Lessons from a failed campaign.

It was nomination time for the next year’s Head Students and Prefects at Churchlands Senior High School. 

My sister Kylee had been Head Girl two years before me. No doubt assuming we were cut from the same cloth, a few teachers hinted that I should nominate too. 

I wasn’t sure: Flagpole Duty in the quadrangle seemed like a bore, and I was more focused on studying to get into uni than organising the school ball. But I had watched Kylee use the Head Girl badge as a golden ticket to get out of anything unpleasant. Athletics carnival? Double Maths?

“Head Girl duties.”

A free pass. So I nominated.

Then, with a week of campaigning and voting left and before the official announcement at assembly, I overheard two teachers talking...

While eavesdropping, I learned that, as it stood, I wasn’t in the running.

Not Head Girl. Not even a mere prefect.

How embarrassing.

Did I ramp up my efforts in that last week? Did I develop a better pitch for the final stint? No.  There was only one thing to do: Get ahead of the Story. For the next week, I casually told anyone within reach that I had “withdrawn.”

“I went down to the front office and told them I was out.”

“I really don’t know why I let them pressure me into it.”

“I just realised I didn’t want to do it.”

 

Bold faced lies. Pretending I hadn’t wanted the opportunity felt easier than admitting I’d put myself forward and not been chosen. These days, I am less fragile and able to move towards growth in those kinds of moments. But I do understand that marketing can feel like that.

You put your idea, your name, your business or service out there. And wait.

You can feel a little exposed. You hope the market responds well. And if not, it’s hard not to feel   the sting of rejection. 

The truth is, marketing requires a little courage. 

You must put something into the market before you know how it will land. But unlike the 17-year-old me, you don’t need to protect your pride or rewrite the story. When the market speaks, we need to listen: and respond. We dust ourselves off, test, measure, adjust, and refine. 

And get up again.

Kind regards,