Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Sponsoring Pay for Performance Act of 2009

By Eric M. Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®


The media ask questions. That’s their job. Your job is to answer questions. On your terms, to be sure, from your perspective. But you better have answers that make sense and have substance, especially to the audiences you’re targeting. Good reporter-interviewers will really dig in if you don’t (and, sometimes, even if you do). Adequate preparation is mandatory. You owe it to yourself, at the very least.

Now, I’m a big fan of his, but i'm not going to make any excuses for Fox Business Network anchor Neil’s Cavuto’s verbal behavior in the video below; he could’ve and should’ve done better. But I do understand his frustration.

The interview is with Florida Cong. Alan Grayson regarding the bill he’s sponsoring to give the government (translation: the treasury secretary) power and authority to decide on pay restrictions for all employees at every level of a company receiving federal bailout money. Apparently, the bill does not set a floor or a ceiling; it gives no real guidance, leaving that to the discretion of the secretary. It sounds like a poorly conceived knee-jerk reaction to the AIG (and other) bonuses.

Grayson went on Cavuto's program, no doubt, to promote his bill. Instead, he found himself on the defensive the whole time. What you will see is a solid example for why any business executive who interacts with media of any kind should resist ever following the example of a politician, especially one so ill-prepared.