A Consultant's Chronicles

Take-Aways For Business From This Year's Primary

Every time there is an election, I like to see what information can be mined for business. Like previous cycles there is no shortage of information to focus on but the one I've decided to write about today is one that repeats itself over & over again in both politics & business.

Treat Bad News Like Pulling Off A Band-Aid; Reveal It Fast

It's pretty simple. If you have news that you have to reveal that shall we say, paints you in a less than favorable light, get it out fast & get it out early [like pulling off a band-aid]. Why? Not only are memories short these days but if you do it this way, you get to frame the information instead of others doing it for you. In this case I am referring to Mitt Romney's coyness about his tax returns because he has paid such a favorable rate in spite of his enormous wealth. It unwittingly makes him the instant poster child for "Occupy Wall Street" [regardless of your feelings about the movement] because his taxes reflect the fundamental unfairness they have been shouting about. It doesn't even matter whether or not its true because its the perception that counts & that's powerful soup. In Romney's case, he has run for office so frequently & recently, that this is a galactic "unforced error." So when will CEO's & politicians finally learn this critical lesson? From the looks of things, I'd say not anytime soon.

Reprise: 'It's The Economy Stupid' All Over Again

On the eve of the GOP debates followed by a long awaited speech on jobs & the economy by the president, I thought it appropriate to run a reprise of a post from 3/10/2009. Why does it seem appropriate to re-run a 2 year old post? In it I [like so many others] reminded the president that once again, "it's the economy stupid." I also said that all other topics on his agenda had to be tabled or passed along with perhaps the lone exception of healthcare because it's part of the same piece.Unfortunately, the president forgot to frame the debate on healthcare that way using much of his political capital on things the nation can't see or hear when they are out of work. This March post has proved to be prescient as things stand now; will anything change by week's end. This time, not only will the president have to answer questions about jobs & the economy but so will those who want to take his place.

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Immediately after Bill Clinton was elected to his first term, he gave an in depth interview to Ted Koppel on Nightline. The one & only thing I remember from that interview was when he said, "I'm going to focus like a lasar beam on the economy." Whether you are the president of a country, the CEO of a large corporation, or own a small business, it is always all about the economy. Clinton's campaign mantra of the 90's "it's the economy stupid" is back with a vengeance.

A Political Chef's Salad When We Want An Entree

Unfortunately, our current president is not communicating this message well. He has many big initiatives out on the table: the economy, healthcare, energy, education; it's a chef's salad when the nation is hungering for an entree. I understand that they are all critical issues but the net result is a diffuse message which is doing nothing to calm the frazzled nerves of the nation [& the markets] right now. With the singular exception of healthcare, perhaps all of the other issues need to be handed off to their respective cabinet members because we need the president's focus on the economy.  Why is healthcare the lone caveat? That's because healthcare costs are crippling business & their abilities to compete in the interbational marketplace so while it's a colossal issue, it is also related. We need lasar-like focus from this president & so does the rest of the world. It's called leadership in a crisis. That's my opinion, what's yours?

Line of the Week 7-10-2011

This week there were several viable candidates for the line of the week but my personal choice belongs to Ohio Governor John Kasich [formerly Congressman R-OH]. Asked about his opinion of his GOP brethren he was as disgusted as everyone else when it comes to their inability to reach a compromise & make a good deal for the country instead of looking out for their own political interests. He said:

"...Be a leader-you can die a thousand political deaths; in war only once..." 

Once in a lifetime deals have been put on the table & each time, someone has walked away. In the meantime some even insist there really IS no debt crisis. I wonder if they are the same folks who insist that there is no global warming while the rest of us watch the ice caps melt? Apparently, while "Rome burns" our senators & congressmen/women prefer to busy themselves rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic! Think I'm kidding? What is one of their most pressing pieces of legislation right now? Save the old fashioned, power guzzling light bulb! You just cannot make this stuff up! 

 

5 Business Takeaways From The Weiner Scandal

While the media seems to be nothing short of possessed by Congressman Anthony Weiner's [D-NY] digital indiscretions on Twitter in these last 10 days, I actually think that there is a teachable moment here for people in politics & business alike because we see powerful people [typically men] getting embroiled in sexual peccadilloes on a regular basis these days. What can people in business learn from this latest scandal when it comes to navigating the rocks & shoals of social media?

