As we all have been told, business is about business. Your heart may call you to a business, your spirit will keep you going, but there will be no place for tears on your spreadsheet.
Look at both business and politics. Drive, empathy and gumption are all needed when you are making a sale or winning a vote.
Years ago, 28 to be exact, Hawaii had a fellow running in a tough primary race for governor. His opponent was an empathetic physician, while he was cast as a serial grouch.
Ben Cayetano made it through that primary election, beating Dr. Jack Lewin, in part with a campaign commercial that caught up the conflicts that could explain to voters Cayetano the warmhearted.
The commercial was entitled “Reach for the Moon,” and comes from Cayetano’s remembrance, according to a Honolulu Advertiser article, of what his mother told him when he was leaving for the mainland with then-wife Lorraine and two young kids to work his way through college and law school.
“Boy,” she warned. “Don’t reach for the moon.”
Telling Cayetano to lower his expectations and goals never was the Cayetano story and the 30-minute commercial explores a discussion of Cayetano’s human side, his honesty and his hopes to “bring home” Hawaii’s traditional Democratic voters.
The film from the late political consultant Jack Seigle captured the nuances and complexity in the former governor’s personality.
Now his wife, Vicky Cayetano, is running for governor in the 2022 Democratic primary. Political polls show Cayetano trailing the leader, Lt. Gov. Dr. Josh Green.
Cayetano, Hawaii’s former first lady, has a lot to offer as a serious business person running the state.
Her campaign puts together a coherent package of changes to Hawaii government to address our major problems.
“We need out-of-the-box thinking, resourcefulness, and collaborative, humble, thoughtful and decisive leadership,” she said in a recent campaign posting.
“I am known as being someone who is a problem solver who gets the job done. If I’m elected to office, I will listen to diverse viewpoints and collaborate with subject experts to formulate plans to move Hawaii forward.”
Her approach to working on Hawaii’s housing crisis is the sort of serious, realistic approach that shows the business experience that made Cayetano successful in her position running United Laundry Services.
“I propose a massive five-year recurring statewide affordable rental housing plan to significantly increase the number of affordable rental housing units for Hawaii’s families,” she explains.
Too bad voters aren’t searching for a market analysis or cost-risk ratios when picking their next governor, or Cayetano would have a lock on the job.
Business plans, however, don’t show your soul or what keeps you up all night. Voters need to feel that they know the person they are voting for. Knowledge becomes trust and that turns into votes.
Running a successful business and winning an election are just two different experiences; how Cayetano is able to convince voters her success in one will give Hawaii what it wants for its future is her challenge.
