Controversy Is Your Superpower: Why Playing It Safe Is Killing Your Business

Summary

Problems to Profit Podcast Summary

Episode: Controversy Is Your Superpower: Why Playing It Safe Is Killing Your Business
Host: Preston Brown
Release Date: April 17, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Problems to Profit podcast, host Preston Brown delves into the often-overlooked power of controversy in business. Emphasizing that avoiding controversy can stagnate growth, Brown argues that embracing and strategically leveraging controversy can transform business challenges into profitable opportunities.

Defining Controversy in Business

Brown begins by defining controversy as the catalyst that drives conversations and engagement. He uses political figures like Donald Trump and Joe Biden as prime examples of how controversy can both elevate and derail public figures:

"Love him or hate him, Donald Trump got elected the first time because of controversy. Love him or hate him, he probably got unelected the second time because of too much controversy." ([02:15])

The Role of Controversy in Solving Problems

According to Brown, controversy stems from significant problems that necessitate solutions. He posits that businesses thrive by addressing these large-scale problems, which inherently carry controversial elements. This approach aligns with human nature's inclination to rally around problem-solving:

"People are not going to follow you because they just love your beautiful, immortal soul. They're going to follow you because you solve a problem and you do it in an epic way." ([04:10])

Storytelling and the Hero’s Journey

Brown draws parallels between business and storytelling, specifically the hero’s journey framework. He argues that controversy is essential for creating compelling narratives that resonate with audiences:

"If you're going on a date with your wife tonight, it starts with the problem... Hero encounters an issue... So what is the problem? The problem is controversy." ([07:30])

Using the Karate Kid as an example, Brown illustrates how facing and overcoming controversy (or problems) is what makes stories and businesses memorable:

"Had Karate Kid not gotten his ass kicked... There would be no problem. So how do you embrace controversy?" ([09:45])

Embracing Controversy Through Truth and Storytelling

A key strategy Brown emphasizes is the importance of truth in embracing controversy. By honestly addressing the problems their products or services solve, businesses can craft authentic and powerful stories that attract and retain customers:

"Facts tell, but stories sell... there has to be the controversy. There has to be the antagonist, there has to be the bad guy." ([12:20])

Healthy vs. Bad Controversy

Brown distinguishes between constructive controversy that adds value and destructive drama that can harm a business’s reputation. He advises focusing on healthy controversy that aligns with solving real problems rather than creating unnecessary conflict:

"There's good controversy and there's bad controversy. There's drama and there's telling a story that actually adds value." ([17:05])

Leveraging Controversy in Marketing and Customer Engagement

The host discusses practical applications of controversy in various aspects of business operations, including marketing, selling, storytelling, and customer engagement. By integrating controversy thoughtfully, businesses can enhance their connection with customers and foster loyalty:

"You want to leverage that controversy for your marketing, for your selling, for your storytelling, for your customer engagement." ([19:30])

Historical and Societal Context of Controversy

Brown provides a historical perspective on how adversity and controversy have been intrinsic to human progress. He references the leading cause of death for women over 40,000 years – childbirth – as a problem that drove innovation and resilience:

"The leading cause of death for 40,000 years for women was children being born... children were huge problems." ([22:10])

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

In wrapping up, Brown reiterates the importance of embracing controversy as a natural and beneficial component of business growth. He encourages listeners to view problems as gifts and to utilize controversy to drive profitability and personal development:

"Embracing controversy in your business is intelligent... it's going to grow you like a weed, make you more profitable too." ([28:45])

Brown concludes with a motivational message, urging entrepreneurs to harness the power of controversy to transform challenges into thriving business opportunities.

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Key Insights:

• Controversy Drives Engagement: Controversial topics attract attention, fostering conversations and connections.
• Problem-Solving is Central: Addressing significant problems inherently involves navigating controversy.
• Authentic Storytelling: Leveraging truth and real-life challenges creates compelling narratives that resonate with audiences.
• Healthy vs. Destructive Controversy: Focus on controversy that adds value and aligns with problem-solving rather than creating unnecessary conflict.
• Historical Resilience: Overcoming adversity has always been a cornerstone of human progress and business success.

Notable Quotes:

• "People are not going to follow you because they just love your beautiful, immortal soul. They're going to follow you because you solve a problem and you do it in an epic way." ([04:10])
• "Facts tell, but stories sell... there has to be the controversy. There has to be the antagonist, there has to be the bad guy." ([12:20])
• "Embracing controversy in your business is intelligent... it's going to grow you like a weed, make you more profitable too." ([28:45])

Conclusion

Preston Brown's insightful episode underscores that controversy is not the enemy but a powerful tool in the arsenal of business strategy. By embracing and strategically managing controversy, entrepreneurs can turn inevitable challenges into lucrative opportunities, ultimately transforming their businesses from mere jobs into profitable enterprises.

