Too many people do not understand power or authority.
They too often think that power comes from a title. They too often think that authority comes from a position granted by others. They do not understand that power and authority comes from one's ability to get the people who work for or with you to do the things you want.
And to get those people on board one must have a vision, and one must be able to get others to believe in that vision. If the buy-in is low, the results often are even lower.
Donald Trump and Paul Ryan just ran into that reality.
Let's take Donald "The Closer" Trump first. The co-author of "The Art of the Deal" thought that every deal he made was based on his personal prowess. He was The Donald and everyone, especially real estate people and bankers, wanted to work with him. He was the brash, high-profile scion of real estate, the marble and gilded king, a man of billion-dollar deals.
That many of his creditors had to fight for 10 cents on the dollar after he filed multiple bankruptcies was not important. Being a part of The Donald's orbit was enough. After all, financial losses can be hidden in balance sheets or slipped into a tax return as a loss and, thereby, a tax deduction that allows one to pay a lower tax rate than a secretary making $35,000 a year.
Style -- even when it is gauche -- trumps substance. (Please pardon the pun.)
Then there is Ryan, an Ayn Rand devotee.
Ryan thinks PowerPoint presentations, an unctuous frat-boy smile, and the ability to talk -- okay I'll just say it -- bullshit makes a thinker. And when the media is desperately looking for a conservative intellectual, even a lightweight will do.
But then comes reality Washington style. Being a bully, thinking that everyone wants to be your friend when several of the people you are dealing with have egos larger than yours, and they believe that you are where you are because they gave too much credence to political polls . . . . well guess what? They do not have to work with you.
You think you can threaten me? Bring it. I know my rubes better than you do.
Oh, you think that fooling a lot of liberal pundits and reporters into thinking you are a budget genius makes me kowtow to you? Think again because I know your Wisconsin rubes as well as I know my rubes.
And I'm in a safe district. Are you?
So Donald "The Closer" Trump and Paul (I Really don"t care health plan) Ryan discovered that in Washington everyone is a self appointed king who does not have to listen to anyone.
Today, Trump and Ryan were given a lesson in the fact that one can only bully the fearful. But will that lesson sink in?
They too often think that power comes from a title. They too often think that authority comes from a position granted by others. They do not understand that power and authority comes from one's ability to get the people who work for or with you to do the things you want.
And to get those people on board one must have a vision, and one must be able to get others to believe in that vision. If the buy-in is low, the results often are even lower.
Donald Trump and Paul Ryan just ran into that reality.
Let's take Donald "The Closer" Trump first. The co-author of "The Art of the Deal" thought that every deal he made was based on his personal prowess. He was The Donald and everyone, especially real estate people and bankers, wanted to work with him. He was the brash, high-profile scion of real estate, the marble and gilded king, a man of billion-dollar deals.
That many of his creditors had to fight for 10 cents on the dollar after he filed multiple bankruptcies was not important. Being a part of The Donald's orbit was enough. After all, financial losses can be hidden in balance sheets or slipped into a tax return as a loss and, thereby, a tax deduction that allows one to pay a lower tax rate than a secretary making $35,000 a year.
Style -- even when it is gauche -- trumps substance. (Please pardon the pun.)
Then there is Ryan, an Ayn Rand devotee.
Ryan thinks PowerPoint presentations, an unctuous frat-boy smile, and the ability to talk -- okay I'll just say it -- bullshit makes a thinker. And when the media is desperately looking for a conservative intellectual, even a lightweight will do.
But then comes reality Washington style. Being a bully, thinking that everyone wants to be your friend when several of the people you are dealing with have egos larger than yours, and they believe that you are where you are because they gave too much credence to political polls . . . . well guess what? They do not have to work with you.
You think you can threaten me? Bring it. I know my rubes better than you do.
Oh, you think that fooling a lot of liberal pundits and reporters into thinking you are a budget genius makes me kowtow to you? Think again because I know your Wisconsin rubes as well as I know my rubes.
And I'm in a safe district. Are you?
So Donald "The Closer" Trump and Paul (I Really don"t care health plan) Ryan discovered that in Washington everyone is a self appointed king who does not have to listen to anyone.
Today, Trump and Ryan were given a lesson in the fact that one can only bully the fearful. But will that lesson sink in?