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October 19, 2007
The Big Ask
Earlier this week, I organized a fund-raiser for Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia and Democratic candidate for US Senate. The following evening, I went to dinner at the home of Douglas Schoen, founder of Penn Schoen Berland the political polling firm, in honor of Kevin Sheekey, political advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. At both events, there was a pointed discussion of, in Warner’s terms, “The Big Ask,” the willingness of Americans to make a major sacrifice in the short run that provides hope for a better life over the long term. This approach stands in sharp contrast to the usual incremental approach in politics, the “small ask” on a specific issue which elicits the predictable negative response from voters.
Warner believes that the American people are ready to address major issues, such as energy, health care, immigration and trade. He believes the framework of the conversation must change, from pain-free to shared responsibility. “Even if taxes must go up or Medicare is means-tested, that might be acceptable if there is a model that can be shown to work in the long term,” he said. His experience as Governor of Virginia, when he raised taxes to pay down a substantial budget deficit, gives him the precedent for such a comprehensive reform agenda.
Schoen provided further insight from recent polls around the United States. “The American people sense that the present twin deficits in the Federal budget and trade are unsustainable. They see the looming funding crisis in Social Security and Medicare. They are worried about the growing gulf between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. They want a solution to the Iraq war. They are demanding an end to partisanship. They want a vision that may have real short term costs but offers clear and demonstrable benefits.”
In a subsequent discussion, Schoen and I agreed that there are real lessons here for the corporate sector. You must begin by reaching out to all stakeholders to develop a plan, to ask for their ideas and to explain your rationale for the program. All parties, from employees to white collar executives, must share in the sacrifice (note recent GM-United Auto Workers deal on health care coverage). The CEO should share the communications burden, informing his employees of the specifics of the plan, so that the horizontal (peer to peer) and vertical (top down) communications are synchronized. Local communities affected by the change or NGOs asked to endorse the plan must be solicited so that they can add their voices in support. Using this model of “the Big Ask”, public relations is helping to secure real change, providing context, supporting data and continuing updates on progress toward the goal. As always, I would appreciate your comments.
Posted by Edelman at October 19, 2007 2:04 PM |
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Comments
Let's hope Warner is correct and that Americans are finally willing to accept their collective responsibilities. But as the rank-and-file make their sacrifices, will CEOs also be part of the "Big Ask"? We see too few top execs leading by example in this process, as they continue to send the wrong message with their 7-, 8- and 9-figure compensation packages.
Posted by: Bill Sledzik at October 21, 2007 11:19 PM
Bill you make a good point on CEO compensation. It has to be part of the overall picture of describing change in the business sector.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Edelman at October 24, 2007 1:39 PM