I don’t talk politics here on my site. It’s just not my way. But talking about Barack Obama’s business sense, and how it might apply to you is right up my alley, so when I saw the chance to read Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign, written by friends Barry Libert and Rick Faulk, I wanted to at least make the book known to you. Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you this: when you finish this book, you will not know how to win the next presidency. However, I think there are some great bits of advice that you can use for your much more mundane job that will be just as useful.
The book is basically broken into three big pieces of advice: Be Cool. Be Social. Be The Change.
One section that I read with some anticipation was about playing hardball. I tend to try and be nice. I’m not always successful at that, but I’m never known for being mean or playing hardball. Libert and Faulk write that Obama knew when to throw his pressure down hard, and how that made a difference in his campaign. One example revolves around the decision to not abide by any funding limitations in his campaign. When he realized that he could raise huge sums to compete against Arizona Senator John McCain, Obama took that path, knowing that he’d take a small opportunity bump (in the form of getting bashed by McCain and the press, and risking going back on his previous position), but that the money would compensate for that in what it could deliver in campaign effort.
These kinds of business lessons, these little nuggets of strategy, are what you should expect from Barack, Inc.. It’s not an overly long or scholarly read. It’s not meant to be. It’s supposed to be a business book. I found all kinds of little nuggets in there that were great reminders.
It should come as no surprise that the team behind Mzinga would talk about community and Obama’s use of a community platform within his larger campaign mechanics. Many people argue that this was what won the game, that Obama had access to more people via the online and mobile communications platforms than his opponent. There are many business ideas in the community section that make the book a worthy purchase for you, no matter your political leanings.
I want to stress that point one more time: this book isn’t for democrats. It’s for people who want to see how a businessman (more accurately his team and his community) got the job done.
I recommend it to be on your bookshelf for 2009:
Photo credit dystyles
Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR.
The book sounds great. His campaign was run like a business by savy people who used tools that the other campaigns didn’t understand. Thanks. I’m going to get the book.
Chris:
Great article!
You’ve inspired me to read his book!
- Frank
aka http://twitter.com/gfb3
A new politician for a new country….here is hoping that his business savvy serves him well in his administration. What is really cool is that this country was ready for the change and put him in office. This arc of change will be fascinating to follow in government and subsequent campaigns.
Make it easier to share your blog posts! Add a little digg button or a share widget or something.
Thanks Chris, this book is now on my “must read soon” list!
I needed a new book to read. Thanks for the suggestion.
Chris,
Thanks so much for writing about this book! I’m officially Barry’s social media sidekick here at Mzinga and I watched this project evolve from concept to cover.
You can probably relate to this idea more than anyone, but so many businesses *still* don’t get this whole “social thing.” As advocates of the online community space and as end users of many social platforms, we often repeat ourselves until we’re blue in the face and yet….businesses STILL don’t get it.
Having had this conversation with Barry many times, he wrote Barack Inc. because he truly believes that we as social media advocates finally have a case study on our hands that ALL businesses, if not all individuals, can actually wrap their heads around.
I was reading Steve Rubel’s blog review of the book and he mentioned how these days, there’s this thing called TQ or “the question.” Everyone’s wondering, “How can I be like Barack?”
This book isn’t meant to be the be-all end all guide on how to run a business or the authority on social media strategy. However, I think it does translate into plain english, some very key concepts that all leaders can embrace in today’s world.
Thanks again for writing.
Your buddy,
@alexa
While there may be some great nuggets for ways to run business, the non-profit world has a great deal to learn from the same campaign, and possibly this book. Just as the book advises, non-profits now more than ever need to
Be Cool. Be Social. Be the Change.
Obama’s choice to forgo the campaigning allocation that McCain took truly challenged how many non-profits raise money. I will be interested to see what the long term lessons in the business and non-profit sectors are.
Thanks for the book referral.
Y’know, I’m not an Obama fan, but the guy ran a helluva campaign and is a marketing genius (or whoever was the brains behind that operation).
Will definitely check it out. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for posting about this book. I am really interested in reading more about this. It was really interesting to watch how the Obama campaign used social media and a few days after the election in November I started thinking about how exciting it is going to be to have someone at the really top who understands how great these tools can be in terms of sharing information and ideas.
Thanks for the post, Chris! Glad you like the book. We’re seeing great sales figures on it — hopefully we’re spreading the word of “Be Cool. Be Social. Be The Change.”
Patrick, Mzinga
An inspired media strategy like Obama’s is something to behold. Used to be that media tactics took a backseat to message. McCain was often charged with being “off message” or simply not having a message at all. Not only was Obama’s promise of change a clear message but his use of viral media underscored and reinforced that message to a tee. Marshall McLuhan said “the medium is the message” in the 1960′s. No one was sure then what that meant. Now we all know.
This is a book for anyone who is researching winning business strategies and sound advice for a successful career in any venue, not necessarily just politics. No matter what side of the political street you're on, I truly believe anyone can glean some great winning strategies in this insightful, well researched book.
This is a book for anyone who is researching winning business strategies and sound advice for a successful career in any venue, not necessarily just politics. No matter what side of the political street you're on, I truly believe anyone can glean some great winning strategies in this insightful, well researched book.
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