What Lessons Can Brands Learn From The Brazilian World Cup fail?

Truman Capote once said “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavour.” Spare a thought for the poor Brazilian footballers. A mediocre team capsized on an ocean of hype. Into the darkness they go, licking their wounds after one of the greatest sporting humiliations. Like Icarus who dared to fly too near the sun, on wings of feathers and wax.

How can they recover from this? The mighty Brazil, beaten so devastatingly and completely in front of the world. It was painful to watch from a distance but for a nation so invested in the World Cup and their glittering football heritage it was unbearable. This was the most tweeted about sporting event in history – with 35.6 million tweets posted during the agonising 90 minutes. There was quite literally nowhere to hide.

The only thing the Brazilians can do now is be stoic. It was one night after all. The old philosophers taught us that stocism had one practical ambition: to teach people how to be calm and brave in the face of overwhelming anxiety and pain. It’s a philosophy we could all do with remembering.

The Brazilians will need to swallow the headlines and resist any urge to deliver or accept any messages of hope.The stoics believed that to regain calm and equ librium it was necessary to systematically crush every last vestige of hope, and become courageously at home with the very worst of situations. It’s not the end of the world.Just the end of a nation’s hopes. In the end they will cope.

As for the riots, the Stoics thought anger a dangerous indulgence, for in their analysis, anger is caused by one thing: an incorrect picture of existence – a violent collision of hope and reality.

Anyway, there is a point.

The country of the beautiful game is faced now with an overwhelming humiliation, though if perspective speaks for a moment, perhaps winning was always too much to ask amid the pressure, the skepticism and scrutiny and a population of 200 million all watching and coaching from the sideline.

What is required now is the courage to change and re-think.Brazil were perhaps guilty of being bewitched by hubris, and, in a digitalculture forcing constant disruption where the crowd is still connected to a fading Brazilian brilliance. The things we fall in love with are constantly challenged but it is hard for an audience with an emotional connection to have to face the inevitable.

Brands can learn from this.

Success is sometimes a curse. To keep on top, businesses must face a consistently shifting landscape and be prepared to respond with equal deft. A strong founding story is a must, but so is the ability to survive the peaks and troughs with perspective and humility.

When Germany suffered a crushing defeat at the hand of England in 2001, they went back to the drawing board, re-grouped and re-strategised with their eye towards a fixed target. Furthermore, they never, ever lost belief and that is the secret to their success.

Stoicism is nothing less than an elegant and intelligent dress rehearsal for catastrophe. And if we can be prepared for that, we can survive
anything.

Take note of the wise aphorism from Jim Butcher:
“Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar”