Best quote of the month
‘After a handful of days of selling off, we were probably due for a little bit of a bounce. But this is nothing that you want to start pounding the table and shouting that the new bull market has begun.’
– Charles White, portfolio manager, Avatar Associates, New York Times, August 6
There are a gazillion portfolio managers who would love to be quoted in the New York Times on general market conditions, yet White was the only one to get quoted that day. This is a good quote, in part, because it allows White to position himself as a market expert and promote the name of his firm and himself. There is nothing about White’s message that is particularly brilliant or shocking, which is all the more reason why it was a coup to get quoted.
Why is White quotable? First, ‘Bit of a bounce’ is visual and implies a ball analogy. Second, ‘pounding the table’ is bold and action-oriented, as well as emotional. Third, ‘shouting’ is action-oriented and emotional. Fourth, ‘the bull market has begun’ contains the animal analogy and is stated as an emotional absolute.
Worst quote of the month
‘During the nearly 25 years I’ve worked in the industry, the love affair that people have had with automobiles has in some ways grown stale, and some would say it’s even dying. If you remember in California, people used to write songs about T-birds and Corvettes. Today, they write regulations.’
– William Clay Ford Jr, Chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Company, New York Times, August 8
Ford may have made these statements as part of a brilliant and candid speech. Unfortunately, CEOs of high-profile companies have to worry about how every single statement they make can look when taken out of the context of their speeches. The problem with Ford’s quote is not that it’s wrong, or stupid, or defensive or egotistical. It’s just that after reading it, you want to sell all of your Ford stock and go out and invest in that wacky inventor’s Segway scooter.
Ford is quotable because one, ‘love affair’ is emotional and a cliché. Two, ‘grown stale’ is confrontational and suggests analogies of bread getting tough and moldy. Three, when Ford says, ‘some would say it’s even dying,’ he is quoting his opponents in an emotional and attacking way. Four, Ford evokes images of pop culture when he talks about songwriting and particular well-known car brands. Fifth, Ford ends with the crack about writing regulations, which is an absolute, an attack, and a little humorous.
TJ Walker, a New York city-based media/speech trainer, coaches senior executives for media and speaking appearances. See www.mediatrainingworldwide.com
