We will BEAT this recession. I believe it and Barack Obama is trying to get America to believe it also. The man has probably had the toughest immediate baptism of fire of any President since Lincoln. He is learning fast and it has to be said his obvious knowledge of so many factors - economic, political, military is quite impressive.
His public performances in the past two days show he has got comfortable with the office very fast. Most people accept he is an inspirational, motivational speaker but some might have questioned whether there was steel there. His first press conference dispelled any worries on that front.
The President explained very clearly and cogently just how much trouble the economy is in. That he was able to recount anecdotes from his visit to Elkhart, Indiana was fortunate for him but also effective. Indeed his visit to the unemployment capital of the United States provided him with a lot of credibility and goodwill. But his overall performance was powerful. He was stately and truly presidential. His command of the speech process is uncanny, something that is not necessarily true when he is involved in Q&A sessions where he hesitates, thinks, pauses a lot before he comes out often with pretty vacuous answers.
He overcame this flaw at last night’s conference by answering many questions with almost mini-speeches. He was also feisty, consistently criticizing the previous administration for the huge debt racked up - "It's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package after they presided over a doubling of the national debt." Whether this was accurate or not is questionable as the Dems have controlled the House for the past few years, but hey! as most inspirational motivational speakers know there is nothing wrong with a little bit of hyperbole.
Footnote I: Things must REALLY be serious when 37 million people watched Obama’s press conference last night. That is 7 million more than watched American Idol debut in January.
Footnote II : The foot in mouth award of the week must go to Texas Rep. Pete Sessions who suggested the 2010 GOP strategy should be comparable to that of the Taliban – one of insurgency. The irony is that his statement has some validity. You should learn from effective operational strategy in any environment and unfortunately the Taliban are murderously effective. But you’d think Sessions – a six term representative – would have had more political moxy. The Democrats should send him a case of his favorite beverage for providing such a juicy political morsel. Of course I would never suggest that either parties ability to mangle the truth for their own benefit is Taliban-like. That would just be too cynical.
And remember:
WE WILL BEAT THIS RECESSION - But we MUST work Harder. We MUST work Smarter.
*************************************************************************************
Conor Cunneen is a Chicago based Irish keynote speaker – motivational, humorous, inspirational - on topics as diverse as BEAT the RECESSION, Foodservice, Cancer (a two time survivor), Business Growth and Presentation Skills, who likes to repeat keywords such as motivational, humorous, inspirational, Irish, Chicago based, Motivational Humorist in an ongoing effort to garner search engine attention and BEAT the RECESSION.
His Brand Promise is:
E4 - Energize, Educate, Entertain AND Easy to work with.
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Brand Power
Never underestimate the power of a brand name, even if what underlies it is not good.
Huh!
Arise, Mr. Bernie Madoff, a man whose reputation – his brand and brand name – evoked commentary like “pillar of Wall Street,” “the best of the best,” “a huge figure on Wall Street” and a man “who inspired confidence.”
Richard Nixon once in recounting the famous quote, “You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time” allegedly told a speech writer to concentrate on the latter group. Well this Madoff creep seems to have done that and oh how horribly successfully. This man’s brand image was so powerful that it appears even the SEC were in awe of him and failed to act on a number of tip offs.
We all need heroes. They help us to believe in our version of Santa Claus and sometimes even motivate us to great things, but the level to which people are put on a pedestal, which is then rarely checked for cracks is a human trait that can horribly backfire.
I still remember the first time I became aware of Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling. It was a few years before his downfall in the most notorious financial scandal of the decade. I happened on the latter part of an interview on a cable financial show as the interviewer fawned over him. It was actually the level of obsequiousness that first got my attention. ‘Who is this guy I thought?’ He is being treated like a god.’ And indeed that is how it continued until the walls came tumbling down. The brand image, the aura that surrounded him seemed to ensure a Teflon type of reporting and investigation, exactly the same as with Madoff. New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer was not only treated like a god, he thought he was one.
I’m struggling for a moral in all of this.
