Be forewarned: a touch lengthy.

Watching Brené Brown’s 60 Minutes interview last week, I was reminded of some of the misgivings I’ve previously had about her: the anecdotal winning out over the scientific; the pre-emptive lashings-out at critics “not in the arena;” the sketchy speaking engagements at the likes of the World Domination Summit, run by pop-psych multi-level marketer Chris Guillebeau. I could go on.

But really, I was first and foremost reminded of Brown’s curious ties to Lululemon and its owner, Chip Wilson -- perhaps Landmark’s biggest spokesperson. Everyone here in Canada knows someone who works or has worked for Lululemon, and that in order to work there one is strongly encouraged to (i.e. must) participate in Landmark and read Brené Brown, among others.

Fine, so she’s the recommended/mandatory reading, you say. So what? Well, within that very same reading (“Daring Greatly”) Brown just so happens to single out Lulu for praise:

Quote

Another great example of the power of vulnerability -- this time in a corporation -- is the leadership approach taken by Lululemon’s CEO, Christine Day. In a video interview with CNN Money, Day explained that she was once a very bright, smart executive who “majored in being right.” Her transformation came when she realized that getting people to engage and take ownership wasn’t about “the telling” but about letting them come into the idea in a purpose-led way, and that her job was creating the space for others to perform. She characterized this change as the shift from “having the best idea or problem solving” to “being the best leader of people.” The shift she described is the shift from controlling to engaging with vulnerability -- taking risks and cultivating trust. And while vulnerability can sometimes make us feel powerless, her shift was a total power move. Day has increased the number of stores from 71 to 174, while total revenue has grown from $297 million to almost $1 billion, and Lululemon’s stock is up about 300 percent since its 2007 IPO.

There’s no way Brown was unaware of Lululemon’s Landmark affiliation –- a co-founder of Landmark, Rhoda Pitcher, had at that point been on the Lulu board since 2005, and Christine Day herself had admitted to the affliliaton in the media in 2009, years before Brown’s “Daring Greatly” came out:

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“We feel like Landmark is a tool,” says Day, a 20-year Starbucks veteran who has attended Landmark training. “It’s created a culture of accountability.” On its Web site, Lululemon says the training program has been “such a success that the Lululemon people have created a life for themselves that most people could only dream of.”
https://www.fastcompany.com/1208950/lululemons-cult-of-selling

Additionally, according to Brené Brown’s own C.V., she even did a “community engagement” speaking gig at Lululemon's HQ in Vancouver in 2012 before her book came out (https://www.uh.edu/socialwork/_docs/faculty-CVs/BrenéBrown_CV.pdf). This is to reiterate: She surely knew what the company was about.

Christine Day later left Lulu after Chip Wilson’s various public faux pas, and Chip Wilson’s sister-in-law, Susan Conrad of Lightyear Leadership, seemingly became the main enforcer of the Landmark ethos via her “Director of Possibility” role. Regardless of the leadership changes, Chip Wilson and his company at large continue to make it a priority to promote Brené Brown:

Chip Wilson promoting “Daring Greatly” in 2018:

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Starting off with a favourite from@BreneBrowne's Daring Greatly – "Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” I believe that when we are vulnerable, we're at our most courageous. Every risk I’ve taken has opened doors to new possibilities. #Chips100Books
https://twitter.com/ChipYVR/status/1020655905728335873

And Lulu Store Ambassadors still promoting “Daring Greatly” in their bios, in chorus:

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https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/wi/tina-martin
What's a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown.

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/moorpark/brianna-battles
What's a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/novi/kelli-mcmullen
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/london/cathy-cassangrade
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/petaluma/molly-vollmer
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/irvine/chelsey-lowe
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/madison/kellian-kiron
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/austin/lizzie-brown
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

https://shop.lululemon.com/ambassadors/store-ambassadors/edmonton/angela-zawada
What’s a book you read that made an impact on you?
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

And on and on it goes, with Brown's “Dare to Lead” and “The Gifts of Imperfection” sometimes thrown in for good measure.

So one wonders: What is the symbiosis here between Landmark/Lululemon and Brown? Why was Brown shilling for Lululemon in her book (and speaking at their HQ), and why does Chip Wilson and his employees continue to shill for Brown? My theory: It’s become uncouth to mention Landmark outright. It’s fashionable and acceptable to mention Brené Brown. I believe that Lululemon instructs its employees to push Brown instead, knowing her leadership & lifstyle principles are in keeping with Landmark’s (hell, her Landmark-ian “Daring Greatly Manifesto” -- the centrepiece of her book -- is situated literally right next to her praise of Lulu). But what is her actual connection to Landmark, if there is one? Why does she seem to move in the same orbit as Landmark folk? Has she ever been asked outright if she attended the Forum (i.e. during her admitted "rough patch" in the mid-late 2000s?) or if it informs her work/she's a proponent? I find it all a hair too coincidental, if not collaborative.

Brene Brown's media power insulates her from genuine vulnerability.

The ordinary people tuning in on Brene - we do not have that kind of power.

We are genuinely vulnerable. Many of us would be refused a ventilator if we got Covid-19 pneumonia.

And...he he he. Just watch BB supporters swarm onto CEI message board to defend her.

Ordinary people don't have that kind of fan support. The essence of being ordinary is that we do not inspire fandom.

Actually, it is ordinary persons who are pulled in through adroit marketing who donate power to Brene Brown and those of her ilk.

Marketing and Media Power

Everything Ive seen on Google is complimentary of Brene Brown. Everything.

By contrast, an ordinary person does not please everyone. You and I stumble through life getting mixed reviews.

We have bad hair days.

We don't have someone to freshen up our hair and makeup before we go onstage.

I ran searches that included terms/keywords such as criticism bullshit skeptical hype debunk --

and by God, these words churn up citations that lead a person right to promo material for BB!

Brene Brown criticism

[www.google.com]

Brene Brown bullshit

[www.google.com]

Brene Brown skeptical

[www.google.com]

Brene Brown hype

[www.google.com]

Brene Brown debunk

[www.google.com]

In Corboy's opinion, someone out there is awfully good at search engine optimization.

If you go to Amazon, look at the review numbers for BB's books.

[www.amazon.com]