reputation. I mean to go about it as a planned, strategic measure. If you do approach this without thought you\u2019re going to create a much worse situation<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chris Brogan recently shared a post titled\u00a0no enemies. And that\u2019s a nice thought. It makes me feel fuzzy and warm … <\/p>\n