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September 28, 2007
The Week’s Global Village
The opening week of the United Nations is like Thanksgiving at my parents’ home in Chicago; you eat so much and talk so incessantly that you have to take a nap afterward. In the past few days, I have been immersed in the cacophony of New York City hosting the UN dignitaries and the Clinton Global Initiative.
Here is my take:
India—The Government celebrated its 60th birthday with a very extensive promotional campaign under the Incredible India @60 banner. From classical dance in Bryant Park to Bollywood stars to fusion music to a colorful fashion show, India showed that it is a cultural leader. But the substantive message is that India is open for business, aggressively seeking foreign investment. Sunil Mittal, CEO of Bharti Enterprises and host of the dinner at the NY Public Library, said that his government is now at one with the private sector, recognizing that the best chance for a better life for India’s masses is high quality jobs. The Finance Minister, Mr. P Chidambaram, said that the new heroes of the country are the entrepreneurs such as Sunil Mittal and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys, who are bringing Indian business to the global stage.
Brazil—The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Celso Luis Nunes Amorim, speaking at the India dinner, suggested that there is an evolving group of Southern Hemisphere superpowers, including Brazil, India and South Africa, rich in agricultural resources, determined to bring large elements of their populations to better living conditions. He was very firm about the position of these “Second World” nations on the Doha Trade Round, claiming that the US and EU had blocked an agreement by insisting on retention of excessive agricultural trade barriers. Mr. Amorim said that social justice is the central goal of the Lula Administration; in sharp contrast to the Indian government officials, he did not praise the private sector.
France—The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, was very blunt about the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear capability. He noted that French companies had drastically reduced investment in Iran in response to the Government’s request but that companies from other nations had filled that void. He did not rule out the military option but said that more widely implemented sanctions by European countries is a necessary first step. He indicated that France would take a more active role in the Israel Palestine peace process, saying that there is a need to move with alacrity. He made it clear that France would have a more harmonious relationship with the US on both foreign policy and economic development.
Canada—Prime Minister Steven Harper said that Canada would be a more active player on the global stage. “Canada will lead by example,” he said, with terrorism/security, environment and trade his top issues. He wants a new international protocol with binding targets on carbon emissions, that must include the US, India and China. He said that his country has a proud history of international action to end repression and that higher defense spending will increase the country’s capability to bring about positive change. He used Afghan schools as an example; five years ago, there were 700,000 children in schools, all boys, while today there are 6 million children in schools, 2 million of whom are girls. He wants to engage with nations in South America where he noted that some leaders are falling back from economic deregulation. He concluded by saying that no country acting alone can address all of the challenges facing the world; the middle level powers such as Canada have to step up to take their place in a multi-polar universe.
The rising wealth of Asia and the greater share of total assets moving toward natural resource rich nations have changed the global balance of power. Business will have to accommodate dispersion of authority, where rules are written not just in the EU or USA, but in the case of green buildings, in China. PR will play a vital role in this transition. We will help global business to identify major issues such as environment or rural development in which it can make common cause with government, NGOs and communities while selling their own products, so that “green equals green.” I would appreciate your views on this report.
Posted by Edelman at 10:37 AM
Comments
Richard,
Thank you for your most recent post. It’s a tough subject but one that we have to address. Michael Milken has put a lot of money behind it over the past ten years.
Also, The NTI Group, an Edelman client, has a pretty high profile executive, Billy Pitts, who took a humorous approach to the topic with his site http://www.checkyourjohnnies.com/ that he created after his cancer was diagnosed.
Pitts was the former chair of House Rules Committee (great profile of him here - http://thehill.com/business--lobby/billy-pitts-master-of-the-house-2005-05-17.html).
He might be worth engaging. He’s a good guy. Incredibly well connected and this is a topic he cares deeply about.
Glad to hear all is well,
Josh Morgan
Posted by: Josh Morgan at September 28, 2007 6:36 PM
It's interesting to read about each country's message. It's a reflection of their 'head-space'. As a South African, it's wonderful to read that countries in the same socio-economic situation are so like-minded. Notice how positive these countries were compared to the rest! As much as much as I love New York, I believe that there is no way that it will ever be as strong as it has been before. Bring on the new age superpowers!
