Obama Afghan Release Social Mapping Analysis

So what are we looking at? This is the flow of the social context of Obama's presentation and the social roles in color. Our goal is to create advocates in the social network domain for our Brand / Cause. To do that, we want to see low scores of 0 and 10 to generate empathy, 70 and 80 to motivate for social action and a personal social role (red color) for authenticity. Overall, the cognitive objective of troop drawdown rational was achieved; the emotional objective of why we should care was 3 for 5 high; and, the social action objective was the weakest at 2/5.


The reason is the green color which represents the organizational role of the White House Presidency. This was one of those times when being Presidential may take precedent over connecting with the audience in your personal role. Obama did not give us any social reference for his role other than Commander in Chief. I did rate personal when he related his experience with the Special Forces Teams. The blue color is Professional role for which I would probably rate differently with repeated validation.

Lesson Learned: Really effective presenters can still relate and engage an audience even when staying in the organizational role. Sometimes the focus on advocacy takes second place to the organizational role.

Bernanke at National Press Club Social Signature - Classic Expert Model

The Fed Chairman gave a rare presentation to the national audience via the National Press Club speaker series.  It would be with interest to map the social context of his message and compare the resulting graphs to the general models for technical, scientist, political leaders, business leaders and nonprofit leaders.

First was creating the taxonomy for the vertical scales. The lowest score is always zero (0) for a one person context, we used 80 as the top score for global/universal context and we scored 40 for the institution of the Federal Reserve.  The remaining scores then range is social complexity as shown here: 

Score     Social Context
80  Global economy
70 International financing, International creditors
60 USA economy, USA economic policy
50 Congress, Economic Recovery combined results, Fed budget, Health Care, Banking Reserves
40 Fed Reserve,  CBO
30 USA Households, Jobs, Debt, GDP
20 Financial reporters, unemployed, boomers
10 Specific data, interest rate, ratios
0   Individual, personal, by name

The social context of the presentation is then scored rather than the individual words.  The resulting graph is the sequence of the social context of the presentation.  We can then reference the graph to various communication styles and social  signatures.  Here is Bernanke's social signature less the questions:

Here are the critical communication factors;

1. No Personal Leadership; Note very few personal zero or very high 80 scores.  Most technical or professional experts stay away from personal input or references and shy away from global or universal values. The 80 score in this case is a reference to the Global Economy.  If you compare this to a Obama, Buffet or any highly likable communicator, they will run as much as 20% of their profile on 0 and 80 scores. Bernanke is dependent on his professional credentials and not his personal persuasion or influence.

2. Lots of examples and tactics to rationalize actions of Fed;  Note the amount of "data" from 10 to 60 score range.  This is a normal technical social signature focused on data, rationale and conclusions.  An Obama will have perhaps 15 - 20% in this range - very light on details. 

3. No claims of universal solutions; This is an explanation using incremental data to support an analysis of reasonable actions by the Fed.  No Senator or business leader would present this line of communications based on so much factual data.  Where is the "follow me" cry to support the Feds actions?  There is none based on the lack of 80 score range and 0 to 80 to 0 statements (classic political).  You may disagree with the Fed on policy or interpretation of data, but they are taking actions based on a data driven strategy and not a universal solution based on principle.

What does this social signature mean?  We have an incremental, analytical Fed that shares its rational using market data and trends with a continued updating of data driven decisions.  Dr. Bernanke is true to his social role of Fed Chairman and  macro-financial professional (perhaps tactical economist captures the style).

Obama in Tucson; a best practice in social mapping - almost.

Take a look at the social mapping of President Obama's speech in Tucson. It is a "best practice" and a benchmark example of what we call 3rd Order communications; going beyond the telling (1st Order) and selling (2nd Order) of most communications. Instead, this speech focuses on stimulating and reinforcing a social network that will advocate the healing of our country.


Take a look at the graphical representation of the presentation social context. We are scoring the social context of the message in the sequence of experience. A very low score of zero (0) means the messagecontext  is about one person. It could be the President sharing his personal feelings as a parent or fellow citizen. It could be his talking about the individual victims. It could be telling a story about the impact of this event on another person. The zero score is the most basic communication emotion to which we can identify and attune ourselves. It is one person to another person. It is why we should care about what happened here and care about how we recover as a nation, one person at a time.

Scores in the 20 and 30 domains are about the families and extending to the community and the city of Tucson. It would be the social context of the emergency responders and the on-site efforts to treat and care for victims. We as listeners can identify and understand that this type of internal terror could happen anywhere in America. We identify within our own families and communities. It reinforces why we should care and why we should be advocates to prevent and reduce the chances of this happening again. It is still personal for each of us.

You will notice a lack of scores in the 40 and 50 domain; the institutional domain. Not much talk about the White House, Congress, Republicans or Democrats, the Gun Manufactures or Talk Radio. There is no "as President" message in this speech; Obama talks to us mostly in his other social roles; as a leader, parent, or American.

