Weekly Update 07-13 Dec 20
Clips on media/communication, national security, politics, sports, and pop culture worth knowing about in the days ahead.
At Provision Advisors, we prepare your team for the challenges, and 'what-ifs' you never thought you'd encounter--specializing in strategic communication planning, crisis communication, and media coaching for senior-level leaders and communicators. We look forward to hearing from you.
--Bashon Mann, Chris Servello, John Schofield
For more information on how we can help your team email us or click here.
Top Clips
The 10 most important things I’ve learned about trust over my 100 years
By George P. Shultz, for the Washington Post George P. Shultz is a former U.S. secretary of labor, treasury and state, . Dec. 13 marks my turning 100 years young. I’ve learned much over that time, but looking back, I’m struck that there is one lesson I learned early and then relearned over and over: Trust is the coin of the realm. When trust was in the room, whatever room that was — the family room, the schoolroom, the locker room, the office room, the government room or the military room — good things happened. When trust was not in the room, good things did not happen. Everything else is details.
Finding Strength in Decline
By Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., for Foreign Affairs President-elect Joe Biden will enter office at a crucial time for the U.S. military. After decades of focusing on minor powers and substate actors, the United States must prepare for a new era of great-power competition with China and, to a lesser extent, with Russia. That realization makes the new administration’s review of U.S. defense strategy the most important of its kind since the end of the Cold War.
Can our democracy survive if most Republicans think the government is illegitimate?
By Pippa Norris, for the Washington Post
America faces a legitimacy crisis. Some 60 million Republicans deny Joe Biden’s victory. In an Economist-YouGov poll two weeks ago, 78 percent of President Trump’s voters claimed that the presidential election was unfair, 75 percent believed that the transition process should not begin and 79 percent said Trump should not concede. The president welcomes this belief and pressures local officials to reverse the outcome. Congressional Republicans support him. Parts of the country are filled with “Stop the steal” protests. Rush Limbaugh talks about secession. Will Republicans ever believe that the Biden administration rightfully holds power?
This Is the Test of Our Lifetimes
More Americans have died from Covid-19 than perished in four years of combat in World War II. By Nicholas Kristof, NYT
This should be a season of hope: We will shortly be getting a highly effective coronavirus vaccine, and the pandemic should wind down in the coming months. Yet this is the most wretched holiday season of my life.
First Coronavirus Vaccines to Head to States, Starting Historic Effort
Distributing supplies is a daunting logistical challenge, involving sophisticated tracking equipment, military contingencies and tight security.
By Abby Goodnough, Reed Abelson and Jan Hoffman, New York Times
At Novant Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., the new ultracold freezers are ready — enough to eventually house more than 500,000 doses of the first coronavirus vaccine approved in the United States. In Los Angeles, the Cedars-Sinai medical center has installed extra security cameras to protect the secret location of its soon-to-arrive supply of the vaccine.
How to Build Trust in the Vaccines
By Brendan Nyhan, for The Atlantic This week is coming to a close with truly miraculous news: In the coming days, Americans across the country are expected to begin getting vaccinated against COVID-19, a virus that emerged just a year ago. But even miraculous vaccines do little good for public health if people refuse to take them. What will persuade millions of Americans to take these new vaccines, which were developed and tested in record time?
What Post-pandemic Repair Could Look Like
By James Fallows, The Atlantic
The pandemic ravaged America’s big cities first, and now its countryside. The public-health and economic repercussions have been felt everywhere. But they have been hardest on the smallest businesses, and the most vulnerable families and communities.
The election is over; Trump’s attacks will linger
By Julie Pace, Associated Press
The 2020 presidential election is over. But President Donald Trump’s baseless efforts to undermine it, and the consequences of those undemocratic actions, will linger in America for far longer. It is increasingly clear that there is no fact, no piece of evidence and no court ruling that will dissuade Trump from trying to mislead Americans about President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. And Trump has hardly been alone in that effort; numerous Republicans have stood with him or stood by silently, including 126 GOP members of the House who backed a bid to get the Supreme Court to invalidate Biden’s victory in four key states.
America’s military needs an innovation overhaul
By David McCormick and James Cunningham Earlier this year U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown issued a dire warning for the service to “accelerate change” or “risk losing a high-end fight.” The same could be said to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Space Force: America’s military is at risk of losing its technological edge and its position as the dominant fighting force around the world. Once unmatched in its ability to research, develop, and field world-class weaponry, the United States military has over the past decade found itself in a race with competitor states for mastery of new technologies.
LISTEN: DEFAERO Andy Marshall Strategy Series w/ Admiral Mike Rogers [Dec 12, 2020]
Adm. Mike Rogers U. S. Navy (ret), former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency. During his service in uniform, Rogers held positions afloat and ashore around the globe focusing on cyber, intelligence, maritime operations and national security. He is currently supporting various companies in the private sector, speaking to business groups and working internationally in the cyber and national security arenas.
The Problem With the SecDef Purity Test
You don’t want a general, a man, a war veteran — and everyone in the defense industry is evil?
