Mike Bloomberg is the All-Business, All-the-Time Guy who DOES "GET IT"

A Quinnipiac Poll released yesterday said that New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gets high marks for job performance but is personally viewed by city residents as unable relate to their everyday struggles because he is "cold and business-like".

To which Bloomberg replied: "I am what I am."

To which we comment: "Thank goodness!"

Just think of the alternative during a current governmental and political landscape that is a complete mess. Start at the top with "Governor Grease Fire" who plans to hike taxes into the stratosphere on 80-hour work week people doing OK-enough to create jobs while giving 35-hour work week public employee unions huge raises; next is our Assembly speaker who loaded countless special interest pay-to-play pet projects in the proposed budget; then there is the MTA, which is about to raise fares by 25% and drastically cut service on subways that are already dirty and rarely run on-time; and most unsettling of all, there is a new report out stating that the portion of New York City's entire operating budget spent only on paying out retirement benefits to former city employees will cross the 50% mark at some point in 2009. And by the way, Mike wasn't in City Hall when these employees were hired.

That's why the last thing New York needs right now is a soft, fuzzy, back-slapping "leader" who is obsessed with people "liking him."

All-business, all-the-time is exactly the right approach and as always, Mike Bloomberg appears up for the job.

The pitchfork mentality groups that are bashing anyone in this country who is making money won't like to hear this, but it is people like Mike Bloomberg who are going to ultimately get this economy rolling again...

..and not necessarily the politician Bloomberg; instead, the all-business, all-the-time Bloomberg who built a media empire from scratch that now employs thousands of men and women at all levels. New York desperately needs more people like Bloomberg who always problem-solves in an entrepreneurial manner, knows how to create jobs, sees the big picture, and isn't afraid to take on entrenched money-sucking special interests.

In fact, any organization could use Bloomberg right now. I nominate Conde Nast as Exhibit A. The New York Post today reported that some of the publishing giant's chauffeured execs and top editors were finally about to ditch the limo rides to and from work in favor of subways...not including Anna Wintour of course, and only when it is not raining.

Conversely, Bloomberg has been a strap-hanger for years and is famous for plopping his own desk into a bullpen-style office environment next to the entry-level assistants and secretaries.
If you don't think "business-culture" stuff like that matters then consider that Conde Nast has been forced to shut down multiple publications and is considering corporate-wide furloughs come June. Mayor Bloomberg? He's about to win a third term going away.

At its best, New York is a no-nonsense, get-it-done, results-driven town. A place where a "Grinder" can work hard and become successful. Walk around the streets of New York and you'll meet these folks everywhere. The corner food-truck guys who set-up shop at 5:30AM Monday through Saturday. The restaurant-owner who double-shifts every day without second thought to survive and grow. The truck-driver who battles endless congestion to get the deliveries into all five boroughs by noon. The responsible financial workers who drive themselves so much into the ground, that even on weekends, they eat, drink and sleep economic growth. And let's not forget the writer, typing like crazy in a Starbucks window near you and multi-tasking complex articles into 25 deadlines per week.

Ironically, it also sounds exactly like the guy in charge of the whole plave 8 million people call home.

This recession - when all said and done - will be remembered for ending the "Era of Entitlement." The era people like David Patterson, Sheldon Silver, and Anna Wintour are still desperately clinging to.

But whether he gets elected or not, a "Grinder" like Mike Bloomberg is too smart and too hard-working - like the rest of us - not to be doing just fine and creating opportunity for others while he's at it.

All-business, all-the-time. New York shouldn't have it any other way.

AIG CEO: "I have people skills!" Congress: "We fixed the glitch." And let me tell you something about TPS Reports...

After watching Wednesday's Congressional theatrics between AIG CEO Ed Liddy and the distinguished line-up of grandstanding politicians, the first word that came to mind was....

Initech.

Yes, we are referring to that infamous symbol of incompetence and dysfunction portrayed in the classic movie "Office Space."

And if you think about it, Wednesday's back and forth on the Hill wasn't much different from the one below:

"What exactly....would you say you do here?"

"I have people skills god (darnit)...I'm good with the god (darn) customer! What the (heck)'s wrong with you people!!!"

If the only items missing from that hearing were two guys named Bob and a pink shirt with clashing blue suspenders, Americans could have retained a little piece of mind. But what looms most disturbing about the latest AIG debacle is how both the company's CEO and certain Members of Congress like Chris Dodd remain clueless as to what really drives public anger.

And newsflash...it's not all about the money.

First of all, most honest hard-working people don't believe in bailouts, but when absolutely necessary, these "emergency" measures are supposed to, at the very least, end all the bad behavior. If every stench of foul odor cannot be removed, then the public expects a supreme effort - not excuses. And from their elected leaders, the public wants a road map toward recovery - not a bunch of finger pointing among politicians.

Hence why the average American does not equate executive "retention" with "people skills" and does not recognize blowhard Congressional hearings as any form of "restructuring".

Imagine if the "Bobs" had asked Ed Liddy and Senate Finance Chairman Chris Dodd..."What exactly would you say you do here?"

Odds are they wouldn't have responded "hand out bonuses to bad executives" or "write sweetheart corporate loopholes in bailout laws". Instead, Liddy was sold to the public as the "fixer". And despite decades of business as usual, Congress promised Americans that "this time - because of the gravity of this economic crisis - things will be different."

In the end, things weren't different at all. According to most Americans, the "fixer" turned into nothing more than another arrogant corporate "enhancer". As for Congress, is it any surprise that for the first time in over three years, Republicans now lead Democrats in a generic head-to- head? People are mad, really mad - so regardless of the technical, constitutional or contractual merits of each retention bonus and special legislative clause, figureheads like Liddy and Dodd are paying a hefty price for not being "who they were supposed to be".

At Triumphant Communications, we constantly preach the covenant "be who you are supposed to be". Sounds simple doesn't it? Tell people what you do best and then go out and do it. Yet it never ceases to amaze how quickly individuals and companies ignore this covenant, and not surprisingly, ignorance is the fastest path to failure right now.

To make matters worse, ignorance also tends to lead to overreaction and as Exhibit A, I submit the actions of people like Charlie Rangel (who has his own questionable financial issues) to impose a 90% tax on these bonuses paid by AIG....or as in "Office Space" terminology, "we fixed the glitch."

Or did they?

As I recall, fixing the glitch and the hostile takeover of a certain red stapler by "Office Space's" Big Brother figure - Lumberg - led Milton to burn Initech to the ground. Do we want the same for our financial institutions as a whole? Or doesn't it make much more sense to simply remove incompetent people from the process.

Obviously, no one wishes the fate of Initech on the American economy. However, we will not insult "Michael Bolton" by comparing him to AIG and various Members of Congress, and we are not even close to "celebrating these guys' entire catalog" of work right now.