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When Obama Met BP’s CEO Tony Hayward: A Fractured Fairy Tale
By Donald W. Hendon
If a meeting ever takes place, here’s
what may happen, especially if both of them read Dr. Donald Hendon’s new
book, 365 Powerful Ways to Influence (Pelican Books, 2010). Each of the 17
tactics they use on each other are from this book.
Obama thinks: “My
poll numbers are in the toilet. Blaming Bush doesn’t work anymore. Maybe
if I kick the ass of the head guy at BP, I’ll be loved once again by the
public.” (Obama is using Hendon’s defensive tactic 67, Ego Trip /
Attention-Getting).
So Obama summons Tony Hayward to the White
House. Obama thinks, “Tony can’t refuse to meet me. After all, I’m the
President. (Obama is using Hendon’s assertive tactic 95, Celebrity Power).
And I can win over anybody—it’s a gift. (Obama is relying on assertive
tactic 112, Charismatic Power.)
When Tony gets the summons, he
thinks: “Obama thinks he can win over anybody by his smile. But he doesn’t
scare me. I’m a British citizen, not a US citizen. I’m not going to be a
push-over. I’ll show this guy he can’t bully me. He’s not going to use me
for a photo op.” (Tony is using assertive tactic 31, Take Advantage of
Opponent’s Blind Spots.)
Tony meets Obama in his office. No
photographers around. Obama is sitting down at a huge, uncluttered desk.
The biggest, cleanest, most polished desk Tony has ever seen. (Obama is
using assertive tactic 114, Symbols, Rituals.)
Obama doesn’t get up
until Hayward approaches his desk. Then he stands up, towering over the
shorter Hayward, and gives him a very strong handshake. (Obama is now using
assertive tactic 83, Height Power.)
Before Obama can say anything,
Tony says, “I’m glad you invited me today. CNN says the White House soup of
the day is gumbo. I love gumbo—a good Louisiana soup.” There is a touch of
sarcasm in his voice. (Tony is using defensive tactic 5, Distract Your
Opponent.)
Obama is equally sarcastic. He says, “I thought your
favorite soup would be leek.” (Obama is also using Distract Your Opponent.)
Tony counters with, “Where’s Ken Salazar, your Interior Secretary?
If he shows up later, I’m leaving. I won’t let him put his boot on my
neck.” (Tony is using preparation tactic 8, Let Your Opponent Dislike You.)
Before Tony sits down, he notices his chair is directly opposite
Obama’s, not diagonal. He knows that directly-opposite is confrontational.
Diagonal isn’t. Also, Obama’s chair is higher than Tony’s chair. And
there’s a strong afternoon sun in the window behind Obama. The glare makes
it hard for Tony to see. Tony knows body language and position language and
thinks, “Obama is trying to put me at a disadvantage by using dirty tricks.”
(Obama is using 3 of Hendon’s dirty tricks, Face the Sun—31, Lower
Chair—32, and Conference Room Power—36.)
Tony moves his chair so the
glare of the sun is no longer in his eyes. He doesn’t ask Obama’s
permission. Then he sits down. (Tony is using assertive tactic 64, Take
First, Talk Later). Obama is too shocked to say anything.
After some
strained small talk, Obama says, “Don’t worry. I didn’t invite you here to
kick your ass.” (Obama is using cooperative tactic 13, Make Promises—Tempt
Your Opponent.)
Tony pretends to be offended and says, “I saw you
make that threat on TV. You also said if you were head of BP, you would
fire me. Your threats don’t bother me. What does bother me, though, is
this: When you say publicly you’re going to kick my ass, you’re really
saying you’re going to kick the asses of BP’s shareholders. We have a lot
of British pensioners who rely on dividends from their BP stock in order to
make ends meet. I won’t let you kick their ass. Our prime minister, David
Cameron, won’t let you either. If you want to kick the asses of Americans,
that’s up to you. But don’t mess with British citizens. And, remember, I’m
a British citizen, too.” Tony is using two tactics: Phony Hostility
(defensive 73) and Phony Sanctimony (dirty trick 24.)
Obama is taken
aback. He doesn’t feel in control anymore. He doesn’t know whether to act
offended or to try and reassure Tony. Obama lets his testosterone control
him. Automatically using Chicago street language, he says to Tony, “You
want to take this outside? We’ll play basketball. If I win, you’ll do
whatever I say. If you win, I’ll stop beating up on BP in public.” (Obama
is using assertive tactic 77, Threat of Violence.)
Tony stands up
and bangs his fist on Obama’s desk, “Basketball is a sissy game. Let’s play
a real man’s game—football…what you Yanks call soccer. Winner take all.
This time, it won’t end in a draw like it did in the World Cup on June 12.
We Brits will kick your ass.” (Tony is using Hendon’s defensive tactic 90,
Counterattack yes, debate no.)
Well, that’s what might happen.
Let’s hope things go smoother than that—if a meeting ever takes place.
In this modern fairy tale, Obama and Hayward used 17 of Dr. Hendon’s 365
persuasion-influence tactics. To see all of them, go to <www.donaldhendon.com>.
Download his blog and chapter 1 from this website. Hendon is a well-known
expert on negotiating-influence-persuasion, with clients all over the world
# # # # # # # # # # #
Contact information:
Dr. Donald W.
Hendon, <donald_w_hendon@yahoo.com>,
(702) 346-2705 Pacific time. P. O. Box 2624, Mesquite, Nevada 89024. <www.donaldhendon.com>.