Five Social Media Business Takeaways From The Weiner Scandal

1. Twitter can help to create & build a business or personal brand but it can
   just as easily destroy it if not used prudently
2. Twitter can be a fantastic PR tool when used correctly BUT remember:
   once something is asserted on twitter, you cannot obfuscate, dissemble,
   or even become suddenly silent when asked a straightforward question [is that a picture of you]
3. The cover-up is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS worse than the original
   "crime" or action. Trying to hide the truth speaks to [a lack of] trust,
   integrity and leadership. We are all flawed so people will forgive human
   failings because there is no such thing as a perfect person but are also less inclined to do so when they you lie about them
   
4. Privacy as we used to know it has gone the way of the horse & buggy.  Now the best the average person can expect is the illusion of privacy but there is absolutely ZERO privacy if you are a public person who is accountable to the people for your job. To that end, one could easily argue that Weiner wanted to be caught. Be that as it may, there will always be people watching you; people who are not only just waiting for you to fail [or to otherwise make a fool out of yourself] but also waiting to share your failure with everyone all over the internet. Do not make their jobs any easier by doing it yourself. Remember, once something is on Google, it is there for perpetuity
5. When tweeting for business, it is NOT the place for satire or dark humor
   although in Weiner's case, his name makes it almost inescapable because part of what has been feeding the media is the copy-rich double entendre which makes for attention-grabbing headlines. Nonetheless, humor can easily backfire & can therefore create awkward spin. Remember that something is funny only when people are laughing with you, not at you
   

Never Put It In A Picture

These points are perhaps best summarized by an odd pair of political bedfellows, Martin Lomnasney & former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer who was caught in his own sexual escapades.  Nomnasney, a state senator & political Boston ward boss from an earlier era said, “Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink.” Spitzer then added a critical addendum “never put it in email.” My guess is that Weiner's postscript would be "never put it in a picture & post it!" Or as I said in a previous post, "social media giveth & it taketh away!"

 

RIP: Geraldine Ferraro- Wife, Mother,Lawyer. Politician, Icon

On the heels of losing one of the last remaining true icons of the "silver screen" in Elizabeth Taylor, this weekend another iconic woman passed away. This time it was groundbreaking former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. She was the bottom half of the Mondale Ferraro ticket losing to Reagan & Bush [senior]. Ferraro described their loss in her own inimitable way. She said:

"...only G-d could have beaten Ronald Reagan & 'she' was apparently busy this week..." 

Ferraro was a trailblazer who made the careers of women like Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, & Michelle Bachman among others possible. RIP.

What About Wisconisn: Part II

Throughout the debate in Wisconsin, I have been listening for a more thorough discussion on a larger but very related issue relevant to all workers public & private but all I have heard is silence. Quite aside from the Wisconsin's Governor's goal to break collective bargaining, this whole dispute has crystallized something far bigger for me. Companies public & private have been playing fast & loose with their pension funds for years, which is the unspoken piece of fact in this debate. It seems to me that at least in part, public employees are being asked to provide a solution to the state government's own greed & mismanagement. Why? Now that the bill is about to become due for scores of retiring employees, these governors are in a panic. Retirement funds have been in greater danger than social security for the last 10-15 years. The current debate is like a "fig leaf" designed to mask the larger reality. As retirement of the baby boomers begins to roll out, new retirees are going to have a rude awakening at precisely the same time when our national debt requires that we make cutbacks in social security.

The By-product Of Ending Collective Bargaining

Howward Feinman of MSNBC & other pundits have also suggested that the GOP as a whole sees this as a means of diffusing a powerful political machine that always operates against them in every election. More significantly, the net result would be to stick a dagger in the Democrats financial machine. They speculate that if Walker & other governors are successful, it could translate to something like a 200 million dollar loss to the Democrats' electoral machine.  If Walker & the other governors succeed, get ready for a very different looking electorate as well as a different definition of the "American Dream." That's my opinion. What's yours?

What About 'Wisconsin'

Unless your head is buried in the sand or you've been on another planet, you can't help but take notice of the battle raging in Wisconsin these days over their state debt & governor Scott Walker's desire to break collective bargaining in his state. However, as someone who works with employers & employees, I have been peppered with a lot of questions so here's my take. It's near impossible to clearly favor one side or the other on the issues. Why, because BOTH sides are being disingenuous when it comes to telling the whole truth. Having said that, I think there are 3 things that most people [who are being intellectually honest] can agree with: 1- these are tough times & sacrifices along with some very tough choices are going to have to be made in order to get our fiscal house in order at both the state as well as the federal level; 2- again, assuming that people are being intellectually honest, collective bargaining by itself did not create this problem so "breaking it" won't guarantee a solution. Most people don't realize what happens in collective bargaining. It is through this kind of bargaining, that you get safe workplaces, a framework for how to resolve grievances, & a ton of other workplace related measures having nothing to do with pay or benefits; & lastly, 3-while the unions did not steal their benefits, which is to say that they negotiated for them fairly, there have been circumstances where they have taken advantage of the taxpayer's generosity. 

