Best quote of the month
‘The ratcheting up of compensation has been obscene. There is a tendency to put cocker spaniels on compensation committees, not Doberman pinschers.’
– Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, New York Times, September 18
If you’re a billionaire and still seem like a populist looking out for the average-income individual, you must be doing something right. Buffett expresses what many investors feel about revelations of CEO greed in recent months, but he says it in a more memorable and quotable manner. Buffett’s quote also serves his interests by sending a message to companies he has a stake in, or companies who want his money: you’d better be able to justify senior executives’ compensation packages from now on!
Buffett is quotable because first, he uses the term ‘obscene’, which is highly emotional and an absolute. Second, he uses the analogy of a friendly pet and then uses another analogy of an attack dog. Third, he uses specific, easy-to-visualize, non-abstract examples: ‘cocker spaniels’ and ‘Doberman pinschers’.
Worst quote of the month
‘We have to decide who to keep, how much to pay them and how to pay them. Those decisions will consume most of my waking hours for the next few weeks, as well as the time of most senior managers on Wall Street.’
– David Viniar, Goldman Sachs’ chief financial officer, New York Times, September 25
Viniar does not seem like a cold, cruel Al Dunlap-clone who relishes firing people. Indeed the Goldman Sachs CFO seems genuinely pained to be firing people. So why does the Quote Doctor give Viniar the thumbs-down? Because from a strategic communications perspective, it makes no sense to give reporters great quotes on negative, depressing stories about your company having to fire thousands of people. Viniar gave a good quote (from the reporter’s perspective), which ends up on page one of the New York Times business section.
Viniar is quotable because one, he gives extremely specific examples of what he has to do in the firing process. Two, he speaks in a highly personal and emotional manner, using words like ‘consume’. Three, ‘most of my waking hours’ is a cliché, personal and highly emotional.
There are times when business communications strategy calls for trying not to be quoted so that a story will take on less prominence, result in a smaller article, and receive decreased attention. To avoid being quoted at all, Viniar should have avoided the personal, the emotional and specific examples.
TJ Walker, a New York city-based media/speech trainer, coaches senior executives for media and speaking appearances. See www.mediatrainingworldwide.com
