People in leadership positions fail to
communicate in so many ways. It's too bad, since a vigorous commitment
to communication is central to successful leadership. Take Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations
earlier this week. He spoke at length and told us absolutely nothing.
It used to be said in the Cold War that there are two ways to fail to communicate: say everything as in the "white noise" of the U.S. or say nothing as in the "black box" of the Soviet Union. Well, Modi combined the two by saying nothing in making glancing references to every issue known to humankind, offering superficial, promotional statements about each one, and then moving on to the next glossy item. Call it "drive-by bullet points." Perhaps he felt he owed us nothing, having been feted to a rock-the-house, sellout crowd the night before at Madison Square Garden.
It used to be said in the Cold War that there are two ways to fail to communicate: say everything as in the "white noise" of the U.S. or say nothing as in the "black box" of the Soviet Union. Well, Modi combined the two by saying nothing in making glancing references to every issue known to humankind, offering superficial, promotional statements about each one, and then moving on to the next glossy item. Call it "drive-by bullet points." Perhaps he felt he owed us nothing, having been feted to a rock-the-house, sellout crowd the night before at Madison Square Garden.
Leaders score real points accepting the intelligence of their audiences and not trying to spin them with obvious, counterproductive BS. Too bad so many of them keep trying.
Twitter @jessicamcwade
Photo courtesy of Bhutan News Network
Twitter @jessicamcwade
Photo courtesy of Bhutan News Network