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Obama Speech More of the Same

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   August 31st, 2010   |   11 Comments   |  Tweet This

President Obama gave a speech tonight – second one from the Oval Office in his 19 months in office. It was a yawner. What’s going on here?

First of all I want to confess I’ve not reviewed Obama recently because he basically is the same. In delivery. Think of teleprompter, predictability, cadence, professorial, etc. See here and here for a lot more detail. But tonight I was challenged by Michael Hyatt on Twitter, who said;

@MichaelHyatt: I’d like to hear @BertDecker ’s analysis of the President’s speech. It’s difficult to comment apolitical.

Now Michael is a friend, and a HEAVYWEIGHT (sorry for the caps) in the blogosphere and Twitterland, as well as respected CEO, so I couldn’t refuse. Otherwise I would have passed it by again.

Content

It IS hard to be apolitical, as I try to stay away from the politics of the content in most reviews. But in this 19′ speech anyone could have said “What’s the point.”

  • An apolitical comment would be that he wanted to be front and center, use the Bully Pulpit, and declare the war over and reshift our priorities as a country. Did he? I don’t think so.
  • A political comment (that I heard elsewhere) would be that he wasn’t really as interested in Iraq and America at war as he was about changing the domestic agenda of the country. I’m not sure that’s true, but his manner would probably reflect this view more accurately.

The Obama Experience

Here are the opening few minutes of his speech in good quality. For experiencing the communication of the President, you really only have to look at the first minute. It doesn’t change. (But look here to get the entirety in less quality.)

  • Boring – He has no passion or emotion. Granted he is talking policy and he will be quoted and dissected, but a little passion in voice and face now and then would help his believability and influence immeasurably. And he had no stories or SHARPS that would make his message stick.
  • Cadence – Ever since Fred Armison on Saturday Night Live got his cadence down while playing Obama, I can’t look at the President himself and not think of Armison. It is a rhythm that becomes sing-song, and contrived, and does not lead to a feeling of conviction and authenticity. Which leads us to…
  • Professorial - It’s not just me that see’s our President as more and more professorial (academic, informational and aloof) in both demeanor and presentation, it is becoming widespread. Professorial is fine in the classroom, not so fine on the playing field. That is not the communication of a leader.

I could go on, but this is already too much politics for an ‘objective’ communications blog. But thanks for the prompt Michael – this get’s the juices flowing.

More importantly, what do YOU think?


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications, Public Speaking, SHARPs and Stories, Special Event
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Announcing the Decker Communications Board of Directors

Ben DeckerPosted by Ben Decker   |   July 20th, 2010   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

“You will either step forward into growth or you will step backwards into safety.” – Abraham Maslow

Today, Decker Communications chooses growth by proudly announcing the expansion of our Board of Directors!

Click here for more information via our press release.

The Decker Communications, Inc. Board of Directors

Bonnie Blair
5 time Olympic Gold Medal speed skater (record), married to speed skating executive Dave Cruikshank, mother of two, Professional Speaker, Olympic Advisor and corporate spokesperson. Milwaukee, WI.

Jim Carter
Attorney for Decker Communications, Inc. last 30 years, labor law expert, successfully won suit against Presidential candidate, Bohemian Club. San Francisco.

Doug Coates
Director, Coates Consulting, consults with FedEx, Pacer and other companies, previous executive at American President Companies and Itel. San Francisco and Carmel.

Ben Decker
President, Decker Communications, Inc. Member of Executive Committee.

Bert Decker
Chairman, CEO, Founder Decker Communications, Inc. Member of Executive Committee.

Kelly Decker
Executive Vice President, Decker Communications, Inc. Member of Executive Committee.

Brent Jones
Managing Director Northgate Venture Capital, Board of Zazzle, Stanford Hospital and San Jose Sharks, All-Pro SF 49er with three Super Bowl rings. Danville.

Rick Osgood
Founder, Pacific Growth Equities, Director Wedbush Securities, former Chairman Salvation Army Advisory Board of San Francisco. Napa.

Phil Quigley
Former CEO Pacific Telesis and Pacific Bell. Director of Wells Fargo and SRI International. Past Chairman of California Chamber of Commerce and United Way. Hillsborough.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz
President, Charles Schwab Foundation, SVP Charles Schwab & Co., expert advisor on President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, Author “It Pays To Talk.” Trustee Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Kentfield.

Paul Vinogradov
Vice President & Regional Manager of the Alexander Group Inc., international economic development consulting, strategic planning specialist, MBA University of Texas, Austin. San Francisco.


