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LeadershipPower Sheet

Power Sheet: Is Trump a Bumbling Incompetent or a Canny Disrupter?

By
Geoff Colvin
Geoff Colvin
and
Ryan Derousseau
Ryan Derousseau
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Geoff Colvin
Geoff Colvin
and
Ryan Derousseau
Ryan Derousseau
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 11, 2016, 9:54 AM ET

Donald Trump will likely announce his VP pick this week—the Republican convention starts a week from today—and I have nothing to add to the one zillion words that have been written about it. Whoever his choice, it will further stoke a larger argument that’s worth pondering for any leader: As a candidate, is Trump a bumbling incompetent or a canny disrupter?

The latest addition to the “incompetent” argument is this Washington Post piece describing in persuasive detail how Trump squandered the golden gift of FBI Director James Comey’s takedown of Hillary Clinton’s judgment and behavior. In a disciplined campaign, Trump would have talked about nothing else for a week. In reality, he went off-script within 24 hours, ranting about his retracted Star of David tweet and praising Saddam Hussein. Those remarks dominated the media coverage of Trump in the days after Comey’s statement. What should have been a great run for him turned into a terrible one, and Trump has never gained the momentum he should have built from the FBI news.

Oh, and remember the State Department Inspector General’s scathing report on Clinton’s email practices, released in May? Maybe not, because within 48 hours Trump made his speech denouncing Judge Gonzalo Curiel for his Mexican ancestry, which instantly dominated the political news. Another gift thrown away.

The only problem with the “incompetent” argument is that if it’s valid, Trump should be hopelessly behind in the race. Instead, he’s just slightly behind and clearly still competitive; the latest Real Clear Politics poll average shows him trailing Clinton by 4.5 points. Thus the “disrupter” argument. It holds that Trump is a viable candidate, having won the Republican nomination by a massive popular-vote margin over his closest competitor, Ted Cruz, because he has reconceived running for office.

Specifically, he’s following three precepts that violate conventional wisdom but now work powerfully: 1) Attitude is more important than policy positions. 2) Anger counts for more than logic. 3) Real-people language—genuine real-people language, not the fake variety that some politicians affect—is more valuable than sounding statesmanlike. Conventional candidates can’t even think in those terms. That, and his success so far, are the signs of a successful disrupter.

My take: Both arguments are valid, and the “incompetent” view will prevail. Trump’s disruptive strategy will attract a lot of votes, but as the most disliked nominee in modern history, he won’t attract enough to win. Nonetheless, we can be certain that politicians of both parties are studying the Trump phenomenon and how they can apply its lessons in their own careers.

Love him or hate him, the disrupter side of his performance has revealed important realities about the U.S. public. All leaders, not just politicians, will have to pay attention.

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What We're Reading Today

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Elizabeth Holmes pushed positive spin to employees
Details of the Theranos CEO's efforts to respond to problems at its Newark, Calif. lab have begun to come out. Holmes kept employees in the dark; many learned how dire Theranos' situation was when the decision to void two years' worth of lab test results was made public. It's indicative of a culture of secrecy that Holmes built within the organization. On Friday, the government announced that Holmes will be banned from owning or running a lab for two years. WSJ

Walmart fights Prime Day with free shipping
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CEO that offered $70,000 minimum salary to his employees...
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Hackers are spreading malware via Pokémon GO
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Quote of the Day

"The best interests of our country inspired me to stand for the leadership. I believe that in leaving the EU a bright future awaits, where all our people can share in a new prosperity, freedom and democracy. The referendum result demonstrated a clear desire for change - strong leadership is needed urgently to begin the work of withdrawing from the European Union. A nine-week leadership campaign at such a critical moment for our country is highly undesirable." —Andrea Leadsom  The Telegraph

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About the Authors
Geoff Colvin
By Geoff ColvinSenior Editor-at-Large
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Geoff Colvin is a senior editor-at-large at Fortune, covering leadership, globalization, wealth creation, the infotech revolution, and related issues.

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By Ryan Derousseau
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