I just watched Kimora Lee: Life in the Fab Lane this weekend, and I was struck by the manner in which Kimora hires "associates." Apparently it's okay to belittle them, and she openly admits to "being tough on them in the beginning." What is strange about the way she is "tough" is that she personally embarrasses the assistant by refusing to let her carry her things.
I was surprised that Kimora's description of an employee might also qualify in the textbooks as a description for a co-dependent relationship. I wondered if she was hiring an employee or seeking a relationship to control. The way the whole scenario plays out in the show is that Kimora is mad at her employees for not being able to find her Blackberry, so she tells them that she wants them to hire her an assistant. Then, when only one suitable (by her staff's perspective) assistant shows up to interview, Kimora says that it's her current staff's fault that they can't find more people to show up for the job she wants to hire for. In a strange dance, Kimora hints at replacing her staff, then makes them look for possible candidates, and then gets angry when not enough show up. When she interviews the one and only final candidate, she then threatens her staff that if the woman hired doesn't work out, it's her staff's fault.
Strange, there seems to be no personal responsibility in all of the business-speak Kimora professes. She is supposedly not responsible for her hiring decisions, nor is she responsible for whether or not an employee is helpful to her. Granted, a television show doesn't always depict real life, but the snippets that are shown are continually focusing on how much Kimora expects from her staff. I wonder about Kimora's expectations in life. It doesn't look good, and I will tell you why, Kimora:
1) Even "staff" don't want to run your life, no matter how much you pay them. They want to be treated well.
2) When you act in a passive-aggressive manner (i.e. telling your staff they can't help you on their first day because you don't know them well enough) you don't come off as a strong manager, you look like an insecure kid on a first date.
3) No one wants to hear how about you all the time. People may, in fact, wonder who else might be in your life, or what you do with your kids that is not related to you (i.e. your business).
It looks like Kimora may have a fab life in the money department, but it seems as if her personal life is Kimora in the Sad Lane. The show made me feel sorry for her, a person who seems to have no concept of the ways in which she offends people and takes them for granted with her money. Kimora Life in the Fab Lane is a perfect example of show in which the star provides enough drama in her own life to rival that of a soap opera. There are no other characters introduced to create drama in Kimora's life shown on television, save the assistant she is mean to; however, Kimora seems to create drama every place she goes.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Mc Cain's Campaign
It has been with sadness that I have watched the political struggles of John McCain. He seemed to inspire hope, a moderate conservative who may have had judgment. But now, I mourn his lackluster campaign. I want him to have a better campaign program than Giuliani, who handled the 9/11 attacks and Mitt Romney whose claim to fame is having one wife. Where does McCain stand in all of this? Nowhere at the moment, because he is playing defensive politics. He has not openly started political discussions about his own platforms.
Here is a news clue McCain: we want to know more about how you will handle the U.S.A, not just Iraq. No one wants to be at war all the time, and we don't have any real political agenda to form an opinion. It looks bad. Here is why: we want to know how you will help us. Not all of us are fighting in the Iraq war, as noble as a soldier's job is, not everyone is a soldier.
How are you going to tackle the health care crisis? How are you going to tackle the financial crisis? Do you have a business/financial genius on your team? Lots of people will put up with soft rhetoric as long as they are making money. Americans want to be prosperous again, and they will gravitate toward people they think will lead them to better times. America is not just about war.
How will you use your war experience to build foreign relations? How will you use your other leadership experiences to lead us out of financial ruin? What is your one-line slogan for making yourself known? You need to get someone on your campaign that can consolidate your top 3 issues (no one has the memory for 5) and get a good slogan out for yourself. No one knows what you stand for, and you want to be careful that your name isn't associated with just how to run a "good war." News Flash: Most Americans don't want to be at war. Don't talk a lot about the war, except in general circumstances. Don't offer solutions to unstable circumstances. Stick to issues like building foreign policy, making the American dollar strong again and helping to protect the American economy. Most Americans are practical. They may love you, but they won't elect you if you never talk about how they can get more money.
Here is a news clue McCain: we want to know more about how you will handle the U.S.A, not just Iraq. No one wants to be at war all the time, and we don't have any real political agenda to form an opinion. It looks bad. Here is why: we want to know how you will help us. Not all of us are fighting in the Iraq war, as noble as a soldier's job is, not everyone is a soldier.
How are you going to tackle the health care crisis? How are you going to tackle the financial crisis? Do you have a business/financial genius on your team? Lots of people will put up with soft rhetoric as long as they are making money. Americans want to be prosperous again, and they will gravitate toward people they think will lead them to better times. America is not just about war.
How will you use your war experience to build foreign relations? How will you use your other leadership experiences to lead us out of financial ruin? What is your one-line slogan for making yourself known? You need to get someone on your campaign that can consolidate your top 3 issues (no one has the memory for 5) and get a good slogan out for yourself. No one knows what you stand for, and you want to be careful that your name isn't associated with just how to run a "good war." News Flash: Most Americans don't want to be at war. Don't talk a lot about the war, except in general circumstances. Don't offer solutions to unstable circumstances. Stick to issues like building foreign policy, making the American dollar strong again and helping to protect the American economy. Most Americans are practical. They may love you, but they won't elect you if you never talk about how they can get more money.
