Black In Business

I am so proud of my son Talib. He is affected by autism and true to his name he is a fighter.Recently I was at an event in which Mrs Michele Obama was the speaker. I was given the opportunity to ask the last question. I made a suggestion that as first lady, Mrs Obama use her clout to lead this nation toward a cure for autism.
Mrs Obama provided an eloquent answer and it seemed to be heartfelt. I told her about Talib’s web page and how he had a goal to raise 1000 dollars for the Obama campaign. Talib loves Obama because of; Obama is black and his name Barack, is a name Talib indentiflies with.
After I spoke of Talib’s story and his fund rasing, a couple of women donated several hundred dollars to this cause. It was spontaneous and appreciated.
I am sharing this story with you so, you can see how to set up your own Obama fund raising page, and so you can visit Talib’s site and consider a small donation. Your donation will help bring change and elect a President. Keep Hope Alive.

The Obama campaign has proven to be a thing of beauty in terms of; vision, execution, communication, revenue building, leadership and results. Despite heavy critics it has been an almost flawless campaign. From a business perspective, there are lessons included that we should take note. Here is my list.

1 This campaign has a clear vision that is measurable, and has a timeframe to commit to. Many in the business may refer to this as a strategic intent statement. An example often used as a good one is John Kennedy’s, “We will send a man to the moon and return him home safely, by the end of the decade. Everyone knows the mission and the timeframe.
Senator Obama has been very clear that Change and Yes we can are the hallmarks of his campaign. The timeframe is every primary and on to the fall election. Ask any body what does Obama stand for? The majority will say change or yes we can. What is the vision of your company?

2 In election politics, there is no second place. It is either win or lose. At one point Senator Obama won 11 in a row. I knew then it was over. It is critical to have a way to know how well you execute. This usually involves results and a time frame.

3 As we use to say back in the day,” Master of The Rap!” Barack has used outstanding communication skills to set his vision, inspire the public and to overcome critical feedback. As Frank Sinatra would say, “I did it my way!” Barack has done it his way. Classy, by speaking of change, he separate himself through a positive agenda. Many felt he should go negative but he stood firm in his belief, which reinforced his vision of change.

4 Barack has changed the game of fund raising and influence by raising unheard sums of money. He used the internet and small donors. He has people interested in politics for the very first time All of the previous 3 reasons contributed to point 4.

5. Barack’s leadership has made the people around him better. Everyone is on board and having fun. Other campaigns have bickering and some are broke. Barack has excelled in this area and it is obvious.

Barack has the results and will win the nomination. He has branded himself well and his inner circle carries and sells the brand well. He is a renaissance Black leader and a remarkable politician. Let me know your thought and if I missed much. Keep Hope Alive.

This is a difficult topic and I hope through some comments this post will be of value. My approach is using my life and business experiences to interpret opportunities for growth by analyzing the Clinton campaign. Your own interpretation will help us discover lessons we can use in business. Here goes my list.

1) Always have a plan B. Senator Clinton lacked the scenario planning discipline to answer a big what if. As in “what if the campaign is not over by Super Tuesday, how should we react?” She was victimized via a sense of entitlement. This entitlement caused poor unorganized effort in many states. Money was unwisely spent and the campaign was full of infighting. A simple what if and a detailed plan may have helped.
2) Do it now. A helpful exercise I did one time was to determine, how much time I had left. In business many statements start with someday. An example could be “Someday I will start my own business. Part of the reason for Clinton’s gallant effort, may have to do with this point. Tomorrow is never promised. A good exercise is to predict how long you will live based on your family tree’s history. Consider how many hours of leisure time you have and subtract that from your total. Depending on your point in life you may discover that someday needs to be now.
3) Lead your team. We have heard too much about infighting, low morale, and uncertain vision. These are all leadership issues. Senator Clinton may be a good manager but a poor leader. For example, the Obama campaign had few problems.
4) Refine your strategy. The experience thing was not working. So despite a family income of over 100 million dollars the past 10 years, she redefined herself as a fighter for the blue collar white voters. In business, how quickly you change course of a poor strategy will help revenue growth.
5) Never, give up! The Senator has shown a wiliness to stick this thing out. She may have gone too far. Business is all about rejection and if you quit early you lose.

That is my top 5, help us out . I would love to hear some more. Keep Hope Alive