Most rookie managers who have never run anything or had accountability for firm results make the same mistake. They over promise and under deliver. Much of that is brought on by the lack of a plan. Big announcements are made in advance of the plan. Then they try to make a plan that will deliver the big promises and find it can’t be done. I’m not being unfair to the president-elect, I’m just recognizing some of my early mistakes in my first line management job. Fortunately for me and my employer it was at a pretty low level in the organization. Unfortunately for us, Obama’s will be at the very top. Lot’s more potential damage.
Examples, I’ve got a few. First, it was the big I’ll close Guantanamo Bay announcement. In an interview this week with George Stephanopoulos, the little lap dog who shines Obama’s shoes, he is starting to wonder how he will do that. No place to put some really bad people. Maybe a plan should have preceded the big announcement. Then it was the “ain’t gonna happen” speech with Roland Burris. Whoops, it is gonna happen, Mr. President Elect.
Now we have the push the release of the rest of the TARP money through while Bush is still president. Tell the media that. Then hear Bush say, “he hasn’t asked me to do that yet”. Whoops again. Why hasn’t he asked Bush to do it, because there is no plan for congress to approve. Ready, fire, aim again. When you are a perpetual campaigner who only has to make campaign promises it’s easy to do this. When you are the chief executive there is no where to pass the buck.
The big stimulus plan that will create 2 million new jobs, no two and a half million, no three million, no four million, those are Obama’s numbers in his last series of interviews about the stimulus package. But, what is the stimulus package? There is none. Ready, fire, aim.
If the impeachable media doesn’t start reporting these issues, they will be impeached. By competition that does chose to report what is happening, not hide it. It warms the cockles of my heart to see most of the media hanging on by their fingernails. The public is tired of the spin and not buying the product. Too bad. Caroline Kennedy who is getting the big spin has a net worth of $400 million. Let her bail out the New York Times and the networks who are giving her a pass for incompetence.
Everyone said it’s a big job to learn on the job. Everyone knew there will precious little experience behind the candidate. Next, it will be the “when I am in office, I will call in the joint-chiefs of staff and tell them to put together a plan to get us out of Iraq now”. Let’ see how that unfolds.
Big hat, no cattle. Big talk, no action, big goals, no results. No results, big excuses. It’s the pattern of the new manager who can’t cut it and finally knows it. Hopefully, this will get fixed and President Obama will learn the successful leader under promises and over delivers. You get lots of atta boys for that. All of us like positive surprises. People who can’t deliver promises are not treated kindly in the executive ranks.