By Kevin Barron, Defense One
So, you don’t want a general to be defense secretary. You don’t want anyone who has worked in the defense industry. You don’t want a man. You don’t want anyone who supported a prior war. You don’t want anyone who carried out their duties in Iraq or Afghanistan. You don’t want — what exactly do you want?
Listen: DEFAERO Report Daily Podcast [Dec 10, 2020]–Navy’s Plan for the Future Fleet Plan
On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests Bryan McGrath of The Ferrybridge Group, Defense & Aerospace Report’s own contributing editor Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello, a founder of Provision Advisors (and Defense and Aerospace team member) discuss the Navy’s recently released 30-year shipbuilding plan.
We Must Do More to Stop Dangerous Doctors in a Pandemic
By Richard A. Friedman, NYT
It’s bad enough when our political leaders promote quack theories about coronavirus and its treatment; but what do we do about the doctors who enable them and use their medical authority to promote pseudoscience?
Are Older Workers Retiring Early In This Recession?
By Christian Weller, Forbes
Job growth is slowing amid surging coronavirus infections. Many workers 55 years old and older are leaving the labor force in droves, while others keep working, even at high risks to their health and that of their families.
Social Media Hashtags: Protecting Your Brand's Reputation and Trust
By Pierre DeBois, CMS Newswire
On social media knowing where to connect with people can occasionally feel unintuitive, particularly if you are new to it. Hashtags have long been the answer for people seeking connections on specific topics easier. But as the public increasingly adopted social media platforms, the need to guard hashtags from abuse rose.
Where Did the Commute Time Go?
By Andrew Kun, Raffaella Sadun, Orit Shaer,& Thomaz Teodorovicz, for Harvard Business Review
The Covid pandemic forced most workers to stop their daily commute to and from work. So what have they done with that “extra” time? It depends. Independent employees with no managerial responsibility have largely been able to spend more time on personal pursuits, but managers have just ended up working more. The authors provide the details of new research on these patterns and then suggest ways for managers to maintain a healthy work/life balance while doing their jobs from home.
In your first client meeting, don’t ignore the budget
By Matt Stewart, PR Daily The new client dance is a tale as old as agency life. The first call with a prospective client begins. With a bow, we introduce ourselves. First, a round of banter to build rapport. The music starts and we begin in earnest. The client takes the lead, describing what they’re looking for, their news pipeline, the contours of their executive bench, their business goals. The PR firm takes a spin in front, explaining why they’re different, how they work, relevant case studies. We get into a groove, start building a natural back and forth, and lay the foundation for what could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
What Chasing An Olympic Dream Can Teach About Public Relations
By Reyne Quackenbush, Forbes
It began at the age of seven at the local YMCA. I was a fearless kid jumping off the diving board, seeking a thrill. What started as fun, flipping and twisting, eventually turned into years of pursuing athletic excellence and chasing an Olympic dream. My performance at the Olympic trials didn’t quite end the way I imagined (I didn’t make the team), but with each passing year, I find myself more appreciative of the experience and the lessons learned along the way.
Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to score in a Power Five football game
By Glynn A. Hill, Washington Post
Sarah Fuller made history again Saturday, when she became the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game by kicking a pair of extra points in Vanderbilt’s 42-17 loss to Tennessee. “I was just super excited when we got that touchdown. I was ready to go out and roll,” she said. “The guys were super pumped up and encouraging, so I was very excited to get out there and finally do what I’ve been training for the past few weeks.”
What’s lost when minor league baseball leaves
By Barry Svrluga, Washington Post
For 25 summers from a perch in the press box high above Dunn Field, Marty Chalk served as the public address announcer and official scorer for his hometown Elmira Pioneers. They were a short-season Class A team in the New York-Penn League — which, as of this week, we should call the defunct New York-Penn League. Wade Boggs and Curt Schilling played their first professional seasons there. Earl Weaver managed four summers there. Don Zimmer was married at home plate there. There’s baseball history there. Elmira, N.Y., is an old manufacturing town by the Chemung River, where Dunn Field sits on its banks. What does minor league baseball mean to a town like that?
Time: 2020 Person of the Year
By Charlotte Alter, TIME
To get past the stage-door entrance of the Queen theater, you need a negative COVID-19 test and a particular type of N95 mask. You have to promise not to eat or drink inside, and answer a questionnaire about your recent whereabouts, and then comes the Secret Service protocol (the sweep, the wands). Once you’re in, the floors normally sticky with spilled drinks are instead dotted with distance-marking tape for reasons that are obvious: this is where President-elect Joe Biden is basing his transition, and President-elect Biden takes COVID-19 very, very seriously.
Kevin Love Responds To Kyrie Irving Calling Media ‘Pawns’: ‘A Sure Sign Of Disrespect’
By Adam Zagoria, Forbes
After Kyrie Irving appeared to call the media “pawns” who were not worth his “attention” in a post on his Instagram story, his former teammate Kevin Love reacted. “I'm thankful that we're all working, you guys are all working. I think that goes without saying right now. I love this game. We've been able to pull this off, we're still able to do this,” Love told reporters on Friday.
And Finally...
