May 9th, 2008
Business Lessons, Taken From The Clinton Campaign
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
May 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
One amendment to your #5 stick-to-it plan: Always have a prudent exit strategy. Know when you are wasting time and money.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Hi Eddie, perfect, cut your losses, thanks
May 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Hillary certainly is sticking with it, JD. Seems to me that we all make mistakes along the way, but the brilliance comes in how you handle it and what you do to regroup and keep going toward your goal. Both Hillary and Barak are doing this. I have never seen a fight to the finish with two such committed people. Each one has so much to offer us. Each seems to have a very different constituencey. I wish we could have both because they represent the best of two very different worlds.
Thanks for a very thoughtful post JD!
May 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Robyn, Hillary has come close to being the nominee, but now it is over and she should exit over the next 2 weeks. She still has the opportunity to be the first woman president but may have to wait 8 years, or for certain 4 years.I am surprised that such a historic race from a color and gender standpoint has been so angry. Divide and conquer, or unite and win. Hillary and Bill need to get on the Obama bus and help drive it! Thanks for the comment and your visit