Do As I Say… Not As I Do

(Protecting the Guilty… because hypocrisy deserves at least a little privacy.)

Every so often I scroll through social media and see a post that makes me pause.
Not because it’s brilliant.
Not because it’s insightful.
But because it’s unintentionally hilarious.

Recently I came across a “thought leadership” post from someone explaining why it’s stupid to unfriend people you disagree with.

Their reasoning?
👉 “They might eventually buy from you.”

Now on the surface, that sounds like clever marketing advice.
Stay connected.
Keep the door open.
Play the long game.

There’s just one small problem.

This same individual had unfriended me months earlier.

And that’s when it hit me…
A lot of what passes for marketing wisdom today isn’t rooted in principle.
It’s rooted in performance.

The Performance of Authority

Social media has created a strange stage where people feel compelled to sound strategic even when they’re behaving emotionally.

They’ll post about patience…
while quietly burning bridges.

They’ll talk about relationship marketing…
while curating their feed like a gated community.

They’ll preach long-term thinking…
while reacting in short-term ego bursts.

Why?

Because optics matter more than consistency in the digital world.

If you can appear wise…
you don’t actually have to be wise.

Transactional Thinking Disguised as Strategy

The real message behind posts like that isn’t about connection.
It’s about conversion.

“Stay connected because they might buy.”

Not because they’re interesting.
Not because you respect their perspective.
Not because you value diverse viewpoints.

But because they represent potential revenue.

That’s not relationship marketing.
That’s prospect hoarding.

And people can feel the difference.

When every connection is viewed through a transactional lens,
authenticity quietly exits the room.

Ego Is Still the Hidden Algorithm

Let’s be honest.
Most unfriending, blocking, or distancing decisions aren’t strategic.
They’re emotional.

Someone challenges your viewpoint.
Someone doesn’t validate your authority.
Someone disrupts the narrative you’re trying to build.

Click. Gone.

Then later…
a polished post appears explaining why others shouldn’t do exactly what you just did.

It’s not malicious.
It’s human nature wrapped in personal branding.

But that doesn’t make it less transparent.

Consistency Is the Real Authority

True authority isn’t built through clever posts.
It’s built through consistent behavior.

If you believe in relationship-driven marketing…
live it.

If you believe in long-term positioning…
practice it when it’s inconvenient.

If you believe people matter more than transactions…
show that in how you handle disagreement.

Because audiences are smarter than many “experts” give them credit for.
They may not call out hypocrisy publicly…
but they absolutely notice it privately.

And trust erodes quietly.

The Hidden Gift of Hypocrisy

Here’s the upside.
Moments like this provide clarity.

They reveal who is performing strategy…
and who is actually living it.

They show you whose advice is rooted in experience…
and whose advice is rooted in engagement metrics.

Most importantly, they help you refine your own philosophy.

For me, the lesson is simple:

I’d rather build a smaller circle of genuine connections
than maintain a massive audience built on conditional tolerance.

Because real business…
real referrals…
real legacy…

comes from people who respect you even when they disagree with you.

Not from people who keep you around just in case you might swipe a credit card someday.

And if that means occasionally being unfriended by someone who later posts about the importance of staying connected…

Well…

That’s not rejection.
That’s market research.