Mellissa Riddle

The Power of Perception in Politics - by Mellissa Riddle

In the Italian classic La vita è bella (1997), Guido Orefice, the lead character, is a stunningly witty and optimistically charged man who maintains his comedic charm through genocide; engaging his son in a game, appealing to his imagination to shield him from the hell taking place around them. In doing so, Guido guarded his son from their reality, ultimately resulting in the boy's perseverance and freedom. Guido wielded his sons perception in a brilliantly powerful and valuable way.

The power of perception is a constant theme in this course; Perception of the self and the crowd, the importance of image, and our receptiveness to political candidate's personas. We receive and interpret information that most suits our desires. This is a powerful notion, and it in-part helps us to understand why we elect our leaders. It is no surprise then to consider that Trump was more calculated than he appeared. Trump was able to achieve the White House thanks to his vision disseminated through vigorous candor. As Professor's John Paul and George of Harvard Kennedy School recount, Trump at least had a vision and he enthusiastically "produced eager followers in vast numbers" (Levitt, Marketing Myopia). The presidential election is the same in this regard to business; followers are voters -- they are consumers.

Sitting in on Tom Nichols lecture for his new book Death to Expertise, I learned more about why experts are no longer relatable to the general public. They are not an ideal image of success. If the populous wants a peer who achieved a relative greatness (ie. Trump's perceived success), the experts and maybe many of the outlier's successes are untenable in so far as they are unrelatable to the consumers and their needs.

We reviewed with Professor George, that the Republican Party for too long had been pushing unrelatable characters. When first discussing Romney's tenure, instead of remembering his successes, I imagined an elitist who through counter slogans became known as a man who we couldn't count on. After seeing his documentary, Romney emerged as a humble man with an authentic vision. The documentary showed a man with his family, who adored his wife, counted on his kids for collaboration, respected his country and constituents, who tidied up his hotel room, and identified what was wrong with the country. But Romney couldn't identify with the American people. He was what Nichols discusses as the elitist, the 'other,' who is discredited in the 'us verses them' mentality.

This is further plagued by a population of Googlers and You-tubers who consider their own research sufficient. The other (the experts) is a threat to self-image. The psychology behind this is astounding, but the advent of internet and fast data have bread a society who perceives themselves as experts, and the backlash against the real experts commenced in response to societies need to make sense of the world; it is easier to blame someone then to rationally address issues and exert that effort in proactive ways.

All of this aside, had Romney generated a more marketable persona reflecting an 'us,' perhaps he could have succeeded. Trump on the other hand leveraged the power of perception and identified to the 'us'. Similar to businesses, our politicians must do what Guido did, they must project their vision with enthusiasm and vigor, to wield perception by speaking to our desires.

This article is written by Mellissa Riddle. Mellissa Riddle is a cultured professional who supports founders and CEOs in Entrepreneurial environments, with a great emphasis on investor relations.