Bizlife Smarts

Today, I watched the CNN-staged, U.S. Democrat party Presidential candidates’ medley of Town Halls. As I did so, an article I had read over the weekend, by Sunny Bindra, https://sunwords.com/2019/04/21/so-you-sacked-a-manager-so-what/ came to mind. How effectively we perceive and present ourselves, and how effectively we match the perception of others to that, is key in our success. It goes both ways and to put it another way; successfully building a company’s human capital is like voting for a presidential candidate.

Sunny’s article came to mind because, just as many companies keep hiring the wrong people to work for them, so too the electorate keep voting for the wrong people to represent them. There are questions, the answers to which are situational, and which companies should keep top of mind.

• Is your early perception of a person really accurate? Are you basing it on the right criteria?
• Did those perceptions change over time, because they were initially mismatched with reality?
• How honest are we in identifying skills and matching them up to the job a person has to do?
• Why is there a divergence, if so, between what we say we’ll deliver and what we do deliver?

I would posit that the closer the match between your self-perception and the perception of you by your customer, the better you will deliver on your promise.

The CNN Town Hall Medley

Each candidate’s objective was simple: Push to the head of the pack. It’s easy for an objective eye to have a perception of what each did right, and each did wrong. But is it so for they themselves? I didn’t think so. Here’s my assessment:

Yes, it’s my perception, as a sample of one. I am however pretty certain that the polling and the pundits will bear me out. As the incumbent, Donald Trump is the benchmark.

My assessment is that, two candidates didn’t move the needle, two did themselves no favors and it was the newbie who did well. I’m sure that in each of their individual planning, their perception was that they had a winning strategy. They were, all except for one, dragged down by their achilles heel. The question is whether Pete “Boot-edge-edge” can overcome voter perceptions of his achilles heel, as the campaigns progress.

The Biden factor

I had omitted Joe Biden, as he is still undeclared as of this writing. However, his name hovers silently over this line-up, and he’s expected to declare his candidature this week. So let’s add him to it.

I have actually put Joe Biden as a benchmark alongside Trump because:

• He, by many accounts, is perceived to be the best candidate to beat Trump.
• He leads his party’s candidates in the polls.
• Our 8 years of familiarity with him as Vice President raised, rather than diminished, our perception of him.

So far, by not yet declaring, Biden has served himself well. He appears to have diffused the accusation of having been inappropriately touch-feely in the past. Check to avoiding his achilles heel. However, he cannot delay his declaration much longer, so let’s watch and see.

What we can learn from the town halls

• Amy Klobuchar: She has the safest approach to governing, but too easily puts ideas down as unworkable, without solutions of her own. You cannot win by using your opponents as your yardstick, no matter how practical you think you are. Remember Betamax and New Coke?! And you must always be solutions-oriented.
• Elizabeth Warren: She has the strongest policy pitch, and appears to believe that personal story-telling is a charm. However, when overdone it loses authenticity and she has never overcome the “Pocahontas” moniker put on her by Trump. Losing your customers’ belief in you, can erode even the best functional attributes.
• Bernie Sanders: He believes in right and truth, regardless of what others think. Do not be dishonest, but realize that truth and practicality need to go hand in hand. Do not unnecessarily elaborate on the scary truths. The opposition ad will be written, and it will hurt him.
• Kamala Harris: ‘We should have that conversation’ and ‘we should study it and see’ are not the right answers. Shifting positions under pressure is also not a good thing to do. Your customers value certainty, consistency, and having confidence that what you have done and said in the past is what you will say and do in the future.
• Pete Buttigieg: He keeps growing as a candidate, has diverse experience and also a great people-connection. ‘I’m not a master fisherman, but I know bait when I see it. I’m not taking it’. This is a classic line that Bernie can learn from. He’s also now releasing a tool to outline his policy positions. Customers value authenticity, experience, connection to their needs and a clear plan on how to deliver the promise.

And then they were 3…well 2 and a 1/2

So, following Sunday’s Town Hall medley, I’d be inclined to say that Trump, and whoever wins between Buttigieg and Biden are the top candidates to watch. This is for one key reason. They control their own destinies, unlike the other candidates who are too focused on being the anti-Trump.

Trump and Biden can still fall to their achilles heel, of being their own worst enemy. Trump through his lack of character, and Biden through his social and spoken gaffes.

Organizations should take a leaf from all this. Character, authenticity, positive experiences, consistency and performance, are not only winning attributes for an electoral candidate, but some of the winning attributes in picking the right person to work for you and for customers to pick the right product/company.