Posted by: Nadia Padayachi at October 11, 2007 9:06 AM
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| TrackBackSeptember 21, 2007
The Scimitar
One of the joys of entering your fifth decade is the sudden emergence of medical diagnostic tests as a routine part of your life. Others have talked about their experiences, such as Mark Cuban.
Here is a cautionary tale about the shortcomings of one such diagnostic tool and the unnecessary heartache that it caused.
In the normal course of my annual physical, I had a blood test to measure my PSA, which is to detect the onset of prostate cancer – a disease that kills one man every 18 minutes. I have a family history; my father contracted the disease in his mid 70s. I noted a marked increase in the number, so I went to a specialist for a consultation. He found no sign of abnormality, but another PSA test was administered. On a sunny Friday afternoon in May, I got a call telling me that I had a PSA result over 4 (indicating a real risk of disease) and that I had to come in for a prostate biopsy – oh, but not to worry because in two of three cases, the PSA gives an inaccurate result (it’s actually much higher, I learned later). As you might imagine, the week before the biopsy was emotion-filled, with a weepy wife and yours truly imagining life after prostate surgery. I carried on as usual, not wanting to alarm my children, friends or colleagues, but it was a hard acting job.
The biopsy procedure was unremarkable. You are awake throughout, numbed only in the vital area. By numbed, I do not mean entirely anaesthetized. Twenty skin samples are required, and by the 10th, even your usually stoic blogger was counting down as the spring-drawn core sampler did its job, a tear or two slipping out as I babbled mindlessly about college with the doctor, a fellow Harvard alumnus. Then the interminable wait for results, the scimitar poised over my head, the excruciating five-day interlude. The appointed day for the doctor’s call came and went, the Ides of March for Julius Caesar, maybe no news is good news. Then the phone was handed to me by my wife and the physician informed me that there was no sign of malignancy. A few beers and glasses of champagne later, I proceeded with my life.
At the end of August, I learned that Peter Segall and his team were off to pitch to the AdMeTech Foundation, a nonprofit coalition of academicians and representatives of industry and government seeking to persuade Congress to fund further research into a better detection method for prostate cancer. I participated in the pitch, told my story and said that as a nation, we had to do better. We were appointed by Dr. Faina Shtern, director of research in the radiology department at the Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School and her colleagues at AdMeTech.
Here is what I have learned in the interim. The federal legislation that helped to perfect present breast cancer screening technologies was passed in the early 1990’s. We need to do the same for prostate cancer. In reality, 88 percent of men with abnormal PSA results eventually learn they had a false alarm – in other words, most had inaccurate results. And biopsies themselves produce false negative results 20 percent of the time, with small tumors regularly overlooked by the skin sampling (certainly felt like they were taking a lot of my skin each time!). The prostate is a small gland with a tissue consistency that makes x-rays hard to read. The truth is that while women have mammograms, we men still don’t have our “manograms.”
(For those of you thinking: there goes Richard the Liberal, crusading for a new way government can spend the taxpayer’s money, I’m happy to point out that all those unnecessary biopsies cost our healthcare system more than $2 billion each year; investing in better imaging techniques is actually one of the smartest things we can do to get spending under control.)
So here is a client assignment in which I have a serious personal stake. For those of you gents of my age, get a PSA test because it is the best of the flawed options for determining whether a biopsy is needed to clarify the diagnosis and guide the kind of treatment needed. But don’t despair if you get a high score because you are most likely just fine. In the meantime, let’s tell our stories to Congress because men should not suffer in silence with a test that can be imperfect and emotionally disruptive, because it is the manly thing to do. If you have your own tale, please relate it on www.manogram.org. For further information on Dr. Shtern and her crusade, go to www.admetech.org.
