What do American Idol and Starbucks have in common?

I have new faith in the American people. They have voted Kris Allen to be the new American Idol! Sorry Adam – you are a talented man, but something happened.

Adam Lambert – talented, confident, polished, practiced, exceptional, dramatic, impressive. He spent the better part of his life perfecting his talent. The judges didn’t even give him any advice on areas for him to improve. He studied leaders in the entertainment industry – he took singing and acting lessons. He wore makeup to cover his acne and give his face a defined and polished look, dyed his hair to look edgy – even painted his finger nails black to give off that “bad ass” vibe. He has the “glam rocker” persona down. He wears tight leather pants. And, he’s a nice guy.

Kris Allen – average, cute, personable, pretty good at singing and playing guitar, genuine, real, guy next door, modest. Kris looked genuinely surprised when his performances were so well received – he even said “Adam deserves this” when they announced him the winner. Kris sings with passion, sincerity, and even misses a note here and there. The judges criticized his performances and he took their advice to heart. He is charming, average looking, and likeable. He dresses like a typical college kid. He could be anyone you and I know.

The judges favored Adam from the beginning – announcing him the person to beat. They didn’t like Allen until the American public started voting for him. And even yet, they still continued to tell the voters that Adam should win. All the hype surrounding this season on American Idol pointed the voters to chose Adam as the winner.

So what happened? The voters – although everyone could admit how very talented and polished Adam was – picked Allen. They chose sincerity over performance – genuine over polished.

Starbucks – you either love it or hate it. There is no in between. Although most people can admit that Starbucks has their act together – great products, great service, great atmosphere – there is something about many local coffee shops that people prefer. Is it the same thing that led people to vote for Kris over Adam?

Can someone or something actually be “too good to be true”? What don’t we trust about the perfect, exceptional, the polished? What leads us to say “how can it be that good? There must be something wrong with it (or him, or her)?”

When things are “too good”, “too perfect”, or come off as “too practiced” – we tend to lose trust in them. We start looking for flaws – trying to figure out what is “fake” about the item or person – start to believe that we are being fooled in some way. It’s human instinct.

In business – it’s best to be genuine, sincere, and modest. Customers will question a product or service that seems too practiced, too polished, too exceptional – it will appear insincere. At some point – too good becomes questioned. We can’t help but wonder – what are they trying to sell me? Are they trying to persuade me to do or buy something that I may not otherwise want? Am I being fooled? Is this just an act?

Be honest – Be sincere – Be genuine – or be careful, your intentions may be questioned.