Rifle vs. Shotgun Approach Article Response

[jwsmack]

In reading this article when I actually had a chance to absorb the information, there are some certain truths that become very evident. I think that many of us who follow the current political world certainly would hope that some, or for that matter, all of the candidates to use more of a rifle approach to tell us exactly what they are going to do. More often, we see the potential leaders of the free world talking more in generalities, more of a shotgun approach to see what works. It seemed that the couple of candidates that talked in more of a rifle approach of exactly what they wanted to do have been relegated to obscurity, more I think by the press than the voting public.

Much of the reason that I don't believe we see more of the rifle approach in politics is it can be mundane in a public forum. People like the shotgun approach, and end up voting for the person who is saying the most things from their laundry list that they like.

I know that you were speaking more to the individual and communication on less of a global level, and I freely admit I enjoyed the analysis! Touching on your last sentence of the article, regarding using the skills to take advantage of people...don't we see the more unethical sales people do this?

[thecompoundmind]

What a neat idea, candidates actually expressing something more than a sound bite. I doubt that most of them have a full understanding of what it is they are attempting to try to fix to begin with. The current complexity of our world is such that simple fixes don't work and for the most part the repairs necessary are too unpalatable for the general public to accept. We still won't accept being inconvenienced enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the disaster is upon us!

Unfortunately your point about detail being boring is a problem when trying to get elected. Just like a motivational speaker, a candidate must move the voter emotionally and get them attached enough that they vote. For most folks details may make the final sale, or not, however broad strokes and mass appeals sway people far more. Hitler did well by castigating the Jews in his speeches and making broad accusations, yet if you examine the details many of his non-Jewish countrymen who became his support were practicing the exact same things. If he had gone into detail he would have lost the crowd, by staying with larger generalities he was able to build emotional response to a higher peak and have it last longer.

This is also indicative of how we function in general. While we claim that things aren't logical in many cases that we disagree, we often can't really back up our reasons for the things that we do. Emotion is the drive in all of us. If we actually worked on facts, criteria, goals, etc. then our decisions would be far different in everything from elected officials to what we eat for lunch.

On your last comment about unethical sales people, yes I do know there are folks that are unethical and do things that are unfair or not in the customer's interest as well. In my experience I have also seen that many times this back fires in the long run. Building positive win-win relationships actually elevates sales results much more than forcing a few sales which result in remorse.

Paul

[morganz]

If I'm going to choose between shotgun and a rifle, I would rather choose shotgun as my weapon. How about you?