Oprah's School Troubles
I just read about Oprah's troubles with the school she has launched, and the public relations surrounding it are a nightmare. Oprah's investment in a school that is too far away for her to manage or keep up with is a dangerous job. Here is the problem: she can't back out of this venture for fear of looking like she is giving up, and she can't succeed in the current round of scandal without setting the school in a new light. It just looks back, and here is why: Oprah's school is being run by others by financed by her, and she looks like the rich benefactor who just wants to make herself look good. Poor public relations move, but maybe a strategic feel-good move. For the woman who makes her living by getting the deepest secrets out of others, she can't afford to have skeletons in the closet about her children's-based projects.
Here is what she should do: investigate the allegations of abuse, but make a strong statement about how it happened to begin with. Oprah made a mistake somewhere in there, and she needs to own up to it. It is roundly believed that Americans love a person who admits a mistake and then apologizes profusely. You can be forgiven for just admitting a wrongdoing.
Oprah shouldn't take responsibility for the abuse, but maybe a problem with hiring AND THEN... how she will prevent it from happening again. She may need to hire someone from the United States to run and supervise the school, someone with a good educational background. It does no good to start a "poor little-impoverished kids school" and fill it with leaders from impoverished areas who can't help the children get out. After all, what is the purpose of this school? The purpose is to give the children a way out of the situation they have right now, but the only way to do that is to bring in people who know how to get them out. You can't play local politically correct games and still have outside help brought in. The school needs outside help or the children wouldn't be where they are now. Don't be ashamed of bringing in outside and well-recognized help.
Oprah should dedicate a few shows to looking at the state of education in the U.S. and then a few to the state of education worldwide. Then, she should focus on how she is trying to work within the framework of difficulties. She can't be an educator, but she can bring in educators who can speak to the difficulties of starting a school like this and act like she is taking their advice. Then, she looks like she is at least trying to educate herself about the problems her school is experiencing. Then, and here is the tough part, Oprah: you have to be willing to take advice. I know you have done this on a handful of occasions, but you really need to do this now.
Maybe you offer the key problems of the school to some large educational institutions and put their best minds on coming up with solutions. Make it a nationwide event. Get buy-in. Make the other universities look at you and offer opinions. Make it a contest, but for God's sake, don't stand out there and try to do it by yourself. You are currently all alone in this mess, but you don't have to be. Just ask for some help.
Here is what she should do: investigate the allegations of abuse, but make a strong statement about how it happened to begin with. Oprah made a mistake somewhere in there, and she needs to own up to it. It is roundly believed that Americans love a person who admits a mistake and then apologizes profusely. You can be forgiven for just admitting a wrongdoing.
Oprah shouldn't take responsibility for the abuse, but maybe a problem with hiring AND THEN... how she will prevent it from happening again. She may need to hire someone from the United States to run and supervise the school, someone with a good educational background. It does no good to start a "poor little-impoverished kids school" and fill it with leaders from impoverished areas who can't help the children get out. After all, what is the purpose of this school? The purpose is to give the children a way out of the situation they have right now, but the only way to do that is to bring in people who know how to get them out. You can't play local politically correct games and still have outside help brought in. The school needs outside help or the children wouldn't be where they are now. Don't be ashamed of bringing in outside and well-recognized help.
Oprah should dedicate a few shows to looking at the state of education in the U.S. and then a few to the state of education worldwide. Then, she should focus on how she is trying to work within the framework of difficulties. She can't be an educator, but she can bring in educators who can speak to the difficulties of starting a school like this and act like she is taking their advice. Then, she looks like she is at least trying to educate herself about the problems her school is experiencing. Then, and here is the tough part, Oprah: you have to be willing to take advice. I know you have done this on a handful of occasions, but you really need to do this now.
Maybe you offer the key problems of the school to some large educational institutions and put their best minds on coming up with solutions. Make it a nationwide event. Get buy-in. Make the other universities look at you and offer opinions. Make it a contest, but for God's sake, don't stand out there and try to do it by yourself. You are currently all alone in this mess, but you don't have to be. Just ask for some help.
Hilary's Campaign
Okay, Hilary, I see your eager-beaver face all over the media, smiling, smiling. As my friend Liza used to say: Don't you hate it when people smile too much--it makes them seem fake. It looks bad, and let me tell you why: we all know you are an intense person, but smiling too much makes us distrust you.
Well perhaps, part of this blogging off is due to the fact that I just don't like your politics. I don't like the fact that you didn't stand up to your husband and wonder how you are going to stand up to anyone else. I wonder how you can have a national embarrassment out in the open and still keep going. Maybe it makes people distrust you. Maybe that, with all the smiling, and the bulldog attitude just makes you seem like a dog that wants to bite. I don't know, but with voting on things like limiting the vaccine injury statutes and approving going to war, I don't know how nice you can be with a great big smile.