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Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys, welcome back to Problems to Profit. Today I want to talk about controversy and why it is important to embrace controversy in your business. First off, what is controversy? Controversy is what everybody wants to talk about, okay? Love him or hate him, Donald Trump got elected the first time because of controversy. Love him or hate him, he probably got unelected the second time because of too much controversy. Love him or hate him, Biden did such a shit job in his presidency that so much controversy was created in the average American's life who couldn't afford groceries, that Donald Trump came back and got elected again four years after. He's the second president, historically, to be there. So why do we embrace controversy in business? Because it's one of the human needs that you're. You know, people are not going to follow you because they just love your beautiful, immortal soul. They're going to follow you because you solve a problem and you do it in an epic way. People love solutions. Solutions only happen if there's big fucking problems that cause a need for the solutions. And those big fucking problems represent controversy. Let me fuck up every movie you've ever watched, okay? And ever will watch in the future. I'm sorry to you guys. If you're going on a date with your wife tonight, it starts with the problem. And you know what the problem is? It's the hero. The hero's a fucking wimp, okay? Hero encounters an issue. Hero meets problem, finds out he's a wimp, okay? Then hero meets guide. Guide compels hero to solve problem. If you have, like Karate Kid, he gets his ass kicked. He meets Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi teaches him martial arts, compels action. Hero succeeds or fails. That's it. That's every movie ever made. So what is the problem? The problem is controversy. Had Karate Kid not gotten his ass kicked. No. Controversy. Had Karate Kid not strained and struggled and fought to get his training or his learning and learned and earned all that information, there would be no problem. So how do you embrace controversy? Well, first off, you tell the truth. I mean, one of the most controversial things there is out there is the truth. What does your business do to make money? Well, it sells something, I'm sure, whether it's product or a service. And that product or service probably solves a problem. That problem causes what in people's lives? Controversy. And if we know that facts tell, but stories sell, and if we know that the truth is your product can solve legitimately, genuinely and helpfully solve somebody's problem, then you know what that means? That Means you're going to be able to tell a story about how you took them from pain to pleasure and how you could help somebody else to do the same that you've done for somebody that you've already helped. You can tell a story of how your product or service helped you. You can tell your story about how your product or service helped somebody else. But either way, there has to be the controversy. There has to be the antagonist, there has to be the bad guy. We live in a world where people don't even vote for politicians anymore. They vote against the guy they don't like. I don't know, a lot of people that voted for Joe Biden, they voted against Trump. Well, I guess in this case it was Kamala Harris, his less male clone, just as dumb, still couldn't talk in front of a teleprompter. But people voted against Kamala or against Trump. Nobody voted for Kamala. Nobody was like, yay, Kamala. She's so inspiring. I mean, except msnbc. But they're morons, so who cares what they fucking think? Like they've literally got everything wrong. They might actually get sold soon. They're going bankrupt. Like, if we look at what's going on, you know, capitalist wise in this capitalist country we live in, they're losing viewers faster than cnn. I mean, that's pathetic. The legacy media is dying. Why? Because nobody believes in what they're fucking saying. That's controversy. That's awesome. That's gold. That's probably why you're watching a podcast like this or you're going to watch like the Joe Rogan podcast or the Tucker Carlson podcast or this podcast or that podcast is you're going somewhere to someone that actually embraces controversy. Which comes from what? Solving problems. Which means you have to know what the problem really is and telling the fucking truth. So embracing controversy in your business is intelligent. You don't want to have perfection and everything starts perfect and everything will be perfect and everything. I mean, would anybody go watch that movie? No. So why would you be that movie? You need controversy. You need what attracts people to you. Now, there's good controversy and there's bad controversy. There's drama and there's telling a story that actually adds value. What controversy should you use? Well, there's an old saying, like there's two ways to have the tallest building in town, right? One is you can build the tallest building, focus on what you're doing. And two, you can tear all the other buildings down. And then no matter how tall your building is, it'll be the biggest. That's kind of the difference between the drama and healthy controversy that you want to leverage in your business for your marketing, for your selling, for your storytelling, for your customer engagement, through your delivery process and even through your follow up after you've collected your money and, and your fulfillment and everything else that you've done. I mean, you want to follow up and maintain a relationship because that customer might come back and buy more later or refer a friend or whatever. Right? And so controversy is just, it's life. Like, we gotta think like, what is controversy? It's problems. Problems are gifts. You know, the leading cause of death for 40,000 years of human history for women was what? Children being born, women got pregnant, they had babies, they died. So that means children were huge problems. Right? So what, should we just stop having them leading cause of death for women for 40,000 years? You know, everybody, the best moments in their life were when they did what? Well, they overcame adversity. Well, did adversity come with some controversy? Uh huh, probably did. And if adversity came with some controversy, and the best moments, most memorable moments of your life when you overcame adversity was, you know, rising above the controversy. Interesting. You might need some. What about like when we leave this world? Well, you know, if you're spiritual or religious, you believe in a higher power, you generally think if you die, you go there and there's something better on the other side of this. So does that mean like death is the doorway to heaven? Well, talk about problems or gifts. And the most important moments in your life are going to be because you embraced problems. So guys, hopefully this is going to be a short podcast. This has taught you that you need to embrace controversy. You need to allow controversy to be your guide, problems to be your gift and your business to succeed by leveraging that controversy because it is embedded in human nature and therefore it should be embedded in your business. And if you can handle it and address it and be real with it in a mature way, it's going to grow you like a weed, make you more profitable too. I hope you all have an amazing day on purpose.