Posted by Edelman at 2:00 PM
Comments
I am happy you are O.K. My dad died for prostate cancer. I try to do the PSA measure every year, but actually I did just one. I am 45 years old, so...
I hope to meet you in Berlin PR Summit. I am an applicant. It seems that I am near of one of the 50 seats, but It´s not sure.
If I go in the end I´ll bring my sport shoes for a run.
All the best, Benito Castro, from Sevilla, Spain
Posted by: Benito Castro at September 22, 2007 11:59 AM
Mr. Edelman,
In reading “The Scimitar”, I can relate completely to the apprehension that you felt as a result of the “medical situation” and the time involved in waiting for the results.
Thanks for being open, honest and for sharing your Humanness in this situation. I believe that you have helped others through your action. I am glad that you are well.
Best regards,
Rob D.
Posted by: Rob at September 23, 2007 11:19 AM
Richard,
I too am glad you are OK.
But now, let me give the exact opposite side of the story. A story that is so different than yours that I hope it will be read by hundreds of men who read your blog and interpreted it, perhaps fatally, the wrong way.
I am 50 years old and in terrific health, or at least I thought I was. I worked out six days a week and boasted regularly about my extreme low-fat diet. I had no history of prostate cancer in my family.
I went to the doctor in mid-July for a respitory infection. After looking at my chart, this very-alert physician said, "you know, you're 50 years old. You need to get a PSA test." Only a year before, this same doctor had performed a digital
rectal exam and found no reason for concern.
You can guess the rest of the story. My PSA test came back 5.2 (only 1.2 points above normal), and I was sent to a urologist for a biopsy. Three days later, I received a call from the urologist's office that went like this:
"Can you be at the office at 5 p.m.? And the doctor would like you to bring a relative."
Of the 14 tissue samples collected during my biopsy, ALL came back positive. My cancer was a T2b, my Gleason score--7.
For those of your readers not familiar with the terminology, my results put me in the aggressive cancer category, just barely inside the circle they call "early stage."
Were it not for that respitory infection, and the subsequent PSA test, I would almost certainly face a terminal diagnosis six months to a year hence.
The PSA test may have saved my life. Since receiving my diagnosis, I have talked to a dozen men who discovered their cancer at the ages of 42 to 45 through a serendipitous PSA test. Those men have successfully received treatment and are leading full lives BECAUSE of the PSA test.
Needless to say, I am infuriated beyond words when I read medical literature that debates whether men should get a PSA test before 50---or at all.
Now I know you are not advocating that. In fact, you wrote the opposite. But anyone reading your post without a discerning eye might not pick up on the nuances.
Yes, we need a better prostate screening test. And yes, there are many false positives associated with the PSA--though the American Cancer Society reports a 25 percent chance of cancer for men with PSA tests between 4 and 10.
That's a one in four chance--not as wildly improbable as you suggest.
But I would rather undergo the slight discomfort of a needle biopsy and be certain of my condition than rail against the PSA test.
I learned about this blog from my editor David Murray while sitting at the Henry Ford hospital in Detroit. Tomorrow, I undergo radical prostectomy to remove my cancer.
If it is successful, I will live to see my three young girls grow up.
And I will have only the PSA test to thank for it.
Thanks for raising this issue, and for your male readers over 40 (my opinion): Go get your PSA test NOW.
It will no doubt come back normal, but your doctor will thank you for giving him a baseline number to compare future tests against.
Mark Ragan
CEO
Ragan Communications
CHICAGO
Posted by: Mark Ragan at September 25, 2007 2:54 PM
I'm glad you're healthy - I hope your message about getting regular "manograms" gets out. Mark's story scares me - I hope the surgery was successful. I'm forwarding this to my husband right now.