Categories: Newsworthy
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BP CEO: Communications Failure

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   June 2nd, 2010   |   6 Comments   |  Tweet This

UPDATE: June 17. CEO Tony Hayward is live giving Congressional testimony that will probably go down as equal to the Mark McGwire disaster. He has said, “I wasn’t involved in any of the decision making,” and “I don’t know” countless times. Congress, led by a hostile Henry Waxman, seemed incredulous. This whole Gulf oil disaster is a terrible tragedy on a deeply personal level for millions of people – in the U.S., and also in England where BP is a key part of their economy. This Congressional testimony happening right now is a PR and communications disaster that continues. Both in content and in style. I guess it’s not surprising from what might be expected from the following that was posted earlier:

___________________________

I want my life back,” wails BP Oil CEO Tony Hayward. Well, he really doesn’t wail, but he might as well have. Leaders lead, they don’t plead.

The BP Oil disaster on the Gulf Coast needs more than a good communicator, it is a terrible tragedy no matter who is at the helm. But BP does need a good communicator to make the best of an awful plight. Unfortunately, they have CEO Hayward, who has been his own worst enemy.

CEO’s have to be ready to lead with authenticity – where one’s perceived behavior as well as focus really counts. This CEO fails on both accounts.

Authenticity – what you say and how you say it

Hayward has been off from the beginning.  A month ago he appeared aloof – look at his manner in this clip (and above) at an early press conference.

I was appalled at his apparent smug and arrogant behavior. I don’t know him, but if that’s his natural style, I’m surprised he’s CEO. Then again, this is a company that made $10 billion profit last quarter! So where were his advisors? Where were his coaches? Why wasn’t he trained in advance so he knew how to act when the pressure was on. This was not the way.

“I Want My Life Back.”

So here we have a multi-millionaire CEO ‘wanting his life back’ in the face of the families of 11 people killed on ‘his’ oil rig, and tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who will lose their economic life because of his oil. OK, not ‘his’ oil, but he has to speak as if it’s his oil. And he has not. What he did have to do was apologize for his remarks. The problem was, and is, we believe he meant it – that he cares only as it affects BP and himself.

Defense is not the best offense

Throughout these first 40 days of the disaster, Tony Hayward was the spokesperson – yet almost all of his statements smacked of defensiveness. First he says the effects will be very, very modest. More recently, in response to the fact that those cleaning the beaches were getting sick from evident oil fumes, he inferred that it could be “food poisoning!”

His appearances, and performances, were so bad that a national Cable News show ended their newscast with an editorial excoriating Hayward and saying, “Act like you care!”

It was just announced that Admiral Thad Allen will now make all the updates on the Gulf Oil disaster. (He’s good by the way.) Although politics are no doubt also involved, it is not surprising that both BP and the administration wanted Tony Hayward off the air. He did nobody any good, particularly himself.

Lessons for us all

We will all be called upon to speak under pressure in important circumstances. Be prepared. It is not just the CEO’s like Hayward that have to be ready, though the stakes might be higher in his case. It’s all of us. In this video and social media age, we are all on television. If we don’t know how we come across, and where our heart and our message is, we may be doomed to fail when it counts the most. And it doesn’t have to be.

No doubt that Tony Hayward would like his life back. And I bet he’d like to start this communications experience over again – after maybe a heart check and a little training too.


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications, Public Speaking, Uncategorized
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Meg Whitman as Communicator

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   May 2nd, 2010   |   3 Comments   |  Tweet This

Meg Whitman just debated Steve Poizner for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination. It was interesting, but not as interesting as looking at where Meg Whitman might go – if she can communicate.

First the debate:

Meg did well, but Steve probably did better if this was an equal contest. But it is not – Whitman has a 30-40 point lead on Poizner, and the debate did nothing to change that. On June 8 Meg will win in a landslide.

Bring on Jerry Brown:

Jerry Brown

Where this gets interesting is in the general election this summer/fall, between past Governor, Presidential contender, now Lt Gov. of California Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman. It’s one stiff-communicator against another in a race for a prize that’s dubious at best. The state of California is in the worst shape of it’s long history. Can Meg Whitman convince voters she can change that? (We’ll leave Jerry Brown’s communication content and style for a later post.)

Communicate To Influence, Not Just To Inform:

Look at these cogent words from yesterday’s incisive Business Week article on Meg Whitman:

“The most gifted politicians manage to turn scripted “messaging” into stirring stump material, but there is nothing Churchillian in Whitman’s delivery. Says former colleague Rajiv Dutta, former eBay CFO and PayPal president, now a managing director at Elevation Partners: “Clearly she doesn’t have the practiced ease of appearing to be intimate in front of millions, which career politicians have spent their lives perfecting.”

About 80% of the voters are biased and will vote accordingly. For Meg to get those 20-30% undecided to vote for her she must influence, be trusted (and likable) and inspire vision. She’s not there yet. She still speaks in PowerPoint Speak – bullet points and logic statements, and cluttered. Fine for her as a former CEO directing employees, not so great for inspiring voters of a new vision for a collapsed economy. Leaders must inspire, not just inform.

Behaviorally Meg Whitman must loosen up, engage the media, and at least look like she is having fun. She is smart and capable – these are just behavioral habits that she could change with some coaching.

