“Liar, liar,
Pants on fire.”
- The Castaways

Rep. Joe Wilson at a Joint Session of Congress

“You lie!”

That was the eloquent argument set forth by Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, during President Obama’s address regarding health care reform to a Joint Session of Congress this evening.

“You lie!”

Gosh, but it’s hard to debate such a well-reasoned and articulately stated point of view.  My goodness.  Rep. Wilson must surely have grabbed top honors in high school debate tournaments with such powerful and thought-provoking prose.  His peers must have quaked at the mere mention of his name for fear it would invoke grandiloquence on a scale not seen since the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  Or heck, maybe even the days of Jefferson, Hamilton and Franklin.

“You lie!”

Is that where we are as a society?  A sitting congressman, elected by a majority to represent all the people in his district – white, black, red, blue and all shades in between – calling a sitting  President, elected by a majority to represent all the people in his country, a liar during a Presidential address televised worldwide?  And this a mere two days after this same President urged students across the nation to stay in school, study hard and focus on achieving success?

To me, this is pretty basic.  You can disagree with the President’s policies and proposals.  You can disagree with his decisions and think his wife dresses like a twit.  You may even detest him as a person and consider him the heir of Slytherin.   And still, you respect the office. This is a fundamental principle of a democratic government.  Fact is, I disagreed with President Bush (George W., that is) on a range of policy issues.  I didn’t like many of his decisions and, while I didn’t think Laura dressed him like a twit, I wasn’t a big fan of the whole Texas rancher thing.  And three years ago when I attended an event hosted by one of my clients at which President Bush was speaking, I stood up and applauded when he entered and exited the room.

You respect the office.  He’s the leader of the Free World, for goodness sakes.  If you think he’s misrepresenting something, fine.  Discuss it with him in private.  Write a letter to the editor.  Hold a news conference and explain your rationale.  Support your position with facts and reasoned analysis.

There must be some measure of civility if we as a democracy hope to get anything done.  Exactly what kind of example did Rep. Wilson think he was setting?  Even my teenage daughter exclaimed, “What’s wrong with him?  You show respect for the office!”

Is that what we’ve come to?  A high school kid telling a Congressman to mind his manners?

Talk about a BGO . . .

Update on 9.10.09:

Okay.  I was heartened to see legislators and pundits from both sides of the aisle criticize our own Eliza Doolittle straight out of the box last night and throughout the day today.  I was also heartened to see the wunderkind from the Peach State issue a written apology (as if he had any choice in the matter) and place a call to the White House to apologize verbally (as if he had any choice in the matter, given that his own colleagues on the Republican side had distanced themselves from him like Clinton from powder blue dresses).  Of course, calling at 11:15 p.m. more than two hours after the incident was bad form, but heck, it probably took the leadership that long to browbeat him into it (and his handlers that long to read how the media and country responded).  And the fact that his likely opponent received more than $450,000 in unsolicited donations today perhaps says more about this incident than just about anything else.  Money talks and all that.

Either way, Rep. Wilson has ensured that his name will be long remembered ’round the halls of Congress and in the annals of American political theater.  The only question now is how his constituents will recall this incident come next November.  Based on this story, it appears many of them are just fine with it.  How’s that for a commentary on today’s electorate.

We can be heroes,
Just for one day.
– David Bowie

Gizella Abramson

I’ve been thinking about heroes a lot lately.  After an absence from this page of nearly six months, I was afraid the well of inspiration for this (or any blog) had run dry.  I figured it would take something pretty significant to knock me out of my stupor and give me something meaningful to share.

I was right.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege to help honor one of the most humble, courageous and inspirational individuals I have ever had the pleasure to know.  Gizella Abramson, a survivor of the Holocaust, was recognized by my congregation, Temple Beth Or, for a lifetime of service to her community at an afternoon event in Raleigh.  Nearly 300 crowded together in a hotel ballroom to celebrate the accomplishments of this amazing woman.  For while Gizella stands only four-feet, nine-inches tall when you use standard measurements, Gizella is one of those folks for whom standard is a meaningless term.

