Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s fall from grace is yet another example of how the super self-confident can lose it all by forgetting their place in front of the media. We submitted a commentary to Pacific Business News on what executives can learn from McChrystal’s intemperate behavior in the presence of a Rolling Stone reporter. It’s published this date; mahalo to PBN.
Friday, July 2, 2010
McChrystal forgot how to deal with the media
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Doug Carlson
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s firing by President Obama has lessons in it for every executive in every company in every state of the union, including Hawaii. It was the dramatic conclusion to what can happen when a leader forgets the basics about surviving in a media-driven environment.
McChrystal’s “insubordination” and apparent disrespect for the principle of civilian control of the military as reported by Rolling Stone magazine were the primary reasons cited by the President, but at the heart of the general’s fall was his disregard of a whole handful of principles of how to conduct oneself around reporters.
Media advisers drill home these guidelines to their clients, and one can only marvel at McChrystal’s blatant disregard of them. As a four-star general, he undoubtedly has participated in media training programs, but unless media skills are taken seriously and practiced, the training is worthless.
McChrystal’s willful disregard of well-known cautions about working with the media cost him his command and reputation. And his fall isn’t the first among senior military officers in recent years.
In 2008, Adm. William J. Fallon resigned after he was quoted by Esquire magazine making remarks that were found to be disrespectful of the Bush administration’s war policies.
The advice McChrystal most obviously ignored is one of the first principles a media consultant tells clients: “Never say anything in a reporter’s presence that you don’t want to see in print or on the air.”
Journalists find “news” in comments that might seem innocuous to others. Reporters aren’t in the business of doling out favors to newsmakers, so don’t be surprised when what you say is spread all over town.
It’s natural to ask of the McChrystal affair, what were they all thinking, the general and his inner circle? The Rolling Stone reporter was right there, absorbing everything they said.
Skilled journalists don’t necessarily have to take notes as they report. Hearing it can be enough, and one can only imagine the casual air the Rolling Stone’s reporter must have displayed as he hung out with McChrystal and his staff.
Rolling Stone has put the entire article on its website, so we’re able to draw other lessons from McChrystal’s comments as reported by Michael Hastings.
Prior to giving a speech in Paris, the general complained about not knowing what questions he might be asked regarding Vice President Joe Biden. “I never know what’s going to pop out until I’m up there, that’s the problem,” he said.
If the general had taken his media training to heart, those questions wouldn’t have been seen as “problems” but rather as opportunities to communicate a message. After all, that’s really the only reason to engage the media — to communicate what you want the public to know.
Newsmakers certainly do answer questions, but the common denominator among most newsmakers is their ability to use questions as the jumping off platform for what they really want to say.
It’s not being devious to do that; it’s simply being smart about how to work with reporters to ensure that each media interaction has a predictable outcome — and if not entirely predictable, at least not damaging.
General McChrystal may be an expert in military practices and doctrine, but he failed to follow some of the most basic media relations principles and has paid the price.
Doug Carlson of Commaaina Communications is a Honolulu-based media consultant.
