[Newsletter] 4.10.25 | “We’re not here to chase checks,”
April 9, 2025
An interesting month! A puzzling piece of advice about drinking alcohol. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sent a terse message (twice to make sure you got the point.) Our idol Southwest Airlines had an unusual tin ear problem. Nvidia’s CEO is our favorite example of using props to get attention. (Shoutout to Besh and Grek!) LeBron James and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith were arguing – about what to argue about? An essay in the Wall Street Journal about pioneering behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman—included not for the somber and controversial topic—but because of Kahneman’s analysis of what influences us. (Hint: not objective evidence.)
THE WINNING COMMUNICATIONS BLUNDER
“We’re not here to chase checks,” said Wayne Barrow, co-manager of rapper Biggie Smalls’ portfolio and estate. His mom sure was! Voletta Wallace threw herself into advancing her son’s small (two recorded albums) output when he was killed in 1997. Only a mother could do this. She died this month having turned him into a legend and creating an estate worth $200 million. Given that one of his hits was titled “Mo Money Mo Problems,” Mom certainly did right by her son.
WSJ, “A Mother’s Quest to Secure Biggie Smalls’s Legacy” March 20, 2025
THE RUNNERS-UP
“I’m not out to hurt the American people,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford as he threatened to impose a 25% surcharge on energy flowing into the US.
WSJ, “Canada, U.S. Jostle On Tariffs” March 12, 2025
“You’re not pixelated. There aren’t crazy parts of your body missing,” said Dr. Sylvia Richey, chief medical officer at West Cancer Center in rural Corinth, Mississippi, touting the benefits of videoconferencing with a new hologram technology which gives the impression that the doctor is sitting across from you in a full-size image. The technique is being piloted to help the physicians see more patients and spend less time driving to their 12 locations in rural Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. It’s a great article. We still recommend allocating quotes to positive messages. They could have covered the past criticism by providing an FAQ or written comparison.
WSJ, “The Hologram Doctor Will See You Now” March 11, 2025
“The government is not recommending that you drink two drinks a day,” said Michael Kaiser, EVP of Wine America. What’s not clear is what the government is recommending.
USA Today, “Are two drinks a day too many? Inside the debate on what to tell America about alcohol” February 14, 2025
NOT RECOMMENDED STRATEGY
“Next question” was the reply of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to a reporter’s question if it was time for new leadership following Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) decision to vote with Republicans to fend off a government shutdown. He gave the same response to the next question asking if he had lost confidence in Sen. Schumer.
WSJ, “Why Schumer Broke With Democrats in Shutdown Fight” March 14, 2025
“It’s not like we traded Luca…” wrote Southwest Airlines in an Instagram post as it announced a change to its long-touted ‘bags fly free’ policy. We defer to no one in our admiration for Southwest Airlines and point to them frequently as an icon of culture and for the use of humor to reinforce their business model. But this time…
DMN, “Southwest responds to bag policy change: ‘It’s not like we traded Luka’” March 13, 2025
PROPS AND PERFORMANCE
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has become our CEO winner for using props to focus attention on his presentation. See the article about using two darling, small robots – with their own names, Besh and Grek – at his keynote speech at the company’s annual developers conference. The performance garnered a Wall Street Journal front page second section report plus picture. Not only a great article but a great example for your own C-suite types to explain the use of props.
WSJ, “Disney’s Robotic Droids Are the Toast of Silicon Valley” March 20, 2025
WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?
“Their feud is a microcosm of how we conduct discourse now,” wrote USA Today columnist Chris Bumbaca in a lengthy article about – what? I was attracted by the headline. Maybe some juicy quotes? I read the article and then others. Apparently, LeBron James and ESPN commentator, Stephen A. Smith, a celebrity in his own right, have been feuding about something for four months! They’ve gone back and forth calling each other names and accusing each other of whipping up controversy. Sort of like the actresses or celebs who are famous for being famous. This is an argument about whether there’s an argument. Bumbaca gets it right finally writing, “This beef isn’t even the zesty fun type anymore. It’s become uncomfortable.”
USA Today, “Stephen A. Smith, LeBron James refuse to let it go. Why are we watching this train wreck?” March 27, 2025
WORTH A LOOK
“Kahneman never contended that people are irrational. Instead, he argued that they are inconsistent, emotional and easily fooled—most easily of all, by themselves,” wrote Jacob Zweig. We’ve included this essay not because of Kahneman’s suicide but because of his pioneering research and commentary about how to influence people – our chief focus and reason for helping clients.
WSJ, “The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions” March 14, 2025
“You Don’t Say” is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say.