Gizella, or “Mrs. A” as her thousands of students know her, has spent a lifetime teaching young and old throughout North Carolina and the world about what it means to be human and how we should live our lives.  For more than 40 years, Gizella has chosen to relive the unspeakable horrors of her teenage years again and again and again to ensure that the consequences of hate and indifference will not be forgotten.  In addition to teaching a course on the Holocaust to eighth graders in the Temple Beth Or Religious School, Gizella has shared her experience with tens of thousands of people over the years at middle schools, high schools, colleges, community events and national conferences.  She is a survivor in the truest sense of the word and has dedicated her life to young people (or, as Gizella says, “my students, my beautiful, beautiful students”).

In Judaism, our purpose in life is described as “Tikun Olam,” or working to repair our imperfect world.  In our work, in our communities and in our families, it is our responsibility to live a life that helps perfect the world around us.  There are any numbers of paths toward this goal, and Lord knows the pressures of the day-to-day can make it a challenge to choose much less walk down a path.  And yet, when I see someone like Gizella, someone who personifies ideals like “perseverance,” “dedication,” “love” and “courage,” someone who lost virtually every member of her family and her community in a veritable hell on earth – when I see someone like that make the time and find the energy to “be the change you want to see in the world,” I know there is no explanation, no rationalization, no excuse that can justify inaction.

So as we approach a new year, I hope I and we decide to be heroes, even if just for one day.

“Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed”
- Flatt & Scruggs

Crisis of Credit

Storytelling.  It’s part and parcel of being human.  From the time we start to understand language as toddlers, we experience the world through stories.  We learn about right and wrong, how to get along with others and how to be human through the stories we hear.  For the rest of our lives, we interpret what we see and hear through the story lens:  “Once upon a time,” “Then this happened,” Then that happened,” “And the moral of the story is . . .”  Whether through oral, print or aural techniques, stories help us make sense of what happens in our environment.

Not that anyone should have a reason to doubt the value of dynamic media tools such as Flash to build understanding of both simple and ridiculously complex subjects, here’s a terrific example of just how effective this emerging storytelling technique can be.  In 11 minutes flat, Jonathan Jarvis explains what the credit crisis is and how the heck we got into this mess in the first place.  Brilliant!  This should be required viewing for everyone.

Here’s hoping we’ll see a similar animation this fall explaining how we got out of this mess so quickly.

“It’s no secret,
When you got me jumping up and down.”
-  Jefferson Airplane

Even ACME's not doing well these days

It’s no secret what we’ve experienced in the business world these past five months – and what we will likely keep experiencing for the next 12 or so – is so unlike anything in our experience.  Today the Dow Jones Index fell below 7,000 for the first time since 1997.  Trying to find words to describe how bad it is out there can make it sound trite.

It’s not.  And it’s likely to get worse before it gets worse.

At the same time, we will recover and companies will begin staffing up again.  Until then, though, no company can afford to lose its best talent if it wants to have any hope of coming out alive on the other end of this Class 5 rapids called our economy.

To that end, I recommend reading a terrific new monograph from a friend and former colleague/mentor of mine, Mike Herman, APR, Fellow PRSA, SAGE.  But seeing as my perspective may be somewhat biased, here’s what Matt Kucharski, APR, senior vice president of Padilla Speer Beardsley in Minneapolis had to say in his firm’s blog, “The Lead”:

“For many, the layoffs have happened.  Those that remain are likely your high-potential, high-performing employees.  What are you doing to make sure they’re staying engaged?  Dumping more work on them?  Letting them know that if things don’t pick up they’ll be next?  Sure, with the economy the way it is, the chances of them walking out the door aren’t very high, but as soon as the economy picks up (and yes, it will pick up), those employees will be the most in-demand.

Mike Herman, APR, Fellow PRSA, SAGE, CEO of Communication Sciences International

Mike Herman, CEO of Communication Sciences International, just finished a monograph for PRSA Counselors Academy called “Reaching Your Individual Potential in the Workplace.”  While it’s geared at hiring and training in mid-sized public relations firms, much of the advice is valuable to any company that sees this as the perfect time to invest in high-potential employees.  You can pick up a copy at the Counselors Academy Web site, if you’re interested.”

If you’re a Counselors Academy member, it’s free.  If not, it’s $40 and well worth it.

“Dum, dum, dum, dum,
Dum, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum.”
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

No comment . . .

Going forward, it’s likely that you’ll find  this story referenced in the dictionary beside the term “a blinding glimpse of the obvious.”

Why in the world a respected financial institution – that, by the way, is moving into new market on the other side of the continent here in the Southeast through its purchase of Wachovia – would do something this questionable in this economic climate and this media climate after accepting millions in taxpayer dollars is beyond all reason and explanation.

