‘This is beyond awful.’

‘ [...] language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.’

This is a tweet by sporting hero, Gary Lineker that sparked a bit of scandal here in the UK. 

For those of you who don't know, Gary Lineker is a former professional footballer turned sports pundit who's been working with the BBC for several years. He also knows a lot about eating Walkers crisps (a.k.a Lays chips to you lot on the other side of the pond).

Here’s the original tweet…

Now, the Beeb and its employee’s are supposed to be impartial. This tweet is far from it.  

Hence all the hullabaloo. They had ‘talks’. They had a media field day. They had politicians chiming in. They dug up the past... 

But there’s one thing they didn’t do…

And that was to get Gary to change his stance. He didn’t delete the tweet. He didn’t back down. He didn’t apologise.

In fact, after causing such a ruckus, it was the BBC who apologised to Gary. 

It was amazing to watch it all play out. 

Loads of people came out in support of him...If he’d have backed down...If he’d have compromised...He’d have lost a lot of respect. 

But Gary played his cards well and it bolstered his status and the Lineker brand. 

This shows the power of taking a stand on an issue to rally loyal fans to your side.

Now, you may be thinking that the controversy has to be big or political for it to have an impact, but that's not true. 

It could be something as simple as whether you like Marmite or not or whether you believe in using generative AI in writing. The point is that taking a stand on something you believe in can help build your brand, strengthen your relationship with fans, and make you stand out from the crowd.

Don't be afraid to take a stand. 

Angie

p.s. Apologies for my absence in your inbox. I've been a bit burnt out with the launch of health-tech company. We're nearly there now though. A lot words have been written 🥵 

I'm dyslexic. If you spot any typos or run on sentences or dangling thingamies, please be kind and let it slide. While I do my best, I can't afford to have everything I write edited.

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