Leadership Romney vs Clinton

Interesting article in today's Times which highlights the different leadership styles of Mitt Romney and Bill Clinton.

Man behind 47 per cent video ‘was inspired by Clinton’

The barman who filmed Mitt Romney rubbishing half the US electorate and who's video was a turning point for Mr Romney’s campaign, as millions of Americans saw the republican candidate deriding nearly half the US electorate as “victims” who did not take “personal responsibility and care for their lives”. 

"According to The Huffington Post, which has interviewed the man, who tweets as AnneOnymous, he works for a company that caters to upmarket parties. At a previous fundraiser where he had also been bartender, he had been impressed by the former president who addressed that gathering.

After his speech, Mr Clinton went into the kitchen and personally thanked the staff, waiters and bartenders, signing autographs and having pictures taken with them.

When the bartender was asked to serve at the Romney fundraiser, he saw his chance to get a photograph with the Republican presidential candidate and took along his Canon camera.

Mr Romney told the assembled guests that the event was off the record but the message did not filter down to the staff and the bartender set his camera on the bar and hit the record button.

In the event, he never got his picture taken with Mr Romney who left without speaking to any of the staff.

But by then the speech was on film and after listening to the inflammatory words, the film-maker said he felt he had no choice but to distribute it.

“I felt it was a civic duty. I couldn’t sleep after I watched it,” he toldHuffPost. “I felt like I had a duty to expose it.”

The lesson for any leader is that if you want to engage with people surprise surprise you do need to treat them like human beings!!!