Every strength is also a weakness and every weakness is also a strength.
That’s one of my core beliefs and there’s an episode of Mad Men that illustrates how this concept can be brought to life.
When Don Draper’s ad agency loses Lucky Strike cigarettes (its biggest client by far), it sends the company to the brink of collapse.
In a “desperate” move, Don publishes an ad in the New York Times which is basically a letter suggesting it was their choice to stop working with cigarette companies.
It’s a way to change the narrative.
But more importantly, it’s an example of how to turn a weakness (we got fired by a cigarette company) into a strength (we stand for something important).
Sure enough, the move paid off with new business leads like the American Cancer Society who saw the agency’s “weakness” as a strength.
Yes, I know this is a fictional show and it’s all make believe.
But…
That doesn’t mean the lesson isn’t “true.”
Every disadvantage you have can be played to your advantage if you present it the right way.
A side note to this story:
The ad in Mad Men was inspired by a real ad that was published by the tobacco industry that had the opposite take.
The headline was “Why We’re Dropping The New York Times” and it was about how they would no longer buy ads in the paper because the Times was covering scientific research proving cigarettes were bad for you.
Ironic, huh?
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