Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectation: Outdated Brand Behavior

When Your Company Who Doesn't Match Employee Do

I don't play the politics game in open forums. But there’s a phrase you’ve may have heard before, though maybe not in the context of branding.

“The soft bigotry of low expectations.”

I know it from an episode of Criminal Minds. And because I wanted to know where they got it from, I went googling and found it's from a Bush-era speech written over two decades ago. Bush was talking about educating kids and as I read parts of the speech, I have to admit, I agree with what he said.

The thing is, those six words cut deeper than most folx realize. Especially when you’re a Founder building a personal brand inside a business world still obsessed with politeness, permission, and predictability.

When they expect less from you, they’re hoping you expect less from yourself

You pitched the idea with purpose. You knew it was bold. You knew it didn’t follow the usual “charge your worth” script that makes folx feel seen but keeps them broke. You called it what it was: Pricing With Purpose: Brand Positioning and Profit Psychology.

And then… came the rejection. The message was respectful, courteous, and filled with that familiar language institutions use when they don’t know what to do with you:

“We appreciate your time and expertise. However, we did not feel the presentation fully met our expectations or address some of the points we were hoping for.”

Translation: You didn’t deliver the watered-down, high-approval version they’re used to. They wanted frameworks. You brought fire. They wanted soft skills in a softer voice. You brought receipts and a read. They wanted you to behave like the branding expert who teaches tactics without ever touching truth.

But that’s not your brand behavior. And that’s not the kind of Founder you’re here to be. This is a snippet of the response I got when I submitting a workshop to become a trainer for the UHSBDC.

Rigid distortions. Bland desires. Bad Brand Behavior.

What I encountered wasn’t just a pass. It was a textbook case of rigid distortion and bland desire. Their distortion? They assumed anything outside traditional structure must be “off-track.” They couldn’t see your innovation because they were too busy measuring it with the wrong fucking ruler.

Their desire? Safety. Not progress. Not profit. Not purpose. They wanted a version of pricing that looked strategic on the surface but stayed shallow enough to be uncontroversial. What they got was psychological brand behavior. Holding up a mirror for Founders is not what they wanted to see.

The problem isn’t the presentation; It’s their palette

Checking out their list of upcoming sessions from now til August, show workshops for shit you can find on YouTube. So the rejection wasn't because the workshop wasn't clear. It was rejected because it didn't fit their bland narrative.

And that’s the real danger of outdated brand behavior: It keeps innovation trapped in rooms that celebrate dilution over depth. It teaches you how to be “approachable” but never powerful. It confuses engagement with education and rewards cleverness over clarity.

If you want a 6-, 7-, or 8-figure brand, you can’t keep expecting to be talked to like a 5th grader. You can’t be led by content designed to hook, not help.

Attention is low-calorie. Education is high-calorie.

Marketing psychology teaches you that when you’re trying to stop the scroll, you want low-calorie copy: Quick hits. Catchy headlines. Easy dopamine. But when you’re in the room? When someone’s agreed to lean in and learn from you? There is an expectation of calorie burning learning.

And that’s where institutions get it wrong. They want to teach Founders but are afraid of the discomfort that comes with transforming them. That's also why the rejection didn't sting, it just clarified some shit. Because while they decided the workshop wasn't there cup a tea, a private community where I'm a resident member (shoutout to BMA All Access) asked me to teach a similar session. And come October, I'm hosting a monthly series for my local Chamber that sees value without imposing their expectations.

Yes, I wanted to be in the space but I don't NEED to be.

Stop diluting. Start demanding.

The soft bigotry of low expectations isn’t always in simple language. It shows up in coded professional talk and polite passes. But make no mistake: it’s a rejection of depth. Of challenge. Of truth.

And if you’re tired of being the smartest person in rooms that keep asking you to play dumb, then it’s time to build different. You’re not just leading to price products. You’re here to position power. You’re not building a brand to be liked. You’re building a branded house that can withstand critique, carry clarity, and cash checks.

The real rejection is pretending you don’t know that already.