Results tagged “politics” from stevenfeinberg.com
Each day the choice is ours. Advantage or Disadvantage.
Sometimes we are more fortunate and things go our way, as if the stars are aligned.
Other times we have to make it happen.
All you have to do to confirm this is watch the World Cup or Olympics
They prepare and are ready. But folks can get bad breaks not of their doing,
or good breaks that they capitalize on.
When you get bad breaks what do you do?
While complaining is normal, the important point is how quickly do you shift?
Are you prepared to shift?
You don't have to know what the answer is to know that its time to shift.
The first step is to recognize it is time to shift. Too many people take too long on this step.
To accelerate your performance, to get better results now, shift sooner.
You can look for solutions by sorting through the five shifts that create Advantage.
Shift the Question, instead of accepting the Givens. This will construct options
Shift Time, instead of being stuck. This will overcome the boundaries.
Shift Interactions, instead of doing more of the same. This will change the game.
Shift Perceptions, instead of a loser mindset. This will influence outcomes.
Shift Structures, instead of being controlled. This will shape new behavior.
We sometimes don't realize that if we are complaining we are not shifting fast enough to what will work.
Shift faster!
During President Obama's State of the Union (SOTU), I suggest you pay attention with a different lens. Evaluate his message through the vantage point of an Advantage-Maker. This is not a political partisan rating but an independent view of the state of his advantage-making. Rate President Obama's Shift IQ.
Advantage-Makers are strategic shifters. They interact with the world differently. In the face of constraints they consistently create superior outcomes. Their task is to shift the odds in our favor. This capacity to strategically shift is the hallmark of Advantage-Makers and advantage-making. To deal with constraints advantage-makers have high Shift IQ's (SQ).
Advantage-Makers are strategic shifters. They interact with the world differently. In the face of constraints they consistently create superior outcomes. Their task is to shift the odds in our favor. This capacity to strategically shift is the hallmark of Advantage-Makers and advantage-making. To deal with constraints advantage-makers have high Shift IQ's (SQ).
This ability to shift is what amounts to a secret or hidden code of advantage-making, and is made from 5 dimensions. These dimensions are the levers to shift the odds in our favor.
Shift IQ (SQ)
As you listen to the Presidents speech, start with the constraints: the hand he was dealt with the Great Recession and the International crisis and Wars. Rate him along these five dimensions:
1) Shifting Questions - does he accept the givens or question the givens? Does he see what others don't see? Shifting options provide us with options often overlooked rather than just following the known procedures. Does Obama illustrate what we tend to miss or overlook and suggest practical solutions? Does he frame the argument differently from the same old same old to make us feel once again, Yes We Can and Yes We Will?
2) Shifting Time - does he establish the right time frame for urgency and patience? Shifting time create possibilities where most people only repeat what they've done in the past. Does he make the case how past decisions have limited our options? Does he ask us for patience on ridding ourselves of the old systems that have failed us while he urges us to take specific action now to make a better today and tomorrow? Does he show us how to make the most of the forces at play? There is no time like to present to create the future.
3) Shifting Interaction - does he change the game we are playing. Both over the past year and his interactions with the Republicans. Is he demonstrating his ability to rapidly adapt to the political and economic forces at play? Shifting interactions changes the game. Does Obama shift from an attempt at a bipartisan approach to one that demonstrates there is a new game in town that will make a difference in the midst of the worst recession America has ever experienced? Does some of what he suggests question convention, proposing a different game, that is neither right or left? Does he stand tall and demonstrate command presence in the face of his enemies?
4) Shifting Perception - Does he influence us that we are going in the right direction with the proper course corrections that are involved in any change effort? Shifting perception influences outcomes. Does he admit mistakes and learn from it and engage us to learn? How do we feel about ourselves, our futures in the presence of our chosen President after his first year in office? Does he inspire our behavior to achieve the agenda for America's recovery?
5) Shifting Structure - Structure shapes behavior. Is the President establishing a winning game, is he positioning us to win? Have we fallen prey to a failing structure in Congress and what does the President have to say about it? Does he make the hard decision? Has the President set the stage for a structural solution that will gain momentum and move us forward? Do you hear how we will advance rather than go back to old ways that haven't and don't work?
We need Advantage-Makers in the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives to shift the economic and political playing field. It is their job to get it right. We looked to them, with our input as a democracy to do the right thing.
Listen for the Shift IQ of our President in his State of the Union and rate
On a scale of 1-----10 how effective at shifting the question
On a scale of 1-----10 how effective at shifting time
On a scale of 1-----10 how effective at shifting interactions
On a scale of 1-----10 how effective at shifting perceptions
On a scale of 1-----10 how effective at shifting structures
Advantage-makers use the 5 strategic shifts as levers to achieve higher results. Difficulties become easier, complex things become simpler, things that seem too slow get done quicker, and we can enjoy the fruits of our labor - we have more fun doing it.
The state of Obama's ability to shift America
The State of the Union will be revealed. The state of Obama's ability to shift America will also be on the line. In past blogs I have indicated that Obama is an Advantage-Maker. From my studies we can see that Advantage-makers are not perfect. They make mistakes, but they learn faster, use failure as feedback to course correct, make new connections, and get more out of the information and experiences they engage in. We want America and our President to succeed. We will be at a great disadvantage if he and we don't create superior outcomes in the face of the constraints we face. Just as I believe we are stronger today than we were one year ago, it will take President Obama's advantage-making skills and together we will make our nation better and stronger.
What are the facts of the health care debate?
With all the coverage we should know by now. But most of what we know is government takeover, death panels, and bureaucrats rationing care. Of course, there has been the Democratic effort to refute this as falsifying the facts. And reality, in my opinion, is that the facts have been falsified.