Posted by: Teresa Duncan at October 10, 2007 8:45 PM
Dear Richard,
I relate to your story as a daughter and not as a woman who has spent many years working in the healthcare communications industry. This summer, my father called to tell me that his PSA levels were high and that he was going for a biopsy. He called me not only because I am his eldest child but also because he felt sure that my 8 years of experience in oncology communications and my work on prostate cancer treatments would allow me to help him understand the disease, treatment options, risk benefit ratios, all the things I had spent years understanding. He thought wrong as I burst into tears and contemplated, for the very first time, the mortality of my parents. I managed to pull myself together but after that experience I think he was a little shell shocked. When my mother asked if he was now going to tell my siblings, he said "yes, I'll send them an email!" He imagined that if a seasoned professional who knows all about the prognosis of disease caught early, the many men over the age of 70 who die of something other than prostate cancer but with evidence of the disease, the number of patients who are not even treated, blah blah blah, could fall apart, how would the "lay people" in his family react?
Luckily he is fine and his brachytherapy has gone well but this incident has really hit home for me in a way unlike anything else in my many years of being part of the industry. After years of working with patients, their healthcare providers, advocacy groups and the entire "therapeutic alliance" I now have a profound and practical insight into the communication issues and the emotions that are inextricably linked in healthcare and will use my new insight as a signpost in my thinking about how brands, companies, stakeholders relate to patients and their families and caregivers. Thanks for sharing your story and for encouraging your audience to get tested...even if it is somewhat unreliable. Let's hope it is not too long until the manogram is a reality.
Posted by: Helen Clarkson at October 16, 2007 5:27 AM
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| TrackBackSeptember 14, 2007
Dubai: Image and Reality
I made my first trip to the Middle East earlier this week. I had no clear conception of what to expect when I landed after my 13 hour flight from New York City. I had read the major story in Vanity Fair about Dubai, which reinforced all of the stereotypes of fun in the sun, a free spending Las Vegas in the Middle East, with surreal attractions such as an indoor ski slope and a restaurant in the midst of an aquarium. What I found in fact was a city seeking to emulate Singapore, a hard working, diverse population, and a clear growth strategy based on trading and tourism. I saw a quote from Winston Churchill on the desk of one of the executives I met which perfectly describes the attitude of its residents: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” Here are some specific observations on my journey.
1) The city is treated as a corporate organization. It is led by Sheikh Mohammed, who is convinced of private sector led economic progress. The conditions for business are ideal, including liberal immigration policy, zero income tax and aggressive infrastructure improvements.
2) Dubai is in a hurry to grow. Unlike its neighbor, Abu Dhabi, it has little oil (5 per cent of its GDP) and must rely on its wits to stay ahead. It aims to more than double its population from 1 million to 2 million in less than a decade. More importantly, the new Dubai Strategic Plan for 2015 aims for compound annual growth of 11 per cent, trebling GDP to $108 billion. The current projects in this tiny emirate have a value of over $200 billion. As 25% of the world’s construction cranes are on-site, it seems possible.
3) There is an emerging mass affluent class, earning $50-100,000 per year, usually double income families with children. This is a new trend all over Asia, in markets such as India, Egypt and Morocco but most pronounced in Dubai. These families seem to want the Southern California lifestyle, with a golf course, shops and other amenities near by.
4) The largest population segment is Indian, representing half the total residents. Many of them are professionals who are in banking, accounting, and law. There are also many construction workers of Indian descent. But what is surprising is that the population is also representative of over 180 nationalities that live and work in this city that never sleeps!
5) The government reserves available in Dubai are part of the $1.7 trillion in the five Middle Eastern nations, the largest concentration of reserves in the world, exceeding the $1 trillion in China. Recent investments by the sovereign investment fund in overseas properties such as MGM Grand are driven by a desire to diversify holdings beyond the domestic economy.
6) The natural conditions of Dubai have been reshaped by developers. There were 16 kilometers of beach front in Dubai only 10 years ago, the original state of affairs. Today there are 850 kilometers; it is expected that there will be 2,600 kilometers of beach front when all the redevelopment is completed. Much of this is reclamation of sea front, with one property in the shape of a giant palm leaf.
7) There is a hands-on entrepreneurial culture, with executives very involved in their businesses. The workaholic approach is part of the drive for a better lifestyle; it reminds me of China and India. Status is based on achievement, not inheritance.
