Soft power is a complicated thing to explain to voters, and honestly I doubt more than 30% of voters can comprehend how soft power benefits them (that's being generous). It's a nebulous concept that takes decades of investment to pay dividends.
Everyone should understand that USAID is nice. The concept can be made into a slogan or a bumpe…
Soft power is a complicated thing to explain to voters, and honestly I doubt more than 30% of voters can comprehend how soft power benefits them (that's being generous). It's a nebulous concept that takes decades of investment to pay dividends.
Everyone should understand that USAID is nice. The concept can be made into a slogan or a bumper sticker. A starving child, an HIV-positive baby, a pregnant woman in need of a hospital: none of these are abstractions. A dumb person can understand that these are bad outcomes that can be prevented with pennies of their tax dollars.
JVL says our voters are dumb, and I believe this to be a correct interpretation. But if they are dumb and mean, then I think we as a country are beyond redemption.
It’s just carrot and stick, simple at the base level, playground of atomic land mines for tramp to do that awful dance around the atomic mine field. JV you are a great writer.
A way to explain it could be that soft power, specifically exporting our culture, is what is has currently put China in that bind that it’s in. Currently, China faces a marriage and fertility scarcity. The reason is women are fighting for equality in both the personal and professional realm. That has put China in a precarious position geopolitically and put it behind the 8-ball in their competition for global hegemony with us.
I am not sure I believe that it cannot be explained to a group that is attracted to a mob-adjacent demagogue. I'm not convinced it cannot be explained to a part of the coalition that is engaged in business ownership.
Bill Gates had the best explanation for the work of the Gates Foundation in Africa. He said a lot of it had to with making sure he had future customers in the world's next expanding economy.
Here's how they could explain it. The best boss understands what needs to get done, but they have a calm and considerate way of communicating with people. a mean boss has hard power and nothing else. the best bosses have both the hard power to fire you and the soft power to support you.
Agree, Kathleen. Good management is two-headed. When I worked in the private sector, I got a lot of management training. I remember an x and y graph that explained good management of employees: The relationship is on one axis and the task to be done is on the other. You want both.
It's great this came up. I've tried to explain how in so many ways Trump falls short if viewed as a leader/manager.
A good leader:
Articulates visions that inspire his/her team
Listens and empathizes
Speaks truth - especially to power
Holds him/herself accountable
Credits others for the success of his/her team
Welcomes and even seeks out those who disagree with him/her
Plans several steps ahead
Challenges his/her core beliefs
Challenges the assumptions behind his decisions
Trump falls laughably short - EXCEPT on the vision piece - and in a very specific way.
He is excellent at reading his audience and selling them on something. The power of the Trump narrative - even if based on complete BS - boggles my mind.
Soft power is a complicated thing to explain to voters, and honestly I doubt more than 30% of voters can comprehend how soft power benefits them (that's being generous). It's a nebulous concept that takes decades of investment to pay dividends.
Everyone should understand that USAID is nice. The concept can be made into a slogan or a bumper sticker. A starving child, an HIV-positive baby, a pregnant woman in need of a hospital: none of these are abstractions. A dumb person can understand that these are bad outcomes that can be prevented with pennies of their tax dollars.
JVL says our voters are dumb, and I believe this to be a correct interpretation. But if they are dumb and mean, then I think we as a country are beyond redemption.
It’s just carrot and stick, simple at the base level, playground of atomic land mines for tramp to do that awful dance around the atomic mine field. JV you are a great writer.
Certainly the "leaders" they have elected are both dumb and mean...
Or evil and mean. In Trump's case, narcissistic, sociopathic, Machiavellian, ignorant and mean, but probably with at least average intelligence.
A way to explain it could be that soft power, specifically exporting our culture, is what is has currently put China in that bind that it’s in. Currently, China faces a marriage and fertility scarcity. The reason is women are fighting for equality in both the personal and professional realm. That has put China in a precarious position geopolitically and put it behind the 8-ball in their competition for global hegemony with us.
I am not sure I believe that it cannot be explained to a group that is attracted to a mob-adjacent demagogue. I'm not convinced it cannot be explained to a part of the coalition that is engaged in business ownership.
Bill Gates had the best explanation for the work of the Gates Foundation in Africa. He said a lot of it had to with making sure he had future customers in the world's next expanding economy.
Here's how they could explain it. The best boss understands what needs to get done, but they have a calm and considerate way of communicating with people. a mean boss has hard power and nothing else. the best bosses have both the hard power to fire you and the soft power to support you.
Agree, Kathleen. Good management is two-headed. When I worked in the private sector, I got a lot of management training. I remember an x and y graph that explained good management of employees: The relationship is on one axis and the task to be done is on the other. You want both.
🎯
It's great this came up. I've tried to explain how in so many ways Trump falls short if viewed as a leader/manager.
A good leader:
Articulates visions that inspire his/her team
Listens and empathizes
Speaks truth - especially to power
Holds him/herself accountable
Credits others for the success of his/her team
Welcomes and even seeks out those who disagree with him/her
Plans several steps ahead
Challenges his/her core beliefs
Challenges the assumptions behind his decisions
Trump falls laughably short - EXCEPT on the vision piece - and in a very specific way.
He is excellent at reading his audience and selling them on something. The power of the Trump narrative - even if based on complete BS - boggles my mind.