For Whom the Polls Toll

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: Halloween Hell

Competency: creativity

Who benefits: for amusement only

Consultant Usage: none that I can think of

What’s it about? Tonight in the USA there will be the usual ghost, goblins, monsters, and spooks roaming our streets.  They will be seeking treats or they promise to trick you.  This year there will an additional abundance of scary characters roaming our streets and airwaves.  These creatures will be dressed as politicians.  They will be playing Trick-Or-Treat with your mind.  They will promise you many Treats over the next two or four years.  They will assure you that all the Tricks will be played by the other characters.

Yes dear readers, it is Silly Season again.  Fortunately the best treat that Halloween brings is an end-in-sight to the endless pandering that has been going on for over a year.  Or is it four years now?  Maybe the key word is endless.  Anyway in seven more days we can go back to moderate insanity.

Yes, in seven more days the Elections will be over.  Everything will be different and nothing much will change.  That’s the American way.  The only real question left today is who will win the Big One.

Which brings me to Silly Season Part II.  Who will win?  Professional pollsters have no doubts.  They all promise that absolutely candidate X will win (plus or minus 7%).  Fox News predicts Romney will finish in the top two.  An unnamed Blogger predicts Obama will win by more than the total votes cast.

How many millions (billions?) are spent on these polls.  Whose poll do we trust?  Is any poll trustworthy?  Are polls just another way to influence our voting patterns?  And for goodness sake isn’t there a simpler way to make an accurate prediction?

Well at least in the area of polling there is good news.  Cheap, accurate Presidential Polls are available.  Retailer Spirit Halloween updated its “Spirit Halloween Presidential Index” on October 15, which has accurately predicted the past four presidential elections based on the number of masks sold of each major candidate.”

Perhaps you are a sports fan and would like to go with a “football predictor”.  Look at the results of this upcoming weekend home football game involving the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers.  If the Redskins win, the President is safe.  Lose and he is out.  This last home game before the election predictor has been right on in every election but one since 1936.

Want more?  How about the Scholastic Magazine vote?  Kids have been right 16 of the past 18 elections.

Spooky huh?

Happy Halloween.  Make sure you know who is behind the Mask.  And don’t forget to vote.

Catch you later.

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.