What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, by Scott McClellan Almost 20 years ago I was head of communication at a major company, and I spent much of every day speaking with reporters. The deal I had with the CEO was straightforward: “I won’t lie to you; I won’t lie […]
Pope Benedict XVI dazzled New York and Washington this week, both with the majesty of his office and with his personal humility. The latter confounded expectations. I have not been a particular fan of the man who is now Pope. When he was known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the […]
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! One week ago Elliot Spitzer was governor of New York, working hard to overcome an admittedly rocky first year in office. Today he’s gone, felled by a prostitution scandal that has all the markings of Greek tragedy. From the moment the news broke last week, I’ve received dozens of […]
The 1960 televised debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy was a turning point. It forever changed politics. The power of the visual image to emphasize sizzle over steak was initially a surprise to political scientists. Kennedy’s win, attributable to his superior performance in the debate, wasn’t supposed to happen. […]
In this week’s New Yorker Hendrik Hertzberg sums up the reasons that Senator Hillary Clinton’s policy arguments aren’t impeding the momentum that is building for her Democratic Party rival, Senator Barack Obama. Hertzberg notes: An argument is no match for an aura. I have been thinking about Hertzberg’s insight this week, and noting both how […]
Two stories in today’s (Feb. 6) New York Times compel me to blog. Each reinforces our recent posts about self-inflicted harm, but each also provides its own teachable moment. 1. Wachovia Bank Yesterday we blogged about the tendency of companies and their leaders to ignore a problem that is otherwise evident. Another principle of crisis […]
One of the recurring themes of crisis management is that most harm in a crisis is self-inflicted, either in the first instance or because of a late or weak response, or both. A second theme is that an effective response is often delayed by predictable mis-steps. Logos Institute has catalogued ten missteps that seem to […]
Why Should the Boss Listen to You?: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor, by James E. Lukaszewski, Jossey-Bass. How do you make a difference? How do you obtain and exercise influence inside your own organization? How can you become a trusted advisor, either in your own shop or to your clients? Master counselor […]
What Orwell Didn’t Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics, edited by András Szántó, Public Affairs Press, 2007. George Orwell’s seminal essay “Politics and the English Language” noted that precision in language is a reflection of clear thinking. Imprecise language not only reflects weak thinking on the part of the writer or speaker, […]
Thank you all for your very thoughtful comments on my post on humility as a leadership attribute. Today (the day after the New Hampshire primary) I’ve gotten lots of calls and e-mails from people who read my original post, all commenting on Senator Hillary Clinton’s surprise victory in New Hampshire. As you know, after the […]