There are a lot of 60 scores which is the domain of being American, the USA, and our country. Our social grouping is now at a national level and the imagery and words reflect this level of social attunement. Notice how we go from personal, some family and community to American; the finger pointing is in the 30 to 50 range and the come together is 60 and above.

And what about all those 80 scores? That top score is a larger social grouping than being American; it is about being human, our humanity. Here, the social context is about universal attributes and values we all share; a safe place to converse, our rights to disagree, our civility, our children's right to a life. Obama is almost our national preacher.

While most CEOs and experts communicate in the 20 to 60 range for 70% of the time, here we see very little such institutional telling and selling.



In addition to mapping the social context of the message, we can also map the social relationship of the presenter to the audience. We want to measure three social roles; institutional, professional, and personal. What % of time did the presenter relate to the audience in each role? A typical CEO will spend as much as 80% in the institutional CEO role; the boss. Obama spend about 20% in his Presidential role, about 30% in his professional role of a national leader, and a full 50% in is personal role as a citizen, parent, father and fellow American sharing a dream.


What can we learn from this speech in terms of its social dynamics? Obama demonstrates the social bonding and attunement that can be fostered without reference to one's institutional position. His presence speaks to his institutional role as President, not his words. His words speak to rest of our humanity by way of the social texture of his message and his relationship to each of us.

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QVC CEO presentation is A+ on knowledge and C+ on social branding

Michael George, CEO of QVC, is a walking - talking benchmark on how to present information on strategic topics that touch the customer emotionally.  His explanations and examples of how the Internet has changed the Video Retail business are classic textbook material.  His outline on how social media has changed his retail world in the past 2 years and the plans for the future are for every marketing person to review.  This was a presentation worthy of a Business School Lecture Series and everyone learned something for breakfast (starts at 7:30 at Carey School of Business, Hopkins).  The Grade for content is a BIG A+. Here is video link:
Strategies for Winning in the Digital Commerce Age; CEO QVC

Now for the social branding grade; C+.  What happened?  Take a look at the social signature for the his presentation.

You are looking at the social content flow with personal being at the bottom, institutional in the middle and global at the top. Each section has a different social impact on the social brain and will relate to "liking" and "wanting to follow and support" the brand IF social roles are personal.  Said another way, we want to support social activities we identify with, personally connect to, and trust will benefit our social groups. 

George did a much better use of social range than the average CEO .  His low end (0 - 10 scores) personal dealing with customers was exceptionally swell done,  His very high end Global (70 - 80 scores) was supportive of the emerging social markets across national boundaries.  The setup to build "I want your Brand" and to leave the lecture with enthusiasm for the brand was there; just did not deliver.  WHY?

C+ in 3rd Order (I support your brand) was the result of the social roles George acted out during the presentation.  The social roles are what determine the meaning assigned to everything we experience in a presentation. Our analysis shows George used 20% of the time as CEO, 70% as a Professional Retailer and 10% as Personal.  Most of us do not identify with a CEO or Global Retailer and are just waiting for some type of personal note at the personal level to link with.  George really never shared much that was personal.  Our social advocacy for a brand has to be something we believe in.  George could have shared with us what he believed in; "As a consumer myself, I look for ...", or "Like you, I want to but a trustworthy product from a trustworthy source and for me, my decision to buy my car from...", or "Our best customers tell me that buying with us is personal; it has to speak to me, and I have the same personal experience about our company...".

The social world is forcing a migration in communications from the old 1st Order of TELLING, the 2nd Order of SELLING to the new world 3rd Order of social brand advocacy; "I SUPPORT YOUR BRAND". It may seem counter intuitive that the more transparent, free and rated world of social media requires a very personal communication experience.  We still need to tell and sell, but the new social worlds will not sustain your brand network without leadership in a personal, trusting and open manner.  George is so close to being a really great communicator!

Vint Cerf of Google on Future of the Internet panel

Vint Cerf is also known as a "Father of the Internet" and was a co-designer of  basic protocols and architecture of the net.  The resulting social mapping results were shared with Vint.  This was a public discussion where Vint was interviewed for about 20 minutes on November 4, 2010 in McLean, VA. No video is available.

Conclusion: The social mapping results applauded Vint on the technical literacy he brings to the audience; the opportunity missed was the classic technical focus on content resulting in knowledge gained but without social action of brand reinforcement. 

Here are results:

Social Hierarchy Scale:
80 Global Economy Global Communications

70 Information Economy All Digital comm / data
60 Internet Industry, Internet economy Internet Digital comm/data
50 Internet service companies, Product/service family
40 Google, company, agency, nonprofit Organization, Agency
30 Product Service family, Thread App, Platforms
20 Product, App, Service Community, Social media group
10 Team, work group Cluster, group
0 Self, individual Self, User

Best Practice:

1. Exceptional ability to relate technical complexity as simple interactions and formats
2. Communication styles are relaxed, confident and yet open and a willingness to understand
3. Demonstration of personal commitment to Internet user rights and advocacy
4. Good sense of humor to include self directed
5. Excellent setup for affective alignment with Brand, but not expressed.
6. Much better range of social hierarchy than average techno professional.

