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Our "Flirtatious Old Man" in Paris

You well know my bias, especially of late, that it's the nuts and bolts of relationship development and maintenance that make all the difference in outcomes of issues of tactical and strategic importance. Nothing has been of greater importance in American history than acquiring an ally in the Revolutionary War. That essential ally was France, and one can say in this rare instance that the efforts of Ben Franklin in Paris are almost single-handedly responsible for bringing the French on board. In its Independence Day issue, U.S. News & World Report reviewed Franklin's masterful performance, and a performance it was. The following is extracted from the article "In Paris, Taking the Salons by Storm: How the Canny Ben Franklin Talked the French into Forming a Crucial Alliance":

"In the same bitter winter of 1776 that Gen. George Washington led his beleaguered troops across the Delaware River to safety, Benjamin Franklin sailed across the Atlantic to Paris to engage in an equally crucial campaign, this one diplomatic. A lot depended on the bespectacled and decidedly unfashionable 70-year-old as he entered the world's fashion capitol sporting a simple brown suit and a fur cap. ... Franklin's miracle was that armed only with his canny personal charm and reputation as a scientist and philosopher, he was able to cajole a wary French government into lending the fledgling American nation an enormous fortune. ... The enduring image of Franklin in Paris tends to be that of a flirtatious old man, too busy visiting the city's fashionable salons to pursue affairs of state as rigorously as John Adams. When Adams joined Franklin in Paris in 1779, he was scandalized by the late hours and French lifestyle his colleague had adopted, says [Stacy Schiff, in A Great Improvisation]. Adams was clueless that it was through the dropped hints and seemingly offhand remarks at these salons that so much of French diplomacy was conducted. ... Like the Beatles arriving in America, Franklin aroused fervor—his face appeared on prints, teacups and even chamber pots. The extraordinary popularity served Franklin's diplomatic purposes splendidly. Not even King Louis XVI could ignore the enthusiasm that had won over both the nobility and the bourgeoisie. ..."

I guess this makes it less surprising that in the current issue of Time, in the cover story on Nelson Mandela's leadership "secrets," one was the great man's smile!

Grand Strategy may be of significant importance to an earthshaking success, but the likes of skill in the salon and a great smile often as not are the key ingredients of that "last 98%," persuasion and implementation.

Tom Peters posted this on 07/17/08.

Comments

‘Like the Beatles arriving in America, Franklin aroused fervor—his face appeared on prints, teacups and even chamber pots.’

Thanks Tom – this sentence reminded me for a wonderful, emotional filled, moment, of the stuff my brother, sister and I had in our house as teenagers in the 1960’s … tea towels, trays, mugs, calendars … all adorned with images of John, Paul, George and Ringo. I’m sure John O’Leary for one will agree The Beatles were/remain one of (if not our greatest) export from these shores to the US – and of course the ‘Fab Four’ came across the pond in peace :-)

Sorry to take the discussion away from the talented Mr Franklin who must have been a master politician/tactician/strategist … but most of a wonderful communicator who understood the importance of the ‘soft stuff’ and how ‘soft’ is quite clearly ‘hard’ as TP reminds us regularly.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 17, 2008 5:10 PM

"Grand Strategy may be of significant importance to an earthshaking success, but the likes of skill in the salon and a great smile often as not are the key ingredients of that "last 98%," persuasion and implementation."

LOVE IT!

The beauty to me here is that we expect entertainers to be able to woo others through the power of their personality. We do not necessarily expect the same of world leaders. They are, after all, world leaders.

What this post clearly shows, with the likes of Ben Franklin and Nelson Mandela, is the with which we are perceived draws others in and makes the difference in results. Thank you.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 17, 2008 8:46 PM

Franklin compared to the Beatles? Two vastly different levels of importance, I'm thinking.

