The Great Equalizer Politicians Don’t Understand

How often I sit and watch a news clip and get mental images of vomit and garbage being spewed from a politician's mouth. I am not sure if anyone else has the same experience?

On almost every subject, the news cycle and the digital world move way faster than a politician and his team of advisors can. It's almost like I am waiting for the politician to catch up to what's actually going on.

A week later, or perhaps a month or more and finally the reality of the situation dawns upon the politician and his team but by then, the public has already moved on and the digital world has exposed the politician as slow and out of touch.

They release the polls, and he wonders why the loving public isn't as forgiving anymore. Then he has his team phone around and he finds out that there is a major issue that he completely misread. Worse than that, he thought that the 'twitter bubble' was in touch with his electorate.

This is the danger of political leaders who do not stay in touch with the voting public. When they don't meet face to face with people and ask and listen to their concerns.

I remember starting my career in marketing after spending a year in sales, because that was part of the training.

The company had several very experienced salespeople, and they were practical realists. They had a good feel for the customers' needs and wants. Anything that the marketing department would present that was not practical but came from what they called 'ivory tower thinking' would be rejected.

Many a time I would watch new marketing people exposed and embarrassed in the boardroom. None of them would see it coming. The sales team would ask pointed questions and I would see marketers floundering around, looking for a life jacket, a piece of floating debris, anything to stop from drowning in questions of practicality and application.

As the questions increased, so would the tide of reason and common sense wash over these marketers.

This is what I see with politicians when they are out campaigning, and their 'ivory tower' thinking meets the practical thoughts of a rather more practical thinking public.

I see politicians misjudging public sentiment on crucial matters all the time, because they are not 'plugged in' to the digital world where much of their electorate spends their time.

Politicians are slow to adapt to the ever changing digital world, where different and fragmented sources of information culminate in sentiment. Gone are the days of monitoring mainstream media outlets and thinking that is what the public are watching and listening to and reading.

Trying to control the information flow also proves futile, so any excellent leader would know that a free marketplace of ideas, where ideas persist or die on their merits, is the only way to avoid the shock of political defeat.

Censorship of ideas and opinions is fueling the fragmentation of the media. Years ago when they censored enough people from the public square, the frustration would build and riots would manifest.

Protests still happen, but what also happens is that people find alternative outlets and sources to view their opinions. This creates a monster that is more difficult to control and isolate, that they cannot stop. The greater the censorship, the greater the underground information flow.

The greatest marketing campaign for any idea or ideology is censorship. We are inquisitive beings, it's in our DNA, it's what drives scientific inquiry, it's also what drives the digital information industry.

Politicians think that leadership is dictating to the electorate what their thinking is, rather than listening to the electorate and then finding solutions to the problems that the electorate face.

"The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23 verses 11 and 12.

Politicians would do well to understand this. The office of politics is 'public service' not 'public dictates'. They should make policies after consultation and serving the public.

The greatest leaders are in touch with the people of their country, the wants, needs and aspirations of their public. They listen and learn, and this shapes their policy.

Influential leaders don't force fit their beliefs or opinions onto the people. They adjust their policies to the sentiment that already exists.

If you ever have done any landscaping at home, you have probably had the experience of trying to go against the natural contours of the land, and the many problems that come along with that.

It is much easier to work with the contours of the land and adjust your plans to suit the natural landscape than to kick against the established contours.

'You can lead them miles but you cannot push them an inch'

Does this mean that political leaders cannot change the public opinion on a matter? No, but what it means is that the manner in which you change the opinions of the public is a subtle art of persuasion.

Meeting the electorate where they are and taking them on a journey with you as leader and adjusting as you go is far more endearing than trying to control them.

When standing in front of any people, all leaders should know they know a lot more than you think they know. Some may not voice their pinion for fear of public speaking or fear of censorship, and this is dangerous for any free thinking society. When suppression of thoughts and ideas occur, so does the increase in radical thought, as frustration gives way to conspiracy.

The digital world and speed of information flow will forever outpace politicians and their advisors. It is something that the leaders of tomorrow will need to understand as technology advances, assuming we remain free thinkers in the future.