Before and After the Polls Close: Insights from Bruce Mehlman’s 2024 Page Annual Session

Here are four key takeaways for communications and business leaders.

Populism and Anti-Institutional Sentiments: Mehlman emphasized that the populism and anti-institutional sentiments witnessed around the world are a "predictable, recurring bug in democratic systems." He explained that when the operating system, policies, parties, and institutions fail to evolve, it leads to disruptive periods that challenge the status quo. This trend has manifested in the rise of populist leaders and movements, both on the left and the right, who have capitalized on the public's frustration with the perceived failures of traditional institutions. Business leaders need to understand that the underlying issues are structural and require innovative change to address.

The Need for Engagement and Preparedness: Mehlman emphasized the importance of businesses and organizations being proactive and engaged in the political landscape. He shared his experience working with clients who were caught off guard by the potential impact of political events on their operations. "If you're dealing with Government Relations two decades ago, you were doing a merger, an acquisition that was controversial or something terrible has happened," he said. Mehlman urged attendees to have a diverse team at the table, a well-defined process for responding to political issues, and a focus on actions that create tangible value rather than just reactive statements.

Evolving Roles of Chief Communications Officers: Mehlman highlighted that the roles of chief communications officers (CCOs) are becoming increasingly multidimensional. "CCOs have extraordinary roles, but the roles are changing," he said. "They're becoming more multi-dimensional. You guys are going to have to know more things about more different areas and play in ways that I don't think the corporate diagram, the boxes would have suggested two decades ago that CCO had to know about, had to think about, had to play on." This highlights how, as the world is becoming increasingly complex and fragmented, the role of CCO is becoming more elevated, and fraught.

The Rising Risk of Disinformation: Following a question from the audience, Mehlman dove deep into the risks surrounding disinformation. He noted how people overestimate their ability to identify disinformation, and how educated people may be at even higher risk of overconfidence. To become more resilient against falling for disinformation, he recommended having a balanced media diet that exposes you to moderate perspectives on all sides. Regarding the risks that business faces with disinformation, Mehlman stated, “In the CCO world, you are expected to respond in real time, but have less certainty that you are responding to reality than you ever have. Good luck with that.”

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