We have seen the fall of giants, as well as the sleaze of some we have never heard of. Just put these names together: Sandusky, Paterno, McQueary, Cain, Bialek, White, Fine, Boeheim, Sheen, Weiner and the list could go on and on to include CEO’s, politicians, Trustees, and celebrities. We name some of them in our Worst list, but we do not get into those tainted by the many sexual abuse cases that have reared their ugly heads in the last few months. Too much “he said, she said” and outright lying – we really yearn for those we can hear, trust, and follow. So here they are – on the Best list:

The 10 Best

1. Steve Jobs – perhaps the communicator of the decade, or century.

Steve Jobs was the rare one who created and developed vision, communicated it clearly and colorfully, and then led to completion. He has been on our Best list four times, was #1 in 2005, and presented his iconic intro of the iPhone in 2007. He not only transformed technology and the way we live, but he also transformed the way business communicates. Renowned for his Apple product introductions he moved the word “rock star” into the business world. For CEO’s, speaking will never be the same. No more Death by PowerPoint – he just used a few visuals, and then spoke from the heart. Well rehearsed, but real – authentic, and always with a message. Perhaps his greatest “speech” was at the Stanford University commencement in 2005. His message continues to echo and be a model for not only business, but the larger world. We will miss him.

2. Howard Schultz – the all around business leader/communicator.

Schultz uses excellent communications to consistently lead Starbucks to success. He began the Starbucks journey in 1987 when he had to convince people to invest and buy at the start, then inspire with vision to grow. Then in 2008 Schultz had to communicate with firmness tough decisions to fire and close stores in turning around Starbucks when they had lost their way. This year he wrote a best seller, Onward, and also we did a blog post on how he elevated his communications to join in national, political and economic dialogue. Always the innovator, now he is visioning a new juice brand with his purchase of Evolution Fresh. All this is the work of a master leader/communicator.

3. Chris Anderson – elevating speech in the TED format.

Founder of the wildly popular TED Talks, Anderson is a visionary who uses speaking and video communication to contribute to the world around him. His ability to verbalize the essence of TED continues to inspire the best and the brightest to participate, leaving viewers with hours of juicy content to imbibe. People are so inspired by the concept that there are independent mini-TED conferences springing up all over the world – and Anderson continues to speak out to support the movement. His challenge to companies to add value when advertising with Ads Worth Spreading is another mark of Chris Anderson as a leader and innovator in the world of communications.

4. Virginia Rometty – communicating on the fast track.

For the last seven years Fortune named Virginia Rometty as one of the top 50 most influential women (#8 this year) – for good reason. This year she became the first female CEO of IBM. And as bright as she was and is, it was largely her communications that elevated her. Leadership is executed through communications, and ‘Ginni’ is likeable, strong, memorable, and connects with large audiences in a very authentic style. She is a natural at incorporating SHARPs in all her communication, and does it skillfully and naturally.  Their stock is at an all time high – and we doubt that it’s a coincidence.

5. Chris Christie – a political poster child for authenticity.

Although it seems like every year now is a political year, this one is a whopper. With Obama already actively campaigning for 2012, over 30! Republican debates, and allegations flying at many of the candidates – who do we believe? Who is authentic? Chris Christie leads the pack – for even his enemies say that he means what he says and says what he means. His manner is direct, often gruff, more often funny. But few question his sincerity, as he is unique in refusing to run in order to finish his job as Governor. Many Republicans wish he was running in the primary, for it’s no coincidence that his communication skills match his ability to get things done in turning around the economy in New Jersey against all political odds. He can persuade public opinion with the best of them.

6. Lady Gaga – speaking out with multi-dimensional creativity.

She’s full of surprises and loves to shock us, but what’s even more surprising is her communication ability. Although Lady Gaga projects a character that’s pretty out there (think meat dress, rotary telephone sticking out of her head, and her new groundbreaking 14’ music video) we can all learn from her creativity. She personifies originality and pushing the edge, and we all need to do a little more of that. Yet when she speaks, she’s articulate. Gaga comes across well beyond her years – poised, confident, and sincere. When interviewed, especially about her Little Monsters (aka fans), her genuine adoration for them is clear, and she becomes again, surprisingly, human. Gaga can own a stage not only with her songs, but also with her goosebump-inducing cadence when delivering a speech.