Have been reading a bit about Dr. Franklin recently and he was for a long time the toast of London--until he became a combination scapegoat and pawn in about 1774. He was the agent for four colonies, including Massachusetts, during the Stamp Acts and the Townesend Acts. When he returned to America he believed he had been a miserable failure in preventing the king and his ministers from pushing the colonies into rebellion. Far from the suave, self-assured master of intrigue he is portrayed as being while in Paris, he was full of self-doubt about his ability to accomplish anything meaningful. The point being that even those who accomplish great things and are reverred through the ages are human and often do not see their role as "clearly" as do those who come after.

Posted by mike at July 21, 2008 1:42 PM

Very nice, Mike. Thank you.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 21, 2008 2:02 PM

I think you are so right Mike. Truly great leaders quite often don’t recognise or describe themselves as ‘leaders.’ In my opinion the most outstanding quality of the best leader is humility, maybe even a bit of self-deprecation. On the other hand arrogance and ‘Knowing I’m a good leader’ usually means that person is not.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 21, 2008 3:26 PM

Trevor, let's not forget sincerity. As George Burns famously said, "once you can fake that, you've got it made!"

Posted by mike at July 22, 2008 10:30 AM

Mike - That's a great quote from Mr Burns. I agree sincerity must be in the top 3 qualities of a leader.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 22, 2008 3:37 PM

Sincerity? Hmmm?

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 22, 2008 3:44 PM

Sincerity? – absolutely. Sincerity for acknowledging when one makes a mistake, sincerity in admitting the mistake and sincerity of personally apologising for the mistake. One can do no more – as TP has often written even the greatest leaders through history have at least one almighty mistake on their CV.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 23, 2008 8:22 AM

Mistake - an incorrect idea or opinion; an error in judgement.

Hypocriscy - falsely pretending to be virtuous; insincerity.

The best leaders undoubtedly make mistakes; I would also hope that they would be most sincere, even when being sincerely wrong. But hypocrisy is quite another thing.

A hypocrite or one with an abundance of weaknesses will say one thing to someone and the exact opposite to someone else, often times to gain some particular advantage or to just get along.

Sincerity?

Hypocrisy?

Perhaps both.

The best leaders are sincere, honest, humble, brave, confident and talented.

Ben Franklin and Nelson Mandela are certainly among these.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 23, 2008 9:56 AM

Sincerity or Hypocrisy? - I hope and believe a person is best judged by those who know them well and by their record of sincerity – or not - over time. I do not speak for others but I learn best through self-assessment of actions and working to correct faults. Hypocrisy is found out if it is a part of one’s personality and style.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 23, 2008 10:26 AM

As leaders, we are judged by our actions and deeds..period. Personality and style can both be hypocritical.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 23, 2008 10:56 AM

Agreement is one thing, actions quite another. Best...

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 23, 2008 2:25 PM

I see that Trevor's "I agree, Judith" was deleted. He apparently did not like my response. "Agreement is one thing, actions quite another."

Now, was that deletion offensive? Not even. I guess he didn't want to appear to be agreeing which I assume he took as a "mistake." I guess the topic can officially be closed.

Trevor - I'll see you around the bend. Best.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 25, 2008 10:14 AM

Hi Judith - we commenters are unable to delete comments – I assume it was deleted by TP Blog administrators – I don’t know why. I agree totally with your comment "Agreement is one thing, actions quite another" - All the best Judith. Actually on the comments RSS feed my comment 'I agree Judith' is still there. Spooky ….

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 25, 2008 10:39 AM

All the best as well...

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 25, 2008 10:50 AM

judith, trevor, no one deleted any comments here.

Posted by erik hansen at July 25, 2008 4:48 PM

erik – Spooky - you will see that one comment has definitely been deleted if you look at the RSS feed – not a problem as far as I am concerned - but somehow it got deleted – maybe divine intervention :-)

This is how it looks on RSS feed:

Comment on "Our "Flirtatious Old Man" in Paris"
23 July 2008, 17:48:16
I agree Judith.
- Trevor Gay

But as Judith correctly points out .. that comment has disappeared from the comments box.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 25, 2008 6:02 PM

erik - It's all good!

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 25, 2008 8:36 PM