Big Government is Not the Issue

By Steven Kull

An abridged version of the following article appeared in Politico. It includes some newly released poll findings that can be viewed here.

Conventional wisdom is that the political pendulum has swung away from the Democrats–driven by a fierce reaction to a “Big Government” agenda. This spawned the tea party movement. But the story is not so simple.

Polls do show that the tea party is striking a chord with many Americans. In fact, 52 percent of Americans feel sympathy with the tea party movement, according to a new poll from WorldPublicOpinion.org.

But it does not appear that this sympathetic response is connected to the tea party’s warning about Big Government. Only 31 percent of tea party sympathizers say their main concern is that government “is becoming too big.” Rather, 55 percent say their greater concern is that the government “is not following the will of the people.”

Even among the hard core who say that they are very sympathetic to the tea party–one in five overall–only 46 percent cite major concerns about Big Government. More of this group, 47 percent, express greater concern about the lack of democratic responsiveness.

Speakers at tea party rallies regularly invoke the theme that the government is not responding to the will of the people and claim the mantle of representing the people in defiance of the government’s failure to respond. Sarah Palin, at the climax of one speech, said, “This movement is about the people. … Remember, all political power is inherent in the people, and government is supposed to be working for the people.”

Justin Graber echoed, “When it’s [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid vs. the will of the American people, America is on our side.”

These messages resonate. In the new WPO poll, 83 percent of the general public says that the will of the people should have more influence than it does. Those very sympathetic to the tea party are even higher — at 95 percent. Asked whether “this country is pretty much run by a few big interests looking out for themselves or for the benefit of all the people,” 81 percent of Americans say it is run by big interests; as do 90 percent of the strong sympathizers.

From a political perspective, what really matters is how the tea party message is reaching beyond the Republican base. This reach is substantial.
Among those who are sympathetic to the tea party, only 39 percent are firmly Republican. The remaining 61 percent include those who lean Republican (15 percent), are independents (20 percent), lean Democratic (6 percent), or are firmly Democratic (20 percent).

Among these non-Republican tea party sympathizers, just 23 percent say they are primarily concerned about Big Government, while 59 percent say they are more concerned about the government being unresponsive to the people.

Yet there is little evidence that most Americans have turned to the Republican model of small government. A recent Washington Post poll asked, “Which party do you think has better ideas about the right size and role of the federal government?” A plurality chose the Democratic Party (45 percent) over the Republican Party (40 percent).

At the same time, there is political danger here for the Democrats. When the electorate is feeling frustrated that the government is not being responsive, it puts them in a mood hostile to incumbents — who right now are largely Democrats. It makes them want to reshuffle the deck in hope of getting a better hand.

President Barack Obama was elected on a wave of hope that his administration would change Washington dynamics. There is a growing sense now that, in key ways, the new bums are the same as the old bums.

The Obama administration seems to understand the need to convince the public that they are truly listening and responding. With some fanfare, the White House established an Office of Public Engagement to do just that.

But, while this office’s website lists some interesting activities, which may appeal to the tiny sliver of the public who knows it exists, it has had little effect. WPO asked how much influence the people’s will has on the government, on a scale of 0 to 10: The mean response was 3.8 — no better than the rating President George W. Bush got in a 2008 poll. Asked how much influence the people should have, the mean response was 7.5.

Further, asked how well elected officials in the Federal Government understand the views of most Americans, 67 percent said “not that well” (42 percent) or “not well at all” (25 percent).

To move the needle on the perception of responsiveness is likely to require going to scale in a way that is highly visible to the U.S. electorate.

It has to move well beyond the scale of the Office of Public Engagement. It should also move beyond focusing on the tiny fraction of the public who self-select to express their views. To give voice to the public, it is necessary to scientifically select a representative sample of Americans — just as is done in a standard poll.

Some people in Washington have the impression that the American public have a negative view of policymakers paying attention to polls and thus would not like the idea of anything that involves such a sampling process. This is a major misperception. Even when presented the argument that “when government leaders are thinking about an important decision” they “should not pay attention to public opinion polls because this will distract them from deciding what they think is right,” eight in ten rejected it in favor of the argument that government leaders should pay attention to polls.

But this does not mean that most Americans think that the government should mechanically follow the results of polls, especially when it comes to matters that involve complex information that may not available to most Americans. What an overwhelming number of Americans do agree on (84 percent in the most recent WPO poll) is that “The goal of Congress should be to make the decisions that the majority of Americans would make if they had the information and time to think things over that Congress has.”
Around the country there have been numerous experiments in which representative samples of Americans have been given in-depth and balanced information on public policy issues. In some cases these are conducted over the internet, while in others people are briefed in person and engage in discussions. Finally their views are aggregated and reported to government leaders.

Americans express great enthusiasm for these kinds of processes. They have confidence in the American public and think that government decisions would be better if they were informed by the results of such processes.

Naturally, there is some risk here. Were the administration to take these kinds of processes to scale and really give the citizenry as a whole a voice, it might not always say what the administration wants to hear.

