Doing the unexpected – re-priming your audience

This morning among a torrent of news stories on the state of the world was a feature regarding the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, and his “full court press” in shifting the public perception of the role of the Federal Reserve. For months, with the turmoil of the global economy and the near collapse of the US-based financial markets, the Federal Reserve has been wrestling a pubic perception that it has not done enough to protect the livelihood of those most vulnerable in this time of pervasive economic hardship. They are seen as a secret and somewhat menacing organization, one that appears primarily interested in ensuring the well-being of the vested interests of the investment banking community.

This morning’s news, while not earth-breaking, is actually a significant departure for the Federal Reserve and the role of the Chairman in particular. It certainly has the media in a a bit of a frenzy.

Essentially, Mr. Bernanke is attempting to re-frame how the public sees the role of the Fed. As the New York Times noted, “In a profound departure from the central bank’s tradition as an aloof and secretive temple of economic policy, Mr. Bernanke has plunged into the public spotlight to an extent that none of his predecessors would have contemplated.” The previous Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, while a rockstar in the financial services and banking worlds kept quite a low profile. His appearances on Capitol Hill and his infrequent public pronouncements increasingly developed the power to move markets quite dramatically. All of which added to his perceived power.

Mr. Bernanke, on the other hand, has found himself in the unenviable position of having to justify his actions in a more public manner in order to maintain his right to hold sway over monetary policy. While the Federal Reserve’s span of authority has been greatly increased in response to the economy, the inability of the Fed to prevent the turmoil in the financial sector has meant that Mr. Bernanke needs to re-position the value of the Fed. This need arises in the face of an increasingly vocal constituency who are advocating restrictions in the Fed’s oversight responsibility, or additional Congressional oversight. Both of which would place monetary policy into a partisan political environment and would ensure decision drag.

In this light, Mr. Bernanke’s move is not only the right one, its success is vital. His response to the changing conditions of his role and the role the Federal Reserve plays in securing the United States economic health through the judicious application of policy has required that he reinvent the perception of both. You’ll note that the prefix “re” has been appended to quite a few words. With good reason. The implication is that priming requires understanding the current perception (and the ways in which it is reinforced) so that you can address it and change it in meaningful manner. In Mr. Bernanke’s case this may be an uphill battle.

How does this relate to innovation and the power of priming?

In order to introduce new perceptions, ideas, processes, systems, products or services, you need to prepare to willfully introduce change. This is a disruptive endeavor. To do that successfully you need to understand the context into which you are going to introduce that new concept. The key is to start with the current state. What do you actually observe? What do you hear? What do you feel? How do all those inputs form a complete assessment of the current state? Only with that in mind can you then begin to re-position the new concept in relation to and supported by the existing primed state within your organization. From that position you can change and influence what is possible or probable, expanding the range of acceptable change.