Filed under: Google (GOOG), Entrepreneurs, Blackstone Group L.P (BX), Small business
No doubt, Barack Obama is an breathtaking speaker. Even his opponents grudgingly concur.
Yet he has misspoken on several occasions. His comment that mentioned “bitter” Americans took a toll on his campaign. And he’s being lampooned in the blogosphere and on talk shows for his slip that he’d visited all “57 says.“
Entrepreneurs can learn from his talents — and his slip-ups. In other words, when making a pitch — or a speech — you need to be very careful what you state. You need to think like a politician.
Of course, even top business leaders can make big-time blunders. Just look at Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX). At a private investor conference, he said the following about his aborted $1.7 billion buyout of PHH Corp. (from a piece in the NY Post):
Trying to buy a mortgage bank in the midst of the subprime crisis was the equivalent of being a noodle salesman in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb went off. Not a lot of noodles left or even a person — and that’s what happened to us on this deal.
It was certainly a puzzling and unsympathetic comment.
Schwarzman seemed to think that the speech would be private. But with the pervasiveness of social media, it’s assumed that anything you say will somehow windup becoming public and be used against you (here’s a blog post on it, for example).
Keep in mind that Blackstone is working hard to bolster its operations in Japan. Clearly, as businesses expand into global markets, it is becoming even more important to be watchful of what we say.
Here’s some additional advice when making public comments:
Don’t hype your company: Over the years, I’ve talked to lots of small companies. While many entrepreneurs have tremendous passion (which is critical to success), this can sometimes get out of hand. Often, they’ll hype things or even misrepresent their performance.
But it’s fairly obvious. For me, it usually means I won’t write about a company. For potential customers, it probably means they won’t do business with you.
Now, it’s certainly OK to emphasize your strong points. This is essential. However, there’s a temptation to inflate stuff. And, if you’re caught, it can be just as bad as the situation with Blackstone. That is, your comments might become a feeding frenzy for bloggers.
Be mindful of the blogosphere: Unfortunately, such gaffes will usually become top-page material for anyone searching Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) for your name or your company. In such cases, it’s tough to recover — since controversial material tends to be the most popular material.
So, before talking, think about it. Make sure your message is consistent and concise.
This sounds like basic advice. Yet, I’ve seen many entrepreneurs who don’t practice it. And, in the end, it could be harmful for the business.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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