Also posted on Medium. On November 1 I was honored to speak at a University of Connecticut POLS Colloquium. Below are my remarks, as written. As delivered they included a pretty good Columbo impersonation and a few other asides, but this is pretty close to what I said. Thank you for inviting me to join you today for what…
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Our Comments About Senator McCain Are at Least as Much About Ourselves
Also posted on Medium. It is easy to honor the dead. We can pick moments from long and complicated lives of others to paint a complete picture of what we hope our lives will be remembered for having been. A eulogy is, of course, about the person being eulogized. It is also about the moment…
Successful Strategic Communication: An Admonition and Five Steps.
Every strategic communications professional has her or his own favorite model for doing strategic communications. There are toolkits, charts, workbooks, boxes, and more. Most of them mostly say the same thing, and all of them owe a debt to Aristotle’s Rhetoric. In this regard, I am no different from my strategic communication professional colleagues. From my perspective, successful strategic communication…
Remarks on the State of Clear Writing
I was honored to give the keynote speech at the 2018 ClearMark Awards dinner, an event sponsored by the Center for Plain Language honoring clear writing. Below are my remarks as written (and more or less mostly as given). Thank you for inviting me to join you at this important event, and congratulations to tonight’s honorees. Apropos of the…
Two Lessons for Organizations and Young Staff from Two Young Players
Steven Goff’s recent piece on DC United’s young leaders offers two lessons for young staff and all organizations: Anyone can lead, and everyone leads in their own way. “We’ve got a lot of guys who will lead.” — DC United head coach Ben Olsen Anyone can lead. Leadership is about who you are and what you do — it’s not about your title…
Three Lessons and Caution for Managers from Michael Eisner’s Purchase of Portsmouth FC
The New York Times’ Rory Smith recently wrote about former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner’s purchase of Portsmouth FC, a storied English soccer team that recently “flirted with oblivion.” Smith’s piece offers three lessons and one caution for managers and organizations beyond soccer. Portsmouth Football Club, also called Pompey, was founded in 1898. Over its 120-year history the team…
A Noisy US Soccer Presidential Campaign is Going as Predicted
The election for President of the US Soccer Federation is in about three weeks, making this a good time to check in on the race to lead the governing body of soccer in America. A quick review for those whose interest in politics runs more to Michael Wolffthan Josh Wolff: Soccer in the US is overseen by the US…
Democrats can win and bring Americans together with civil religion
“America isn’t a map or a flag. Our country isn’t a president or a party. We are an articulation of a faith in what we are at our best.” As originally published in The Hill
Four Steps Political Professionals Can Take to Improve Politics
Those of us who work in politics have obligations to the political system. This system, our constitutional republic, is a bold experiment in governance that demands respect and needs nurturing to survive. Our system succeeds or fails based on how those of us in system behave, and we need to behave better. Read the full…
A Caution About the Politics of Soccer Politics Punditry
Today is the filing deadline for candidates for president of the US Soccer Federation. Between now and the election in February there will be lots of hot-taking, statement parsing, and political predicting. Soccer fans like to express opinions. A lot of soccer fans are also politics fans (or at least followers) and like to express opinions about…