But only when this is done will Americans really have confidence that they are being heard. And until they have such confidence, they are likely to continue to lurch between the parties and applaud the strident messages of groups like the tea party, looking for leaders who will realize the democratic ideals that they learned in school, and despite their disappointments in many elected leaders, still take to heart.

Steven Kull, a political psychologist, is director of WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.

William Hazlitt said, “Nothing is more unjust or capricious than public opinion.” Yet public opinion is what it’s almost always about. Facts are important, data is helpful, and science defines reality. But public opinion grounds decisions. And that’s what these monthly-ish mailers are all about.

Articles include basic advice about social media, the best ways to deliver bad news, 23 things NOT to say in an email, and why morning people are better. (Yeah ok, so I’m a morning guy and a little biased.)

Godec

Great Training at a Discount

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Planning, Communication and Techniques Certificate course will be offered at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) the week of September 13. Make sure you register by August 22 for early discounted pricing.

Then we’ll be back at CMAP on October 27 and 28 with the new Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation class. I hope you’ll join us, just send me a quick email and I’ll send you the information. jdg@GodecRandall.com

Terror at the Front of the Room

It’s been said that public speaking and death are two of the biggest, basic fears for most people. Even accomplished speakers and subject matter experts get nerve twinges. Here are six, simple ways to cope:

http://artpetty.com/2010/06/28/leadership-caffeine-prepare-your-mind-to-conquer-presentation-anxiety/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+artpetty%2Fmanagement_excellence+%28Management+Excellence+by+Art+Petty%29

You Have To Get Up Pretty Early in the Morning To….

While growing up my dad felt that sleeping past six was perfectly ok…if your illness was terminal. My first job out of college was doing morning-drive radio. So, I’ve seen a lot of sunrises and I finally feel vindicated, read on:

http://hbr.org/2010/07/defend-your-research-the-early-bird-really-does-get-the-worm/ar/1

Bad News Bearers

A significant amount of my time in the corporate world was spent closing facilities during the downturn of my Fortune 50 employer. As lousy as the assignment is there are ways of doing it skillfully and with compassion.

http://blogs.bnet.com/career-advice/?p=1108&tag=landing-pad;work-life

Ever Feel Like You’re Just Talking to the Walls?

Steve Roesler is a smart guy who offers 10 fundamental ways to be more persuasive on the job. It’s grounded in salesmanship 101 but it really shouldn’t take much imagination to realize that many of these apply whether you’re selling Fords, health care reform or freeway corridors. If you click within this link you’ll find another 40 suggestions that take the subject a bit deeper.

http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/2010/06/ten-ways-you-can-be-more-persuasive.html

Why You Should Hate Twitter, FaceBook and your I-Phone

Nicholas Carrr wrote a fascinating and important magazine article a couple of years back and is now out with a possible groundbreaking book detailing what the internet, instant messaging and our reliance on constant communication may be doing to our brains and ability to reason. I’ve already sent this to a friend who gets up to check his email in the middle of the night.

http://www.openculture.com/2010/06/cognitive_consequences_a_conversation_with_nicholas_carr.html?utm_source=feedburner

The Days of the Spokesmodel May Be Numbered

Watching BP try to handle their Gulf problems and reputation has shed some light on how the future of corporate mouthpieces may be changing. Here’s one thought on the subject:

http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/06/28/the-wizard-of-oz-and-corporate-voice/

Cyber Space is Forever

In case you missed it when it aired, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story detailing the words that should NOT go into your emails.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127829646&ps=cpr

Faking It

A friend of mine always used to say that sincerity was the first and most important thing to learn how to fake in good communication. Here’s something to add to your list of non-verbal tips.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/06/duchenne-key-to-a-genuine-smile.php

How and Why to take Social Media More Seriously

In spite of what Nicholas Carr says social media is a fact of life. These articles offer some basics from the experts, and a new report from AARP reported by Reuters, that shows it’s not just generation x and Y that are embracing it.

http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/06/14/social-media-experts-no-1-tips/

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65943W20100610

What BP Might Have Considered

I’ve been working with a long time business client on updating their issue and crisis management and communication protocol recently and naturally there’s been a lot of anecdotal talk about the ‘problem in the gulf.’ I ran across the following from INC. which I think offers a nice, simple look at what almost any organization needs to consider and plan for.

http://www.inc.com/guides/how-to-communicate-in-a-crisis.html

We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. But with patience and careful mining you can find occasional gems or at least some useful information. Stay cool.

Godec

Irritated, Frustrated, Hostile or Outraged

One of these emotional levels probably describes at least some of the people who showed up at your last public meeting. People don’t like change, especially change that is imposed on them. People resist change even when logic dictates that the change will improve their condition – preferring the devil they know vs. the devil they don’t know. Decision gridlock and opposition exists at every turn and citizen anger is growing. People are scared and mad. You may not be able to avoid it but you can learn to work with it.

Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation is a fresh, new, two-day training workshop based on the research of Dr. Peter Sandman and global experience of IAP2 that deals with this most challenging side of public involvement and we’ll bring it to you and your group. We still have available dates for booking classes for your organization starting in August and we’ll have an open class (for anybody) in Chicago on October 27^th and 28^th.