I do want Barack Obama to be as good as his brand is suggesting (that would mean he IS God), I do want Jamie Dimon to be the financial genius and guru that Wall Street claims him to be and in the light of Elliot Spitzer, I pray Patrick Fitzgerald has no skeletons in his closet.
I am one of the world’s great optimists. I KNOW my next golf shot will be my best one. I KNOW I will get home before the snow storm strikes. I KNOW my next pint of Guinness will be just magical (you don't have to be an optimist to know that). The problem with all of these scandals is that I’m starting to KNOW that I need to be a bit more circumspect, but I pray I will always return to “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
Huh!
Arise, Mr. Bernie Madoff, a man whose reputation – his brand and brand name – evoked commentary like “pillar of Wall Street,” “the best of the best,” “a huge figure on Wall Street” and a man “who inspired confidence.”
Richard Nixon once in recounting the famous quote, “You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time” allegedly told a speech writer to concentrate on the latter group. Well this Madoff creep seems to have done that and oh how horribly successfully. This man’s brand image was so powerful that it appears even the SEC were in awe of him and failed to act on a number of tip offs.
We all need heroes. They help us to believe in our version of Santa Claus and sometimes even motivate us to great things, but the level to which people are put on a pedestal, which is then rarely checked for cracks is a human trait that can horribly backfire.
I still remember the first time I became aware of Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling. It was a few years before his downfall in the most notorious financial scandal of the decade. I happened on the latter part of an interview on a cable financial show as the interviewer fawned over him. It was actually the level of obsequiousness that first got my attention. ‘Who is this guy I thought?’ He is being treated like a god.’ And indeed that is how it continued until the walls came tumbling down. The brand image, the aura that surrounded him seemed to ensure a Teflon type of reporting and investigation, exactly the same as with Madoff. New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer was not only treated like a god, he thought he was one.
I’m struggling for a moral in all of this.
I do want Barack Obama to be as good as his brand is suggesting (that would mean he IS God), I do want Jamie Dimon to be the financial genius and guru that Wall Street claims him to be and in the light of Elliot Spitzer, I pray Patrick Fitzgerald has no skeletons in his closet.
I am one of the world’s great optimists. I KNOW my next golf shot will be my best one. I KNOW I will get home before the snow storm strikes. I KNOW my next pint of Guinness will be just magical (you don't have to be an optimist to know that). The problem with all of these scandals is that I’m starting to KNOW that I need to be a bit more circumspect, but I pray I will always return to “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
Monday, November 17, 2008
Doris Kearns Goodwin - The Election Winner!
When published in 2005, Doris Kearns Goodwin must have thought she would receive nice sales and publicity out of Team of Rivals for a few months. That indeed is what happened. Few could have thought that the book would be hitting the best-selling charts again in 2008/09. That though is exactly what has happened as the Barack Obama phenomenon continues. Comparisons of the President Elect with Lincoln drip from commentators lips (unless the commentators are right wing idealogues). Much of the comparison relates to Obama's (to date presumed) adoption of his rivals into cabinet posts. As speculation mounts that he will offer the Secretary of State position to Hilary Clinton, it seems as if DKG's book is being quoted on every talk show and by every political pundit. Now if only I could achieve the same Lazarus effect for my own humorous business book and masterpiece Why Ireland Never Invaded America, I'd be a very happy motivational humorist and keynote speaker!
I might as well get in on the Team of Rivals act. I reviewed this book in January 2006 on Amazon and on my website at http://irishmanspeaks.com/cms/content/view/47/37/ Herewith is the review.
The book's premise is that Abraham Lincoln was not just a great President but one who also had the motivational ability to create a highly effective team comprised of many of his rivals. These were men who had hoped to become President. Instead, they took a subservient role to a President whom Goodwin writes about in hagiographic terms.
The team of rivals consisted of one time Republican presidential candidates William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary, and Edward Bates Attorney General. The other major player in this detailed work is Edwin M. Stanton, War Secretary.
This is a good read although the author is stretched at times to continually bring the overall premise together. The opening section of the book paints individual pictures of the major players, which I did not find particularly interesting. This I think is partly because some of the characters - Chase and Bates, at least to this reader are just not compelling in their own right. Thus it takes quite some time for the book to grasp this reader's attention.
