Who is Bill Cosby?

Is he America's funniest dad?

Perhaps he is a purveyor of fine puddings and delicious gelatin-based desserts? Or is he someone with decidedly more sinister secrets?

We don’t know the answer any more than you do, and we watch with resigned sadness as it plays out - we hope - to some kind of resolution. But this unfolding story illustrates a vital point, one we think is applicable to our personal lives, business lives, indeed to all of life, writ large.

Because the truth is, whether we’re talking about Bill Cosby, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton or Billy the Kid, we have to realize that a public persona, or any persona, tells only part of the story.

Lives are complex. That seems simplistic, but it’s actually a truth so profound that it’s worthwhile to frequently ponder all its implications.

Think of it this way — what person, other than yourself, knows you the best? It could be your spouse, your closest friend, or very possibly the church minister or bartender down the block. Whoever they are, and however well they may know you, we feel safe to pronounce: They don’t know you completely. We don’t accuse you of hiding some part of yourself, anymore than we accuse ourselves of the same (this phenomenon is entirely universal). It’s just that we’re all different people, in ways subtle and distinct, depending on circumstances and surroundings.

If this is a truth we can stipulate for people, can we not also apply it to organizations? It seems to us that the complexity must compound when we’re looking at larger pools of personalities.

So — was Enron all bad? Is the Humane Society all good? We’re not taking any stances here (we’re willing to flirt with controversy, but please excuse us from full-on macking)...we’re just posing questions.

Whatever feelings you might have about individuals, organizations, corporations, or even your friendly neighborhood brand-management experts it may behoove you to remember that those feelings were born of isolated experiences. You might remind yourself they probably only represent one small part of a very complex picture.

The C4:
1. One hundred percent good and one hundred percent evil are caricatures. They’re the stuff of comic books and not-very-convincing fiction.

2. Real life is more about subtleties of gray, and of complex ranges of motivation and action. Might not be as satisfying from a dramatic standpoint, but mundane human existence rarely is.

3. It’s well-nigh impossible, then, for any of us to completely, intimately know the personalities of others. We think this is inescapable on an individual basis, and even more so with large groups.

4. Impressions, feelings, even the things you’re sure you know about the people around you and the the businesses you work with might just be incomplete. We’re not saying your impressions aren't valid. They surely are. We’re just hoping you can recognize that other impressions and contrasting truths could be just as valid in their own right.

Let Your Fingers Do The Walking

...and clicking.

First, a couple disclaimers here: Yes, we know the Yellow Pages have never really gone away. Just like you, we receive ours every year — they clutter the porch then plop into the recycling bin, often without ever being opened.

Second: No, we don’t want to wind back the clock. We love today’s technology, and we’re awed by the fact that in lieu of letting our fingers do the walking, we can type and click and within seconds find the businesses we’re looking for, get a synopsis of consumer reviews, and map out detailed driving directions.

But — the Yellow Pages! From a marketing perspective there are things about the Yellow Pages unmatched by anything online.

For instance, say you’re a plumber. Ask yourself, what is it you offer your customers? You might answer: fast service, free estimates, and satisfaction guaranteed. Great.

Now flip open the Yellow Pages, and see what every other plumber in the city offers. It’s a quick reality check, and a prod to get busy differentiating yourself from the competition.

Nowhere else can you get such targeted business intelligence about your local competition, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they’re saying to lure away your customers. It helps you hone your message and define your Unique Selling Proposition — that pithy description of why you and you alone should be their provider of choice.

So as long as businesses are still advertising in the Yellow Pages (and they are), so should you. And you should be using it as a resource, too.

In fact, go get it right now. It’s probably still there, waiting on your porch.

The C4:

1. The Yellow Pages — not yellowpages.com but the old fashioned annual phone directory. It’s become something between an anachronism and a punchline by now. But it still exists, businesses still advertise in it, and consumers (much fewer but still notable numbers) still consult it.
2. For local businesses, it’s an intelligence tool. Within a few conveniently alphabetical pages you can check out all your competition, and see what they’re saying they offer.
3. And that should influence what you say. To win over customers you differentiate yourself. Let your Yellow Pages perusing help you figure out what you offer that they don’t. Then let that become your Unique Selling Proposition.
4. Market accordingly. Build a marketing communications strategy around your uniqueness. Emphasize it in all your consumer-oriented messaging. And yes, that includes your ad in the Yellow Pages.