The IAP2 Public Participation Certificate course will be offered the week of July 12^th in Irvine, CA, August 2^nd in Kansas City and the week of September 13^th in Chicago

Contact me for the details about any of these.

The web may make us more social and not just online

Once again at the Environmental Conflict Resolution 2010 Conference last month there was a lot of conversation and concern about how the internet may be affecting our social skills and ability to communicate with each other face to face. Now new research suggests that internet users are actually more likely to meet their neighbors and engage in community issues.

www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0609/The-Internet-probably-won-t-turn-you-into-a-hermit-study-finds

Coffee is bad, coffee is good, and coffee makes you smarter and quicker.

Research on the health effects of coffee has run from one end of the spectrum to the other over the past several years so if you’re a coffee junkie you’ll probably find the latest research interesting.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8401

Kids these days

A gym buddy of mine (lawyer) frequently laments his problems with new, entry-level hires and their ‘lack of work ethic’ , demands for time off, big fat salaries, signing bonuses and the fact that Generation Y is slowly driving him nuts. We’ve talked about this in the past, here’s another take on the subject.

http://blogs.bnet.com/smb/?p=922

People are way too scary

Many of us in the public involvement, civic engagement business might be amused by elected officials who are terrified of going out in public if the issue wasn’t so serious. Politicians are scared to hold ‘town halls’ or other open forums for fear of results like last summer’s health care town hall debacles. Recently one prominent local community leader asked my advice about formats for a series of open meetings that he’d planned to hold, but eventually opted for safer, invitation-only, tightly controlled events tailored for his supporters. For years candidates have been electioneering and PRing their constituents and their constituents are now pissed. Authentic and transparent public involvement will eventually rule the day but getting politicians there will continue to be painful.

http://theweek.com/article/index/203787/are-democrats-afraid-of-town-halls

It’s your responsibility not theirs

George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”. We all assume that what we say, write or try to convey will be interpreted exactly as we’d intended and when it’s not we assume that the problem is obviously with the receiver not us. When communication is critical it’s wise to take responsibility for making sure it’s occurred. Here’s a slightly different slant on the subject:

http://sinekpartners.typepad.com/refocus/2010/06/the-visionarys-dilemma.html

Help Wanted: Moral Leadership

The worst environmental disaster in U.S. history continues to unfold in the Gulf — we can safely use the word disaster now without being accused of hyperbole. I’d planned to offer thoughts on BP’s communication strategy and abysmal response to this crisis, but in many important ways this is beyond rhetoric now. Wall Street Journal recently printed a condensed account of events leading up to the blowout on well number 60-817-44169.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704026204575266560930780190.html

Business is almost always a gamble. Corporations do it all the time. Thankfully, not usually at the scale of British Petroleum’s recent roll of the dice that cost 11 people. Decision making and gambling with lives, livelihoods and the ecosystem of the Gulf coast is eerily similar to the gamble taken by NASA and Morton Thiokol in January 1996. That business decision resulted in the loss of seven souls aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Fifteen thousand people have died as a result of a Union Carbide methyl isocyanate gas release in Bhopal India in 1985 – the deadliest industrial accident on record. After 25 years, seven senior Union Carbide Indian officials were convicted this week (two years in prison and a $2175.00 fine) and all are currently out on bail. Point is, when businesses make decisions based solely on quarterly earnings, and the only real consequence for the people making the decisions is a reduced quarterly bonus this will most certainly happen again. Business decisions have to evolve and we have to make sure that they do.

http://artpetty.com/2010/05/26/help-wanted-leaders-with-moral-courage/

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2010/ca2010068_513255.htm

Call me

Given the weak economy of the past couple of years we’re spending a lot more time conducting business by conference call which can certainly be efficient, or very frustrating or terminally boring. Here are some tips that might help:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1651164/10-rules-for-effective-conference-calls?partner=rss

Think you can spot a liar? Probably not, if you’re working for him.

I got a lot of interest and response last month about the stories that we sent on the subject of truthiness and non-verbal communication. On that note here’s an interesting piece of research recently featured n Harvard Business Review.

http://hbr.org/2010/05/defend-your-research-powerful-people-are-better-liars/ar/1

On the Training Road This Summer

I’ll see you in Tucson the week of May 24 for the 2010 Environmental Conflict Resolution Conference attending and doing a half-day public involvement training class. We’re also teaching the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Certificate course for the City of Peoria this summer.

If you’re interested n taking all or part of the 5-day Certificate course it will be offered at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) the week of September 13. I taught the class there last year, the venue and folks at CMAP are great and it’s in the heart of my favorite city. CMAP is also hosting the Emotion Outrage and Public Participation 2-day class on October 27^th and 28^th this fall. The IAP2 Certificate course is also being offered in Irvine, CA in July and Kansas City in August.

If you like to learn more about any of these classes or would like to talk about bringing training directly to your group please call or email me for details.

602-266-5556 or jdg@GodecRandall.ocm

Fight or Flight in Facilitating Public Meetings

Facilitation has been on my mind a lot the past couple of weeks, I worked two particularly contentious public meetings recently and I’m just finishing a review of Standing in the Fire by Larry Dressler, one of the better books on the subject – it’s really a self-help read for facilitators, I recommend it.

