The Hidden Agenda: A book review by Bob Morris

The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following
Kevin Allen
bibliomotion (2012)

How and why to “get it”: the hidden agenda

Initially, I misunderstood this book’s title, incorrectly assuming that Kevin Allen – in the manner of someone who has planned a treasure hunt – would help his reader to locate something of substantial value. In a sense that is true. However, that “something” is essentially worthless unless and until (a) the person who uncovers it understands and appreciates it and (b) knows how to use it to best advantage. Case in point, vandals raiding the ancient library in Alexandria used copies of plays by Greek playwrights such as Aeschylus and Sophocles as fuel for their camp fires to cook food.

I selected the title of this review from a longer passage in the Introduction: “Get it? Get what? The ‘what’ is the hidden agenda, the emotional motivator behind all the statistics, the business jargon, and the other things that surround any key business issue. It is in fact how people make decisions, with their hearts.”

Allen is a veteran advertising executive and an accomplished “pitch man” but he clearly agrees with John Hill, co-founder of Hill & Knowlton, that the best pitch is one that offers “truth well told.” He shares everything he has learned about how to prepare and then present such a pitch for the readers whom he characterizes as “you dreamers, strivers, fighters, doers, and itchy-feet people ‘growth aspirants.” Allen is convinced that, for them, their ability to pitch “is the very spearpoint and lifeblood of achieving these ambitions.”

The reader is provided with an abundance of information, insights, and counsel to help achieve strategic objectives such as these:

o  Locating the “hidden agenda”
o  Identifying the “conceptual target”
o  Connecting with the hidden agenda
o  Defining one’s “core”
o  Selecting and articulating one’s “credo”
o  Defining the characteristics of “real” ambition
o  Formulating one’s “win” strategy
o  Mastering the power of storytelling

Allen is a results-driven pragmatist, determined to understand what works, what doesn’t, and why so that he can then share with others what he has learned. Whether or not people realize it, they are making pitches every day and usually draw upon most (if not all) of these resources of rhetoric: exposition to explain with information, description to make vivid with compelling details, narration to tell a story or explain a sequence, and finally, argumentation to convince with logic and/or evidence.  If you want others to “get it” when you communicate with them, then you need to locate “it” and decide how best to present it. Kevin Allen offers practical advice whose value is incalculable.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out the selections in Kevin Allen’s ”Further Reading” section. Also, these: Robert B. Cialdini’s Influence: Science and Practice (4th Edition), Carmine Gallo ‘s The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, and The Story Factor (2nd Revised Edition) by Annette Simmons and Doug Lipman.

The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management: A book review by Bob Morris

The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management: How to Manage the Media in the Digital Age
Jane Jordan-Meier
CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group (2011)

“Truth, well-told” and carefully managed

Decades ago, one of the co-founders of the firm we now know as Hill & Knowlton, John Hill, explained that public relations should be “truth, well-told.” That has not always been the case but Hill’s description remains valid. Jane Jordan-Meier obviously agrees. The subtitle of her book, “How to Manage the Media in the Digital Sage,” correctly suggests that when a crisis occurs, effective reputation management is imperative. Hence the importance of having a cohesive and comprehensive plan in place when a crisis occurs.  Regrettably, many organizations do not have such a plan. That is why Jordan-Meier wrote this book: To provide a single source just about everything a C-level executive needs to know about crisis media management.

The material is carefully organized within Five Sections, followed by (count ‘em) ten appendices that provide invaluable support material on subjects ranging from a “Guideline for Briefing Spokespeople” to advice about “Social Media Embracing the Opportunities, Averting the Risks.” Jordan-Meier provides a “Summary” section at the conclusion of each chapter. This material will facilitate, indeed accelerate frequent review of key points. I also appreciate Jordan-Meier’s focus on how to help her reader achieve these learning objectives:

• What is a crisis, what triggers it, and what is its probable impact?
• What is the proper role of the media?
• What are the stages of a crisis situation and what must each accomplish? How?
• Who should – and should nit – be spokespersons? Why?
• By what criteria should the CEO’s role be determined?
• How best to formulate and then manage policy guidelines?
• How best to prepare for a media interview?
• What are the most important do’s and don’ts when being interviewed?
• What are unique challenges – and opportunities – associated with different types of interviews?

In Section V: Communication – Rules and Tools, Jordan-Meier consolidates the most important information, insights, and advice; also, she includes some boilerplate material and specific recommendations concerning relations with social media.

In my opinion, the material that will be of greatest value to two groups: C-level executives who authorize and must approve a crisis media plan (or revisions thereof) and those who are charged with formulating such a plan and then updating it as needed. There is another book that I strongly recommend be read in combination with this one, if possible: Peter Meyers and Shann Nix’s As We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick.

Q #189: What is the K.I.S.S. Principle and what are its most common business applications?

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

The principle is expressed in the form of an acronym and has two versions: “Keep it Short and Simple” or “Keep it Simple, Stupid.” Its origins are uncertain but the basic concept dates back at least to Occam’s razor (i.e. “entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily”) and several of my favorite quotations express its basic truth. For example:

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo Da Vinci

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint Exupéry

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Albert Einstein

With regard to the most common business applications of the K.I.S.S. Principle, they include:

• Process simplification: Whatever the methodology (Lean, Six Sigma, or some combination of both), the objective is to eliminate everything that is not essential to achieving the desired results. Barrier identification and removal are especially important.

• Reduction of costs: Again, the objective is to eliminate non-essentials. There could be reductions of overhead (e.g. staff, compensation, facilities, production, inventory, marketing), capital expenditures, market expansion or penetration, and/or R&D. Organizations as well as individuals should live within a budget and, if at all possible, reduce or eliminate debt and then build a cash reserve.

• Internal and external communications: The internal applications include verbal, print, and intranet explanations of mission statement, strategies, policies and procedures, benefits, and major developments. The external applications include advertising, PR (i.e. government, financial, press, and community relations), sales and marketing collateral (e.g. brochures, newsletters, e-mail alerts), tradeshows, and industry involvement. The best guidelines to follow are provided by the quotations cited earlier, demonstrating John Hill’s definition of effective communication as “truth well-told.”

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob