5 Political Lessons from Blackberry

Welcome back!
Here we are with one of the most beautiful autumns in memory (at least for most parts of North America); with major league baseball playoffs filling our screens, all the football and hockey you could want, everything seems perfect. And yet...... Congress can't pass a budget bill, the U.S. debt ceiling deadline is days away...the iconic Canadian technology company, Blackberry, has collapsed, Ontario's government giving away $1 billion in penalties for canceling the gas plant contracts, and the ongoing saga of Senator Mike Duffy and his expenses. Is there anything that connects the dots in all these events?

Blackberry's Lessons for Politicians
At a time when one of Blackberry's rivals - Apple - has just knocked Coca Cola out of the slot for the No. 1 brand in the world (with Google no. 2).  That's gotta hurt - when you consider that Blackberry once 'owned' the smartphone world. On a personal note, as a longtime Blackberry customer, as with millions of others, I genuinely agonized over the new, but less-than-thrilling - Z10 before I decided to go 'over the side' to the Samsung Galaxy 4. The Globe and Mail ran a great piece recently that tells the story of what went wrong: Inside the Fall of Blackberry
However, in my view, many of those lessons are transferable to the world of politics:
5 Political Lessons from the Blackberry Debacle

1. Not listening to customers (voters)
The smartphone marketplace was changing dramatically and Blackberry appeared not to listen to their changing desires. Instead, they became overly reliant on their legacy products, while delaying the entry of a brand new operating system.  This week's Nova Scotia provincial election saw the incumbent NDP government, led by Darrell Dexter, dumped to third place behind the victorious Stephen McNeill-led Liberals (and losing his seat in the process). The Dexter government clearly disconnected with the voters - raising harmonized sales taxes and creating a massive deficit clearly led to the voters' disenchantment. The volatility of voters means that they will now usually give you only one chance to make good on your promises before they give governments the chop (B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who found life after certain death only by the questionable campaign of the Adrian Dix-led NDP.)  So all political parties better be truly listening - and delivering. Remember the eight words that get governments re-elected: "We did what we said we would do."
2. Loss of focus
While Blackberry wasted time delaying - and finally releasing - their Tablet (that tanked instantly in contrast to the game-changing iPad), they took their eye off the ball. The creative forces within the company were split - with some developing the Tablet and the others the new phone. The result was a loss of communication and coherent leadership. When a political party divides itself (Tea Party Republicans vs. mainstream Republicans, they tend to plunge in the polls (witness the fact that 62% of Americans blame the Republicans for the budget debacle).

Senator Mike Duffy's ongoing saga appears to only get worse with each new 'revelation'- causing a continued de-focus for the Harper government, who clearly want it all to just go away. If Senator Duffy remains in the Senate, it will continue as a de-focusing exercise for the Government as the House of Commons reconvenes next week.
3. Failure to adapt (while disappointing your base) The Republican Tea Party base has been temporarily satisfied in the budget battle. But even they will be disappointed when the inevitable compromises are made (stand by for that). Stephen Harper's Conservative government works hard at satisfying the party's base, (witness the battle over competition in the telecommunications sector), yet they need to bridge over and regain the support to the middle ground. For months now they have trailed Justin Trudeau and are only slightly ahead of Tom Mulcair and the NDP. (Look for the Throne Speech to hit the themes to reach 'families' and the 'middle class' as they try to regain traction with the voter).

4. Ignoring or discounting your competition Blackberry under-estimated the Apple brand promise and the resurgence of the less-expensive-but-very-cool Samsung product line. As the Republicans have been slamming Obama at every opportunity, after a while they sound like yesterday's news. People want to know what you're constructively going to do. Competition for voters is as much up in the air as in the business world. Loyalty to a particular company - or political party - has mostly gone by the wayside.
5. Failure to protect your brand
Your brand is your promise to your customer. Blackberry failed to deliver - and to deliver on time. They missed the window of opportunity. The brand of a political leader will usually diminish over time, so it's important to be innovative, to refreshen the brand and to keep moving forward. Stephen Harper is clearly facing that challenge - as is Barack Obama.

Then there's the sad legacy of the McGuinty Government in Ontario incurring over $1 billion in costs for the cancellation of the gas plants in order to save two or three ridings in the last provincial election. It's  an example of a complete failure to protect the brand of Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal Party. Even though it seemed to work as a short-term tactical (albeit a highly cynical move, one might reasonably deduce), it put paid to his declining brand and as more evidence emerges of the true cost and the political calculations around it, even his departure may not be enough to save the Kathleen Wynn-led Liberal government. The Premier apologized profusely but where's the action to somehow make up for it? When it gets that bad, apologies are not enough. Sometimes, though, one is saved by the quality of one's enemies (Clinton's 1995-96 government showdown with Newt Gingrich); (Harper vs. Stephane Dion in 2006); B.C. Premier Christy Clark vs. the NDP's Adrian Dix earlier this year). You just can't count on it happening.
So to sum it up, politicians - as well as companies - are gradually waking up to the reality that your brand is everything - understand it, refresh it, build it with tangible accomplishments - but ignore it at your peril.
Favorite Video of the Week
There's something about upending the conventional friendly news anchor-reporter banter that is particularly enjoyable to watch. In this clip, a local news anchor rakes a reporter over the coals for his lack of reporting skills: check this out and enjoy!
Until next time....

The Rules for Going Negative

Welcome back!
To the land of snow and freezing temperatures, and as we dig our way out of winter's offerings, right about now we start to dream of heading south, once it reaches the intolerable level, or 'March break' as it's known. It's easy to get into a negative 'funk' at this time of year....something to do with Vitamin D deficiency, I believe.

I was happy to see The King's Speech win all those SAG Awards. Not only was the movie enjoyable and the acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush terrific, but it gets at a sensitive subject of overcoming one's barriers in life - no matter how exalted one's life appears to be. As a kid who had a stammer - although not a stutter - I have always had a great empathy for people with speech impediments or communications difficulties. [And probably contributed to my chosen field of coaching executives and others to communicate more effectively.]

Speaking of movies, I presume most of you have seen the highly enjoyable "The Social Network' and its tale of intrigue and disloyalty behind the runaway success story of Mark Zuckerberg? Ironically, half way around the world, Facebook® is playing a role in the revolutions underway in Egypt [as well as Tunisia  and Yemen.] The people have become empowered as they learn that they are not alone.

If you get a chance, check out the always compelling Bob McKeown of CBC's The Fifth Estate as he uncovers the extent of the Mafia in Canada, in The Death of the Don - about the killing of Nicolo Rizzuto in Montreal. Thanks to brave journalists and authors, along with highly dedicated police specialists, they serve to remind us of this dangerous menace in Canada and the United States (let alone Italy and Sicily).

You Too Can be a Pundit!
It seems that our television and radio outlets have gone pundit-crazy. If you're thinking of becoming a TV pundit, check out this clip of the BBC interviewing a cab driver who had shown up applying for a job, only to end up on-air as a putative IT expert. What is amazing about this video clip is not only that he pulled it off, but that the BBC host/interviewer didn't seem to notice! See, there's hope for everyone!

The Launch of Negative Political Ads in Canada
For those of you who may have caught the interview I did last week on the CBC National with Wendy Mesley [first news item] , you would have seen me commenting on the ads launched by the Conservatives and the Liberals. The Conservatives are employing a two-pronged strategy to position themselves and the Opposition parties. Their goal is to position Stephen Harper as the hard-working steady leader toiling away on Parliament Hill while the world outside goes to hell in a hand-basket. In the Tories attack ads on Michael Ignatieff, they aim directly at Michael Ignatieff, with the tag line, "he didn't come back for you." Those spots represent a return to the old "just visiting" attacks on Mr. Ignatieff. If it worked before (which it did), they are going back to their greatest 'hits' [pun not intended]. The attack ad on NDP Leader Jack Layton links him to the failed attempt at a coalition government within weeks of the 2008 election. They continue to bring up the spectre of a coalition with the separatist Bloc Party. Again, that strategy got them out of a jam two years ago, so they are following the rule, 'go back to what works'.

The Liberals on the other hand are using the tagline "Harper's Canada" as they attack the government for the F-35 fighter jets and the planned corporate tax cut.

So let's say that you are in a political campaign and wondering about the effectiveness of negative, 'attack ads', what 'rules' should you keep in mind?