Facilitation, like Rodney Dangerfield, sometimes gets no respect as a wimp profession. People who win by talking louder, longer and bullying others usually aren’t interested in allowing a safe space for a real discussion. I’ve been a CPF (Certified Professional Facilitator) for awhile and managed my share of ugly, volatile public meetings.

There’s a notion of facilitators needing to stand ‘outside of the meeting’ which really is old-school thinking. When you’re dealing with emotional situations you have to feel the fear and anger in the room in order to understand and guide it. Empathy is critical but facilitating uncomfortable meetings also requires managing the fight or flight instinct that kicks in when you’re the one getting kicked. Success comes from confidence, understanding and practice. Good facilitation is a martial art.

Here are two related stories, one with facilitation tips for helping left-brain (logical) people find creative solutions, and another with tips for curing your time-wasting internal meetings :

http://www.business-strategy-innovation.com/2010/04/10-ways-to-help-left-brainers-tap-into.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/article/work-smart-unconventional-cures-for-meeting-itis

Trust Me

We’re living in a deeply cynical time my friend. But the fact is that trusting people is a self-fulfilling prophecy. We’ve all been burned, but the fact is that if you trust others they frequently repay that trust, leading you to be more trusting. So where do we start?

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/04/the-trust-gap-why-people-are-so-cynical.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PsychologyBlog+%28PsyBlog%29&utm_content=FeedBurner+user+view

People Lie More by Email

An article in the Journal of Applied Psychology suggests that people lie half again as much in emails as they do in handwritten documents. Contributing reasons include email being less permanent and less restrained, and the lower personal connection that we have with people online. Which has to make us think about the long term consequences of how we’re communicating online and about the authenticity of social media? So read on:

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/04/email-why-people-feel-lying-is-justified.php

Top Ten Tips for Liars

Truth and truthiness has been a topic of conversation with a dicey public issue that one of my clients has been dealing with recently. I’m not suggesting that you use this as a how-to-lie lesson but it might come in handy for spotting BS. From Psychology Today:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/extreme-fear/201005/top-10-secrets-effective-liars

The Truth about Twitter

Social media is changing and evolving faster than any of us can keep up but for a snapshot in time, a study just completed by Edison Research offers 7 important helpful factoids about Twitter.

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/193503

Death by PowerPoint

PowerPoint’s gotten a lot of heat lately starting with the U.S. military a couple of weeks ago. It’s time to chill here, PowerPoint is just a tool! And like any tool you can use it for good, like for simple visual reinforcement of a good, smart, well-crafted message or for evil by filling the screen with indecipherable junk until your audience passes out. Here are three great PowerPoint tips:

http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=7320&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BnetBlogs+%28BNET+Blogs%29

Comments?

Almost every public meeting or newsletter ends with the agency or project proponent asking people for some kind of input. It’s frequently done as an afterthought and people can tell, which just adds to their cynicism about the whole public involvement process. Although this specific story is geared toward business, the Globe and Mail had a very good and practical take on how to do this well:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/grow/mark-healy/the-ground-rules-for-effective-customer-surveys/article1556052/

50 Greatest Speeches Ever Delivered

This is mostly for fun but also because I expect that you, like me, are a fan of inspiring words and great communicators – enjoy.

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/04/50-incredible-historical-speeches/

A New Knowledge Engine

My nephew wastes time on the web so you and I don’t have to. He sent me this site a couple of weeks ago and I’ve passed it on to a handful of engineering and science pals who were impressed. Take the time to click and watch Stephen Wolfram’s intro and tell me what you think.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

State Microbes

My native/home state of Wisconsin (Go Pack!) just announced an official state microbe – lactococcus lactis – used in making cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. Most people don’t know that my adopted state of Arizona (Go Cards!) also has an official bacterium — politico stupidicus – used to govern. The legislative petri dish was extra-fertile in April with the passage of bills allowing anyone with a trigger finger to carry a concealed weapon; requiring anyone with a tan to carry papers proving their citizenship; and a pending bill requiring future Presidential candidates wanting on this state’s ballot to show a U.S. birth certificate. The birth certificate requirement doesn’t apply to many Arizona legislators who hail primarily from the planet Floyd in the Goober galaxy.

Take solace in the fact that the worst thing about democracy is that no decision is ever final, and the best thing about democracy is that no decision is ever final.

Democratic Decline

And while we’re on the subject of democracy — from Michael Gerson in The Washington Post – “The most basic test of democracy is not what people do when they win; it is what people do when they lose. Citizens bring their deepest passions to a public debate – convictions they regard as morally self-evident. Yet a war goes on. Abortion remains legal. A feared health-reform law passes. While no democratic judgment is final, respecting the temporary outcome of a democratic process is the definition of political maturity. The opposite – questioning the legitimacy of a democratic outcome; abusing, demeaning, and attempting to silence one’s opponents – is a sign of democratic decline. From the late Roman republic to Weimar Germany, these attitudes have been the prelude to thuggery.”

