Awesome, awesome post… very well-written and clever and anytime someone can weave in an 80s fictional hero into a post, I’m there…

Reading this post I am reminded of a classic line from one of the Star Trek movies from, when else, the 80’s

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

That’s how a MacGyver sees it.

A MacGruber of course sees it the other way around.

Again, great post Michelle!

All the best,
Steve O

The thing is I think we all have a little MacGruber in us. It can be hard when we have deadlines and clients to stay focused and on task. There are times when the easy way out becomes very tempting. Especially when you have a client looking for the flash and quick-fix of the MacGruber style.

So thank you for keeping it honest. Bookmarking this post for future use.

PS. I like my cape ;)

If you’ve missed the cultural phenomenon that is MacGyver, you’re missing out. (Grab it on Netflix!) I love MacGyver and writing this post has made me wish there were some reruns on.

To answer your question… I think it’s up to the people around a MacGruber marketer to use logic as a way to reach them. When someone (whether it’s an actual marketer, a principal, or a team member) starts coming up with ideas or taking actions that lack strategy, focus, or accountability for long-term objectives, necessity dictates that you respond to their plans and explain the logical progression of what will happen if it’s implemented.

The thing about MacGrubers is that they want to look smart and gain respect, so if you educate them in a tactful, respectful way they’ll be more likely to adopt your line of thinking. And learn. Of course educating someone to use better practices is never as easy as that, but it’s a start!

From what I’ve seen, most practicing marketers who might qualify as a MacGruber aren’t 100% MacGruber. They probably also do some things right. Where they fail is that they probably haven’t had many opportunities to be accountable, so they don’t have the experience, perspective, and growth that would help them realize they’re being inefficient or counter-productive.

In defense of MacGrubers, a lot of the trouble they get into comes from being very reactive. That reactiveness has probably served them well in the past, but the more complicated the issues become and the higher the stakes and expectations, the less effective that reactivity is. Being an energetic “dynamo” early in their career might have gotten a MacGruber into the role, but their energy and ideas eventually work against them if they become a crutch that make up for lack of discipline, planning, and accountability.

Although I don’t get the cultural references from this side of the Atlantic, I picked up what you’re saying with a bit of help from Google. You’re spot on, but how do you sit down the MacGrubers of this world and get them to breathe, take a moment and listen. CVH’s comment was a good start, but I’m curious on your take about this. Do you step in or do you just abandon them to their own fate?

Just getting people to listen – and especially the MacGrubers of this world – can be a job in itself.

Seriously, though, I know the moment you speak of… when you see someone who thinks he knows what he’s doing, and from your professional perspective you also see that really he’s just on the way to screwing it up, monumentally.

When it comes to stepping in to help right the situation, what matters most is acting on the insights you unfold in the section on ROI: “And when he feels busy, he feels valuable. … Being in the middle of everything happening is gold.”

Approaching the MacGruber with respect and empathy, helping him stay in the middle (or at least feel in the middle) and helping him take relevant, effective action (gently guided by you), can get him closer to effectiveness.

Alternatively, you can give him his own role of duct tape and hope for the best.
cvh