Presentation as War

By Chuck Boyer & Bill Dunne

Botching a presentation can be costly, even for a big vendor. For a small one it can be fatal. The usual reason for botched pitches is simple: Managers and executives put all their focus on the data — on the payload. Or, as IBMers used to say, on the “speeds and feeds.” They neglect the delivery system. In our book, “Presentation as War: Battlefield Tactics for Pitching to the Wired Audience,” my colleague Chuck Boyer and I have spelled out very succinctly what will help people improve their delivery systems — their presentation skills. It draws on our combined forty years at the top levels of corporate communications. We focus particularly on the pitfalls of speechmaking in the age of smartphones, tablets, and “the cloud.” Ironically perhaps, we do it by harkening back to the communication styles of some of history’s most successful military leaders, and we find a lot there for today’s business people to emulate.

Bill is managing partner of an executive-communications firm, Dunne & Partners, LLC

 

Permanent Emergency: Inside the TSA and the Fight for the Future of American SecurityBy Kip Hawley and Nathan Means

Since 2001 the TSA has accepted responsibility for protecting over two million people a day at U.S. airports and managing transportation operations around the world. But how effective is this beleaguered agency, and is it really keeping us safe from terrorism? In this riveting expose, former TSA administrator Kip Hawley reveals the secrets behind the agency’s ongoing battle to outthink and outmaneuver terrorists, illuminating the flawed, broken system that struggles to stay one step ahead of catastrophe. Citing numerous thwarted plots and government actions that have never before been revealed publicly, Hawley suggests that the fundamental mistake in America’s approach to national security is requiring a protocol for every contingency. Instead, he claims, we must learn to live with reasonable risk so that we can focus our efforts on long-term, big-picture strategy, rather than expensive and ineffective regulations that only slow us down.

 

 

 

 

 

Homeland Security:  Assessing the First Five Yearsby Michael Chertoff

In anticipation of the Secretary’s talk with WHS on January 12, we invite you to read his book.  As we approach the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, have we done enough?  How have recent attempts been thwarted and what can we do better?

In 2003, the President and the U.S. Congress established the Department of Homeland Security. From the beginning, its mission was clear: prevent terrorist attacks, protect against threats to America’s safety and security, and prepare the nation to respond effectively to disasters, both natural and man-made. This monumental mission demands a comprehensive strategy. It also requires a crystal-clear explanation of that strategy to Americans and their allies worldwide. In a revealing new book, Homeland Security: Assessing the First Five Years, Michael Chertoff provides that explanation. In a refreshingly candid and engaging manner, America’s former homeland security secretary depicts the department’s long-term approach, what it has achieved, and what it has yet to do.

The strategy begins with the threats America faces, from terrorist groups like al Qaeda to hurricanes like Ike or Gustav. “Once these threats are identified,” Chertoff writes, “we can confront them, using every tool at our disposal. We can stop terrorists from entering the country, and discourage people from embracing terrorism by combating its lethal ideology. We can protect our critical assets and reduce our vulnerabilities to natural disasters. We can plan and prepare for emergencies and respond in a way that minimizes the consequences. And we can work closely with our allies abroad to reduce the risk of future disasters.” In each of these areas, Chertoff informs the reader what the nation has done and what it still must do to secure its future.

How well has this strategy fared in a post-9/11 world? Since that fateful day, there have been no global terror attacks on American soil. Yet in the face of continued dangers, Michael Chertoff warns repeatedly against complacency. He urges America and its leaders to strengthen their resolve, stay the course, and build creatively on past successes.

Masters of Disaster: The Political and Leadership Lessons of America’s Greatest DisastersBy: David Silverberg

Masters of Disaster is the story of people who took charge during the greatest disasters in American history and through extraordinary actions confronted and mastered the challenges facing them.

The disasters chronicled here are the most overwhelming natural and manmade calamities ever to face the United States: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871; the San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the epic floods of 1927; Hurricane Camille in 1969; the New York terrorist attacks of 2001 and the California wildfires of 2007. In each case leaders demonstrated great virtues in responding to events.

In chapters on each disaster, the book chronicles how leaders responded and examines their backgrounds, the circumstances, the settings and the strengths these individuals displayed.
A second section examines the greatest failures of leaders in the face of a disaster-the city, state and presidential shortcomings of Hurricane Katrina and the challenge of great blizzards-as well as the rise of the public’s expectation of swift and effective response to any disaster.
The epilogue brings the story up to date and looks ahead to the challenges sure to come. An appendix provides the lessons learned and makes recommendations for leaders in dealing with future disasters.

 

Disaster Response & Recovery by David A. McEntire

Where do you want to go? You might already be working in the emergency management field, and may be looking to expand your skills. You might be setting out on a new career path. Or, you might want to learn more about exciting opportunities in emergency management.

Wherever you want to go, Disaster Response and Recovery
will help you get there. Easy-to-read, practical, and up-to-date, this text not only helps you learn fundamental emergency management concepts; it also helps you master the core competencies and skills you need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. The book’s brief, modular format and variety of built-in learning resources enable you to learn at your own pace and focus your studies.

With this book, you will be able to:
Know what to expect in their aftermath of a disaster.
Explore two theoretical approaches to the management of disasters.
Be aware of the different participants in response and recovery operations.
Protect lives in the initial steps of hazard detection, warning, evacuation and sheltering.
Examine different disaster functions, including search and rescue, emergency medical care, fatality management, and stress counseling.
Know how best to care for those who have been affected by disasters.
Deal with the media, donations and volunteers after a disaster.
Manage public relations and community resources.
Understand damage assessment, disaster declarations and debris management.
Avoid typical problems during response and recovery operations.
Improve disaster management and coordination through technology and organization.
Learn the value of preparedness, improvisation, professionalism and leadership for you as an emergency manager.

 

Skating on Stilts by Stewart Baker

In the years after 9/11, officials scrambled to rethink security at the border and in the air-while privacy groups and foreign governments did their best to stop and then roll back security measures. As a result, we have only partially closed gaping security holes. Worse, the resistance has made it all but impossible to head off other disasters that are inherent in new technologies such as computer networks and biotech.

Stewart A. Baker draws on his experience at Homeland Security to give the reader a ringside seat as the battle unfolds. In a lively memoir, he describes his agency s post-9/11 strategy to rebuild border security on a foundation of better information about travelers, and the bitter resistance the strategy met from privacy campaigners in the United States and Europe. He shows how a left-right privacy coalition helped set the stage for the Christmas Day bombing.

Looking to the future, Baker examines two new technologies that carry within them the seeds of disasters more damaging than 9/11. As with border security, we can avoid catastrophe by changing our current course a few degrees, building prudent new security measures around information networks and biotechnology. But that course faces stiff resistance from the same groups that fought new security measures after 9/11. Baker argues that privacy campaigners should abandon their stance of opposing all new government uses of technology. Instead of fighting the inevitable in the name of privacy, we should embrace new technologies that offer new ways to protect citizens from abuse.

 

Debating Immigration Edited by Carol Swain

Debating Immigration presents 18 original essays, written by some of the world’s leading experts and preeminent scholars, that explore the nuances of contemporary immigration and citizenship affecting the United States and Europe. The volume is organized around the following themes: religion and philosophy, law and policy, economics and demographics, race and ethnicity, and cosmopolitanism. Critical questions addressed include: What accounts for the disconnect between public attitudes about immigration and the policies produced by elected officials? Why has the United States not developed a well-articulated public philosophy of immigration?