Speak to Lead

Dinner with Gov. Rick Perry, Defense Sec. Leon Panetta, & DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Saturday evening I dressed up in white tie and tails for an intimate dinner with Rick, Leon and Debbie. 

But it's hard to keep meetings secret in Washington, especially with an exquiste, definitely-not-rubber-chicken, menu, so soon we were joined by Wolf (Blitzer), Arianna (Huffington), Haley (Barber), Candy (Crowley), Jon (Huntsman) and Janet (Napolitano)...

...and 600 of their closest friends.

The 127th Gridiron Club Anniversary Dinner had begun.

I'd like to post lots of photos of the speakers and comedy skits. Unfortunately, the dinner is off the record. No photos, videos, recordings or tweets allowed. (A man at our table started to video Secretary Panetta with his phone. He was hit over the head with a gridiron, and dragged away by security officers. Don't tell Gridiron members there's no such thing as off the record!) I do have a photo of me and a family member before entering the ballroom, but she would be most unhappy if I posted the photo.

So for the best coverage of the event, read the Washington Post's Story.

And look for Rick Perry on Comedy Central after he leaves the governor's mansion. His writer(s) was great and his delivery flawless. Really. I've seen lots of politicians attempt humor. Many are good (Panetta, for example), but Perry is a pro.

A special thanks to Patrick J. Sloyan, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, former Washington bureau chief of Newsday, and a Gridiron member, for inviting me.

 

 

Incumbent House member drops election results challenge to allow popular bill to pass

Eloquence of language. Eloquence of action.

In modern politics we get a lot of the former, a dearth of the latter.

So I was refreshed to read of a Congressman willing to sacrifice his election for a greater good.

In Grant and Twain: The Story of a Friendship that Changed America, author Mark Perry poignantly describes the financial troubles of former president Ulysses S. Grant toward the end of his life.

Defrauded, deeply in debt, and fearful he would leave his wife impoverished, Grant raced against terminal tongue cancer to finish his memoirs. That drama, and the part Mark Twain played in encouraging Grant and ultimately publishing the memoirs, is the main focus of Perry's book. 

One of the sub-plots, however, involves the campaign to have Congress pass, and the president sign, a bill restoring Grant's military pension. When Grant resigned his rank (instead of retiring) to allow other officers to be promoted, he automatically barred himself from receiving a pension. With Grant now terminally ill, the Speaker of the House sought to introduce the bill and get it passed with one hour before Congress adjourned.

Mark Perry describes what happened:

Presidential oratory, discourse & disagreement - A look back at a kinder time?

Congress has gone home. The president and his family are vacationing in Martha's Vineyard. And most of the political structure (except the ones who can't afford private schools; public schools are already back in session) including the news media, are out of town. 

In short, it's pleasant in DC. 

The contests over health care, economic stimulus, and even acting-president Eric Holder's appointment of a special prosecutor are mild. The vitriol of commentary is muted.

So what a great time to reach back to those days when politicians used kinder, gentler discourse to discuss their opponents. For example:

John Quincy Adams on James K. Polk: Polk is just qualified for an eminent County Court lawyer....He has no wit, no literature, no point of argument, no gracefulness of delivery, no eloquence of language, no philosophy, no pathos, no felicitous impromptus.

Thaddeus Stevens on Andrew Johnson: In Eqypt, the Lord sent frogs, locusts, murrain, lice, and finally demanded the blood of the first-born of all the oppressors....We have been oppressed by taxes and debts, and He has sent us worse than lice, and has afflicted us with Andrew Johnson.

Walter Wellman on Benjamin Harrison: [Harrison] is narrow, unresponsive and , oh, so cold. As one Senator says, "It's like talking to a hitching post."

Well, maybe looking for a biting sound bite has long been a part of presidential disagreement.

Source of quotes: 1,001 Things Everyone Should Know about American History by John A. Garraty. ISBN: 0-385-24432-0

Create a Marketing Habit in 21 Days: A Guide for Professionals

This is for those of you who lead small or solo practitioner professional services firms, and suffer the frustration of not having time to market when you're busy.The solution lies in Paula Black's new book, The Little Black Book - A Lawyer's Guide to Creating a Marketing Habit in 21 Days.

Don't get distracted by the lawyer focus; the process applies to all professional services. Paula kindly sent me a pre-launch copy and I think it's terrific. (In the interest of Washington DC's new love of transparency, I should be clear that I do not derive any income from recommending, nor from purchases of, the book.)

Here are 3 reasons I like TLBBALGTCAMHITOD (just try pronouncing that acronym!)

1. The 21-day plan breaks marketing into easy to do steps, short enough that you can fit them into a tight schedule. 
2. Because the steps are short and clearly defined, they do become habit forming. 
3. The formatting, typography and page design are worthy of an award. Key meaning jumps out at you; the look of the pages energizes you.  

For further information, and to see the bonuses Paula is offering for purchases today and tomorrow, follow this link http://tinyurl.com/nb8z3j

Media Interviews: Why Canceling Is a Bad Idea - Jon Stewart Rips CNBC Financial Analysts

Were William Congreve writing today, his oft quoted (or misquoted) remark might be, "Hell hath no fury like a TV host scorned."