Here is what you should do: if you want to have us trust you, don't smile too much. Don't play all friendly and vote all conservative. Don't say you are tough and then get back together with a husband that cheated on you and say that you "really got him." Most of all, don't be duplicitous. Make your message consistent, and realize that people will look at your marriage and history. Many a man's marriage choices have broken his career, and many a woman's will too.
If you want people to like you, you have to show that you like children. You have to show that you will stand up for professional women as well as poor women. Your husband could be a great asset to you if you state how he will help you. Most women can't stand listening to the "wives" of all these political guys talk about how they want nothing to do with the Whitehouse. We know Bill is somewhat of a political genius, so state how you will use him. State how you will work together. Make your intense personality look like something that you will use for all of us. You can be a bulldog as long as you are on our side.
Don't pretend to be a man up there--appeal to women, especially as parents Tell them you want to bring their children home. Make this about being a mother and parent; Bush used the same troops strategy with a generalized statement of: Support our troops." Anyone who didn't say that (i.e. Kerry) suddently became againgst the troops. Ingenius when you consider Kerry was a deocrated vet. Even more ingenius when you consider that Bush was the one who put them there to begin with.
You can't win all segments of a population over. That's a mistake too many political candidates make. Let me tell you why: you will never be able to impress upon 20 year olds how cool and appropriate you so they should vote for you. That's okay, because you aren't looking for that angle. As a parent, what are you looking to give the kids that age by way of opportunity? Keep looking at how you can benefit the families, and you will have the votes. And one of the most common trends you can tap into is a parent protecting their kid. Use what you have to get those groups.
Oh, and don't smile all the time. No one's mom is happy all the time, and neither is a politician. Show concern, guarded optimism, but stay away from goofy happy ( no one is super-happy these days) and super-angry (we don't want a depressed person in office). Model what you see others doing, and in seeing a bit of themselves in you, they will like you and be more likely to vote for you. After all, a good politician is not a person unto themselves, but a reflection of what bits everyone else sees of themselves in them.
Well perhaps, part of this blogging off is due to the fact that I just don't like your politics. I don't like the fact that you didn't stand up to your husband and wonder how you are going to stand up to anyone else. I wonder how you can have a national embarrassment out in the open and still keep going. Maybe it makes people distrust you. Maybe that, with all the smiling, and the bulldog attitude just makes you seem like a dog that wants to bite. I don't know, but with voting on things like limiting the vaccine injury statutes and approving going to war, I don't know how nice you can be with a great big smile.
Here is what you should do: if you want to have us trust you, don't smile too much. Don't play all friendly and vote all conservative. Don't say you are tough and then get back together with a husband that cheated on you and say that you "really got him." Most of all, don't be duplicitous. Make your message consistent, and realize that people will look at your marriage and history. Many a man's marriage choices have broken his career, and many a woman's will too.
If you want people to like you, you have to show that you like children. You have to show that you will stand up for professional women as well as poor women. Your husband could be a great asset to you if you state how he will help you. Most women can't stand listening to the "wives" of all these political guys talk about how they want nothing to do with the Whitehouse. We know Bill is somewhat of a political genius, so state how you will use him. State how you will work together. Make your intense personality look like something that you will use for all of us. You can be a bulldog as long as you are on our side.
Don't pretend to be a man up there--appeal to women, especially as parents Tell them you want to bring their children home. Make this about being a mother and parent; Bush used the same troops strategy with a generalized statement of: Support our troops." Anyone who didn't say that (i.e. Kerry) suddently became againgst the troops. Ingenius when you consider Kerry was a deocrated vet. Even more ingenius when you consider that Bush was the one who put them there to begin with.
You can't win all segments of a population over. That's a mistake too many political candidates make. Let me tell you why: you will never be able to impress upon 20 year olds how cool and appropriate you so they should vote for you. That's okay, because you aren't looking for that angle. As a parent, what are you looking to give the kids that age by way of opportunity? Keep looking at how you can benefit the families, and you will have the votes. And one of the most common trends you can tap into is a parent protecting their kid. Use what you have to get those groups.
Oh, and don't smile all the time. No one's mom is happy all the time, and neither is a politician. Show concern, guarded optimism, but stay away from goofy happy ( no one is super-happy these days) and super-angry (we don't want a depressed person in office). Model what you see others doing, and in seeing a bit of themselves in you, they will like you and be more likely to vote for you. After all, a good politician is not a person unto themselves, but a reflection of what bits everyone else sees of themselves in them.
Obama's Campaign
Okay, just for the record, Obama, since I know you have asked me personally, there is an e-mail going around saying that you refuse to say the pledge of allegiance. It shows a picture with all the other hopefuls stating that they will say the pledge and have their hands on their hearts; you are standing with your hands folded. It doesn't look good, and I will tell you why: to a certain degree, you need to conform to the expectations of what a leader will do. And one of those things, as president of the United States, should be that you put your hand on your heart when others say the pledge. If you don't, you offend all the voters who do. Don't try to win the minority of voters who don't abide by the pledge. You want to be the minority getting the majority on board with your campaign. Don't make yourself stand out by ignoring what other candidates are doing with regards to national pride. Make your stand somewhere else, if you are making one. If you were just dumb and standing there not paying attention, own up to it.
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