I wanted to blog on this, but honestly folks, I can’t think of anything I could say.

Well, maybe one thing.

“It’s the economy, stupid.”

[Later on that same evening . . ."]

Well, apparently someone at Wells Fargo had the sense to read the wires this evening.  In a not-so-stunning reversal (only that it took ‘em more than two minutes to do it), the company cancelled plans for its annual get-away  at the Wynn in Vegas for its top mortgage team.

I agree wholeheartedly with Wells Fargo’s desire to recognize top employees.  It’s important to keep one’s best and brightest motivated and happy (though with 100K job cuts announced in the last two weeks, I think most of us consider the promise of another paycheck to be motivation enough).

I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking in February 2009 there might be more “appropriate” ways to recognize top performers.  And I’m also thinking that, yet again, the company’s public relations professionals were likely called in after the fact to try and clean up this mess rather than having a voice in the decision in the first place.

“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.”
- The Beatles

Brent Spiner as Brent Spiner

Brent Spiner as Commander Data

Yesterday, I watched on TweetDeck as Brent Spiner (who played Commander Data on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and recorded the seminal album “Ol’ Yellow Eyes is Back”) learned how to re-tweet, share replies and, in general, learn how to navigate the recently launched starship, the USS Twitter.  In one post, Spiner wrote, “It’s okay. I’m not offended by being called ignorant. In the greater scheme, I am.”

Brent, most all of us are right there with you.  This is a new communication technology so it will take some time for most all of us to: (1) learn how to use it, and (2) learn how to use it effectively.  Just like the telephone, the fax machine and papyrus, there’s always a learning curve when our species identifies a new way to connect with one another.  And that’s really all Twitter (or FaceBook or FriendFeed or countless other Web-based channels) is – a new way to connect and form communities of life-minded people (even if some in your community have positronic minds).

Is Twitter the latest trend du jour?  Sure.  So were the telegraph and the printing press.  As Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff write in one of the best books I’ve seen on harnessing the power of social technologies, Groundswell, any technology that enable people to connect more easily in more meaningful ways will succeed.  Twitter does that in spades.

Whether Twitter or FriendFeed or the next great app will expand our choice of communication channels is a pointless question – they have, they are and they will.  The question to ask is how can we best learn how to adapt and use that channel to create something of value?  For a terrific and concise look at how to use Twitter strategically, I suggest looking at this approach developed by Ogily’s 360 Degree Digital Influence group.  In one elegantly simple graphic, Ogilvy’s team lay out a coherent, concise method of how to use Twitter strategically for yourself, your organization or your clients.  (And props to Ogilvy for sharing this with the rest of us).

As Jean Luc Picard might say, “Make it so.”

“Maybe I’m amazed.”
- Paul McCartney

Not quite this, but close

Today, I experienced a revelation.

Perhaps not on par with a parting of the clouds or the “speaking in tongues” thing, but a revelation nevertheless.  In short, I witnessed in real time the ferocious power of social media to disseminate news.  Trite as it may sound, this was a paradigm shift of monumental proportion for a public relations professional.

During an internal meeting, I had my TweetDeck open and was monitoring the posts of a couple of colleagues and Twitter gurus I follow.  At 3:48 p.m., @scobleizer posted “Tons of people are reporting a USAir plane crash in NYC.  Follow http://search.twitter.com for more.”  One minute later, also from @scobleizer:  “More info on Plane Crash is FLOWING in from people who saw the crash at:  http://www.search.twitter.com/search?q=plane.

I clicked immediately to CNN.com to confirm the story.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Clicked to MSNBC.com.  A home page banner about the crash, but nothing else.  I went back to TweetDeck and watched astonished as update after update appeared on my screen every few seconds.  Within a few minutes, links to photos of the plane in the Hudson River were posted by a number of Twitterers.  I visited Twitter’s search page and watched in amazement as an avalanche of tweets with reports, comments, updates and links to photos about the event scrolled across the screen.  At one point, updates were coming in at a rate of nearly 100 every 15 seconds.  Quite literally, my jaw dropped and I sat back trying to assimilate what was happening and what it meant for the public relations profession (and journalism, for that matter).  As I clicked to my Facebook page and saw prayers for the passengers’ safety posted in the status boxes of several friends, the future became much clearer.