Remember David Letterman when John McCain canceled? 

Now it's Jon Stewart over the cancellation by CNBC analyst Rick Santelli. Watch Jon shred the reputation of CNBC's financial analysts.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Special thanks to Marivic Valencia of Broadcast Interactive Media for bringing the Stewart piece to my attention.

Washington Wimps Go to School; Obamas Stay Home: Sound Bites Have Anniversaries

For good or evil, sound bites, like people and events, have anniversaries. Some are tied to dated event (FDR's "day of infamy" on December 7th). Some are tied to the repetition of an event. (Count on hearing Lloyd Benson's "you're no Jack Kennedy" take down of Dan Quayle during coverage of the 2012 vice-presidential debate.)

And so today Washingtonians were reminded by the local media (and I heard one reference on a national show) to President Obama's statement last month during an ice storm, that Washingtonians were wimps for closing schools. For the sake of accuracy, let me clarify that the president did not actually use the wimp term when pointing out our lack of fortitude. But when asked by a reporter if he was accusing the locals of being wimps, he never specifically denied it, and so it stuck.

It didn't take long for some of my neighbors in northwest DC to point out that although the "first daughters'" exclusive private school was closed, the DC Public Schools were indeed open. Had the Obamas selected Lafayette Elementary School, one of the 3 schools they visited and "considered," their girls would have been in school.

Today history repeated itself. District of Columbia public school students and teachers made their way through the heaviest snowfall of the season (as documented in the photos). Sasha and Malia's exclusive Sidwell Friends School once again was closed. 

Note: I do believe the president and first lady made the correct choice for their daughters. For one thing, although Lafayette is an excellent school and provided a great experience for my 4 kids, it's a block from my house. The morning and afternoon traffic congestion from parents dropping off and picking up their kids is already a mess. Adding the First Daughters' motorcade would be detrimental to the neighborhood's tranquility.

Public Speaking & Political Debate: House Republicans Stage Protest, Obama & McCain Exchange Insults - A New Civility Low in Political Debate?

Yesterday Republicans in the the U.S. House of Representatives staged a protest on the House floor. They were angry that Speaker Pelosi would not bring a piece of legislation up for a vote. On the same day, both presidential candidates were accused of hurling insults at each other.

Has the state of public speaking and political debate reached a new low in American politics?

Last evening I was going through a box of old books and came across a 300-page history of Washington, DC from its inception up to 1883. Perhaps it's time for the following practice described in Picturesque Washington to come back in vogue. It would certainly make C-SPAN more exciting.

Duelling was quite common in the early days of Washington, and the Western and Southern congressmen usually had a case of duelling pistols as an important part of their outfit....The

More on Ending Nervousness, Quotable Quotes and Churchill's Speaking...in a Moment

It's been so long since I last posted, even our dog, Daisy, noticed. Here she is in my study, pencil in mouth, signaling it's time for me to get back to work.

What she won't acknowledge is that she is part of the problem. You see she is not technically our dog. She belongs to my daughter who is living with us for a few months while her husband is deployed as a flight surgeon on the USS Kitty Hawk.

I do most of my writing in my study at home. Daisy, a one year old English cocker spaniel, is constantly interrupting. She brings me her tennis ball wanting to play. She lies at (or on) my feet. She feels compelled to alert me to the dogs or kids walking by the house. When I leave the room, she follows me.

And frankly, she's fun to play with and  productivity is down. But now I'm in London for a fortnight, and will get back to posting. So look for more on quotable cliches, ending nervousness, Winston Churchill's Chartwell, and how to handle interruptions!

Visuals & Whimsy-A Lesson from Whistler's Mother's Son & West Point

Here's a fun bit of trivia about American painter, James McNeill Whistler, perhaps best known for his painting commonly titled, "Whistler's Mother."

As you will see, it has little to do with leadership communication, the focus of Speak to Lead.  So I invite you to read the example and then figure out how it could be worked into a presentation about leaders and communication.

Here's the question, courtesy of today's 365 Amazing Trivia Facts Calendar.

Why was Whistler kicked out of West Point Military Academy?

Answer:

For misconduct. Assigned to draw a bridge in an engineering class, he drew two little boys fishing from it. Ordered to remove them, he drew the boys fishing from the riverbank. Again ordered to remove them, he drew two little headstones near the river.

Your turn: How can you "spin" this so it relates to leadership communication?

Speakers as Myth Busters: Destroy Myth with Truth (And Beware of Creating the Myth by Joking with Reporters)

This has little to do with speaking, unless you are referencing Harry S (or is it S period?) Truman. In that case here is your chance to be a myth buster.

I was taught that since the "S" was not short for a specific name (his parents gave him the S in honor of both his grandfathers), it was to stand by itself without being followed by a period. Made sense to me.

But according to a  Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library article, that is a myth; Truman used the period when writing his name. 

The myth may have been started by Harry S. himself when he was joking with the press. A good reason to be careful about using humor when talking with reporters. They may miss the joke.