I've had the opportunity to work in corporate environments where I was able to experience what I consider to be corporate "micro-cultures" in the form of different departments within a company. Those experiences were instrumental in helping me understand the art of influencing people. Some of the key lessons I learned is that when it comes to the art of convincing or influencing people, perception, emotion, trust, fear, and a myriad of other psychological and emotional issues are way much more important than facts, empirical evidence, and reasoned analysis.
For example, in my career at one point I worked for a high-tech company, where I started as a system administrator, and then moved up different support positions, and then jumped to marketing and sales positions.
What was most instructive was that when I was a member of the "support" staff (system administration, QA, project management, engineering), hard cold facts where the only thing that mattered (at that level). And so there was always an inherent tension with the sales and marketing people. There was the impression that they would go out there and promise impossible things, and would say anything to get the sale. You'll hear the grumbling from the engineers, and quality assurance (QA), and customer support departments, about how crazy the marketing and sales people were.
Talk about cultural shock! When I moved up to marketing and sales, then it hit me that the sales people were not crazy (well, at least not 5150 certifiably crazy). You see, in a highly competitive environment companies seek to differentiate themselves, and good sales people develop an inherent talent that allows them to understand the maximum potential of their company's products and services, when all the pieces are put together.
When you are a system administrator, or a QA engineer, or a member of the support staff, your focus is very (extremely) narrow, and this affects your perception of the company's capabilities (accordingly).
Good sales and marketing people are able to go right to the line where reality and fantasy meet (sometimes even go over), and thus they push everybody else in the company to meet those expectations (in a highly competitive environment). Hence the term "Rainmaker."
Aside from everything else, including product features, specifications, capabilities, durability, applicability, usefulness, etc., the most important aspect of being a good salesman (in the eyes of a prospective buyer) is whether you project a sense of almost cult-like believe in what you are selling. Whether you are confident about your product. Whether you are excited about it. Notice that the key words are belief and conviction.
Sales Principles in Politics
Here's where I think the Left and the progressive movement in the U.S. is at a marked disadvantage when compared to the hard-right conservative movement.
When it comes to sales, one comparison that comes to mind would be the assigning of a quality control engineer (or system administrator) as the head saleswoman. When she interacts with the potential customer (the American citizenry) she is focused on the facts about the product, its features, its capabilities, its specifications.
But she fails to understand that during the initial stages of the sales process the customer is not ready for that level of detail. She fails to understand that she needs to first get the customer's attention, his trust. At that level we're talking about primal stuff; about perception, about trust, about conviction, about certainty, about emotions.
Case in point: When I log on to the Daily Kos, a cursory look at multiple diaries shows that there is a huge amount of energy spent on reporting, analyzing, and criticizing what the extreme right wing does. How mean they are; how evil; how they are taking away workers' rights and women's rights. How unreasonable they are in the negotiations about the debt ceiling; how crazy, mean, despotic, etc.
Something that comes to mind when I observe this phenomena is a quote, which I think is probably one of the most relevant quotes of the 2000's, as reported by Ron Suskind in his October 17, 2004 article in the New York Times, "Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush":
The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
The emphasis is mine... And so they have. Rapid deterioration of workers' and women's rights; increased privatization of governmental functions; extreme deregulation across the board; concentration of power in the hands of the top 1 percent; endless wars mainly for the benefit of war profiteers. Etc., etc.
And the sad thing is that the product offered by Progressives is better than the product offered by the Extreme-right Conservatives.
Progressives offer a vision of a word that's balanced; that respects the environment. A world where there is a firm separation between Church and State, that operates under the rule of law. A world with an adequate social safety net that allows for the nurturing and growth of a strong middle class. A world with a true free market, properly regulated against abuses, where the free market creates benefits fairly shared within the population.
That would be an easy sell.
On the other side, the Extreme-right Conservatives offer a world based on concepts influenced by Social Darwinism, and Eugenics. A world that exults puritanical thinking that associates religious piety with wealth, blessings and riches.
And a world where a ruling elite uses the media, and it's influence in government institutions in order to subjugate and exploit the population (and the environment) in order to enrich themselves in the pursuit and lust for wealth and power.
So yes, I would argue that our (Progressives) product is much more better than their (Extreme-right Conservatives) product.
But unfortunately they have an incredibly better sales team. And that makes all the difference in the world, as we have seen, and as we are seeing every day.
And the main difference is that they have an almost cult-like belief in their product. They are cock-sure about what they offer. They exhibit confidence, and even in-your-face brashness.
I argue that because of evolutionary causes, the human brain is wired to respond to this type of message; to the "strong-man" approach.
In power plays and politics people will punish weakness, equivocation, cowardice, first and foremost. It's like, "If you are so sure about what you are offering, how come you are not showing confidence in it?" It's pretty basic stuff; It's primal.
In a way, I tip my hat off to the way the Extreme-right Conservatives operate. When I see them on TV, I see brashness, in your face, conviction, passion, intransigence, belief, discipline (with their gut-wrenching talking points). Powerful stuff.
On the Left, I see equivocation, weakness, always explaining, always apologizing, unsteadiness. And worst, the appeal is always on the technical specifications of the product. Boring and unappealing stuff.
The customer (the citizenry) is not ready for the specs yet. They are checking you out, assessing your trustworthiness. Are you confident in what you are selling? Are you showing weakness? Are you hesitant, apologetic? "Hmm, I don't know about this guy... Why is he so hesitant? Maybe I better go with this other product. The salesman is gong-ho about it."
So unfortunately, if I were a member of a panel that was considering awarding a "Best Salesperson of the Year Award", and if I was an honest judge, I would have to vote to give the award to the Extreme-right Conservative salesperson.
And after the award ceremony, if the sales people from the Progressive side asked me for advice for next year, I would say "Get a better sales team." In sales, you have to be a "Rainmaker."