Although peripheral to the main story, the hardships of life during the first half of the 19th century become very obvious. Chase lost three wives and two daughters before he was forty four, while Stanton between 1841 and 1846 lost his wife, a daughter and his only brother.
Another fascinating and heart rending aspect portrayed is how the Civil War tore families apart. Four of Mary Lincoln's siblings and three brothers-in-law fought on behalf of the Confederacy, while Bate's son also took up arms for the seceding states.
Team of Rivals is basically a biography of Lincoln with a different twist. It is not as detailed as other works - especially in relation to some Civil War episodes, because the author tries to paint pictures of so many characters. Her portrait of Lincoln to some extent lacks objectivity. Every Lincoln weakness or vacillation has a logic or rationale.
Lincoln undoubtedly was underestimated by rivals and media. One Democratic newspaper referred to him as "a third rate Western lawyer ... a fourth rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar." As a lawyer and in his early presidential years, the term "inspirational" does not come to mind. To some extent, his behavior did warrant this lack of respect.
His lack of authority over his generals in the early stages of the war must have been disturbing for his cabinet. General McClellan treated him with a disdain and discourtesy that was mind boggling. Had Lincoln been more forceful with Generals Meade and McClellan, it is entirely conceivable the war would have ended much earlier. Kearns (and other writers) has tried to paint Lincoln as an accommodating, understanding head of state. It is probably more accurate to suggest as Martin Luther King did that he was at some stages a "vacillating" president. Much has been written about Lincoln's leadership, but I think, the student of leadership can learn as much from what Lincoln did poorly as he did well.
Lincoln "grew" into the Presidency, winning over doubters and opponents slowly but surely with his down to earth, homely style. He most definitely has won over the author who paints Lincoln in very favorable terms no matter what the occasion. There is a tendency for the reader to become seduced by the portrait. Lincoln becomes more and more likeable, more and more presidential as the book develops. Ultimately, the reader does appreciate what a dreadful tragedy the death of this president was for the nation and almost certainly for what had been the confederate states. Although, no one can say for certain, it does seem likely that the assassinated president would have been able to salve much of the bitterness and hatred that followed the cessation of violence.
I might as well get in on the Team of Rivals act. I reviewed this book in January 2006 on Amazon and on my website at http://irishmanspeaks.com/cms/content/view/47/37/ Herewith is the review.
The book's premise is that Abraham Lincoln was not just a great President but one who also had the motivational ability to create a highly effective team comprised of many of his rivals. These were men who had hoped to become President. Instead, they took a subservient role to a President whom Goodwin writes about in hagiographic terms.
The team of rivals consisted of one time Republican presidential candidates William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary, and Edward Bates Attorney General. The other major player in this detailed work is Edwin M. Stanton, War Secretary.
This is a good read although the author is stretched at times to continually bring the overall premise together. The opening section of the book paints individual pictures of the major players, which I did not find particularly interesting. This I think is partly because some of the characters - Chase and Bates, at least to this reader are just not compelling in their own right. Thus it takes quite some time for the book to grasp this reader's attention.
Although peripheral to the main story, the hardships of life during the first half of the 19th century become very obvious. Chase lost three wives and two daughters before he was forty four, while Stanton between 1841 and 1846 lost his wife, a daughter and his only brother.
Another fascinating and heart rending aspect portrayed is how the Civil War tore families apart. Four of Mary Lincoln's siblings and three brothers-in-law fought on behalf of the Confederacy, while Bate's son also took up arms for the seceding states.
Team of Rivals is basically a biography of Lincoln with a different twist. It is not as detailed as other works - especially in relation to some Civil War episodes, because the author tries to paint pictures of so many characters. Her portrait of Lincoln to some extent lacks objectivity. Every Lincoln weakness or vacillation has a logic or rationale.
Lincoln undoubtedly was underestimated by rivals and media. One Democratic newspaper referred to him as "a third rate Western lawyer ... a fourth rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar." As a lawyer and in his early presidential years, the term "inspirational" does not come to mind. To some extent, his behavior did warrant this lack of respect.
