Failing Grade In Political Intelligence
This recent survey by the Pew Research Center has found that of the 44% of the public that goes online regularly at work, 70% check the news through the day.But what news are they following?Observes Pew:“The quest for news at work might come as a surprise in the face of findings about the public’s news knowledge. The same Pew Research survey asked Americans to name which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives (the Democratic Party), to identify the U.S. secretary of state (Condoleezza Rice) and name the prime minister of Great Britain (Gordon Brown). Only 18% of the public is able to correctly answer all three political knowledge questions, while a third (33%) could not answer any.”So much for issue politics!And we wonder why it’s so hard to raise money for issue advocacy groups! In our latest DonorTrends 08 survey, only one in five respondents say they have given to an issue advocacy group.Meantime, in this Bloggingheads video exchange, former senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart claims that issues do matter in the current campaign. But as I listen to his remarks, what I hear him saying is that what actually matters is trust that the candidate will really be able to generate the change he is promising. Trust is about assessing character traits and pertinent experience … doesn’t matter what the agenda is.What do you think is more important in this election … issues or character traits?And when it comes to selling issue groups, is it the agenda or the “personality” of the organization that counts most?Tom
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Behavioral Science Q & A
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Tom,
In selling issue groups, personality counts the most.
I was listening to a podcast recently where Steven Covey was talking about the business value of trust (a “personality factor”). He said that with trust, things get done faster – which translates into economic savings.
Trust “an aspect of personality” is the glue that gets things done between people and between organizations. Issues are important, but without trust, nothing get’s done.
John
http://www.CorporateDollar.Org