ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — June 27, 2022 — 1. If you are entering the homestretch of an election campaign, and the race is close, I suggest you hit your opponent harder. This doesn’t mean to be nasty. Depending on the cultural context, this can be done elegantly and maybe even implicitly. The key is to draw the lines of distinction clearer. …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Great Congressional Leaders Have Great Staff
By Dr. Louis Perron
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — June 22, 2022 —This week, I continue to discuss the memoirs by John Boehner, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A point that he repeatedly emphasizes throughout the book is the importance for a political leader to have outstanding staff. Some politicians yell at their staff, humiliate them, or throw things against the wall …
By Dr. Louis Perron
About the Power of the Speaker of the House
By Dr. Louis Perron
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — June 5, 2022 — On my last spa day, I told my wellness buddy that I am currently reading the book On the House by John Boehner. “John who?” he asked me. John Boehner was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2011 until October 2015, and in that position, he was the third-highest ranking …
By Dr. Louis Perron
The Key to Effective Feedback Meetings
By Dr. Louis Perron
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — May 30, 2022 — I have learned a general rule about the effectiveness of feedback meetings whenever I present results of a survey or focus group to a client: the fewer people in the room, the more productive the meeting will be. The higher up in the hierarchy the client is positioned (when dealing with high-level politicians, …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Takeaways from the French Presidential Election
By Dr. Louis Perron
Takeaways from the French Presidential Election ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — April 25, 2022 —The French voters have rendered their verdict. Emmanuel Macron has won a second term, an accomplishment which the previous two presidents, François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy failed to achieve. In fact, the last incumbent president to win reelection was Jacques Chirac twenty years ago. I also find it …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Perron Campaigns Election Update: Why Winning an Election Is Less Expensive Than What You Think
By Dr. Louis Perron
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — March 12, 2022 — Winning an election is less expensive than what you think. There are two reasons for that. First, the impact of money in election campaigns is generally overestimated. Hillary Clinton by far outspent Donald Trump, yet lost the 2016 presidential election. Do you remember anything, an ad or tagline, from Mike Bloomberg’s campaign for …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Political Polarization as a Business Model
By Dr. Louis Perron
Political Analysis ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — March 7, 2022 — Two things matter in Washington D.C.: votes and fundraising dollars. A lot has been written about the polarization of U.S. politics, and how factors such as social media or redistricting are the reasons behind it. Here is a totally different way to look at it: polarization as a political business model. …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Dr. Perron in the Korea Times on Presidential Debates and Speaking Skills
By Dr. Louis Perron
Political Analysis ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — February 13, 2022 —Voters generally like debates because they are a rare opportunity to see and compare candidates directly next to each other. Political candidates should therefore take debate prep seriously. This usually starts with the definition of the strategic goals to accomplish. If you do not know what your goal is, how can you …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Why There Is an Increasing Number of Upset Elections
By Dr. Louis Perron
Political Analysis ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — January 17, 2022 —Few pundits would have thought a year ago, that the German Social Democratic Party will become the biggest party again and that the next chancellor would be from its ranks. During the last French elections, the entire political party system collapsed, and an outsider, Emmanuel Macron, became president. And as if it …
By Dr. Louis Perron
Perron Is Handicapping the French Presidential Election for the British Daily Express
By Dr. Louis Perron
Political Analysis ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — January 2, 2022 — As the French will head to the polls later this year to elect their president, remember this: elections with an incumbent are foremost a referendum on the incumbent. Do you play him or trade him? That’s the choice for French voters and it is a consequential one. When voters vote for …
By Dr. Louis Perron