Eric Edelman - Department of Defense

Eric Edelman is Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. According to whitehouse.gov: Ambassador Eric S. Edelman is the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. His last assignment was as Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey from July 2003 to June 2005. From February 2001 to June 2003, he was Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs. Prior to being assigned to the Office of the Vice President, he was Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, 1998-2001. From June 1996 to July 1998, he served as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State. Mr. Edelman was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Prague, Czech Republic, from June 1994 to June 1996. From April 1993 to July 1993, he served as Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State on the New Independent States. Mr. Edelman’s areas of responsibility were defense, security and space issues. Mr. Edelman served as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Soviet and East European Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) from April 1990 to April 1993. From April 1989 to March 1990, he was Special Assistant (European Affairs) to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Mr. Edelman served at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow 1987-89, where he was head of the external political section. He had responsibility for Soviet policies in the third world in the Office of Soviet Affairs at the Department of State from 1984 to 1986. Previously, Mr. Edelman served as Special Assistant to Secretary of State George P. Shultz, 1982-84; a staff officer on the Secretariat Staff, 1982; a watch officer in the State Department Operations Center 1981-82; and a member of the U.S. Middle East Delegation to the West Bank/Gaza Autonomy Talks Delegations, 1980-81. A career Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense’s award for Distinguished Civilian Service (1993) and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (1990 and 1996). Mr. Edelman received a B.A. in History and Government from Cornell University in 1972, and a Ph.D. in U.S. Diplomatic History from Yale University in 1981.

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The CEO’s Dilemma; A Year After Lehman’s Demise

Written by msandler on

From: marshalsandler.com

I had breakfast this morning with Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly (disclosure: friend and client). He told me about his soon to be released book, Leading in Turbulent Times, based on recent interviews with thirty CEOs across Asia, Europe and North America. Just after the fall of Lehman Brothers and AIG bankruptcy, boards asked CEOs to “hunker down” and conserve cash. There were almost no CEO changes for the ensuing six months. Now that stability has apparently been achieved in the global economy, the pressure from boards of directors for short term performance is unrelenting.

Kelly gives four principles for CEOs seeking to achieve optimal performance:

1) Be visible, to your employees, customers and investors
2) Utilize your soft skills, not just the hard ones. Learn how to be “soft” in hard times. Top performing CEOs have high Emotional Quotient, not just superb intelligence
3) Communicate, then communicate even more
4) Think long term—invest in research, top talent, new products

It is interesting to hear a top recruiter acknowledge that skills in PR are central to success for a CEO.

Kelly’s book covers common ground with the new study from the Arthur W. Page Society and Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics (http://awpagesociety.com/site/resources/awp_trust_report) called The Dynamics of Public Trust in Business—Emerging Opportunities for Leaders. After a description of the drivers of trust (mutuality, balance of power and safeguards), the report goes on to recommend five steps to re-build trust:

1) Create values for enterprise and assure adherence
2) Maintain strong relationships with mediating institutions
3) Embrace transparency
4) Explain contribution the firm makes to society
5) Work with others in your line of business to build trust (lowest common denominator theory)

How can a PR person reconcile these two pieces of intellectual capital? Recognize that trust is premised upon action and communication. Great companies are expected to deliver returns to shareholders and make a contribution to society. Trust recovery depends on cooperation between business, government and civil society (note recent Edelman Trust Barometer findings of co-dependence of business and government trust ratings—for the first time!). CEOs are important but not sufficient voices for their companies, as engagement is created by mid-level employees with serious knowledge of products and less perceived bias to exaggeration. Repetition of story and co-creation help to establish credibility of content (people have to hear, see or read a story five times before believing it—average person has eight sources of news daily). We are designing our Edelman Trust Barometer 2010—if you have any ideas for great questions, please send them along soon as we go into the field in October.

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