News & views.
A collection of stories about data, public opinion and politics and news about our firm.
On Strategic Thinking
Yale history professor Beverly Gage offers a thoughtful analysis of the meaning and application of "strategy," a term more widely used than understood. In her view, a strategy outlines how you move toward a goal in the face of obstacles and with limited resources.
Is Facebook Better Off Regulated?
With every new revelation about how Facebook has failed to shepherd its users’ data, Americans’ feelings toward the company have become a bit more chilly.
Making Sense of the Facebook – Cambridge Analytica Saga
As Max Read argues in an incisive New York Magazine piece: "Facebook was being used as it's designed, and that's the problem." Facebook made it remarkably easy to obtain information about its users, who have limited knowledge of what is happening.
“I want to go to the great battlefields of Hue.”
Lamb: “How long will you stay [in Vietnam]?” Caro: I don’t know. That I can’t tell. We stayed in the Hill Country until I felt I could write about the Hill Country…”
What can President Trump Learn From Governor Brown?
The Sacramento Bee published the latest collaboration by David Beier and Andrew Sullivan May 28. In this article, the David and Andrew argue for several categories of Brown lessons for Trump, including vision and values, goal-setting, consistency, mastery of detail, management and delegation.
Letter to the Editor: A Social Compact for Gig Economy Workers
In response to a New York Times editorial, Andrew and his frequent collaborator, David Beier, issue a call for redefining what it means to be a worker. The new definition must include a set of shared principles which address both worker and company concerns, spanning healthcare, education and training.
Automation: Challenges and Opportunities
Alongside David Beier, a venture capital executive who also served as chief domestic policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore, our partner Andrew describes the pressing economic and social challenge posed by workplace automation and suggests several policy remedies. You can read the article on our blog.
Building Government Trust
The business-government relationship is in a moment of high anxiety. And it’s not just the Brexit-to-Trump rise in protectionism; it’s the recent bout of corporate scandal, from Wells Fargo and its Cross-Selling Practices to Deutsche Bank and Mirror Trading, among other examples. This backdrop makes it difficult for business leaders to establish long-term, trustful relationships with government. But, the effort is important and now more so than ever before.
Introducing Hudson Pacific: Data-Driven Public Affairs
We have formed this firm with a single goal in mind: to help our clients win. It may sound simple, but it’s a critical point, and something we consider a guiding principle: we succeed when our clients succeed.
Directing Moneyball Public Affairs Campaigns
The public affairs industry is dominated by old-school consultants who base their counsel on gut instinct or trade on relationships. We have more data and computing power at our fingertips to inform smart decisions than ever before, yet the industry resists a Moneyball upgrade. It’s a confounding situation.
Moneyball Public Affairs
As once was the case in baseball, the public affairs industry is dominated by old-school consultants who base their counsel on gut instinct or trade on relationships. A recommendation that client engagements should be built on a foundation of data is often met with blank stares. “What could a poll tell us that we don’t already know about a client’s situation?” But without evidence, how do you know your advice is sound?