QR codes are the devil.

When in doubt, refer to this.

Let me guess. Someone in your group just learned from his 9 year old this amazing phenomenon known as QR codes. All you have to do is scan this postage stamp and it'll take you to a web site! Or a picture! Or a message! It's so amazing - it's going to transform everything we do in marketing and we can really give our customers an enhanced experience that will only make them more loyal to our brand.

Come here so I can smack you.

QR codes - in theory - are a good idea. But then again, so is communism. They just don't work. We are in the era of instant gratification and asking someone to download an app to take a picture so they can go to a site is unrealistic. Especially if the genius idea is to send people to a web site. Unless the code is truly taking them to an amazing place with a HUGE carrot (pretty sure the best success of QR codes was a free Lady Gaga song - and even that was so so in success) skip it. Keep in mind how people really behave, not how it'd be so cool because you can track it and theoretically shape their experience.

There is no experience. Because QR codes are stupid.

The Leader Blog

Everytime I get an email touting to be a blog by one of our esteemed leaders of this company, I have to laugh. I picture this leader, poised on a stage, pontificating his or her poignant prose that is sure to be compelling, thoughtful, and powerful life lessons that we can put to use immediately. Lessons they learned in their long journey to their formidable career. After all, we all want to be like them, right? So we should read and aspire to do as they say.

News flash: NO ONE CARES.

Last year I did research that shows that unless the email is from your direct manager, employees don't care. That's right - they just don't give a crap. They throw it away. 

And to make it even more pointless is most of these are written by a communications leader, not the leader him/herself. It's what someone else thinks we should read, which means the opinion we have of our leadership is carefully crafted by someone trained to influence our opinion.

Yesterday I got a leadership blog that called out the guy who wrote it as doing an amazing job. So... in other words, someone wrote a piece for a leader about themselves, encouraging the rest of the company to appreciate and congratulate them for their amazing work. 

You've got to be kidding me. 

Here's the deal: Today's employees and future leaders don't give a shit about your carefully crafted message of inspiration. They care about authenticity. So your 15 tweets in 30 minutes promoting your boss aren't impressing anyone other than maybe that boss, which is a whole different issue.

(I realize the irony in me talking about stupid blogs in the context of a blog, but I'm confident you can follow me on this one. I don't have a communications person writing what I say. Nor am I on the C-level leadership team. So suck it.)

Maybe it's viewed as a perk of the job. Maybe it's narcism. I truly believe the leaders of tomorrow won't tolerate today's standard practice of derived content from their PR team. So let's be real: can the self-serving jibber-jabber and focus on what really matters. #Callinit