A Political Lesson: You’re Fired!
by Miki Saxon
“You’re fired!”
Donald Trump has made those two words made famous since the start of his reality show, but they had power long before that.
‘You’re fired’ are fearsome words; words no one wants to hear form their boss.
They are the ultimate power source for managers, especially those who practice a top-down, command and control style.
The amount of research that has proven that approach to be passé is too great to be cited here (but it is easily googled). And the one place ‘you’re fired’ has never cut any ice is in politics.
It cuts no ice because those in a position to say it have no one to say it to other than their own staff.
Unlike corporate bosses, politicians can’t fire those who disagree with them; who actively work to undermine their vision; who publicly heckle and harangue them.
But at all levels, local, state and national, you see dozens of people running for office whose main qualification is having run a successful business.
Donald Trump is (IMO) a hilarious example of this.
Can you imagine him trying to manage Congress, since he couldn’t fire members that didn’t toe his line? And while Presidents do have that power over their Cabinet members, the political fallout from firing one is enormous.
No matter what political flavor you prefer, consider the applicability of the environment from which they are coming and the political environment to which they want to go.
It’s likely that the higher they were on the corporate or small biz ladder the less likely they will deal well with their loss of power and the reality of today’s politics.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/5440002785/
April 11th, 2011 at 10:12 am
You bring up a good point which I had failed to consider. I would never have considered voting for him solely on his ability to be a boss anyway but when I think about what you stated – yes, it would be difficult for a self centered, powerful man like him to suddenly have to actually deal with people that disagreed with him rather than just be able to get rid of them.
Totally changes how I think about potential successful outcomes for business men running for political office.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Hi Julie, thanks for giving me the ultimate blogger high, i.e., a reader saying that something I wrote affected their thinking. That is one heck of a compliment!
It certainly isn’t just Trump, Meg Whitman would have had the same problem if she had been elected governor of California. We already have too many politicians who think of themselves as bosses and see any form of compromise as failure.
With all the talk about “leadership,” most people seem to forget or ignore the fact that elected officials aren’t bosses and don’t have the ultimate boss leverage. As I’ve written several times in the past, when the i in leadership is capitalized it turns to leadershit.
April 18th, 2011 at 8:53 am
Ok just saw Mr. Trump on TV yesterday bragging how good he is at everything. I prefer an elected official who has enough self realization to know he doesn’t already know all the answers. And someone who listens to the people who elected him.
I may have to vote against my party for the second presidental election in a row if Mr. Trump wins the right to run against President Obama.
April 18th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
I don’t think anyone ever accused Trump of listening:)
With the rise of inflexible ideologies it seems that listening is considered a flaw, while adherence come hell or high water is commendable.
More and more often I find myself voting against a candidate as opposed to for one.