7. Warren Buffett – years of consistent communications.

It’s been a long time coming – Buffett lands himself on the list for his consistently strong communications over the years. While he is an investor and businessman, the way he speaks and conveys his ideas have made him an icon. He even has spoken on the importance of getting training in speaking! People look to him for wisdom and sage advice. He’s a trusted leader, and known to say what he thinks, even if it’s unexpected and potentially unpopular. Most notably this year, Buffett raised eyebrows with his call for more taxes on the wealthy. And his credibility is supreme, as he was the leader who corralled a bunch of other billionaires to give away their $$$ to charity – leading off with personally donating the largest charitable donation in U.S. history of $31 billion. He puts his money where his mouth is. Although he doesn’t often give long speeches, he’s authentic and powerful when he does, contributing to his long-cultivated reputation as a respected thought-leader.

8. Christine Lagarde – speaking powerfully from the top of the financial world.

She is elegant, stylish and stately – and tough as nails. It’s not a wonder that Christine Lagarde was elected head of the IMF after the Dominick Strauss Kahn scandal. She was the one who could handle the turmoil, and bring direction to this large and important agency. She speaks with clarity and firmness, and in so doing, marks herself as one of the top communicators in the world. She is articulate yet pointed. She knows the facts yet summarizes the key points. She is calm, knowledgeable, measured, and yet forceful in IMF policy in Italy. With one of her most charming and powerful qualities being candor she speaks with firmness and grace, and handles interviews well. She communicates as the leader she is, and if Strauss hadn’t vacated the post she would have ended up leading some other major organization.

9. Morgan Spurlock – high energy and a distinctive style puts him in his own films.

Whether he’s stuffing his face with Big Macs or recruiting sponsors for his own 2011 TED Talk Spurlock’s high energy and distinctive style continues to capture our attention. He puts himself in the middle of his documentaries, like his Academy Award nominated “Super Size Me” where he skillfully walks the line between outlandish and down to earth. Most recently his camera shined a light on movie product placement with “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.” It’s Spurlock’s pervasive curiosity, grab-a-beer-with-me approachability, and passion that keep us watching and waiting for his next expose.

10. Andy Rooney – a tribute to creating a unique communications experience.

This cranky, prickly mainstay communicator of 60 Minutes was 92 in age, but young in heart and vitality. Andy Rooney continued until his death stating it like it was – as he saw it. In all, he delivered 1,097 commentaries. You might have disagreed, but you would laugh along with him. His energy, forward lean, facial mannerisms and bushy eyebrows made him someone we enjoyed watching and listening to. He made every time we saw and heard him a unique communication experience, and we will miss his witty insights.

The 10 Worst

1. Anthony Weiner – poster child for deceptive communications.

There is a poster child for this year’s theme of deception and evasion that is so pervasive in so many of the worst communicators of 2011. Anthony Weiner was a respected congressman – elected as much by his communications as his deeds. Using that same confident style, he was filled with puffed up outrage when claiming his Twitter account was hacked by someone else showing his lewd photos. Turns out we were the ones to be deceived by his lies, and when he fessed up that it was him who tweeted, he continued to obfuscate, trying to hang on to his office. But he had to hang it up, as his communications this time did him in. He had no apology, in both substance and style. He ultimately resigned in disgrace – because of the photos sure, but just as much because of communications that lacked any degree of humility, credibility and above all leadership. We don’t follow liars very well.

