Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) was a great marketer. Shallow assessment? Offensive, even? The recent experience of one who followed in his footsteps may illustrate my point.

Former Washington Mayor at U-M
Adrian Fenty, former mayor of our nation’s Capitol and featured speaker at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business on Martin Luther King Day this year, was once described as a “reform-minded problem solver.*” So I found it ironic that Fenty began his speech by alluding to the election he lost after a single term in office. Maybe he felt that his audience would be wondering why the D.C. voters gave him only four years to make good on his campaign promise of reforming the schools.

Fortunately, Fenty also described his approach to fulfilling his promise, how he consulted with the mayors of New York City and Chicago, and ultimately selected a Chancellor, Michelle Rhee,who warned him that if he wanted to be re-elected he shouldn’t hire her. By “taking control of the school system,” Fenty and Rhee brought about dramatic improvement in graduation rates, test scores and the budget in just four years—an impressive record, but apparently something was missing.

Looking Back from the Mountaintop
There in the distinguished Ross School on MLK Day, Fenty called up King’s “Mountaintop” speech, delivered just before his assassination.

This speech communicated to the depths of people’s hearts. How? King knew his people and their sufferings. He had suffered with them. King was comparing his (and their) experience to that of Moses and the enslaved Israelites in the Bible, where Moses led the people out of Egypt to the Promised Land which he viewed from a mountaintop, but did not enter with them.  

Looking back we hear King imploring the people, “We need all of you.”

 Fenty’s speech set me thinking. First, I care about kids and their education. I have five grown children, a grandchild and two degrees in education. I have spent much time in the schools, both as an educator and a parent volunteer. As a company we at MOVE have done projects for higher-ed institutions like the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Spring Arbor University and Cornerstone University. Lastly, as a business owner I am keenly aware of the symbiotic relationship between school success and business success.

The marketing business is really about helping businesses build relationships. Businesses strive to satisfy customers’ needs. To succeed they have to do it again and again. That takes a relationship in which the customer feels an emotional connection, a loyalty to a brand. When King cried out, “We need all of you!” he was building an emotional connection, a loyalty within the people.

In business and in politics, you can’t leapfrog that connection. Perhaps that’s where Fenty and Rhee misjudged. Perhaps they felt that if they took the time to put relationships first, they would lose the opportunity to get the job done.

I’m fortunate to have had the chance to celebrate MLK Day by hearing Fenty’s story and I commend his efforts on behalf of justice in education. I hope that all adult Americans will take some time to reflect on how they can build relationships with the next generation. 

*The Huffington Post