Engaged Learning

What I Have Learned From The Elections

Nov 6, 2008 Social Learning SIG

Senator Obama did not receive my vote for President (as if voting Republican in a presidential race in Oregon makes a difference).  I did vote what I felt was best given the circumstances.  You may disagree and that is fine.  But even though I may not agree with him, I am very impressed with his campaign strategy.  We can learn a lot about our place in the learning and communication world from him.

What contributed to his win?  This is my take:

• He actively showed that he was listening.
• His message was clear and easy to understand.
• His sound bites and slogans made it personal.
• He engaged as many as possible.
• He used the long tail of contributions to achieve record financing and to get people talking.
• He used social media far more extensively to touch more people.
• He made it easy - to get involved, to believe, to spread the word.
• He created a movement - he didn’t just run a campaign.

How can we use this as an example to help others learn, to help those around us to communicate more openly and share ideas?  What can businesses learn from this about how they might interact with their employees and customers?

There are lessons to be learned here.

Tags: Barack Obama, election, McCain, strategy