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Leaping from business to politics
July 21, 2010, Wednesday
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GROWING numbers of top business executives in the US are running for political office.
Among others, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co Carly Fiorina are only the most prominent new entrants in the field.
They promised to use leadership skills and financial acumen honed at private corporations to solve thorny public problems. But experts on leadership and politics say that the leap from one world to the other is fraught with challenges. They warn that the ability to rise through the corporate ranks doesn't always translate into an ability to campaign for office.
Michael Useem, a Wharton management professor, says some business-leadership skills translate well to the public sphere. "If you have held a prominent role in a substantial business, you have learned how to mobilize, motivate and align the work of a lot of people."
The strong record of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg inspires many executives to believe that applying business skills to public management can make government work better. Many are motivated by a desire to give something back to society, and some who have left top corporate jobs crave a return to the spotlight.
Business leaders are frequently embraced as candidates by political parties because they usually have substantial fortunes of their own or networks of wealthy potential donors to help fund campaigns. Whitman spent US$71 million of her own money to fund her record US$81 million Republican gubernatorial primary campaign.
The American political system depends on constantly attracting new participants, experts note, but most elected officials have backgrounds in law or as political aides before they start running for low-level offices. Business executives generally plan to short-hop the process by running for top state or national offices.
At a time of economic pressure, business leaders may have skills that appeal to voters.
Double-edged sword
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communication, says that experience as a business leader can be a strong credential. But Jamieson says such accomplishments can be a double-edged sword. "The question is: can you manage an image of efficiency while still showing you're humane?"
She notes that almost all executives have laid off workers. Inevitably, some of those laid-off workers will pop up in opponents' commercials to counter the job-creation theme.
Jamieson adds that there are many differences between the life of a business leader and the life of a government leader. "First of all, the corporate CEO is largely insulated from the public." Even in a consumer products company, top executives seldom deal with the consumers the way politicians, particularly during a campaign, must interact with voters. "There are layers and layers of communications and marketing people who manage the brand and the image of the CEO."
Even though CEOs are used to speaking to big crowds, and many have polished their communications skills during years of making presentations to investors and encouraging subordinates and sales forces, those abilities don't always translate to politics.
"As a corporate CEO, you can control everything unless some scandal occurs," Jamieson says. Even CEOs who have faced severe criticism during their business careers always had the comfort oftalking to a highly educated group of people about a value they share.
CEOs running for public office can't assume that voters share the same set of values.
(Reprinted with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn. All rights reserved. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
Among others, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co Carly Fiorina are only the most prominent new entrants in the field.
They promised to use leadership skills and financial acumen honed at private corporations to solve thorny public problems. But experts on leadership and politics say that the leap from one world to the other is fraught with challenges. They warn that the ability to rise through the corporate ranks doesn't always translate into an ability to campaign for office.
Michael Useem, a Wharton management professor, says some business-leadership skills translate well to the public sphere. "If you have held a prominent role in a substantial business, you have learned how to mobilize, motivate and align the work of a lot of people."
The strong record of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg inspires many executives to believe that applying business skills to public management can make government work better. Many are motivated by a desire to give something back to society, and some who have left top corporate jobs crave a return to the spotlight.
Business leaders are frequently embraced as candidates by political parties because they usually have substantial fortunes of their own or networks of wealthy potential donors to help fund campaigns. Whitman spent US$71 million of her own money to fund her record US$81 million Republican gubernatorial primary campaign.
The American political system depends on constantly attracting new participants, experts note, but most elected officials have backgrounds in law or as political aides before they start running for low-level offices. Business executives generally plan to short-hop the process by running for top state or national offices.
At a time of economic pressure, business leaders may have skills that appeal to voters.
Double-edged sword
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communication, says that experience as a business leader can be a strong credential. But Jamieson says such accomplishments can be a double-edged sword. "The question is: can you manage an image of efficiency while still showing you're humane?"
She notes that almost all executives have laid off workers. Inevitably, some of those laid-off workers will pop up in opponents' commercials to counter the job-creation theme.
Jamieson adds that there are many differences between the life of a business leader and the life of a government leader. "First of all, the corporate CEO is largely insulated from the public." Even in a consumer products company, top executives seldom deal with the consumers the way politicians, particularly during a campaign, must interact with voters. "There are layers and layers of communications and marketing people who manage the brand and the image of the CEO."
Even though CEOs are used to speaking to big crowds, and many have polished their communications skills during years of making presentations to investors and encouraging subordinates and sales forces, those abilities don't always translate to politics.
"As a corporate CEO, you can control everything unless some scandal occurs," Jamieson says. Even CEOs who have faced severe criticism during their business careers always had the comfort oftalking to a highly educated group of people about a value they share.
CEOs running for public office can't assume that voters share the same set of values.
(Reprinted with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn. All rights reserved. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
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