8) The growth of the city has outpaced its infrastructure. The traffic is quite heavy, with bottlenecks such as a single road into and out of a large development. A mass transit line is expected to be completed by 2009 along the Sheikh Zayed highway, the central corridor for the city.
9) There is a very stylish night life and glamorous hotel scene. The Buddha Bar and the dhow shaped Burj Al-Arab Hotel live up to expectations, full of expatriate bankers, bon vivants and fun-seeking travelers.
As one executive told me, “the Dubai story is completely fragmented. Nothing is connected. We have to get to a vision.” Just as for other boom towns such as Shanghai, the reality of Dubai must be beyond the spectacular buildings and economic progress. Already the Dubai Open is one of the most popular stops on the global tennis tour. But for me, Dubai’s rapid growth signals the continued dispersion of authority and influence toward the developing world and especially the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). I would appreciate your views as always.
Posted by Edelman at 10:24 AM
Comments
When it comes to media, the Media City in Dubai seems to lack vision for me. Yes, there are studios there from most of the news networks, but they need the outdoor cafe culture of Beirut. Problem there is the weather...the months of June, July and August are sheer hell. They have the studios, but where are the stars? That said, apart from the traffic, it is indeed an amazing place, always full of surprises.
Posted by: Jonathan Marks at September 14, 2007 3:03 PM
Dubai is a small example of what can the Middle East give to the world except of tragic wars and hate. Today there are two and a half real western open cities with growth potential in the ME. Dubai, Tel Aviv and parts of Cairo. In the day this 3 cities will interact freely and money will move from side to side, the Middle East will rock the world and I don’t mean the boom boom booom style.
Posted by: sagichemetz at September 22, 2007 10:22 AM
Having just returned from a two month stint in Dubai, I think that Dubai IS a country with vision, and a very modern one at that. Who could have imagined a city in the desert sand taking flight so quickly in the span of 10 years. Credit goes to Dubai for that! However, what I find lacking is the attention to detail in their mega projects and a realistic projection of their property market. The PR of Dubai is great, but can they at the end of the day, deliver to the expectations set out at the beginning? I hope it can because what is PR if expectations are not met i the end...
Posted by: HamidaH at October 24, 2007 11:28 PM
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| TrackBackSeptember 7, 2007
Two Great Men
I spoke publicly twice this week, on Wednesday at the unveiling of a plaque honoring my father, Dan Edelman, at the Aon Center in Chicago, then on Thursday morning at the Memorial service for the late Michael K. Deaver at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Here are some of the highlights of my remarks.
I told my fellow Edelman employees that my father has a fierce commitment to excellence. His mantra is Teach, Test and Correct. His Dan-o-grams, memos to staff, are direct feedback from the founder, praising as appropriate, demanding improvement as necessary. He mourns every lost client and failed pitch, assumes that victories are just part of the process, a cup half empty approach that inures him to disappointment.
Dan always has led by example. As we were building our global business, even into his 80s, he would make an annual three week trip to Asia, spreading the gospel about PR by visiting six or seven cities. He was a relentless builder, buying a firm in China only a year after the Tiananmen crisis. He would run the big pitches, including one to the Church of Latter Day Saints, in which he informed the top Church executives that he was the grandson of a rabbi, had studied the CLDS, felt comfortable with their principles, and would be honored to work on their account. He stayed on the KFC account for the entire 30 years it was at the agency, going to EVERY franchisee meeting. He is the anti-material man, driving a 10 year old car wearing his suits until shiny.
He was convinced of the full potential of public relations, putting it at the top of the communications hierarchy. He was among the earliest practitioners of marketing PR, understanding the importance of third party endorsement by an independent media. He was the first to utilize the media tour, traveling the Toni Twins to cities across the US to appear on television, radio and in print interviews. He developed outstanding people such as Pam Talbot so she could carry forward this marketing prowess. His impassioned advocacy of ethical behavior in PR often raised hackles in the industry but he believes that we are in a profession that relies on public trust earned through transparency and integrity.
