Learning from Obama …

I have been watcing the US Presidential election closely for months (years!) now … much to the irritation of my wife.

I am very fascinated by Obama’s election strategy. In many ways I think it is very instructive for start ups (even if he doesn’t win … with I think is very unlikely).

#1. He set a very bold vision for himself … something that inspires him and others around him. Far reaching … but a long term bold vision.
#2. He build his message and USP around being different … changing status quo … and offering a fresh approach … rather than playing it sake by the book
#3. He never deviated from his essential positioning … though adapted the tactics based on circumstances
#4. He made mistakes, but learned from those and never repeated them
#5. Inspite of being down multiple times … he played to his strengths rather than imitate what worked for his opponents
#6. Picked his battles carefully and demonstrated the value of patience … particularly when Hillary supported pressured him to pick her
#7. In spite of endless criticism of being naive or being a dreamer by the “realistic skeptics” … he stuck to his belief that status quo can be shaken up with bold ideas
#8. He appears to he assembled a strong team, that complements him and makes up for his lack of experience
#9. Communicated the status and strategy constantly to his teams … so every one is on the loop … and is always aligned
#11. Cleverly used the internet and voluteers to build a campaign that is inspired across levels … rather than a top down model
#12. Last but not the least, always made sure he has enough cash to fight the campaign for the long term … as most candidates (including Hillary, McCain and Gulianni ran out of money along the way!)

Anyways … it has been a fascinating contest to watch and learn.