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Washington D.C. is a city about power. Men and women sacrifice money to have all the power they can get, grow, and hold. So, it's no surprise that lion in winter Ben Bradlee would put a few dents in the reputation of his former employee Bob Woodward.
The media, of course, picked up the scent. And the speculation about Bradlee's motives is driving the story. It's also fun to assume that boy scout Woodward might have been naughty in his journalistic methods.
A boy of privilege from elite schools, Cary probably never perceived his behavior as immature. After all, the wealthy are shielded from having to look too hard at themselves to survive. When he interviews to return to the law firm which rejected him two years ago he admits that he has grown up. That means he knows he acted like a jerk there. Although Will pushes to block his return, return he does.
At the bar, Cary and his former enemy Alicia act cordial to one another. Also he and Will call a truce. However, we know human nature. We can expect tension at the very least and backstabbing at the worst.
This was the April 22nd episode. I had just gotten to my Tivo.
"Mad Men" is set in pre-feminism days but nevertheless the power of women is dominating what is.
Megan's sci-fi theme for Heinz is what saves the account. Like her husband Don she is a complex person and is showing the world that she has other gifts beyond beauty. One is a strength in promotions.
Sally, Don's daughter, has fully emerged from her self-destructive phase and is learning to leverage the pull power of being female, young, and stylish. She has come a long way from chopping off her hair and masturbating in public.
Peggy is coming into her own as an adult. She opts to accept Abe's offer to live together. That's not what her Catholic mother has in mind for her but she is making decisions for herself. This growing sense of self could become reflected in her copywriting. Down the road she and Megan might prove competition for Don.
Meanwhile Roger could lose it all by being so self-absorbed and immature. He has gotten stuck in his euphoria about an acid trip. Turning inward depletes the energy he can invest in the ad agency. His fall could come if Joan rejects him for a more caring companion.
On many issues, the comments following the article have become as much a part of the "conversation" as the official reporting. So, it's no surprise that at BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK, Matthew Ingram covers the GAWKER policy of keeping comments anonymous.
Ingram delves into the pros and cons of GAWKER's head Nick Denton's decision to allow those making comments to not disclose their real identity. On the one hand, that frees up candor. On the other hand, it can also free up bile. It's possible for those with a strong point of view on an issue or a person to round up a posse of anonymous posters to vomit up that bile.
Since GAWKER is a watched media property, the next couple of months will provide insight into the implications of Denton's choice.
The showdown in the North Carolina courtroom, at least emotionally, is between John Edwards and Andrew Young. It is a classic tale of a mentoring relationship souring, as they frequently do. Remember the fallout between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung?
Testimony in the courtroom indicates, reports Kim Severson of THE NEW YORK TIMES, that Young fell in love with Edwards. He attended a rally at which Edwards was speaking. Instead of merely volunteering in a campaign to get a possible shot at a job or contacts, Young made the emotional bond of a type of lover. Seemingly needy, codependent, greedy for wealth, and professionally ambitious, Young willingly took on the role of a slave to the Edwards family.
Of course, most of those relationships blow up. And blow up it has. That began when Young published his tell all "The Politican." The bits and pieces are being examined in court. Astounding phrases pop up in the courtroom from both sides such as that Young looked up to Edwards as a father.
In her 2009 book "Taking The Leap: Freeing ourselves from old habits and fears," American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron warns against becoming dependent on any sort of mentor, including the monks she sought enlightenment from. Centered human beings will never allow the Young romance of the heart and soul with another human being to happen in a professional context. Edwards should have best mentored Young by bringing him to see his own strengths and to leverage and increase them in his own way. That relationship was toxic on both sides and both men and their families are paying for that.
Even medical doctors have regrets about the career path they had chosen. In FORBES, Susan Adams reports that, according to the annual Medscape/Web M.D. survey, only 54% would do it again. That's down from 69% the year before. What they envisioned doing, under what circumstances, and at what level of compensation have all changed. Lawyers are also singing the blues. And so are many of us content providers.
The smart among us have given up the fantasy game of envisioning what would have been a better choice of career path or even college major. Instead, we are investing more of ourselves into figuring how to play the game as it exists.
One option is to experiment with strategies on how to exit that game and leverage skills and experience to find a more satisfying field that pays well enough. For example, I know some content providers who are transferring their sensitivity into making the switch to nonprofits serving the disabled. Lawyers are selling their verbal skills to new paths in publishing and journalism. Doctors are entering medical communications.
As it becomes more difficult to fly solo out here I have been focusing on how to sell myself to organizations as a long-term contract employee or even full time worker. Surprisingly, that has been productive. I have gotten not only interviews but also offers. So far the right ones haven't come in but I am optimistic that my flexibility will allow me to make the shift from entrepreneur to member of an organization.
I have been looking around at the business enviroment, ranging from startups to public companies. What I'm asking about is the risk associated with the charismatic leader. For example, can Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg reset himself to the kind of manager a public company needs?
I reported on this issue for the financial information company Motley Fool. Here you can reflect on what I came up with.
Microsoft is fighting its way back to regaining what Evoke Communications head David E. Langston calls "brand heat."
In the WASHINGTON POST Farhad Majoo reports that it is following Apple into retail. Right now there are 16 Microsoft stores, mostly in upscale locations. Being out there in retail provides a whole new generation the opportunity to get in touch with Microsoft's technology and applications. They could become fans or even develop into cult-like followers.
Also, Microsoft has found its way into smartphones. Last Saturday, at the AT&T wireless retail store in North Haven, Connecticut I purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 with a Windows operating system.
Given all the volatility in high tech, there's no telling how far Microsoft relight its internal fire.
Enemies, critics, and competitors of News Corp are gleefully enjoying the head Rupert Murdoch squirm and blame in the ethics hearing in the UK. A leader of deep insights about human nature and the way of the world, Rupert no doubt understands how humiliating his current positioning is. But, simultaneously he also understands that this crisis, like every crisis since civilization began, will recede into the past.
Murdoch's present continues to be glorious. Despite the grilling, the stock went up. If he sells the newspaper segment, the stock will surge. Fox managed the Gawker Mole situation quickly and has brought in the long arm of the law. Wannabe rogues will think twice before taking on any part of News Corp. At home Rupert has a young smart wife who stood between him and a pie aimed at him. To this day, no one can figure out Rupert's game.
Powerful smart men like Murdoch don't fall. Others' delight in their discomfort is temporary.
That once powerful brand Goldman Sachs may have its best days behind it, observes David Weidner in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
That brand has been about making money, lots of it. Both its clients and investors loved that ability. Now Goldman Sachs is vulnerable to competitors who are giving off more of what David W. Langston, Senior Partner in Evoke Communications calls "brand heat."
In essence, explains Langston, "brand heat" is the metabolism of an organization or individual player. When it's set at exactly the right temperature, there's a pull force. Current examples range from Apple to Nordstrom.
Goldman Sachs can rebrand itself, that is, re-set its internal metabolism. That used to be called the art of the comeback. IBM navigated that process back in the early 1990s. A time of less volatility, IBM was atypical in having declined so much that its competition, ranging from Microsoft to Apple, could have made such inroads on its territory. Now, of course, the process of readjusting the brand heat is the new normal.
The trick is to be able to stop. Then build outward from the inside. Challenged organizations tend, observes Langston, to "continue to race from crisis to crisis." Likewise, challenged professionals tend to leap into frantic activity. Consequently both give off overheated brand messaging. Constituencies flee.
Here you can calmly reflect on the next step for your brand, organizational or personal. Langston can be reached at dlangston@evokecomm.com.