The Rules of Engagement  for Negative Attack Ads
1. The ad has to resonate with the public's perception of your opponent. For example, don't try to paint your opponent as a stumble-bum who is totally incompetent if the polls indicate he/she is highly competent. [For example, Stephen Harper scores highly on competence but may be vulnerable on other perceptions.]
2. Don't distort the truth - otherwise you end up on the defensive and it will backfire on your Party or candidate.
3. Don't over-reach. The Tory attack ad on Jean Chretien in the 1993 campaign was seen as crossing the line from 'tough' to 'mean' as it appeared to be a personal attack on his dis-figured face. [Chretien's response really stuck the knife in, when he said in media interviews, "I can't help it. That's the way God made me." Ouch!
4. Keep the focus on policy - not on personality. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives are hitting hard on the other's leader. But the lines start to blur the more each hammers the other.
5. If you don't have anything nice to say...speak directly into the camera. The Tea Party brought out Rep. Michele Bachman [R-Minn] for their Response to the State of the Union, but bizarrely was advised to look into their website camera - not the pool camera. Decide for yourself if that was a wise idea? This same rule would apply if planning a negative attack ad.

Until next time....stay positive!

The Day After

Welcome back!

The President's "Shellacking"

Well all you political junkies (including myself) must be a little bleary-eyed today after staying up late watching the 'Rebuke to Obama' as a number of media headlines have framed it.
Everyone has their political views on the good, the bad and the ugly of the campaigns - note the 's' in that word - but I like to focus on the communications aspects.
And because politics and show biz began to merge years ago, I thought I would do it in the form of:

 'The Campaign 2010 Awards'
1. The John Connolly Award for "most money spent in the pursuit of a political office to no avail" goes to...Meg Whitman for spending upwards of $190 million of her own money to come up short in the California Governor's race against the victorious Jerry Brown [53% to 42%]. The lesson here being that even one thread that is successfully pulled can be your undoing and no amount of money can overcome it. Her hiring, dismissal and handling of an 'undocumented' housekeeper left her on the defense, alienating Latino voters and throwing her campaign off its game plan at a critical time.

2. The 'who says getting your name on the ballot is important?' Award goes to Alaska write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski who looks safe to win the Alaska Senate seat against the Sarah Palin Tea Party candidate Joe Miller once the write-in ballots are opened and read. However with a 41% to 34% lead it means that: a) people in Alaska paid attention b) knew how to spell her name and c) took the time to go to the polls and cast their vote. Am I wrong, or is Alaska a model for all of us to be engaged citizens? Just asking.

Paladino (R) Beats Himself

3. The 'Be careful what you email, joke about, and who you threaten' Award goes to Tea Party-backed New York Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Joe Paladino, the upstate businessman who could write a textbook on how not to comport oneself as a candidate, and who was wiped clean by Andrew Cuomo, son of the former three-term Governor, Mario Cuomo, whose famous dictum was "campaign in poetry, govern in prose". Wasn't much poetry in Andrew's campaign but at least he didn't make himself the issue - his opponent did all the damage that needed to be done.

4. The 'who says it's over for career politicians and resume enhancing?' Award goes to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who won a late round against WWE Owner Linda McMahon, the Tea-Party backed candidate whose (possibly too) hard-hitting commercials attacking Blumenthal for lying seemed to turn voters off.. [ He repeatedly claimed that he had served as a Marine in Vietnam when actually he was in the reserves stateside]  As well, exit polls indicated that they didn't like her, and they thought wrestling was too violent! Positioning herself as an outsider and Blumenthal as a career politician weren't enough to cover her own resume problems - laying off workers, dodging taxes, killing legislation on steroid use etc. that plagued her, thus preventing her from controlling the message in the campaign. [Note to Connecticut voters - wrestling is not real!]

I'm not a witch. I am you.

5. The 'don't use your opponent's 'bait' words to defend yourself on TV commercials' Award goes to...the one and only Christine O'Donnell in her Delaware Senate race. "I'm not a witch. I am you" will go down in the annals of political ads as the worst commercial ever in a campaign.

#h*! My Mayor Says...New CBC Pilot?

#h*! My Mayor Says 

Meanwhile, the election of Rodney Dangerfield look-alike Rob Ford as the next Mayor of Toronto rocked the pundits, media and the downtown Toronto urban sophisticates like nothing in recent history. I couldn't help poke some fun at it, in this satirical article, published in the Ottawa Citizen a few days ago.




Until next time!