But reality, and the facts, are not what is driving the debate.
Perception is.
Whatever your political persuasion, it is persuasion and how the facts are framed that is determining voters perception. The efforts of both sides are to frame the issue. Our purpose is to look at how frames determine decisions.
Imagine for a moment an actual frame around a picture. Not any frame but an ornate expensive frame. That picture will seem more significant and of more value.
Now imagine the picture sitting in the Museum of Modern Art. This picture is now important indeed, and deserves commentary and appreciation. If however, we took that picture and placed it on a street vendors table as if it were a poster or copy, it would now have been 'framed' to seem cheaper and certainly less expensive. The frame determines how we perceive the facts.
Some frames are physical, but most of what we will deal with are mental constructs. Let's consider how different frames might play out.
The Democratic argument may be valid, that costs will be doubling in a few years, that people are already being denied service and that rationing is occurring etc. However, Death panels for grandma, in contrast, is certainly more vivid (even if not true). Nevertheless, research shows that vivid arguments win more often over valid arguments. And certainly, the Republicans have mobilized their troops better for now around their framing of the argument. We are beginning to see a shift as President Obama frames the argument more powerfully and vividly. Whoever wins the framing war wins the perception game.
It may be sad that democracy and progress may be determined by bungling frames rather than the truth and what is good for the people. Dissent is part of our American tradition and it is good for us to argue Healthcare reform in the marketplace of ideas.
The Democrats could have framed the issue as America's Competitive Health plan. Another frame they can still use is the Patient-Doctor Choice Plan, or better still, The Patient Care program. We can shorten these to be Competition, Choice or Patient Care program. Any of these are far better than the public option or even single payer. It would be hard to argue against The Competition Plan. It's American to value competition. Moderates couldn't be accused of socialism. This could combat the socialism claim of every argument by Republicans. Who would be against driving down costs with America's Competitive Health Plan.
Or consider the Patient Care program vs. The Insurance Industry Profiting program.
Every decision is for the patient rather than by an industry bureaucrat and their profit.
This really is a framing battle going on. You be the judge.
Examining the facts of the cost of healthcare through the frame of Patient Care will influence how you interpret the facts. Money for patients or money for industry profits. The same is true for, 'the Government is bad frame' that Republicans use to run all their information through. As Americans we have a cultural disposition to not trust the government, this sentiment goes back to the American Revolution. So that frame works. These aren't complex frames. They are quick to understand, which makes these frames even more powerful.
From a framing and influence strategy, we must always endeavor to portray the truth, while understanding the mindsets of the people we are speaking with. What I have stated, in Advantage-Makers is to 'Make your valid argument vivid.' Your frames should be easy to understand, simple to think about, and fast to grasp.
The most vivid frame most often wins the argument. A powerful frame inoculates you against the other sides argument. For instance, Doctor-Patient Choice vs. Private Insurance Company determines your medical care. As Americans we prefer choice. When the private insurance company program is being pushed, you can simply say I prefer my physician and I choosing what's right for me rather than the insurance company deciding. This is a pre-inoculation to equip your side for the counter argument that is coming. On an issue as contentious and important as the healthcare debate, framing is pivotal. In the midst of the noise and falsehoods, the facts are viewed through the lens of the frame you have established.
For your own business, professional or political efforts, before you argue a point, establish a frame within which you then offer the facts. As long as facts are not being falsified, this is a powerful and ethical way of increasing the likelihood of people saying yes to your presentation. (in a later blog we will discuss the degrees of latitude you have before you start alienating your listeners)
While I endeavor to see reality as it truly is, and to portray the facts accurately, whoever wins the framing battle will win the argument.
Obama wins. Transforms the election process, and the country. Change has won.
Not just words. Obama is a game changer.
Hope took action, let's take an Advantage-Makers (the code of Advantage-Maker is non-partisan)
view of how he did it. Dreams have come true, but this is no ordinary dreamer, he's practical.
First, financing his campaign through small internet donors
Second, generating a huge grass roots movement, incredible word of mouth interactions from the bottom-up
Third, a 50 state campaign to expand the map, not the usual 18 states. This in itself changed the game.
Fourth, his command presence demonstrated during the economic melt down; steady, command over the issues
Fifth, ground game during the actual election, momentum management moving the voters:early voting and Nov 4th
Sixth, language. Obama's command over language enables him to influence perception, inspiring hope
Seventh, he got ahead, shifting time, anticipated the Iraq war mistake.
Eighth, economic meltdown is met w/Obama structural programs to get America to work, stabilizing the economy
Obama demonstrated all the elements of Advantage-Makers during the election.
Now we will see him apply it during his administration
Shifting time creates possibilities
Shifting interactions changes the game
Shifting perception influences outcomes
Shifting structures shapes behavior.
Keep your eye on how he shifts time, interactions, perceptions, and structures.
The Democratic Presidential race will have historical consequences.
Your decision will pick the next POTUS.
Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
The choice has generated huge turnout, especially with the Democrats.
In the Republican race John McCain is the presumptive nominee.
We each have our own criteria for selecting our POTUS. Judgment is core in my opinion.
Hillary is a competent manager, a problem solver.
Barack is a leader, an Advantage-Maker.
Both aptitudes are important.
Aside from the politics, that, in part, is why their language is so different.
Hillary is moving the parts forward, Barack is a fundamental game changer.
Each approaches obstacles differently.
Problem solvers get rid of what was broken.
Advantage-Makers create opportunities that others don't see.
They operate on different logical levels.
Problem solvers see what is probable, based upon what has been.
Advantage-Makers see what is possible, based upon what can be created
Bottom line: Advantage-Makers interact with the world differently - they transform it.
Wouldn't it be great to have the judgment of an Advantage-Maker in the White House?