Dealing with Angry People and Fixing Broken Relationships

Public anger is an increasing fact of society. Growing citizen outrage causes government gridlock, lawsuits, stopped projects, election losses, loss of time, money, and ruined credibility. You’ll learn how to predict and prevent it, and how to rebuild lost public trust and relationships in our new two-day class constructed with Dr. Peter Sandman, probably the pre-eminent global authority in risk communication. Call or email me to talk about how we can customize the class for your group.

People That You Can’t Stand

We’ve all had or have that one particular someone that just gets under your skin or has that ability to push buttons that you didn’t know you had. You cringe when you know that you have another face-to-face coming up with them. Here are nine ways to talk with someone that you can’t stand.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/29/talking-to-people-you-cant-stand-entrepreneurs-management-tips.html?boxes=techchannelmostemailed

Public Speaking – Second only to Death

It’s said that for most people the fear of public speaking ranks right behind the fear of dying but it’s probably a critical part of your career. Here are a series of tips from 28 pros.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/01/sun-microsystems-nokia-ent-sales-cx_ll_0801byb07_publicspeaking.html

Best Ways to Calm Your Nerves When Giving a Speech

While we’re on the subject of public speaking I ran across a simple story that should come in handy next time you have to get up front of a group.

http://www.ismckenzie.com/8-tips-for-reducing-anxiety-when-giving-a-presentation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ismckenzie%2FELEH+%28Ian%27s+Messy+Desk%29

Collaboration is the Only Way to Get Things Done and to Make Decisions that Last

Collaborative decisions last, decisions made by the winners at the expense of the losers results in the losers coming back with a vengeance. And then the battle starts all over again. Here are seven keys:

http://www.financialpost.com/executive/hr/story.html?id=2779503

It’s Good to be King, but not Very Productive

While we’re on the subject of collaboration, here’s more on group decision-making.

http://www.ismckenzie.com/benefits-of-the-group-decision-making-process/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ismckenzie%2FELEH+%28Ian%27s+Messy+Desk%29

Kids these days!

There’s been a lot written about the millennial (Y) generation’s presumed lack of work ethic, and we’ve talked about it here before. A story in the Washington Post this month took them to task again when Pew Research found that 18-29 year olds is the only age group in the nation that doesn’t cite work ethic as one of its principle ‘claims to distinctiveness.’ In older generations, at least twice as many people cited work ethic as a badge of their group’s identity. The story also quoted management consulting recruiters saying that youngest employees are far more likely to request flexibility to work from home and have little interest in putting in long hours simply because that’s what previous generations did.

And now the opposing view from the Harvard Blog:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/04/the_millenials_work_ethic_prob.html

Huh?!

I admit it. I’m finally getting to the point where I sometimes walk into a room and struggle to remember what I went in there for. Does that ring a bell? And by the way, who are you?

Here’s a good list of tips for remembering names.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/20/how-to-remember-names-entrepreneurs-human-resources-remember-names.html?boxes=entrepreneurschannelinentre

An article (paraphrased below) from Eric Effron in The Week made a nice comparison on a topic that you may be dealing with.

Until (fairly) recently, many New Yorkers, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, were relishing the opportunity to bring self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants to justice near the scene of their monstrous crime. But Bloomberg has now urged the Obama administration to find a more suitable locale, citing the security risk and the enormous police tab. His remarks echoed the growing opposition to the trial from businesses that fear a drop-off in customers and from residents worried about being blocked from using neighborhoods streets. New Yorkers may pride themselves on being tough, but they have succumbed to NIMBY – the “not in my backyard” lament that’s heard whenever local sensibilities clash with broader public purpose.

It’s a widespread syndrome. We understand the need for homeless shelters, prisons, and hazardous waste sites – we just don’t understand why they have to be plopped down in our towns. Who doesn’t favor development of alternative energy to reduce our debilitating addiction to foreign oil? But please, put those unsightly solar-power transmission lines and wind turbines someplace else. When President Obama pledged to close the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, the legal complications of transferring the prisoners to the U.S. were the least of his obstacles. “You think Yucca Mountain is a NIMBY problem?” warned Sen. John McCain. “Wait ’till you see this one.” He was referring to the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, which was established by Congress in 1987, cost billions to build, and has not (and will not) received a single barrel of spent fuel.

Never underestimate the power of NIMBY.

John

Moving People from Rage to Reason

A new two-day class that deals with managing an outraged public (there’s plenty of that to go around these days) is being offered in D.C. on April 8/9, Vancouver on April 22/23, and in Chicago on October 27/28. We’re also bringing this class in-house to agencies and companies dealing with these challenges. Student reviews are excellent and classes fill fast. Please contact me for more information.

