I don’t talk politics here on my site. It’s just not my way. But talking about Barack Obama’s business sense, and how it might apply to you is right up my alley, so when I saw the chance to read Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign, written by friends Barry Libert and Rick Faulk, I wanted to at least make the book known to you. Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you this: when you finish this book, you will not know how to win the next presidency. However, I think there are some great bits of advice that you can use for your much more mundane job that will be just as useful.
The book is basically broken into three big pieces of advice: Be Cool. Be Social. Be The Change.
One section that I read with some anticipation was about playing hardball. I tend to try and be nice. I’m not always successful at that, but I’m never known for being mean or playing hardball. Libert and Faulk write that Obama knew when to throw his pressure down hard, and how that made a difference in his campaign. One example revolves around the decision to not abide by any funding limitations in his campaign. When he realized that he could raise huge sums to compete against Arizona Senator John McCain, Obama took that path, knowing that he’d take a small opportunity bump (in the form of getting bashed by McCain and the press, and risking going back on his previous position), but that the money would compensate for that in what it could deliver in campaign effort.
These kinds of business lessons, these little nuggets of strategy, are what you should expect from Barack, Inc.. It’s not an overly long or scholarly read. It’s not meant to be. It’s supposed to be a business book. I found all kinds of little nuggets in there that were great reminders.
It should come as no surprise that the team behind Mzinga would talk about community and Obama’s use of a community platform within his larger campaign mechanics. Many people argue that this was what won the game, that Obama had access to more people via the online and mobile communications platforms than his opponent. There are many business ideas in the community section that make the book a worthy purchase for you, no matter your political leanings.
I want to stress that point one more time: this book isn’t for democrats. It’s for people who want to see how a businessman (more accurately his team and his community) got the job done.
I recommend it to be on your bookshelf for 2009:
Photo credit dystyles