Hearts & Minds: You turn if you want to, I’m just negotiating

Two elected leaders, two vastly differing communications approaches, both flip flopping. That is where the US and UK are at present.

In the US, Donald Trump is one moment imposing punitive tariffs, the next he is pulling back. In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer is reversing his government’s stance on the winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap appears set to be scrapped. The former presents conceding as triumph and is seen as strong; the latter is weak and stuttering.

It is not a question of mandates. Trump and Starmer each won resounding election victories.

No, it is more to do with their contrasting methodologies. Trump oozes self-confidence. Generally, not always, it works. He confronts issues head-on, fronting up himself. He is direct and to the point, speaking to the press. He is not afraid to turn climbdown into success.

Starmer is naturally more hesitant, favouring lengthier exposition. One is a hard-nosed negotiator, for whom pretty much everything is transactional; the other is an experienced lawyer who relies upon reason and detailed explanation.

Their stakeholders knew that when they were chosen. With Trump, the phrase that is often used, is ‘you see what you get’. In Starmer’s case, that is also true except it is not so obvious. To use the vernacular, Trump is more in your face, Starmer is not.

The Trumpian style works, for now. There is a lot to be said for a company chief handling comms themselves – one early, noticeable effect of the new Trump era is the number of CEOs speaking and appearing in their own videos. It provides authenticity, a human connection.

Society no longer allows its rulers to hide; it demands quick responses and answers; senior figures are expected to display responsibility and empathy. If your brand is subjected to a crisis, you must say so and share - not all but enough.

Where the struggle comes is if the backdrop is unremittingly bad. In the UK, M&S has received plaudits for the way it has dealt with the cyber-attack. CEO Stuart Machin has signed off bulletins ‘Stuart’, the company has sought to involve customers and partners in its struggle, building on a reputation for trust. Things might have been very different if the firm’s underlying results were not so positive.

The hare and the tortoise. Neither is perfect. Somewhere in-between is probably best.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.