E-mail is Making Us All Stupid

I get the irony of sending out these newsletters and then criticizing e-mail — believe me, I do. But the fact is that we need to understand the consequences of how we’re communicating these days. As we deal with information overload and constant interruptions, something’s happening in our brains: An erosion of an area called effortful control which regulates attention. The more you check your CrackBerry or iPhone, the more you need to check it. So check this story:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/march/204980.html

Nine More Reasons That Obama’s Health Summit Failed

If you ever spend time hosting, facilitating or attending meetings I suggest you consider this from The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575111770147757484.html#articleTabs%3Dinteractive

Tips for Nailing Your Next Presentation or Speech

This is a twofer – two different links (one from Harvard Business Review) with slightly differing takes on the subject. Briefly – get closer, listen, and think about how you want your audience to feel. You can write these on your hand along with your speaker notes.

http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/02/how-to-capture-a-crowd-expert-advice/?section=magazines_fortune&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmagazines_fortune+%28Fortune+Magazine%29

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/03/three_steps_to_make_your_next.html

Dealing with Real Human Beings

We’re now all “a-twitter” about social media, and there’s no question that we’re witnessing a revolution in communication, but before you hire somebody to manage your Facebook page maybe you should consider hiring somebody to answer your freakin’ phone!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/02/1507355/social-networking-not-enough-for.html

When you flatter someone they’re more likely to look on you favorably, even if your flattery is pretty transparent and shameless.

The truth is that most of us think we’re above average even though that’s, of course, statistically impossible. It is actually called…the above-average effect – duh. Scientific American reported that researchers in Hong Kong recently asked people to rate the appeal of a hypothetical department store after the store’s advertising praised the readers fashion tastes. Even after the researchers admitted the experiment readers rated the store more positively than others and said they’d shop there.

When people say we look good we tend to believe it – because we want to believe it.

Upcoming Coaching and Training

We’re offering the new two-day Emotion, Outrage and Public Involvement class in Calgary March 25-26, Washington D.C. April 8-9 and Vancouver April 22-23. This course is idea for understanding and learning to manage public melodrama.

The IAP2 Certificate in Public Participation course is scheduled for the week of April 5 in Kansas City and the week of May 3 in D.C. Contact me about customizing and bringing either of these classes to your in-house group.

Tiger and Toyota

According to the day-after polls, Tiger’s stiff, canned, and not-terribly-sincere looking/sounding apology seems to have done some good for his credibility, after all of these months of silence. I’ve always believed that Tiger’s main fan base (higher income guys who like golf) will tend to forgive him pretty quickly anyway, and if they don’t, I doubt that it’s going to wreck his career. I watched his apology and came away feeling that he was sorry more for the embarrassment of getting caught than for his infidelity. If he is sincere, he’s obviously not getting great advice or coaching. Too bad, he can afford it. I suspect that his ego and his lawyers are running the show, much like Toyota.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/232962

Body Language

Whether you like it or not, research has found that people decide how they feel about you in as little as two seconds of seeing you, or hearing you, if it’s on the phone. If they like what they see or hear, they’ll unconsciously tend to look for the best in you and look for opportunities to say “yes.” If they don’t like you, the opposite is true.

The first thing someone notices about you is the quality and level of energy you give out. That means your attitude - including your posture. The second thing they respond to is your clothes. It happens so quickly it’s as if they see both things at the same time, and then form their first impressions about you. Your attitude tells people if you’re approachable, charming or a dud. Your posture is an indicator of your overall health and confidence, and clothing speaks volumes. It tells others what kind of person you see yourself as, your socioeconomic status, whether you’re conventional or flamboyant.

Here are four ways to help create a great first impression:

1. Adjust your attitude. More than anything else it’s your attitude that determines how people feel about you when you first meet. Try to be more upbeat, welcoming, and somewhat enthusiastic.

2. Charm can be learned. There’s an old joke about the difference between introverted and extroverted engineers (or academics, or scientists — substitute any other introverted group that you want to make fun of) – the extroverted ones stare at your shoes instead of their own when they meet you. So work to make eye contact with other people, if only for a couple of seconds – this unconsciously signals that trust is in the air. Just notice the person’s eye color – that may be enough.

3. Smile genuinely – a little. A smile sends a signal that you’re happy, confident, and open. If you’re dealing with a difficult situation and an emotionally charged situation, that smile may need to be somewhat more refined and subtle. Grinning at someone who’s scared or angry doesn’t work in your favor.

4. Practice open and relaxed body language. Instead of crossing your arms over your chest point your chest/heart toward theirs and keep your hands generally visible and in the front of you. It sends a non-threatening message.

When working a meeting, particularly with people you don’t know:

Dress to match the audience. People tend to be more comfortable with others like them.

Don’t hide by the door or the wall. People around the edges are called wallflowers for a reason.

Ask “Talk-Show Host” questions. The best way to start conversations is with statements followed by open-ended questions, not questions that can be answered by a yes or a no. “Twenty years ago there were only 15,000 people living here. How do you think we should handle traffic for the next twenty years?” And make sure you give some feedback to their answers.

If it’s Easy it Must be True

We tend to believe and agree with the things that are easy for us to understand, and conversely we tend to disagree with things that we find too complex and difficult. That may sound pretty obvious and intuitive but there’s new research that supports how important this issue is when it comes to communicating complex and technically challenging information.

Psychologists are only beginning to uncover the surprising extent to which fluency guides our thinking, and in situations where we have no idea it is at work.

Check out this story in the Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/31/easy__true/

Giving in to Public Protest

The world’s biggest retail chain gets routinely derailed by a handful of local activists. You may not have known that it’s actually part of Walmart’s management strategy. Read on:

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/publicoffering/post/729167/How+Does+David+Beat+Goliath?