His lack of authority over his generals in the early stages of the war must have been disturbing for his cabinet. General McClellan treated him with a disdain and discourtesy that was mind boggling. Had Lincoln been more forceful with Generals Meade and McClellan, it is entirely conceivable the war would have ended much earlier. Kearns (and other writers) has tried to paint Lincoln as an accommodating, understanding head of state. It is probably more accurate to suggest as Martin Luther King did that he was at some stages a "vacillating" president. Much has been written about Lincoln's leadership, but I think, the student of leadership can learn as much from what Lincoln did poorly as he did well.
Lincoln "grew" into the Presidency, winning over doubters and opponents slowly but surely with his down to earth, homely style. He most definitely has won over the author who paints Lincoln in very favorable terms no matter what the occasion. There is a tendency for the reader to become seduced by the portrait. Lincoln becomes more and more likeable, more and more presidential as the book develops. Ultimately, the reader does appreciate what a dreadful tragedy the death of this president was for the nation and almost certainly for what had been the confederate states. Although, no one can say for certain, it does seem likely that the assassinated president would have been able to salve much of the bitterness and hatred that followed the cessation of violence.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Is Sarah Palin a VIP product?
When I speak on Innovation one of the concepts I reference is VIP products. A VIP product is the Holy Grail of Innovation in that it is a product that generates incremental Volume, Image and Profit. In the commercial environment VIP products include Apple iPod, Toyota Prius (here the ‘P’ might stand for Perception rather than Profit) and Gillette Fusion which is the fastest ever entrant into the P&G billion dollar club.
Moving away from the commercial environment to the political arena, the question arises - “Is Sarah Palin a VIP product for the GOP?” She has had a pretty shaky start but no fatal wounds have been incurred yet, so let’s see if she might be that VIP product that will help the Republicans hold the White House.
V – Volume of votes – incremental or not?
The lady definitely has energized the Rush Limbaugh market which is a critical sector for the Republicans. Current reaction would suggest that more of this group will now vote the GOP ticket. They were never going to vote Obama, but prior to Palin, not all of this group might have bothered to vote. The likelihood that Hilary supporters will vote for Palin is slight given their diametrically opposed ideology on most issues. Assuming there are no unknown issues, the 44 year old Governor of Alaska will engender Incremental Volume amongst a certain segment of the voting public. She may also though energize the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and ensure there is Incremental Volume on this side.
I – Image.
Will this selection generate Incremental Image for the Republican ticket? Hmm! It has heightened awareness for sure, but whether it has improved the Image of McCain and GOP is really questionable. If the apparently competent Palin had a few more years experience, her selection would have been a definite home run for McCain across a broad spectrum of voters. Now the jury is out big time and questioning the decision and decision making of John McCain. If Sarah Palin is as powerful a candidate as she is being painted (Republicans are praying that she is rather than genuinely believe it) and can withstand the tremendous pressure of the next two months, she will generate Incremental Image for the ticket and thus generate Incremental Volume of votes for McCain. The only thing her speech tonight will tell us is whether she is a good orator of someone else’s words, because you can be sure the very best scriptwriters are working on her script. However a good performance will probably create enhanced Image for her and the ticket.
P – Perception (rather than Profit)
Once the hysteria about her running for VP as mother of a recent Down’s Syndrome child and soon a daughter who is pregnant dies down, she may well benefit from all fuss. I think there will be a sneaking admiration for her (if she maintains her poise) as the campaign continues and this is quite likely to build the longer she holds up. While “Perception is Reality,” the challenge for the GOP will be to ensure that the ‘Reality’ of Palin they are presenting is genuine. If after a few more days, the mainstream media accepts there is substance to her ‘Maverick’ and ‘Reformer’ tag, the public Perception of her will grow.
Using another marketing analogy, is this lady akin to the Motorola RAZR which burned very bright for a short period before flaming out or is she the Blackberry?
Time will tell, but it sure is interesting.
