about Communications

(note: this post is not about politics, it's about Communications -- find it in your heart not to see it through a political lens)

Allright. I must say that ... I had it. I had it with the White House press conferences. My always friend, and previously both colleague and boss David Martin wrote a short post here today, about Leadership as it relates to these pressers - I thought I'd quote him here and there, but he said it so well that at the bottom here I'm reporting his entire post; do read it.

Let me take it from the top.

Marketing, Branding, and Communications are fact- and perception-based quasi-sciences, multi-billion dollars businesses, fertile ground for university courses and widely-followed gurus and books and businesses -- and the US is at the forefront of all this. And 'Communications' is universally recognized by everyone in every industry as a paramount component of today's world - way beyond its simple 'information' function. In addition, the concept of 'perception is reality' has been an axiom for decades, one that in fact the advertising industry has made billions of dollars out of. But ... you'd NEVER know ANY of this existed by watching these abysmal pressers. (blindness? naivete'? ignorance? Trump dictating things? Trump being a certain kind of guy? FORGET the reason for a second, whatever, I don't even care. What I care about is a worried and often scared world, including me and my family.)

As I see it, there are six parts in communicating with the public about this crisis - in this order:

- Public Health

- Health-related Actions

- Individual Health

- Short-Term Economics

- Societal Everyday Life Changes

- Long-Term Economics,

and all ...

- rooted in Facts

- coated with Empathy

- underlined by Hope

(and these last two do not equal to 'Spin')

That's it - it's not difficult, it took me ten minutes (and would take as little for any one in my and allied professions to crystallize the communications imperatives). Now the difficult part: how do you say so to 300+million humans (plus another couple or three billions worldwide)? Not too complicated either:

• have a Master of Ceremony

• keep the six issues separate, while of course recognizing their inter-relevance

• plan the press conference in six sections, and announce that you will do so

• let different (and relevant) people speak of each part

• ensure that Empathy and Hope are the underlying tone of and glue between the Facts

• don't bald-face lie

But to do that, you must first recognize the realities: whether you like them or not they DO exist and you can't afford to ignore them. Here they are - indisputable:

• recognize that Trump needs to be seen in control: let him have a Master of Ceremony role with an A-team behind him;

• recognize that in this context Pence (as robotic, and deferential, as he is) and Fauci and Mnuchin and CDC and physicians are far more informed speakers than Trump, plus they (other than Pence, partially) don't come across as having a personal agenda;

• in Q&A's, Trump gets the incoming and distributes them to the various people behind him far more often than he does now, regardless of whether the journalist has asked him or not; it's fine for him to say "this question is better answered by ..."; and can someone tell him that at times is fine to say "I do not have the answer to your question".

• if a question comes that is provocative or at the edge of the issues (many journalists, regardless of left or right, are often snakes), Trump can simply say "that's got nothing to do with this serious crisis - next question?".

• wrap it all up with a sentence at the end, a simple one (I heard someone is supposed to be good with Branding at the WH): end each presser with ... say, "we WILL get through this together".

Little of all of the above is done in the White House press conferences - pitiful - no wonder they tend to be trainwrecks. If any of us in the business of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations would run things this way our entire profession and millions of related jobs would collapse in an instant. And I'm absolutely positive that the reason that all I said in this note does not happen is not because someone didn't think it and suggested it, it's because someone nixed or impaired it.

And let me close by saying that regardless of all of the above, things are getting done and our political class is moving in the right direction; but, Communications From The Top is increasingly becoming irrelevant.

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Leadership Lessons (from David Martin)

The differing styles in the press conferences held daily by the Governor of New York and the President provide compelling lessons for all of us who are, or will be, leaders. Governor Cuomo's sessions provide candid facts and process updates for his audience. His mission is to provide clarity in the midst of uncertainty. As a result, his audience comes away with the confidence that the challenge is managed and leaders are working to create solutions that will benefit us all. He's earned his audience's respect and has secured their benefit of the doubt. The President's sessions are far different. His mission is to manage the perception that he and his team are doing a fabulous job. He's selling with every statement, reading language that is largely inconsistent with his public persona. While this may work for some, the majority question his veracity. The result is diminished trust and increased anxiety that keeps audiences from confidently moving ahead. Rarely do we get the chance to see so clearly the best way to accomplish a leadership task. One style is working quite well and the other breeds animosity and criticism. Next time you're called on to rise to the occasion, you'll know the best way to master the moment.

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