You see a lot of visuals on LinkedIn. Most are forgettable. Some are cheap scroll-stoppers. And a rare few are actually great.

On Thursdays, I examine a visual, or “Intellectual Headshot” as I call them, that caught my eye, and break down why it works.

Today, it’s a visual metaphor from leadership coach Peter Weiss.

Speaking of absurdist visual metaphors, this one stopped my scroll this week.

It’s a quick-hit commentary on growing too fast, getting too good, become too efficient.

While these might seem like good problems to have, the metaphor introduces that there are unintended consequences that can come with any kind of sudden windfall or overproduction.

It was posted by Peter Weiss, a leadership coach who “helps high achievers stay grounded in a frantic world.”

What I like most about this execution (so to speak) is that Peter managed to fit a lot into one simple image:

• The Pain — a pile of rotting antelopes
• The Problem — the lion got a bit overzealous
• The POV — too much ‘success’ introduces a new set of problems

All that, communicated at a glance.

Also, note that he spent no text explaining the scene itself, but rather leads with the catch hook of “Growth at any cost”

Then delivers the punchline “When efficiency backfires.”

And then leaves the viewer to connect the intellectual dots between the metaphor and the message.

If you, as the viewer, find yourself in a role or org where things have accelerated beyond control, this metaphor grabs you, gives you the feeling that someone gets what you’re going through…

…and most importantly, it provides you a language to broach a conversation.

You can hear it now, “Peter, I feel like I’m that lion trying to build freezers.”

And Peter would probably say, “Tell me more.”

And the conversation now goes deeper, sooner.

See what a simple metaphor can do?

So long as it’s visually striking, actually clever, and tapped directly into an acute pain point your viewer knows all too well.

💡

-Wes