Governor Walker's Problems

On the merits of fiscal solvency, it is really hard to defend a governor who will not take "yes" for an answer because the unions have already said they understand that when it comes to money, the cuts have to be made. At this point, they are fighting for a "seat at the table" over all other workplace issues. That seems like a fair request & one thing we voters like to see is "fairness." Another problem for the governor is that his rationale has changed. He started out saying that this is strictly a budget issue but since the unions have yielded, he can no longer make that claim & is now fighting an ideological battle. Fairly or unfairly, this last point was driven home when he was publicly caught in a fake conversation with one of his ideological & financial backers [at the time, the governor thought the conversation was legitimate]. Politicians of all stripes miss the mark when they fight an ideological war instead of "solving the people's problems." It should be noted that while the current battle is being fought in Wisconsin, other governors in the "rust belt" [nearby states] are considering similar measures adding to the seriousness of the debate.

In My Opinion 

When a state like Wisconsin [& this is also true for my own home state of CA] finds itself in dire financial straits, cuts have to made & that is just fact. However, the cuts should start top down in areas & with people who will feel the pain the least although it will have to be experienced by all in order for it to be fair. If the government is going to cut the pay & benefits of public employees, he & his administration should experience those same proportionate cuts. There are also other nice little perks that come with administering government that he should trim whether they make a financial difference or not. Why, because such sacrifices even when they are only symbolic count when you are asking people who make far more modest money to make significant cuts. I was listening to a pundit this morning comment about the Wisconsin democratic state senators who have fled Wisconsin so that a vote cannot be cast on the governor's bill. He said that such behavior goes against the covenant that these officials have with the people. Well, the government made a covenant with the public union members too. They said to public workers if you do these necessary jobs to run the state for modest wages, i.e.; teach our children, keep us safe, put out our fires, etc, we in turn will be sure that your health insurance & retirement is secure. Right now, it almost seems as if no side has kept their word.  

Line of the Week 1-30-2011

This week's line of the week is a tie between Dana Milbank of the Washington Post & former Bush official Doug Feith. Both however speak to the same subject: memoirs written by members of the George W. Bush administration.  More specifically about the most recent addition, the one written by Donald Rumsfeld entitled Known & Unknown.  The two lines in question jumped out at me less because they reflect the attitudes & opinions of any one man but more because you see this very same diffusion of responsibility in far too many organizations in the business world today.

Circular Firing Squads

In his piece Milbank observes what he calls a "circular firing squad among ex-Bush officials;" with apparently no one willing to assume responsibility for the debacle in Iraq. One of those officials, Doug Feith dubbed this phenomenon as the:

"...I-was-surrounded-by-idiots school of memoir writing..."

According to Milbank:

"...So much finger pointing can cause a repetitive-motion injury..."

We've all seen this lack of accountability before & tragically we will see it again, in Washington & much closer to home, in out own offices.

Line of the Week 10-24-2010

This week's line of the week belongs to New York Times pundit, Gail Collins. Reflecting on the lessons learned from this year's election she came up with 3 top lessons.
The first & one that serves as a lesson to us all is:

"...This election has taught us that not only are there second acts in America, there are third acts. And really spectacular curtain calls..."

In this she is referring to the new high regard held for both Bill & Hillary Clinton. For the former President, it's about the good financial times during his administration & how he was able to work with the Congress to get things accomplished; a feat that has once arch enemy Sean Hannity wishing for the good ole days of Clinton's presidency.  Additionally he is now "moving international mountains" with the Clinton Initiative. As for Hillary, after being one of the most controversial First Ladies, she's gone on to be a highly respected Senator, a formidable competitor for the presidency herself, & now serving a very successful stint as Secretary of State.
All in all, stunning 2nd acts for both of them.

So what were the other 2 lessons [according to Collins]?
-there is nothing cool about running on the "look at me ticket" while spending gazillions in the process [are you listening Meg Whitman?]
-money does not buy happiness

Line of the Week 7-25-2010: 'Don't Bring Library Books To A Knife Fight'

This week's line of the week belongs to congressman Anthony Weiner (NY-D). While explaining his passionate position over voting for additional healthcare funds for the first responders of 9-11, Weiner noted that unlike the GOP, sometimes his Democratic brethren have a tendency to:

"...bring library books to a knife fight..."

Needless to say that behaving this way reflects a losing position every time.  Weiner's observation & cautionary warning is spot on when handling conflict anywhere not just in Congress. I see it many times in a mediation where one party comes prepared & loaded for bear while the other party looks & acts like a deer lost in the headlights. Prior to any mediation I tell both parties two things: 1. cases are won & lost before they step into the room because it's all about preparation & 2. argue your interests, NOT your passions.