Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Humility Update: Humility is Strength. Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The Paradox of American Power
Between the 9/11 attacks and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the foreign policy establishment focused on the difference between “soft power” and “hard power.”
The concepts were elaborated in a 2002 book by Joseph S. Nye, Jr., then dean and now University Distinguished Service Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Nye is consistently ranked one of the most influential US scholars on foreign policy.
His book, The Paradox of American Power: Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go it Alone, was remarkably prescient. (more…)
Worth Reading: “Strategic Communication: Getting Back to Basics” by Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Force Quarterly
Taking Strategic Communication Seriously
The United States government is finally taking strategic communication seriously.
This week President Obama used all the instruments of diplomacy to advance the US foreign policy agenda, including getting Russia, France, and Britain to stand with the US against continued nuclear development by Iran.
President Obama’s wins at the UN and in the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh this week are just the latest indication of a more mature and intentional foreign policy that aims at influencing world leaders and the world community in ways that increase the security of the United States.
An important element of this new approach is a renewed emphasis on effective public diplomacy.
Effective Public Diplomacy =
Influencing, not Bullying
Last year I wrote a post about US public diplomacy, and how much of it missed the mark.
I noted that effective communication isn’t about pushing messages to audiences, but rather about provoking a desired reaction from those audiences.
I also quoted Dr. Amy Zalman, who wrote an East-West Institute concept paper, Countering Violent Extremism, that included this observation:
“Good communicators reveal, in speech and action, that they understand the motivations and aspirations of their audiences—and it is via this understanding that they gain their sympathies.”
Dr. Zalman then reviewed US public diplomacy directed toward the Muslim world, and concluded:
“A review of U.S. official rhetoric shows an all too persistent absence of this understanding, an oversight which in turn can fan rather than dampen extremist sentiment.”
The Most Trusted Name in News is a Fake
Several weeks ago I posted on the life and passing of Walter Cronkite and noted that in the early 70s Mr. Cronkite was identified as the most trusted person in America. I wondered aloud whether we could find any contemporary figure so trusted, much less among members of the news media.
That was intended as a rhetorical question. But in the wake of Mr. Cronkite’s passing, Time magazine conducted a survey to see who fills Mr. Cronkite’s role today: the most trusted network broadcaster.
And the winner is…..
Complexity, Social Media & Iran
I’ve been hesitant to write about the Iranian election and the role (or possible role) of social media in its aftermath in the last two+ weeks. Initially, quite a lot was written about social media’s place in the demonstrations and calls for a recount or new election, with some calling it a “Twitter Revolution” (see Moldova’s so-called “Twitter Revolution.“) But it was unclear to me at that early stage what the final outcome might bring. “Social media transforms Iran!” just didn’t seem a likely end result.
These two pieces seemed to be a challenge:
First, I know very little about Iran - its politics or particular religious practices - but what little I do know has left me with the impression that it’s a complex mix of BOTH politics and religion, entirely foreign to most Americans. While in the days (and even week) after the Iranian election there seemed to be a small hope that either the political or religious bodies might accept the calls for a recount or new election, it seemed unlikely that BOTH would.
Humility Update: President Obama on the World Stage
Humility is strength.
More than a year ago I began a series on this blog about humility as a leadership attribute. I noted that
A dollop of humility tempers other attributes, and makes a leader even stronger. Humility helps a leader to recognize that maybe - just maybe - he or she might be wrong; that there may be other valid perspectives; that he or she doesn’t have to be the smartest person in every room, at every meeting.
Humility also helps leaders to connect with others up, down, and across the chain of command; to build organizations and cultures that more likely thrive; to understand the perspectives of other stakeholders.
Yesterday at the close of the G-20 Summit in London, President Obama put his leadership in full focus as he demonstrated both confidence and humility on the world stage. It worked.
He gained the confidence of world leaders, including those who had previously been America’s adversaries or who had predicted that the Summit would fail. He even got a rousing ovation from an otherwise skeptical world press corps.
In a press conference closing the Summit, President Obama demonstrated a tone that was a stark contrast to that of his predecessor, and that rallied other world leaders to seek to cooperate with the United States rather than to resist us.
President Obama set the tone before a single question was asked: (more…)
That Was The Week That Was
What a week for crises!
Forget about the financial melt-down, the transition to the new president, or any of the really old news.
Last week was one for the record books.
The curtain rose Monday, December 8, on the usual tired old economic meltdown crises, particularly the prospect of an auto bailout (that still hasn’t happened).
Then things got curiouser and curiouser…
Not Available on E-Bay
Tuesday Illinois governor Rod R. Blagojevich was arrested for trying to sell his appointment of President Elect Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat to a high bidder. He’s still governor (as of 3:30 PM Monday, December 15).
Update: Humility, Humiliation, and Self-Inflicted Harm: Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
‘Nuff said….
Fred
A Sea Change in Political Communication
David Katz via Obama for America
It’s been a little over a week since the 2008 election came to a dramatic close with Barack Obama as our new President-elect. There’s been a lot of discussion and agreement about how the Obama campaign was significantly better at harnessing the power of social media to drive support, action, donations, votes, and eventually victory, remapping the way a campaign communicates with supporters along the way.
The Internet has certainly been used in previous political campaigns (notably Howard Dean’s). But the tools, the candidates, and the rate at which constituents consume various social media channels have evolved tremendously since 2004
The younger generation voted heavily for Obama (the NYTimes notes that “more 18-29-year-olds went to the polls this year than in any election since 1972,” with 66% voting for Obama). As noted on another blog, “this group is likely to engage in two-way conversation with staff, volunteers, and clients, rather than one-way broadcasts, the style of communication most often used by organizations now.”
Crisis Management: Thinking Clearly
The Global Financial Market Melt-Down
I’ve been at a loss about whether or what to blog about the financial crisis, for several reasons.
- First, our firm’s largest sector is finance/investments/insurance, and we’ve been up to our eyeballs, on things we can’t talk about.
- Second, the policy prescriptions for solving the problem have become embroiled in the presidential election campaign. We try very hard not to be overtly political in our work, and opining on the policy prescriptions risked getting into the presidential election scrum.
But today there’s a teachable moment, so I’ll pounce.
(more…)
Emotions are Stubborn Things, Part 1
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
– John Adams, ‘Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,’ December 1770
By now, as we face the final run-up to the November election, most of us have heard more than enough about the presidential horserace. Lately, though, I can’t get a certain politically embedded mantra out of my head. So, with that as my mental soundtrack, I’ll share a few thoughts on politics and communication.
“Facts are stubborn things.” Have you heard this one?
It’s one “sticky” phrase. At least three presidents, including John Adams (see above), and one former presidential candidate (who will remain nameless) have warned us about the redeeming intransigence of facts, and legions of pundits and citizen bloggers have chimed in for the chorus during the current election cycle. Google “facts are stubborn things,” and you’ll get 71,800+ results, most of which landed in cyberspace in the last two years.
So, here’s my question: Are facts the only stubborn things?