Weʼve seen this movie before

Watching the reaction to Angus Taylorʼs elevation reminded me of something we keep seeing in politics and in business.

A new leader arrives. The market hasnʼt quite decided who they are yet. And almost immediately, the race begins to define them before they define themselves.

That brief period, when perception is still fluid, is what I call a definition window. It never stays open for long.

Political shorthand is nothing new

Australian politics is full of examples.

Andrew Peacock was dismissed as the “show pony.” John Howard was labelled “Lazarus with a triple bypass.” Tony Abbott became the “mad monk.” Scott Morrison carried “Scotty from Marketing.” Now, Angus Taylor is being framed before many voters have even formed a view.

Different personalities. Different decades. Same pattern.

Complex leadership stories get reduced to shorthand because shorthand is easier to remember than complexity.

Thatʼs not about fairness. Itʼs about how people process information.

The caricature often beats the CV

Take Peacock.

The label stuck, despite a record that included serious foreign policy influence, regional diplomacy and ministerial depth. The caricature travelled further than the résumé.

And once that happens, every future action gets interpreted through that same lens. Politics just makes this process visible.

Business experiences the same thing quietly.

Markets prefer simplicity

A company might have decades of expertise, technical depth and strong leadership, but the market settles on something easier:

• Reliable but boring
• Technical but not strategic
• Cheap
• Premium but difficult

Once that shorthand takes hold, it becomes sticky.

You can still succeed, but you spend energy trying to reframe a perception you didnʼt choose.

Image vs identity — the real tension

At Kommunal, weʼve long discussed the distinction between identity and image. Identity is how you see yourself. Image is how youʼre experienced by others.

The problem isnʼt intention, itʼs drift. Most organisations assume the market will eventually understand them. The reality is the opposite: the market fills in blanks fast.

And thatʼs why definition windows matter.

Definition windows are everywhere

They open whenever something changes:

• a new CEO
• a strategic pivot
• an acquisition
• a move upmarket
• a new capability launch

For a short period, perception is unsettled. Thatʼs opportunity. And risk.

Because if you donʼt define the narrative early, something else will: competitors, commentary, or increasingly, algorithms stitching together a version of you from whatever signals exist. You need to own this “void” period.

The fence-sitting mistake

This is where organisations lose control without realising it. They wait. “Letʼs see how the market responds.”

“Weʼll refine the messaging later.”

“Weʼll update the positioning once things settle.” But waiting doesnʼt freeze perception.

It accelerates drift. Once shorthand hardens, youʼre no longer defining, youʼre correcting.

And correction is always more damn expensive.

The uncomfortable question

If you stripped away your internal narrative tomorrow, what shorthand would the market use to describe your organisation?

Not what you hope. Not whatʼs written in the strategy deck. What people actually say about you when youʼre not in the room.

Because that shorthand influences pricing power, talent attraction, partnerships, even whether someone chooses to look deeper.

The lesson

Politics simply makes the mechanism visible. Business experiences it every day. Definition windows donʼt stay open forever.

In the real world ambiguity doesnʼt stay empty.

All ambiguity does is invite definition by others. And thatʼs when you lose control.