June 19-20 – “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste” Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

UPDATED
On this past weekend’s radio program, I discussed President Obama’s Oval Office address on the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis. The speech was a failed attempt to follow Rahm Emmanuel’s famous principle, “never let a good crisis go to waste!” Read below. I also discussed entrepreneurial lessons learned along with my business partner, Alan Veeck.

Where is President Obama Leading Us?

In a rare display of bipartisan criticism, liberal and conservative commentators alike expressed disappointment with the speech delivered by President Obama last week. Americans looked to the President for a plan on how to clean up the BP oil spill. But he provided no details. Americans looked to the President to take ownership of this growing environmental catastrophe. But Obama blamed President Bush’s Minerals Management Service. And Americans looked to President Obama to offer hope and a way forward. But he had no way forward and instead claimed that “even if we are unsure exactly what [our destiny] looks like, even if we don’t yet precisely know how we’re going to get there, we know we’ll get there.”

Instead of providing confidence inspiring leadership on the BP oil spill, the President used this opportunity to push for his Cap-and-Trade agenda with no vision at all on how to implement a “green economy.” He failed to acknowledge the specific scientific, economic, and environmental challenges involved with the development and implementation of solar power, wind power and bio fuels. Furthermore, President Obama didn’t even mention the role that nuclear power could play in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

What became clear with last week’s speech is that President Obama has no idea how to stop the BP oil leak or how to repair the resulting environmental damage. But he is using this catastrophe to push for his green agenda. And if he can’t get Congress to pass Cap and Trade before November, he just might try to get the lame duck Congress to pass it after the elections. I believe that President Obama’s less than inspiring words will ultimately define his Presidency. Like President Carter before him, President Obama and liberal politicians generally don’t know where they are, don’t know where they are going, and don’t know how they will get there.

Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned

One of my business partners from Meakem Becker Venture Capital, Alan Veeck, joined me on the program with some entrepreneurial insights. When determining the strength of a particular business plan, Alan and I focus on the micro-economics of the business and specifically on its marketing strategy. Successful entrepreneurs clearly understand their customer (the PERSON they are selling to), build a PRODUCT or service that meets that customer’s needs, properly POSITION their product in the market place so customers find it attractive, make it available at the right PRICE, PROMOTE it in effective ways, and then sell it through the right PLACES (also known as “channels’). Some people call these the Six “Ps” of marketing, but the bottom line is that entrepreneurs, business owners and managers neglect thinking these factors through and making changes over time at their own peril. Success in business is never a given. Effective use of the six “Ps” goes a long way to creating success.

We also discussed the macro-economic environment that businesses are currently facing. Unfortunately, business leaders in the U.S. are operating within an increasingly unpredictable business climate because politicians are enacting irrational and anti-growth policies that result from POLITICAL rather than economic agendas. Steve Wynn, an incredibly successful real estate and gambling entrepreneur who does not typically criticize the government or liberal leaders, recently said that in the face of the onslaught of new spending, taxes, and regulations from the White House and Congress, American business leaders are frozen in their tracks, unable to make business decisions and new investments. He said that China has a more predictable business climate than the U.S! Alan and I agree.

More on the Gulf Oil Disaster

This past week, President Obama demanded that BP place $20 Billion into a government supervised escrow account and BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward agreed during a White House meeting. As I have said in previous blog posts, it is clear that incompetence, poor leadership and poor decision-making by BP led to the disaster, and as a result, BP should pay for all the damage that the ocean gusher has caused to individuals, businesses, and the environment. However, President Obama had no constitutional authority to demand that a separate escrow account be set up. BP CEO Tony Hayward has proven himself to be a weak, insensitive leader throughout this crisis. Hayward and BP have taken responsibility for the disaster and promised to “make it right,” but an effective leader would not be private jetting back to Britain for yacht races and talking about “getting his life back” – not when eleven lives have been lost and hundreds of thousands more disrupted. And a stronger leader would have stood up to President Obama and refused to put his shareholder’s money into a giant new escrow fund without legal precedent or authority. It is time for all real leaders in the United States to stand up and defend the rule of law.

It is frustrating to watch this administration cause so much economic and legal damage to our great country. But the good news is that quality conservative leaders are rising in our political system. I hope that you will support these candidates with your money and or time now and at the voting box in November.

Have a great week and keep your chin up.

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals and our nation can be more successful. Glen’s unique perspective has been shaped by his experiences as founder, chairman and CEO of the B2B internet success Freemarkets Inc – which he founded in 1995, took public in 1999, and sold to Ariba in 2004. In 2005, Glen co-founded Meakem Becker Venture Capital, a firm that invests in early stage start up companies. Concerned about the liberal political agenda that has gripped the United States and his home state of Pennsylvania, Glen launched the Glen Meakem Program in 2008. Glen served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve and is a veteran of the First Gulf War. He also earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about Glen and the Glen Meakem Radio Program, or to read his blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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