Moving away from the commercial environment to the political arena, the question arises - “Is Sarah Palin a VIP product for the GOP?” She has had a pretty shaky start but no fatal wounds have been incurred yet, so let’s see if she might be that VIP product that will help the Republicans hold the White House.
V – Volume of votes – incremental or not?
The lady definitely has energized the Rush Limbaugh market which is a critical sector for the Republicans. Current reaction would suggest that more of this group will now vote the GOP ticket. They were never going to vote Obama, but prior to Palin, not all of this group might have bothered to vote. The likelihood that Hilary supporters will vote for Palin is slight given their diametrically opposed ideology on most issues. Assuming there are no unknown issues, the 44 year old Governor of Alaska will engender Incremental Volume amongst a certain segment of the voting public. She may also though energize the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and ensure there is Incremental Volume on this side.
I – Image.
Will this selection generate Incremental Image for the Republican ticket? Hmm! It has heightened awareness for sure, but whether it has improved the Image of McCain and GOP is really questionable. If the apparently competent Palin had a few more years experience, her selection would have been a definite home run for McCain across a broad spectrum of voters. Now the jury is out big time and questioning the decision and decision making of John McCain. If Sarah Palin is as powerful a candidate as she is being painted (Republicans are praying that she is rather than genuinely believe it) and can withstand the tremendous pressure of the next two months, she will generate Incremental Image for the ticket and thus generate Incremental Volume of votes for McCain. The only thing her speech tonight will tell us is whether she is a good orator of someone else’s words, because you can be sure the very best scriptwriters are working on her script. However a good performance will probably create enhanced Image for her and the ticket.
P – Perception (rather than Profit)
Once the hysteria about her running for VP as mother of a recent Down’s Syndrome child and soon a daughter who is pregnant dies down, she may well benefit from all fuss. I think there will be a sneaking admiration for her (if she maintains her poise) as the campaign continues and this is quite likely to build the longer she holds up. While “Perception is Reality,” the challenge for the GOP will be to ensure that the ‘Reality’ of Palin they are presenting is genuine. If after a few more days, the mainstream media accepts there is substance to her ‘Maverick’ and ‘Reformer’ tag, the public Perception of her will grow.
Using another marketing analogy, is this lady akin to the Motorola RAZR which burned very bright for a short period before flaming out or is she the Blackberry?
Time will tell, but it sure is interesting.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Great Stage Management by Dems and GOP
I try to write this blog from othe viewpoint of a keynote business speaker, paying particular attention to communications, marketing and the ‘presentation’ of events or issues. Thus, I endeavor in my commentary on the presidential elections to be objective and view candidates and parties from a marketing perspective.
Kudos then to both the Dems and GOP for brilliant stage management this week. The Democratic convention was a masterpiece of stage management which built to a crescendo for Barack Obama’s speech.
Michelle Obama did a good if not fantastic job ‘introducing’ herself to the American public (well, the Democratic leaning voter anyway.) An obviously accomplished woman, she was followed by a superb performance from Hillary Clinton. Whether you like the woman or not, her speech was top rate. It was energizing, well crafted, exceptionally well delivered and lacked any sense of bitterness. Some of the more cynical observers suggest she was setting herself up as the 2012 candidate, just in case Obama does not get elected. It doesn’t matter what her agenda is. As a political speech and as a work of oratory, she deserves very high praise.
The following night, the political maestro himself – Bill Clinton, had the crowd eating out of his hands. To the surprise of many, he was very complimentary about the man who edged his wife for the nomination. Bill Clinton has an ‘it’ factor that few other performers can claim. When living back in Ireland and before I ever became a Chicago based Irish Keynote Speaker, Clinton visited my homeland in an effort to build the peace process. He is much loved in Ireland because of his commitment to bringing peace between nationalists and loyalists in Northern Ireland. I do recall a work colleague of mine who attended a Clinton function in Dublin saying Clinton “had an aura about him.” Veteran Washington correspondent (now there’s a cliché) Bob Schieffer in This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV tells of an occasion when his wife Pat met Clinton. Her comment was “He’s got it … making you feel the most important person in the room.” Clinton brought that magic to Denver and wowed his audience.