2. Brian Harrison and Bill Stover – Solyndra execs just do not communicate.

It’s never a good idea to NOT communicate when you are under fire, in business as well as in politics and sex scandals. Brevity and effective diversion is one thing, stonewalling is something else. When you take the 5th, you are shoving your communications right slap in the face of the public – unless you perhaps can do it with a smile, or sense of regret. No regret here, as both Harrison and Stover show how closed communications will not further the cause – but will doom it. Such performance reminds us of a few other Worst Communicators we featured here, like Mark McGuire in 2005. Communicating effectively is most critical under the toughest pressure – best to practice before. And it helps to not be guilty…

3. Charlie Sheen – erratic does not pay.

This can’t be a huge surprise for anyone who has watched TV or read the news in the last year. Charlie Sheen lost control and went on a rampage not once, twice, but for a significant portion of 2011. While Sheen has come out saying it was “one weird phase,” his sustained communication faux pas was much more – it was the start of his fall. Following the example of Mel Gibson (#5 on 2010 Worst List), Sheen lost his television role after unleashing a furious rant about his Two and a Half Men producer, and then spun off to rant across the country on a failed tour . As Sheen preached about winning, he was actually failing by becoming a joke. He may be attempting a comeback, but Sheen is a painfully clear example of how erratic communication can destroy a reputation, and perhaps a career.

4. The Murdochs & Ms. Brooks – followers communicate like their leaders.

This motley crew went on the defensive in the wake of their cell phone hacking scandal this year, communicating elusively and trying to get away with as much as possible. Father Rupert’s history of aloofness and arrogance caught up with him this year, especially as he brushed off his apologies to those affected by the hackings. Son Jim spoke most during their parliamentary hearings and found himself hissing like a cornered animal, only further highlighting his deception. To top it off, News Corp staff Rebekah Brooks, when announcing to her News of the World team that they’re jobless due to her mismanagement, spent most of the time talking about her own feelings – unsurprisingly, her staff pushed back on her arrogance. Guilty of bad journalism practices isn’t the only question here – these three are guilty of poor communication.

5. Rick Perry – it’s not just the one miscue, but the overall experience.

Rick Perry had the most publicized communication failure of the year with his brain freeze in remembering his third point in a very public setting. The Rule of Three is good, but you don’t want to say “There are three things…” in advance in a very public forum such as a Presidential Debate unless you know you will remember them. Or have them in your notes. So he could have topped the Worst list with that faux pax along with his early amateurish debate performances, marked by halting mannerisms, jerky style and hostile attacks. But he’s here in the middle because he recovered pretty well, mostly by poking fun at himself. So at least there’s a positive learning point here – the power of humor.

6. Brian Moynihan – not ready for primetime.

Bank of America CEO Moynihan has had several missteps in his first year handling the $billion behemoth, from the $5 debit surcharge to the foreclosure fiasco. And at a time when clear communications and leadership was required, he stumbled, most notably when causing an uproar over his excuse that BofA has a “right to make a profit.” You know you’re in trouble when you’re on a list of CEOs who need to be fired. Business leaders can’t ‘talk’ transparency – they have to live it, and communicate it. Although the returns aren’t in yet, Brian Moynihan has a long way to go to talk straight to re-establish trust with his customers and right the bank that so many feel wronged by.

7. Greg Mortensen – Three Cups of Deceit.

Communications built up the reputation and wallet of this author of the best selling “Three Cups of Tea”. He leveraged that success and began receiving high priced fees for keynote speaking. He actually wasn’t bad – and had a great message to tell about his humanitarian aid for Pakistan women. But that confidence and forward lean style disappeared when he was exposed by “60 Minutes” –  to have lied, and possibly misused charitable funds. Nowhere is guilt more apparent in communicating style than in this clip where he is confronted by a 60 minutes reporter – it’s not just that he is caught off guard, it is his lack of eye communication, hesitation as well as subsequent behavior that shouts “guilty.” He was asked to resign, and this was followed up by an acquaintance writing the book “Three Cups of Deceit” that is outselling the best seller. Character and integrity are the base for the tripod of good communications.