For Dan, a life well lived is based on daily hard work, decency and honor, not how much money you have make. He gave back to his community, in money and time, to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia University School of Journalism. He has been fortunate in his choice of life partner, Ruth, always acknowledging her contribution to the business, her vibrant personality helping her to overcome mental health issues. Dan's legacy is the company that he has built to last, with the values of professionalism, achievement and excellence.
I was one of four selected by Mike Deaver to deliver a eulogy at his memorial service; others included Henry Pierce, director of Clean and Sober Streets, Lex Sant, a close family friend, and former Secretary of State James Baker. It was certainly intimidating to mount the pulpit at National Cathedral, looking out at 1,000 mourners including Nancy Reagan, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, and Johnny Mathis and other luminaries. But I felt a great sense of inner calm as I delivered my remarks, knowing that Mike had the confidence that I could present one of the four parts of his life, which were business, community, family and politics.
I began by saying that for many in Washington, DC, Mike was the Master of Impressions but for those of us at Edelman, he was the Master of Reality. Introduced to my father by a mutual friend, Chris Ogden, bureau chief for Time Magazine, Mike came to our firm 15 years ago as vice-chairman. He reminded us every day of four maxims: Know who you are; Be transparent; Be ready for change; Never forget your values. As he spoke for the last time to our global leadership team at the end of June in San Francisco, though clearly weakened by his disease, he roused himself to make an impassioned plea for these principles that guided his career. He was cheered for 10 minutes by his colleagues who stood and clapped, inspired by his leadership. Click here to read the speech.
Mike transformed public relations. He earned all of us a seat at the top table, in the C suite, because he offered strategic counsel based on research and intuition, as well as execution. He was a true advisor to CEOs and foreign leaders alike. His communications world was 360 degrees, with PR at the center, always tied to the reality of policy. He also transformed Edelman. He made us believe that we belonged at that top table, changed how we saw ourselves, helped us to grow into that role. He was our man in DC and we were so proud to have him as chairman of that operation. He was a genius, often the last to speak in a meeting, listening respectfully to others, then offering the keen insight that allowed the rest of us to end the meeting because our work was done. He could synthesize a two hour brainstorm in a five minute summary, always coming up with the important line for the campaign, as he did for the new AT&T, for the Panama Canal, and for dozens of other clients.
His style was totally approachable, informal and friendly. He was never Mike Deaver, White House legend, rather an avuncular old pro who gave willingly of himself, to find you the right doctor, to guide you through a personal crisis, to make sure that you understood why he had recommended a specific course of action to a client. The 200 plus people in the Edelman DC office and those of us outside of DC who were lucky enough to work with him on client assignments all revered him, and his legacy is in those he mentored over the course of his career. He was adored by my mother and father, who were so proud to have him as a friend. He helped me to grow as the CEO with wise counsel, always delivered in person and in a subtle manner.
He too led by example, always first in the office in the morning. I related a story that got a knowing laugh from the audience. Because he dressed in the dark out of courtesy to his wife, Mike showed up at the office one day with one brown and one black shoe, but one was a slip-on and the other a tie shoe. We called his home to get a properly matched shoe but the brown slip-on remained an orphan in the corner of his office for six months.
Our commitment is to follow his example and to continue his work. He was eternally optimistic, decent, curious and modest. He gave time to causes and to his community. He was dedicated to clients, insisting on excellence and integrity. He understood the primacy of family; his office was a photo gallery of his wife, Carolyn, his children, Amanda and Blair, and his grandchildren. It was our privilege to have worked with Mike, who was our teacher, our mentor and our friend. In the Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, after the death of the great king, his people “extolled his heroic nature and gave thanks for his greatness, for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear…of all the kings upon the earth, he was the man most gracious and fair-minded and kindest to his people.”
My client and friend, Ted Smyth of Heinz, sent along a Gaelic saying that applies to both Dan Edelman and Mike Deaver. “Nibheidh a leithidi aris ann,” or “Their likes will not be seen again.”
Posted by Edelman at 12:22 PM