“TMI” (Too Much Information) has become a standard punch-line response when somebody reveals an embarrassing level of personal news. But too much information has steadily become a huge problem for many of us.

According to the University of California San Diego and The Week, average Americans spent 70 percent of our waking hours consuming information in 2009. During our 11.8 hours a day of reading, watching or listening to what’s now charmingly called ‘content’, we consumed 100,564 words – that’s three times what it was in 1980. I think that’s staggering. How much can you possibly retain? How do we cut through the crap and pay attention to things that really matter — how do we know what’s really important? How do you get people to pay attention to you? What does this mean for the future of both public policy and business?

One central purpose for this column is to offer some usable solutions for communicators. And yes, I do get the irony of adding to the problem by writing this.  I’ll keep it short.

Godec

Why are those people so mad at you and why do they hate your project?!

Emotion, Outrage and Public Involvement is a two-day training course that helps you avoid the pitfalls, understand the psychology and gives you the tools to dig your way out of those really uncomfortable and career limiting public situations. The class is offered in several locations in 2010 including February 4 & 5 in Las Vegas and March 18 & 19 in Tucson. To register go to IAP2.org, or contact me for more information or if you’d like to bring it in-house to your folks.

Fun Facts to Know and Tell

• The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute shows that the average fuel efficiency of U.S. cars has improved by only three miles per gallon since the days of the Model T.

So on that note I ran across the following sometime back but unfortunately don’t know the original author. It’s well said.

Sustainability

Scientists have told us what we need to do to ensure the survival of the human race to deal with the big problems like global warming, nuclear war, destruction of the environment, overpopulation, the end of oil, soil erosion… What stops us from taking action?

1. Corporate thinking: the next quarter profit is more important than long term survival.
2. Religious wishful thinking: imagining that if man plays helpless, God will eventually take pity and make it all better.
3. Selfishness: people are unwilling to make any sacrifices of immediate pleasure for their children’s or even their own survival. All that matters is immediate gratification.
4. Secular wishful thinking: ignoring the best science and believing any crank or corporate shill who will tell you there is nothing to worry about.

Man imagines he is the most intelligent of species, but he is the only one I know of that is trapped in such fatal delusions.

Let’s Tee This Up and Take It to the Next Level

And here are several other really annoying clichés that we need to banish in 2010, according to Forbes.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/16/annoying-business-jargon-entrepreneurs-management-jargon.html

Treat the Media Like Your Best Customer

I was talking to longtime PR pal of mine recently who was lamenting how the business of traditional public relations is changing, and of course she’s right. In many ways authentic public involvement is the new PR, but media relations has always been the foundation of that business and some rules haven’t changed.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcolumnistkimtgordon/article204418.html

“A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.”

That quote from Howard Scott, an economist, probably sums up the credibility of big business for most people in the U.S. these days. A few greedy, unethical corporate scumbags have created a toxic entrepreneurial atmosphere. As far back as the summer of 2002 Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs said, “I cannot think of a time when business over all has been held in less repute.” Ironically it’s been all downhill since then. Business needs to get into the public conversation or its trust and credibility will continue to erode.

http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15125372

For Christmas and Hanukkah last year, I sent out, what had been determined (through literally tens of minutes of exhaustive research) as, the world’s greatest joke.  And I only managed to offend four people from New Jersey.  Funny is easy, reasonably clean is real hard.  Anyway, by popular demand I offer this year’s Christmas compromise:  

A Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi
A priest, a minister, and a rabbi want to see who’s best at his job. So they each go into the woods, find a bear, and attempt to convert it. Later they get together. The priest begins: “When I found the bear, I read to him from the Catechism and sprinkled him with holy water. Next week is his First Communion.”
“I found a bear by the stream,” says the minister, “and preached God’s holy word. The bear was so mesmerized that he let me baptize him.”
They both look down at the rabbi, who is lying on a gurney in a body cast. “Looking back,” he says, “maybe I shouldn’t have started with the circumcision.”

I’m also attaching a link to what’s been called by many as the world’s funniest video.  I confess that I’m a fan of Whose Line Is It Anyway, but I’ll let you be the judge. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUZuV0xce3A&feature=player_embedded

 Happy holidays,

Godec

Global warming?  Doubt it. 

I recently wrote the following as a BLOG solicited by Valley Forward Association

The percentage of Americans who believe global warming is happening has dropped from 80 to 72 percent in the past year according to a November 09 Washington Post-ABC News poll, even though most people still support a cap on greenhouse gas emissions. 

A Pew Research poll in October 09 found public belief in global warming declined significantly since April 08. The belief that global warming is human-caused declined from 47 per cent to 36 per cent.   And a Gallup Poll from last March said basically the same thing.

A Yale University study looked at this situation and concluded — most of us just don’t think much about it much. 