8. The Commissioners: Selig, Goodell and Stern – where leadership requires powerful communicators.

For missing the leadership opportunities in the NBA, NFL and MLB we might dub them the three blind mice – but certainly not the three wise men. Although it wasn’t entirely the fault of David Stern, the NBA Commissioner helped the league lose a couple of months of their multi-billion dollar season this year. Under Bud Selig Major League Baseball lost hundreds of millions in one of the most devastating strikes of any league several years ago. We have no giants at the helm of the big three professional sports leagues  – remember Pete Rozell, Ford Frick, Larry O’brien and Peter Ueberoth, to name a few. They were leaders who communicated, where now we have Roger Goodell of the NFL – he holds himself so meekly we rarely hear of him, but at least he averted a strike. David Stern has been here since 1984 – he’s been around the longest and may be the most offensive communication wise with his arrogance – holds his head high, pompously. Ironically, the healthiest league now is under the worst speaker of the three, Bud Selig, who was #4 on our Worst Communicators list in 2007. He tends to articulate as if his mouth is full of grapes. The Commissioners lead big strong athletes, and they need to be big, strong communicators.

9. Leo Apotheker – a bull in a china shop.

When one of the three key reasons you’re fired as CEO is bad communication, you’re going to make our list. Apotheker was known for going his own way, not communicating a clear vision for HP, not getting consensus and buy-in of his executive board, and standing at the helm as HP’s stock lost nearly half it’s value. The real nail in the coffin may have been his flopped August 18 announcement that HP would kill the Touch Pad and spin off the PC unit, a message that was unclear internally at HP and certainly to customers. Communicating both internally with boards and staff and externally with vision and promise is essential to great leadership. Apotheker fell short and lost a huge opportunity. You can’t be a bull in a china shop without crashing a lot of plates.

10. President Barack Obama – needing to communicate to unite.

The President always appears on the list – sometimes best, sometimes worst – but the bully pulpit is so powerful in America that the communication style and impact of the President has influence far beyond the issues. So it is this year – as Obama, who once led the Best list in 2008, now is the best of the worst. We’ve often blogged on Obama’s failure as a communicator. Here it is not so much deception as evasion – where the promise of Change and Hope was trumpeted from his Bully Pulpit so forcefully that everyone believed. No longer – as leadership from the White House, and from Congress as well, has stalled. Instead of a Presidential vision and message we have political maneuvering and name calling. When we need uniting, we hear dividing. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the politics of the name calling isn’t the point – the learning is that when in a position of power, a leader must trumpet a direction in spite of the circumstances. (And not use a teleprompter to do it.)

I recently worked with an exec that has a motto: No Broken Windows. As he walks around his office and sees a piece of trash, or a broken window, or whatever – he fixes it. Makes a big impression on his 500 employees.

The Broken Window Theory is actually based on social science research (pretty intriguing). It concludes that if a building has some broken windows, it leads to further damage and vandalism to that building and that neighborhood. Malcom Gladwell also mentioned research on it in The Tipping Point .

Why does this resonate? It got me thinking about the idea, “give an inch, they take a mile.” When I let something slip a little, it seems to slip much farther than I’d like. Exercising for instance, how easy it is to get out of the habit! If you leave a desk messy (I’m looking at mine as I write this), it sets a tone for the office – it’s OK to be messy.

And it’s fascinating to apply these ideas to leadership and communications.

We need to demand more of ourselves. We can’t allow any Broken Windows in communication within our companies and organizations. But making this change isn’t always easy. So much of the work we do at Decker is about changing how people come across both behaviorally and with their messaging. Frankly, it’s our job to make you uncomfortable so you can take risks and grow. Comfortable is a dangerous place to be, after all.

The number one resistance we hear from our participants is, “But, this isn’t the way it’s been done in the past.” Exactly! If we want change, we have to take some risks. What’s that description of insanity, again? Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result? It’s become an accepted norm to have poor internal communications within organizations. Then they end up with more vandalism and broken windows, err… rather, more boring meetings and updates that don’t lead to progress or success.