While the impact of citizen journalism on the traditional news media is nothing new, the power of Facebook and Twitter – which allows near-instantaneous updates from virtually any mobile device – to share information within private networks more quickly and effectively than mainstream media is no longer just “emerging.”  And the need for public relations professionals to learn, adapt and master these new communication channels and languages to serve all of a client’s needs, from launching a new product to managing a crisis, is now.

You know, in retrospect, maybe this is on par with speaking in tongues.

UPDATE 1.16.09 — Eric Zeman of Information Week wrote about precisely what I was trying to get across in this post.  Read Zeman’s comments here.

“Just give me some truth,
All I want is the truth.”
- John Lennon

In this most difficult and unsettling (to put it mildly . . .) economic time, announcements of job cuts have become all too common.  Whether called a layoff, RIF, headcount reduction, strategic restructuring or “utilization reassessment” (a personal favorite), the bottom line is the same.  It’s bad news, and no one likes to deliver it.  And most companies don’t like to have it delivered for them either.  But the bottom line is the bottom line, and companies that refuse to adapt to changes in their environment can end up as vague memories.

Often caught in the middle of these maelstroms are public relations professionals whose job it is to speak on behalf of their companies or clients.  In years past, public relations professionals have been dinged – sometimes rightfully so – for engaging in corporate-speak, back-pedaling or the ever-popular “spin control” when announcing staff cuts.  Honesty and authenticity have become all too rare.

How refreshing it was then to see this comment from the senior vice president of corporate communications for a Fortune 100 company (and a client of mine):  “The message for the last several months has been that ‘We don’t foresee any mass layoffs,’” he said in an interview Friday. “Maybe that wasn’t a good way to say it.  “Our point has been that mass layoffs were not going happen at [this company] like at some others that have cut thousands of jobs. But there are no guarantees that positions will not be eliminated and employees not be impacted.”

Talk about honesty.  Talk about humility.  Talk about straight-talk.  Talk about a BGO. That’s what all employees – and all of us, for that matter – want and deserve.

And that’s what smart public relations professionals make sure their organizations deliver.

“I can’t live if living is without you.”
- Harry Nilsson

Obama's tether to the outside world

Seeing this story in The New York Times about President-elect Obama’s desire (read: urgent need) to keep hold of his treasured Blackberry reminded me of that old joke about the differences among marketing, advertising and public relations.

You’re a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party.  You go up to him and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.”  That’s Marketing.

You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.  One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, “She’s fantastic in bed.”  That’s Advertising.

You’re at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.”  That’s Public Relations.

When the President-elect tells the world he can’t live without your product, That’s Priceless Public Relations.

1.22.09 Update:  Yet more priceless public relations and brand boost.  Obama wins argument.

The Tar Heel State's seal

While Latin is rarely taught in schools these days, every North Carolina student today and for the past 100 years is familiar with three Latin words:  “esse quam videri.”  Or “to be rather than to seem.”  That’s our state motto, and it’s everywhere from the floor of the State House to government agencies’ Web sites.

That adage popped back in my mind this morning as I read news reports on President-elect Obama’s appointment of Nancy Killefer to the newly created White House post of Chief Performance Officer.  As CPO, Ms. Killefer will work with federal agencies to set performance standards and hold agency managers accountable for progress.

In Obama’s words, “Change and reform can’t just be election-year slogans. They must become fundamental principles of government.”  Hailing the post as “one of the most important” appointments he will make, Obama said Killefar is charged with restoring fiscal order and reforming government.

Talk about a challenge.  Geez . . .

Killefar brings some serious street cred to the post.  She currently serves as a senior director for McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s leading management consulting firms.  Killefar also served as an assistant secretary of the treasury in the Clinton administration.

By establishing an executive-level position with responsibility for improving the overall effectiveness of our government and appointing someone with hands-on experience, Obama took an important step in helping build public confidence in his leadership style and judgment.

Whether Killefar can succeed is up for debate.  But whether Obama’s announcement was a smart public relations move is pretty darned clear.  It demonstrated two core principles of any effective public relations program, whether it be for a non-profit association, multi-national corporation or the U.S. government:  accountability begins – and ends – in the CEO’s office, and actions speak louder than words.  Note Obama’s comment about “election-year slogans” and “fundamental principles” – i.e., rather than just talking about doing something, the Obama Administration is taking concrete action.  To be rather than to seem.  Talk about a BGO.

And they say Latin is a dead language.