Milosevic and Clinton: June 14, 1999 issue of New Thinking

June 14, 1999 New Thinking:
Milosevic and Clinton

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June 14, 1999

Milosevic and Clinton

By Gerry McGovern

What’s the difference between Slobodan Milosevic and Bill Clinton? (There are many.) One has a knack of calling his defeat a victory, the other keeps pulling victory out of impending defeat. Why? A central reason is that Bill Clinton is a child of the Information Age, whereas Slobodan Milosevic’s persona belongs way back in the Industrial Age.

Bill Clinton has continuously overcome obstacles by engaging in a two-way conversation with the American people. He listens. He is always reaching out to his constituency, asking them how things are going, what they think about this and that? Bill Clinton doesn’t ‘rule’. He manages by consensus. And no matter how great his personal failings may be, the American people respond to him because he responds to them.

Slobodan Milosevic rules with an iron fist. Unfortunately for him, iron fist thinking belongs back in the Iron Age. He is a dictator, pursuing xenophobic nationalist policies, and his cruelty is only matched by his untrustworthiness.

Milosevic has a total lack of understanding of the key principles that underpin the Information Age. He still believes that power is maintained by hoarding information, whereas, in fact, today you get and keep power by spreading information around as quickly and efficiently as possible. You can’t keep the public (your workers or consumers) in the dark today; they simply won’t accept it.

Milosevic is rarely seen in public. He hardly ever talks to his people, let alone listens to them. Serbia has little hope of participating in a productive manner in the Information Age, with that sort of archaic system and thinking. Because to survive, Information Age societies, economies and companies must be open and must embrace and share information.

The consumer in the Information Society takes it for granted that the information they require will be available to them. If they come to you and you refuse or are unable to supply them with the information they require, then as I heard someone state, ‘your competition is only one click away.' Not giving a consumer the information they require today is like refusing to give them your telephone number ten years ago.

In fact, the information game has moved on to a whole other level. The free flow of information has for many become a flood. Providing a quality flow of information merely gets you into the game today. You may think your information is valuable but what’s really valuable is a consumer’s time. A key challenge is thus getting the consumer to spend time digesting your information.

Understanding a consumer and developing a relationship with them allows you to know how they spend their time and money. You get to know what their specific information needs are, thus allowing you to customize your information (and product) to their needs.

Whatever you might personally think of Bill Clinton, he is unquestionably a pioneer of the Information Age. He knows that you succeed today by communicating, listening and creating consensus. (19 NATO countries staying unified was no small achievement.)

Gerry McGovern

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Whatever you might personally think of Bill Clinton, he is unquestionably a pioneer of the Information Age.