Be aware of what’s happening within your organization. Ghandi’s quote is timeless: Be the change you wish to see in the world. It’ll feel risky, but as I tell many executives that run large organizations – you have to be the example.

Keep communications top of mind within your team. If you have the No Broken Windows attitude, you’ll start to change the culture around you.

I guess I’m going to go work out now…

There is serious Giants fever in San Francisco. The sidewalks are streaming with fans clad in orange and black. Co-workers are screaming game updates over cubes (actually as I sit on BART, some guy just yelled, “the Giants are up!” (Game 3 vs. the Phillies began at 1:05pm today). There’s even a sign posted in the high rise window across from our office, “Go Giants!”.

In the spirit of the playoffs, communicators everywhere can take a tip from professional athletes. You gotta work on your game to get to the bigs. And keep working on it to clinch the pennant.

It’s about continuous improvement. There’s really only one group of professionals who are always in school, constantly acquiring and responding to feedback…

Athletes. They break down video, refine techniques, and in doing so they’re conscious of every position, stance and swing. And you should be too.

But, in our daily jobs, we blissfully go along communicating unconsciously. Maybe you stare at the Blackberry with someone standing right in front of you asking your opinion. Or talk in a monotone voice on a conference call at 4pm, while trying to rally the troops around meeting that project deadline. Or you talk in such complicated jargon that no one leaves the meeting with the same message. The problem is we don’t even know it – we are simply unconscious about our communications.

Start now: 3 easy ways to regain consciousness:

1. Get yourself recorded. Ok, I get it – it might be tough to rig a video camera in the middle of your next meeting, but everyone has access to an audio recorder. You don’t even need to buyanaudiorecorder anymore. Get an app on your phone and record your next conference call – andthen listen to it. Would you want to listen to you?
2. Get feedback. The only way to figure out what you’re doing is for someone to tell you. After yournext meeting, ask a colleague for feedback: 3 Keepers and 3 Improvements.The feedback must be balanced and specific so that you can do something with it.
3. Get involved. Subscribe to this blog (and others like it) and have posts delivered to your Inbox.That little reminder in your email about communications just once per week is enough to keep you thinking. Other options:

• Join the Linked In Decker Community
• Like us on Facebook – we’re currently holding a contest to give away a seat in one of our upcoming Decker Made to Stick Messaging programs. Get in on the action.

Keep us posted. Let us know how you’ll turn your communications experience into a winning season.

BTW…update from the guy on BART: Giants take it 3-0, and now lead the series 2-1. Go Giants!

**Update: Comment on this post with why you need help with your messaging skills by midnight PST Oct 29 to enter to win a seat in an upcoming Decker Made to Stick Messaging!**

It’s intriguing, deep, and action packed. And great effects if you’re into that kind of thing. While I was trying to sort out the plot around whose subconscious was whose, I started hearing the SUCCESs framework from Made to Stick. Disclosure: yes, I am in tune to it, but really not that geeky about it. Seriously, Nolan MUST have taken a few notes from the book in his research. If you’ve read the book or attended one of our programs you know that SUCCESs is a checklist for sticky messages which share the principles of Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Story.

The premise of Inception is how to extract and plant subconscious thoughts, using dreams as the vehicle. And it turns out that planting an idea is the more difficult of the two. Not unlike what we do everyday: trying to plant ideas like adopting a new technical standard, launching a new initiative or process, convincing the boss why we’re the right person for the job, lobbying for a family vacation in Florida instead of Colorado, and even getting the kids to put things back in their place (by starting with putting their shoes away in the closet instead of leaving them in the middle of the kitchen floor).

