Two recent events have forced me to explore the importance of legacy and the mark we all leave in the world. One was the sad passing of my mother who instilled in me the values and characteristics that have clearly defined my personal brand. Her legacy still lives strong.
The other being the ‘official’ crash and burn of my personal hero Lance Armstrong who until recently motivated me to be a better cyclist and fight for what I believe in. Will his legacy be as useless as a punctured tire?
You might be thinking how can I possibly use the physical death of a family member in same way as the symbolic death of a role model? Obviously the emotional impact is significantly different, but the question of how any one of us leaves our mark is the same.
Steve Jobs talked about ‘making a dent in the universe’ and my friend Todd Nielsen took this one step further in his June Blogathon post by saying “Screw dents I’m aiming for an immense gaping hole!”
Lance’s Gaping Hole
One can say that Lance Armstrong made an immense gaping hole in the world with his winning fight against cancer followed by his 7 consecutive Tour de France titles.
But his titles are now officially gone, his Livestrong foundation no longer wants him, his sponsors have pulled the plug, lawsuits are pending, and he has lost the admiration of so many, like me, who have trusted and believed in him. Lance’s gaping hole is now an immense puncture in his personal brand.
In August I wrote a post in support of Lance and his decision not to contest the doping allegations from USADA. I gave 4 reasons why I thought his brand would still live strong. I am now forced to hang my head and question this post as my admiration and respect for him has wavered. I can no longer say he is my role model or hero.
No doubt his brand is now a punctured tire. Yet, believe it or not, Lance can still salvage his brand. Most punctures can actually be repaired.
But…No Support Vehicle This Time Lance!
As with all professional cyclists, when it comes to flat tires in a race Lance has been spoiled. When a racer gets a flat, the team support vehicle is there to quickly throw a whole new wheel on the bicycle. Every second counts. There is no time to repair a puncture. Any damage or malfunction is overlooked and something new takes its place.
Lance no longer has a support vehicle to ride up and toss him a new wheel. He cannot jump back on the bike so easily this time. He has a choice: Hang up the bike and ignore the damage, or take the initiative to fix the puncture himself.
Can Lance Repair His ‘Flat Tire Brand’?
I often use the “flat tire” analogy in my Personal Brand Mechanics interview series. Each ‘mechanic’ I interview is given this final question to answer:
“Imagine someone’s personal brand has a flat tire. What advice would you give this person to fix this flat so that their brand is ready to ride again?”
Lessons from the past have shown that a damaged reputation can be repaired and even reinvented. Do Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, and Marion Jones ring a bell? By admitting wrong doing and facing the repercussions each of these athletes have been able to repair their personal brand punctures. I wonder what advice my Mom would have offered Lance? Hmmm…..
Can Lance repair his flat tire brand? What advice would you offer Lance now? Share your comments below.
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You bring up a very sad subject. In the end, the mark we leave on the world is our own integrity. First time visitor from the UBC. Nice blog!
Martha Giffen recently posted..Secret Fears That Will Kill Your Business
Absolutely Martha. Our integrity is core to our personal brand. Thanks for stopping by and I am glad you like the blog.
I guess I have a different take on the Lance brand and maybe that’s because I have different expectations of people like Lance. I don’t consider Lance my personal hero so I don’t have much invested in his downfall. I admired his work at the time. I still think what he did with cancer awareness and support are huge, even to this day. But I don’t have much riding on the mistakes he made. And he made some big ones.
The difference between Lance and some one like Tiger Woods or Michael Vick is that Lance is a retired athlete while Tiger and Michael continue to play. For them, they do their apology, pay their penance, then move on. For a retired athlete like Lance who built his second career on people believing in his big lies, that’s almost too much for some people to take. I write this only a few days after donating to Livestrong on the anniversary of their founding because I believe in what they do and what Lance has done doesn’t take away from their work.
One final thought: Lance didn’t just puncture his tire, he crashed his bike. I don’t think there’s any way he can repair the damage. So my take is that he’ll continue to do the work of Livestrong, but not play as visible a role as he has in the past.
Hey Corey! Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate your viewpoint. I do not deny that what he had done outside of cycling is a HUGE part of his overall brand. But keep in mind from a branding perspective he built his brand and made millions off of his brand attribute of “survivor”. One can say that doping was a method of surviving in a sport that has been marred by it, BUT Lance built is brand on surviving one of the biggest killers in the world NOT by cheating but by truly surviving. I still have faith he can repair his brand but it will start with his own desire to fix it and not waiting for that support vehicle to throw a patch over it.
Good to hear from you Corey! Ride on!
Dear Peter you wrote: “I can no longer say he is my role model or hero”. In other words: the trust is gone …..
I strongly believe that people should get a second chance to prove that they learn from their mistakes. The best to do that is likely in the profession you excelled. However I am afraid that this is not possible anymore. What Armstrong has done with Livestrong is amazing, however I believe it was for a great part based on …… trust.
His fundraising success was for a great deal based in the fact that people liked to be associated to his success and cause. However at this moment most people don’t want to be associated to someone who turns out to have been cheating, you don’t want to be associated to someone you can’t trust!
In the Netherlands we say Trust comes on foot, but leaves on a horse. So likely Armstrong should take time and acknowledge that he disappointed a lot of people. He should act humble and share his intentions for the coming years. For example to prove that he still is someone who is able to give hope & bring people together for a good cause.
In the New York Times there is an interesting debate: Does a Fallen Leader Crush His Cause? http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/10/23/lance-armstrong-leadership-and-branding
Best regards,
Alexander Crépin
You are 100% right Alexander that my trust is gone and it is like a punch to the gutt! Trust is the key and when you break that trust is is very hard to get back. BUT, having said that it is possible to gain that trust back even if it takes eating A LOT of humble pie. Lance has done a lot for his foundation but one of his arguments that I mentioned in my reasons to support lance in my August post was that as a cancer survivor why would he inject his body with an substance to perform better? He has yet to admit it himself but given what has come out my trust for someone who was a huge inspiration even beyond cycling has been derailed. Sad to say but true. Thanks so much for your comment.