More importantly perhaps, she needs to create sticky messages.

God knows there is enough material in the collapsed state of California to have vivid examples, metaphors, SHARPS and memorable language to help make HER colorful, and much more memorable. She needs messages that are ‘made to stick,’ for example:

  • The union pension fund obligations are like a tsunami that are about to engulf our great State of California
  • Government spending is as out of control as the BP gusher that is polluting the Gulf of Mexico. It must be brought under control.
  • 40% of California’s public school budget is for admin and overhead. If I ran eBay like that I wouldn’t be here talking to you tonight – I would have been fired.

Stay tuned. This is going to be an interesting general election here in California, and could be a microcosm of what’s to come for the country.


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications, Uncategorized
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Video Blog: Harris Poll Top 10 Best Company Reps

Ben DeckerPosted by Ben Decker   |   April 7th, 2010   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

The Harris Interactive Poll came out on Monday measuring how Americans view some of the world’s largest companies. The poll revealed companies’ reputations based on six categories, suggesting that a firm’s brand identity is closely tied to how they come across with their communication.

HuffingtonPost.com did a Top 10 Most Disliked Companies in America piece yesterday, and CFO.com focused on financial comparisons, but I cover some of the Top Best from a critical communication perspective.

Here’s a quick video blog discussing why companies like Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, SC Johnson, Google, and others have great reputations.


Categories: Newsworthy, Short Bits
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Video Blog: Toyota video conference to rally workers

Ben DeckerPosted by Ben Decker   |   March 5th, 2010   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

As many of you have seen, Toyota put on a large-scale video conference with 7,000 employees this morning. This is a great example of using video communication to connect in a business setting.

Here’s a video blog about the critical nature of connecting in business, exemplified by this morning’s Toyota conference:


Categories: Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Video - Use It
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Was Tiger Woods Believable?

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   February 19th, 2010   |   11 Comments   |  Tweet This

Although it was painful for Tiger Woods to have his giant size ’statement’ this morning, the key question is: was he believable? Oh, we want facts (is Elin leaving? when is he returning to golf? is he staying in rehab?, etc) but that information we could get from his web page, where he has announced everything else. We want to see him. We want to hear and ‘feel’ him to judge for ourselves.

My book “You’ve Got To Be Believed To Be Heard” is a case in point. Before this morning, Tiger Woods lived a life of deception – lying to Elin, to his friends, and to millions of his public. He was not believed before his statement. He had to be telling a dozen or so lies a day to keep up his dual life. Has his deception changed? If he’s not believed, he won’t be heard.

So the question is can he regain our trust and his credibility? This was a messaging event where we had to see his heart.

Did we?

In a word, yes.

We saw a different Tiger Woods. Here is what he did well:

  • He apologized. He had never had personally done that before. When he said “I’m sorry” directly to the camera, to the people he was trying to reach, several times, he looked like he meant it. Perception is reality in the mind of the perceiver.
  • He was authentic and sincere. His eyes teared up (and if that is feigned and put on, then he is an acting robot.)
  • He covered the bases, answering those questions he could, and leaving unanswered those he couldn’t.

It’s all about messaging, creating a positive experience that moves the ball in the right direction. He hit a long drive down the fairway.

Here’s is what was missing:

  • This was a staged “press conference.” It began with the announcement in advance that he would take no questions. Immediately he was perceived as blocking, shielding, dodging, lying or otherwise obfuscating and having something to hide.
  • I felt a few times the ‘professional’ polish on his statement – the words he was reading. He spent too much time on his Foundation, and other of his individual efforts. He didn’t have to spend the time on his business partners (and his thanks to Accenture – that was professionally appropriate but not in this personal statement.) I’m not sure his anger at the media was necessary. He showed humility for the first time – I would have liked to see it more coming from the heart than from a prepared statement that could be sure to get in his good side.
  • The ending was awkward. Little things mean a lot. We were looking for the nuance. His smile came back very quickly from a painful experience of anguish. He hugged the first row, then stiffly walked off. And did he wipe his brow on the way out, or was he wiping his eyes. Either was OK, but I’d feel better about him if the emotion tone was consistent throughout seeing him come on and depart.

Ultimately, we’ll see. The words, and this communication experience he’s created, are an important first step. As he said, Elin will judge his behavior, not his words. So will we.

A couple of months ago we had him as one of the Ten Worst Communicators of 2009 – mostly because he shut up and did not communicate, much less speak openly. And whenever he did speak, he never really communicated whom he was even before his downfall. Lesson for all of us – if we don’t communicate openly and authentically, we just don’t communicate and will fail to get a believable message across. The Tiger has now talked.

So Tiger Woods is now out in the fairway, and close to the green. Tiger Woods next couple of shots in public will be critical to see if he ultimately makes a par or a birdie. Or a bogie if he does not walk his talk.


Categories: Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy
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