So, Leo (aka, master thief Dom Cobb) assembles a crack team including a dream architect, a chemist, and a forger – all of whom can also kick butt in the process. Their task: to plant an idea in the mind of a major energy conglomerate heir – specifically, the idea that he should sell off and disband the business his father built. And they do it using a few of the SUCCESs principles that also map to the Decker Cornerstones:

• Simple: The idea must be incredibly simple so that it can grow and thrive on its own. That means boiling your message down to the biggest change in how you want your listener to think/act about your idea – it’s your Point Of View.
• Concrete: There must be some specificity and familiarity in the environment to allow the idea to grow. In other words, once you get someone to buy off on your Point of View, you must tell them what to do next. Include a Specific Action Step that is timed, physical and measurable.
• Emotion: Use it! This is the get-someone-to-CARE-about-your-idea part. Why would they do this? Give them the benefits (to THEM), and remember that positive emotion trumps negative emotion. The movie really tugs at the heartstrings here – without giving away too much I’ll just say that parents, don’t throw out all the elementary school artwork.

And it all comes together in a terrific 2.5-hour story that keeps your mind whirling. Head to the theater and go brush up on your communications – it’s a pretty good excuse. I’ll leave you with the trailer:

So, what the heck does Spartacus have in common with data integration?

This particular client of ours is all about data. They love it. Respect it. Manage it. Integrate it. They make data useful to their customers. One of the most important benefits of their products and services is that they can ease tension between IT and Sales/Marketing.

Here’s just one example of what they do: they make it so the sales and marketing teams have the information they need to have a 360 degree view of their customers, all in one place. Better customer relationship management, increased sales…all good news. And, nobody has to bug the IT folks for bad data. To show this (in a mock presentation to a customer), one participant began his message with this classic scene from Spartacus:

Then he went on:

“You have no idea who is the real Spartacus is among your customers. Your data is just plain bad and you can’t service these customers effectively. It’s critical that you upgrade and simplify your systems.”

Now there’s one that will stand out against the competition.

Challenge yourself by asking, “How will I be remembered?” They likely won’t sign on the dotted line right after you finish your PowerPoint presentation. That message of influence must persist longer than the 60 minute meeting that you have with that customer, team member, or boss. As your listener is flooded with all sorts of information for the rest of the day, how will your message be remembered so that they buy off on your message and take action?

A few weeks ago Kelly posted on Obama’s “Grab a mop!” Here’s an example of the other side exemplifying skills with metaphors, analogies, and other good stickiness to make a point. Congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia gets prime time coverage here (not just C-SPAN) for visually using the 2,000 page Health Care bill and his phrase, “If your kitchen sink is leaking, you fix the sink. You don’t take a wrecking ball to the entire kitchen. This bill is a wrecking ball to the entire economy.”

The metaphor takes a complex idea like his view on health care and simplifies it in an instant. And it’s easy to visualize how outrageous a wrecking ball smashing through a kitchen would be — and that’s what he wanted to do.

So there you have it, another great sticky message. We look for them everywhere, just like raccoons look for snails and slugs under the grass in my backyard…  (well, that’s another story, but here are a few pics just so you don’t think I made that up. The best word pictures come from real life.)

We’re excited about change at Decker Communications, Inc. I started this blog over four years ago (here’s the first post.) Didn’t know much about blogs then, but my ultra techie son Sam Decker (@SamDecker) of the fast growing Bazaarvoice got me started – and seems clients and others have found value over these years.

Now that my other son Ben Decker is President of Decker, and he and his ultra talented wife and Executive VP Kelly Decker have pretty much taken over managing and expanding our communications consulting and training business – it’s time for their voices to be more prominent. I’ll be continuing to post, and now and then you’ll hear from one of our Program Leaders or a guest communicator as well. Our plan is to increase the breadth and depth of our coverage while not losing focus.

We’ll continue to blog about insights, tips and new ideas on the behavior and messaging of communicating in the business world. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and we will apply our 30 years experience of what works – so you can create YOUR communications experience – in any situation.

We’ll continue to cover personal communications, leadership influence and the impact of exploding technology in speeches, meetings and conferences. (See last post.) We’ll always have a consistent Point Of View – making the subject one of value to you, our clients and readers. But we’ll have some fresh perspectives now, and different personal approaches as well.

So thanks for subscribing and reading – and tell us what you’d like to hear about. We’ll plan to make good use of your time.