But that of course was not the end of the stage management. Then we had a reasonable speech from Joe Biden after which to the surprise of most people in the arena, Barack Obama joined Biden on stage. I think the Democratic delegates at that stage must have thought ‘this cannot get any better.’
To be fair, it probably didn’t. Obama’s speech the following night did not reach the levels of some of his earlier works of uplifting oratory, but the occasion itself was pretty magical. Job well done, said all the delegates. We are going to get a wonderful bounce of this and whip John McCain in the election.
And they deserved a bounce because of a truly well managed convention.
And then what happens? John McCain goes and ruins it all by announcing Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. This was not just a great piece of stage management. It was ‘stage stealing.’ There will be plenty of time to debate the merits of this Governor of Alaska, but WOW- what a fantastic media coup it has proven to be in the short term. Obama has been blown off the front pages of the newspapers, few commentators are speaking about his speech and the Invesco Field event.
In my work as keynote speaker, I spend a lot of time thinking about stage management and how I can best connect with my audience. I have to admit, I’m impressed by what both parties achieved in the past week.
At time of writing, it is unclear how Hurricane Gustav will impact the Republican convention. We can only hope that its impact will be minimal, thus ensuring that the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas will themselves be impacted minimally.
Kudos then to both the Dems and GOP for brilliant stage management this week. The Democratic convention was a masterpiece of stage management which built to a crescendo for Barack Obama’s speech.
Michelle Obama did a good if not fantastic job ‘introducing’ herself to the American public (well, the Democratic leaning voter anyway.) An obviously accomplished woman, she was followed by a superb performance from Hillary Clinton. Whether you like the woman or not, her speech was top rate. It was energizing, well crafted, exceptionally well delivered and lacked any sense of bitterness. Some of the more cynical observers suggest she was setting herself up as the 2012 candidate, just in case Obama does not get elected. It doesn’t matter what her agenda is. As a political speech and as a work of oratory, she deserves very high praise.
The following night, the political maestro himself – Bill Clinton, had the crowd eating out of his hands. To the surprise of many, he was very complimentary about the man who edged his wife for the nomination. Bill Clinton has an ‘it’ factor that few other performers can claim. When living back in Ireland and before I ever became a Chicago based Irish Keynote Speaker, Clinton visited my homeland in an effort to build the peace process. He is much loved in Ireland because of his commitment to bringing peace between nationalists and loyalists in Northern Ireland. I do recall a work colleague of mine who attended a Clinton function in Dublin saying Clinton “had an aura about him.” Veteran Washington correspondent (now there’s a cliché) Bob Schieffer in This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV tells of an occasion when his wife Pat met Clinton. Her comment was “He’s got it … making you feel the most important person in the room.” Clinton brought that magic to Denver and wowed his audience.
But that of course was not the end of the stage management. Then we had a reasonable speech from Joe Biden after which to the surprise of most people in the arena, Barack Obama joined Biden on stage. I think the Democratic delegates at that stage must have thought ‘this cannot get any better.’
To be fair, it probably didn’t. Obama’s speech the following night did not reach the levels of some of his earlier works of uplifting oratory, but the occasion itself was pretty magical. Job well done, said all the delegates. We are going to get a wonderful bounce of this and whip John McCain in the election.
And they deserved a bounce because of a truly well managed convention.
And then what happens? John McCain goes and ruins it all by announcing Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. This was not just a great piece of stage management. It was ‘stage stealing.’ There will be plenty of time to debate the merits of this Governor of Alaska, but WOW- what a fantastic media coup it has proven to be in the short term. Obama has been blown off the front pages of the newspapers, few commentators are speaking about his speech and the Invesco Field event.
In my work as keynote speaker, I spend a lot of time thinking about stage management and how I can best connect with my audience. I have to admit, I’m impressed by what both parties achieved in the past week.
At time of writing, it is unclear how Hurricane Gustav will impact the Republican convention. We can only hope that its impact will be minimal, thus ensuring that the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas will themselves be impacted minimally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
