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?

What I love most about Jerry Rice is his work ethic – it’s unparalleled. We even use him as THE epitome of continuous improvement in our programs. Whether you’re a wide receiver, financial advisor, sales engineer or operations manager, you’ve got to stay on top of your game. That means working hard to keep beating your personal best.

So here he is, the inspirational, talented, greatest-wide-receiver-of-all-time delivering the speech of his life:

Ouch. It’s halting. Stiff. Choppy. He misreads it with broken syntax and wrong words. And worst of all, he’s completely disconnected…an empty yellow jacket. (If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can see the whole thing here.)

Regretfully, the comparison that popped immediately into my mind is a scene from last year’s big comedy, The Hangover. No disrespect Jerry – it was just this bad.

What happened?
The content looks great – you can read the full speech here. It’s well written with emotion and great, specific examples. But therein lies the rub. When it’s not delivered with emotion and completely lacks any connection with the listeners (he barely glanced at Joe Montana when he mentioned him), the communication experience tanks.

The bad news:
We ALL do it. Content takes over and we think, “If I just say the words, people will get it.” But you have to speak to the hearts and minds of people to get their attention, buy-in, motivation to act. And there’s nothing like reading a scripted speech that will kill that experience.

The good news:
Jerry CAN do it. In fact, he did. Here’s a fantastic interview following the announcement of his Hall of Fame selection (before the big induction day). No notes, nothing written down – just him being himself – genuine, affable, confident and showing raw emotion. If he only delivered the speech this way. (The entire thing is great, but watch from 3:45’ and on.)

How to avoid it:
Don’t script! We teach people to use post-it notes with trigger words (3-5 words ONLY). Most of the time, you KNOW your content well, the key is to remain organized and focused in your delivery. You just need a few notes for reference.

Practice! This is a huge high-stakes presentation. Word on the streets is that Emmit Smith – who was superb in his induction speech – spent weeks practicing. Not unlike Steve Jobs prepping for a MacWorld keynote or major product launch. Please note: we wouldn’t normally advocate practicing for weeks on end (after all, you just don’t have the luxury of time to do it for a routine staff meeting), but this IS a pretty big deal, and worth the time and focus.

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:

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.

___________________________

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.

Let me add on to Dan’s 3 tips with a few examples we’ve seen in our programs recently:

1. Be Simple: Force yourself to prioritize. Boil down your message into one (yes, one) phrase that signifies the single biggest change in how you want people to think or act about your idea, topic, initiative, product or service.

A veterinarian from our messaging program was trying to convince pet owners that they’re overusing protein in their pet’s diets. This could easily turn into a PowerPoint nightmare of chart-by-chart comparisons of the recommended dietary allowances for carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. Instead, she focused her message and took a page right out of James Carville’s playbook, and created the Point Of View: “It’s the calories, stupid.” And then she went on, “Protein alone is not the answer. It’s a balanced diet that your pet needs.”

2. Show something: One participant said that rather than decorate his slides with bullet points, and complex diagrams, that they would begin to “Deckerate” them instead. That means simplify – to the point that you might not even need a slide. Remember that slides are supposed to be a support for your presentation, not to be the presentation.

Of course, the best example of showing and not telling is all things Apple. Man, that iPad is beautiful, and yes, I want it. Apple is so good that they even get you to think that you need it.

3. Tease before you tell: Get them interested! In one of our programs last month, an exec from an insurance company announced that he was going to be doing his in-class presentation on work/life balance. Snooze. Like we haven’t heard that one before. But he began this way…first, he grabbed a flip chart and wrote “Key Clients” at the top. Then he asked everyone to write down their top 5 clients. “If those are your very best clients, you take their calls, right? You’ll let them interrupt a meeting, and always think about how you can add value.” Teaser accomplished. He continued, “Now, how many of you listed your spouse or kids on that list? It’s absolutely critical that you think of your own family as key clients.” Whoa. Mom guilt is in full effect. I’m in.

Your turn. Win a seat in our upcoming June 4 Decker Made to Stick Messaging program! Comment below with a good stickiness story and we’ll draw a winner!

Yes, it’s simple. I get it. It’s a cloud. There’s just one little problem. Clouds stink because you can’t see through them. Their mere presence makes the morning commute a little bit longer, and they’re notorious for delaying flights in and out of SFO.

For those in high tech, you’re cursed big time with your own knowledge about cloud computing. You know what happens in that cloud – you can talk all day about leveraging shared capabilities that are self-healing to maximize efficiency and minimize risk, right? Unfortunately for you, the rest of us don’t know that tune. In fact, we’re probably a whole lot more like Dorothy trying to figure out what’s going on behind the curtain.

So, how can you differentiate your message about the cloud (or any technical jargon for that matter)?

First, think about your customers – what’s the number one thing they’re concerned with? What would make them resistant to your idea? Maybe it’s security. For example, why would I (as a CTO) hand over all my precious data to you, and not know exactly what’s happening in that cloud and how it’s being used?

Next, try a dose of Unexpectedness to get your message to be heard – here’s how a recent participant from our Decker Made to Stick program framed her message around the cloud:

When we think of clouds, we typically think of big, white puffy things. The cloud I’m talking about is completely different because you can see through it. It offers the transparency you need to clearly see all the data flowing in and out of the network…

All of a sudden the big benefit of visibility is brought to life because she juxtaposed it right next to our schema of what a cloud is: nebulous, nontransparent and even confusing.

I leave you with a little inspiration and perspective from the great Joni Mitchell and her lyrics to Both Sides Now (my Women in Music professor would be so proud – watch a fabulous performance here). Imagine that your customers view your cloud offering this way…

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall.
I really don’t know clouds at all.

It’s on you to make sure your customers and even non-technical team members know those clouds inside and out. How else are you going to get them to buy off on that cute white fluffy thing?

We’d love to hear some of your great message successes (technical or not) – send them our way!

*UPDATE: Here’s an awesome plain-spoken explanation on cloud computing from Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal (thanks to our buddies at ServiceSource for the tip!).