Candidates, products, or companies that are merely competent and respectable fail to inspire the tribal devotion needed to win. Customers and voters are not drawn to the safe, centrist option; they commit to the polarizing but exciting choice that generates real passion and loyalty.
Aiming for a broadly appealing company culture creates a mediocre, uninspired environment. The strongest cultures are polarizing and 'weird,' designed to attract a specific tribe of deeply committed employees. This intense, shared dedication becomes an inimitable competitive advantage that can't be bought with higher salaries.
Success isn't about broad, inoffensive appeal. It's about generating intense, passionate love from a core group, even if it creates an equal amount of hate. This deep enthusiasm drives actions like evangelism and forgiveness, which lukewarm approval from the masses cannot match.
Political consultants focus heavily on negative attack ads because cultivating hate for an opponent is a controllable, scalable tactic. They cannot manufacture the genuine charisma or authentic love that inspires a true movement, so they resort to the only lever they can reliably pull: outsourced anger.