Is there anyone out there who isn't a world leader?

Posted by John Keller

Quick show of hands: who out there isn't a world leader at something? Anyone? I thought so.

I just love company press releases, I really do. Those safe harbor statements, always a howl, never cease to entertain. Press announcements typically begin something like this ...

... Some such corporation, the greatest company that's ever been, has just introduced something or other that is undeniably the greatest thing since sliced bread. Oh, and I forgot, and the company (the greatest company that's ever been) is the first company (and the only company) to ever do so (or ever will be).

Now I know all you good PR folks out there (the greatest PR folks that have ever been, I acknowledge) get paid more than me, and I fully realize that you deserve it. Still, I feel for you, writing that stuff. It's even more painful to know that most of you are more talented and better writers than I am.

At any rate, my favorite PR-ism lately is "a world leader," which usually in the first couple of sentences -- right there beside "the greatest company that's ever been." I swear, every company out there is a world leader in whatever it does ... not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, I go to sleep easy every knight knowing that all the companies I cover (the greatest companies that have ever been, of course) are all world leaders in what they do.

God, is this a great country, or what?