As we observe Marin Luther King’s birthday, it’s natural to look at why he deserves a national holiday. Three traits come to mind:
Pioneer
Leadership
Vision
On the cusp of the civil rights movement, he stood out because he was a pioneer. Had he emerged at any other time in history, he might not have gotten the same notice. But because he was one of the recognized early leaders he received more attention.
There is no doubt that he was a leader. His personal charisma and his speaking ability made him a natural leader. And his ability to encourage people to rally around him pointed to his natural leadership.
No one can doubt his vision. He spoke of it often and painted a vision that others could see and follow.
But would Martin Luther King have made a good online business owner in today’s world? I doubt it and here’s why.
As a pioneer he had to find new ways of doing things – expressing thoughts, getting a message out, inspiring people. As an early online business owner, you had to figure out new paths.
Nowadays, the path is clear. We are no longer in the pioneer stage of online business. There is no need to invent new paths. It’s a matter of buckling down and doing the work. For a pioneer like MLK, the work would not have as exciting.
His leadership style also does not fit the online business mode that most people use to start their business. Unless he were to aspire to be one of the startups with venture capital and a team, his personal charisma would have been wasted sitting in his home office.
After all for most online business owners, there is a lot of work behind the scenes. Your ability to inspire others is expressed through webinars and video sales letters and in that regard his strong voice and inspirational tone would have been helpful. But for most of us, just being ourselves is more than sufficient.
Finally, any business can benefit from vision. Your vision may be as big as MLK’s. But in your own online business you are the one who not only creates the vision – but you also make it happen. The civil rights movement benefited from his vision, but it took a lot of people who were willing to work unnoticed to make it happen.
So what do YOU think – would Martin Luther King have been a good online business owner? Add your comments below.
Great post, Jeanette. I agree completely.
Does this mean that my charisma is being wasted at home? Perhaps I need more of an audience than just my dogs and neighbors.
LOL. Connie I think you’re out and about enough that your charisma comes through! Whether on a teleseminar or webinar or at a live event, people definitely recognize your charm.
Really gave us some food for thought, Jeanette, and a different slant. I disagree. I think he could have made a good online business owner. Yes, a lot of his strength was his charisma, but I think it would have come through in his writing. In fact, i can think of several successful business owners now who remind me of MLK. And a lot of online businesses are based on the person’s presence on the stage, seminars, etc.
Good points, Patsy. I hadn’t thought about his writing. And I agree – while most of us start out humbly in our home office, many of us do go on to speak on stage to build our business. Wow – can you imagine what a following he could have built in the online world?
As ever, Jeanette, I love how you’ve thought about this. And I concur.
While in totally different leagues from MLK, thinking I had to squish my here-to-fore animated public presence to fit a tiny computer screen and its technology seemed to have diminished me for while. Thank goodness I’m on the road to recovery, mostly by not letting the internet tail wag my message dog. (See, now that’s 2 of us yakking about dogs here!)
While King may not have suffered such a Fate, I don’t see his successors doing alot directly online. They still operate mostly in person.
As Marshal McLuen said, “The medium is the message.” For King, while his powerful voice and personal charm along with his resounding and controversial message live on today, I suspect he, too, would have felt somewhat restricted by certain IM trends. This may be changing as video becomes more prevalent , real time and streamlined.
It pays to remember that Google and its ilk are designed as ‘superficial’ information search engines- portals to specific factoids at high speed. So different to what and how we Boomers were taught to process information, but mighty convenient if that’s your preferred style of dealing with information.
Meanwhile, we all have DREAMS! So let us go forth and share them!
A thoughtful response, as always, Donna. Interesting that you felt squished by the medium – while others feel expanded by it. That’s what makes people so interesting. Just when we think we all think alike, we see our differences.
And I agree – it seems that much of the work being done in the equal rights movement is person-to-person. Is that a matter of habit, culture, preference or have they “tested” it (as we would a marketing campaign) and found that the personal interaction is critical. Hmmm.
Interesting question posed here. I guess we will never know the actual answer; however, I do think that Martin Luther King, Jr. had some leadership attributes that would have served well in this new world of 2012.
Also, just as he adapted Gandhi’s philosophy for his approach to change, I imagine that he would have demonstrated the flexibility to acquire new social media skills and apply them to the process of change.
In his memory, wrote a poem on my blog at http://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html#4325558453245537571
Patricia – loved your photo and poem. Thanks for sharing!
Jeanette,
I completely agree. Having spent time with Donna last year, I totally understand her thoughts about being diminished by technology. I, however, feel empowered by technology. I have so much to say, I get stuck sometimes in knowing where to focus. But, when I do hit a groove, it’s technology that gives me a voice and I love that. I have a new opportunity in 2012 that has to do with communications and the internet, and I’ll be telling you more about it soon. I’m leaving for Dallas this week to spend some time on this new project, and it’s very exciting. So, Texas, here I come! (Of course there are three little boys in Texas that make it extra exciting!) As always, you are a shining light, and I appreciate you.
I love the idea that technology expands you. I’ve seen that in your business as you’ve grown and blossomed. Can’t wait to hear about your new venture!
I think you make some good points, Jeanette — and I also think Dr. King would have been great at anything he set his mind to. :^)
I would have to agree with you, Ray. Given his vision and drive, he would have been. The world is better off for his having been here.
Obama seems to have put together a team good enough to become president, and the internet was a major tool they used to accomplish that. I think King might have been able to think of a few “issues” to use the internet to “overcome” even now.
Interesting. I may have been thinking too small – in terms of a “small” online business. He would probably have mobilized his followers and grown the group through technology. Imagine how many people he could have reached – although he’s done really well over the past years, even after his death. Technology has kept the dream alive – even on YouTube.
I believe King’s success would have been up to him to decide which way he would have wanted to go on the internet. He could have held webinars and seminars online and gotten the message out to additional audiences. Perhaps he could have monetized his niche by using Facebook to promote his message and his books.
Perhaps some of the information could have gone viral as it was tweeted around the ‘net.
Imagine who would have been an inspirational interviewer and all the additional things we could have learned about the man and his dream.
Yes, our use of and the availability of the media has changed drastically. Prior to CNN and 24-hour news coverage, we depended on a single newscast on our local channel for our news. I can’t imagine how much more we would have heard about Dr. King and all of his activities with our current capabilities!
His main problem, was he trusted people to much!
Jeanette,
As MLK is a huge hero of mine, I was intrigued by your post. I think that Dr. King would have used whatever tool he could to accomplish his mission. (Actually, his mission was accomplished, although not in the hearts of everyone, just most.)
Would this have made him an online “businessman?” I’m not that sure he was even interested in business. He seems like you, me, and others – what I often call “service personnel” who use money only as a means of helping. It is, after all, the energy of our society. Still, that’s not the end, only the means.
I like your perspective of “service personnel” – and thank you for including me in that description.
Dear Jeanette,
Interesting that my fun, word origin calendar for today is the word “Luther”. My calendar says the personal name “Luther” derives from the German LIUT, “people” and HARI, “army”, meaning something like, “the leader of an army of people”. Apropos, don’t you think?
I heard Martin Luther King speak one time. He was absolutely magnetic. I believe his leadership, VISION, and charisma would have come through in social marketing. Because of his situation and the period in history, he had to be extremely creative to get his message out. I believe he so believed in his message that he would have been just just as creative and determined to get his message out that he would have found his way online.
I love the “coincidence” of Luther being the word of the day – and what a perfect meaning for Dr. King. Wonder if his parents realized that when they named him?
What a treat it must have been to hear him speak. I’ve only seen the recordings.
Jeanette,
Thank you for proposing and addressing a timely and interesting question. I am inclined to agree with you. I would differ in one slight area based on one of your observations.
Obviously, I do not think Dr King would be best left behind a desk and behind the scenes. Yet, I would argue that online business is still in its infancy and Dr King would possibly be a visionary that pushed the market toward the ‘next big thing’ and the ‘next best thing’. Vision casters advance society because they believe that something better lies ahead. At times they are not fully appreciated because they are so far ahead of the rest of us.
I think for that reason – he just have been a market leader online.
Thanks for all you do.
Jeremy
Jeremy – some good insights there. I think y’all have turned me around and I’ll have to conclude that Dr. Martin Luther King might not have been the same type of online business owner that I envisioned, but he would have been a leader, regardless of what he chose to do. Thanks for your contribution!
Jeanette