Yale found public opinion about global warming has actually been pretty stable for almost two decades. Two-thirds of Americans tell pollsters that global warming is occurring and most agree it’s at least part human-caused, and the same two-thirds generally support government action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

That’d be really good news if we felt strongly about it — but we don’t. For the past 20 years only about 35 to 40 per cent of the US public worry about global warming “a great deal”, and a third consider it a “serious personal threat”.  Unless they’re truly pressed, few Americans volunteer global warming as a serious threat, and air and water pollution are often rated higher.

Public opinion about global warming has remained largely unchanged through periods of both intensive media attention and neglect, like the activist Clinton years and the skeptical Bush years.

So why the heck aren’t we excited?  First, the threat is distant and tough to visualize — the enemy’s hard to see. Not like picturing guys in caves in Pakistan thinking of new and creative ways of annihilating us. Second, people have a psychological need to maintain a positive view of the existing order of things, whatever it is.  The devil you know vs. the devil you don’t know.  Public opinion is highly resistant to education or persuasion.  Most Americans aren’t alarmed enough to pay much attention, and raising the PR and media volume often backfires.  Painting visions of global disaster leads people to question the science.  Simply put, you can’t fight perception and emotion purely with science and data.  (There’s a communication solution around this called precautionary advocacy but that’s another column for another day.) 

In part, the recession has obviously led us to prioritize the economy over environmental concerns but notably, the declining concern about global warming predates the financial crisis.

Most Americans give less credit to experts than we’d like to think and the fact is that expert consensus, has a less sterling track record than most of us might like to admit.  Take breast exam screening for instance?

But a majority of Americans still support reasonable efforts to reduce carbon emissions even if they have doubts about the science.

Agnotology 

On that previous note, have you ever wondered how we have come to the point where so much Bull****, fake news, and wrong information makes it to the mainstream?  Me too.   Agnotology is a term that means the study of culturally-induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data.  It’s a term that highlights the increasingly common condition where more information leaves people more uncertain than before.  More often it’s intentional – consider the tobacco companies.  It’s sometimes called ‘the study of ignorance’.   And it’s now in Wikipedia.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotology

Semantics, Linguistics and Lies, Oh My

I didn’t plan to set a theme this month but Harry Shearer is a comedian that you’ve probably heard (Simpsons) and possibly seen (A Mighty Wind, This is Spinal Tap) who also delivers a smart take on our use of language.  There’s a lot of truthiness here. 

http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2009/12/assets-loans-products

Essence of Great Communication

A good piece in BusinessWeek by Marc Benioff was written with sales in mind but utterly helpful to anyone who’s interested in communicating well with any kind of audience.  It’s simple and covers the foundations of transparency, media, storytelling, metaphors, consistency, presentation skills and confidence. 

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2009/sb2009112_279472.htm?ch

Competence, Confidence and Caring

The New York Times recently posted an interview with William Green the CEO of Accenture, a management consulting firm.  It’s a large and successful company with an interesting and somewhat unorthodox Chairman.   The kind of guy you’d probably want to work for.    

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/business/22corner.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&partn

Why are those people so mad at you and why do they hate this project?!

Emotion, Outrage and Public Involvement is a two-day training course that helps you avoid the pitfalls, understand the psychology and gives you the tools to dig your way out of those really uncomfortable and career limiting public situations.  The class is offered in several locations in 2010 including February 4 & 5 in Las Vegas.  Contact me for more information, or if you’d like to bring it in-house to your folks.      

Failure to Communicate

Strother Martin’s character the Captain in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ delivered that iconic line in the title of this e-mail.  Many of us in the communication biz have thought of it thousands of times when we see a message flop or ignored.  Everybody thinks they can communicate so everybody’s an expert, right?  It’s remarkable to see how easily communication breaks down in organizations and often it’s tough to quantify.  ‘Till last month. 

A Wisconsin court handed PepsiCo a $1.26 billion default judgment in late September. 

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434985019

People Angry?  Ask ‘em.

Keeping with our communication theme a story about a neighborhood confrontation on a Harvard Business blog offers three simple steps to communicate that you’re actually listening – and turning it into a martial art.    

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org

 The five best ways to screw up your next presentation

Carmine Gallo is a presentation coach and author of the upcoming book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.   Having seen Jobs speak several years ago I can attest to the fact that he’s a really gifted presenter.

The five biggest screw ups are:

1.      Talking too long

2.      Death by PowerPoint bullet

3.      Lack of rehearsal

4.      Reading slides

5.      Ignoring your body language and delivery

http://www.cio.com/article/493023/5_Ways_to_Ruin_Your_Next_Presentation

Dealing with enemies after you’ve won.

I found an interesting article in – of all places — Computerworld Management written by the author of the book ‘Leading Geeks.’  (Love that title)  

The piece most obviously falls into the category of office politics but it’s very relevant to any kind of relationship building under a variety of circumstances.  In a nutshell: Success requires knowing what to do after the victory to consolidate your gains and ensure future support.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/344162/After_Winning_the_Battle_of_the_Office

Open Upcoming Classes

I’m teaching the Outrage, Emotion and Public Involvement class in Tucson November 19 and 20, organized by the Grand Canyon Chapter of IAP2, and again in Las Vegas February 4 and 5.   Click on IAP2.org to register or contact me for more course information.

www.IAP2.org