Missed Opportunities:

1. Much of the 0 score on the hierarchy was a setup about personal use of web – but was not transitioned to affective domain (how impacts both good and bad at personal level) AND own personal experience as just another web user not shared. Coupling with audience via common Internet experiences not leveraged.
2. Shifting from 80% social role as techno pro (and Sage) to common experienced ID with audience (“we” now means everyone in room has shared experience …) to 40% Techno, 10% Google, 25% personal AND 25% Internet Rights advocate (Good for Humanity).

Recommended Actions:
1. Reframe 25% of social role focused on mission of Google without advocating Google. The Brand is “Good for Humanity”.
2. Challenge audience just before ending to do one activity everyday that promotes the Web AND is good for humanity (live Google)!

% Social Role

80__1. __Professional / Techno / Engineer
10_ 2. ___VP Google Evangelist
10_ 3.___Personal web experience

3rd Order Communications Objectives: 1 low 5 high

5__ People understand your message (Content – cognitive)
2__ People connected emotionally to your message – affective, emotional engagement - necessary personal trust & rapport
2__ People were motivated to social action – sustainable social network that advocates your Brand

CIGNA CEO Social Signature for EMBA Presentation

Communication Insight Mapping Study
Public Event sponsored by the Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins

Executive Summary

Name: David Cordani    Audience: Hopkins     Date: 10/14/2010

Social Signature (Time sequence of presentation vs social framing of presentation)

Social Hierarchy

80 Global/Universal Values
70 USA, China, India,
60 US economy, other national economies
50 Health care, Industries
40 GIGNA, Companies, Agencies, NGOs
30 City, Division, Health sector, client members
20 Community, cluster, specific health service, product
10 Family, work team,
0 Self, personal, leader, runner, patient, customers

% Communication Order

 (What percent of speaker time was experiences in the 3 different communication Orders).

_65__ 1st - Tell

_20__ 2nd – Sell

_15__ 3rd – They Want Your Brand

3rd Order Communications Efficacy: 1 low 5 high

(What score for effectiveness was acheived in the 3 domains of content, emotional enagaement and motivation to social action).
_5_ People understand your message (Content – cognitive)

_3_ People connected emotionally to your message – affective, emotional engagement - necessary personal trust & rapport

_3_ People were motivated to social action – sustainable social network that advocates your Brand

% Social Role

(What percent of speaker time was spent in designated social roles).

_40__1. __CEO__________________

_40__2. ___Leader________________

_20__3. __Personal Health Practice____

Best Practice:

1. Walk the talk !!!! (Very rare at CEO level – credible and trust reinforced)

2. Excellent presentation skills for techniques, NLP etc…

3. Use of GIGNA programs a “good practice” examples – walk the talk!

4. Excellent use of social framing from personal to global. 3 examples are in graph above.

5. Results: Knowledge about CIGNA programs, improved Brand image, no change in personal health behavior

Missed Opportunities:

1. Use of pronouns “I” and “We” neutralized social impact of message. Slow down and define who you are during the presentation; As the CEO, I see… And as a Leader I also see … And as a runner, I see … Audience wants all dimensions of your life AND relate best to personal, then leader and last CEO.

2. Everyone in the room is a health care consumer; now relate and align personal, leader, CEO /social responsibility AS ONE!

3. Perfect setup to get audience to commit to one change in health behavior right now and the Dean will check next month on your leadership behavior!! Make them “deputy CEOs” of their own life FIRST!

Recommended Actions:

1. Define your pronouns for greater emotional and social intelligence impact.

2. Make every presentation goal the same: how do I (all social levels) sustain a social network of CIGNA advocates (the brand) AND change health behavior!

CIMS Coach: Larry Petcovic 410-905-2777 Copyright © 2010 3rd Order www.3rdordercommunications.net

Excellent nonprofit CEO presentation but no change in audience behavior

A recent CEO presentation for a very large nonprofit exemplifies the classic situation audiences experience everyday; a conversational CEO with a great ability to get a good understanding of issues with an audience. The content of the message was understood by all. Yet when I asked audience members what they will do differently concerning the nonprofit (like more likely to buy a cruise adventure) they would reply “nothing”; understanding with no change in behavior.


When you look at the social mapping line graph, the CEO had excellent use of the social range that should have attuned in the emotional and social action dimensions.

What neutralized this presentation? The CEO stayed in the CEO role for 85% of the time. The audience of nonprofit executives had little chance to share in empathy and emotionally engage with the topic. Without emotional engagement, there is no social action to “want the Brand.” Alternative social roles as simple as "fellow business executive", "environmental steward "or "personal commitment to global social responsibility" could have facilitated the understanding into social action. A few words like “forget I’m the CEO, like each of you I have a personal commitment and live my life …” that could have related with this audience.

Lesson learned: communicating in social roles that attunes with the audience will greatly enhance your ability to generate a “sustainable and advocate oriented network that wants your Brand.”  Staying in your institutional role as CEO, Chief Scientist, CFO or IT Director may enable an understanding of issues but is not enough to create a susatinable advocoacy network.