This was an interesting little book that more people should be reading. It is also a book that may be useful for college students and librarians teaching research and information literacy.
The book's description in brief:
"Whether you are flogging tobacco, dealing in oil, pushing pharmaceuticals, denying climate change, or exploiting workers, The Playbook is here to help you obfuscate your way to what you want" (from the book jacket).
The book is arranged as follows:
- Executive summary.
- Denial: a Fiduciary Duty.
- The Arsenal.
- Recruiting University Experts.
- Strategic Communication.
- Challenge the Problem.
- Challenge Causation.
- Challenge the Messenger.
- Challenge the Policy.
- Outside Opportunities.
- Near-Term Threats.
- Appendix.
- Glossary of Terms.
- Notes.
From the table of contents, readers can readily see they key topics a corporate executive needs to know how to deal with pesky journalists, activists, and other assorted troublemakers that could put their corporate stock price at risk.
The book is written in the style of a playbook or handbook. The table of contents provides an easy outline. Each chapter is written in clear and simple language that is easy to read and remember. Corporate executives, especially young ones starting to climb the corporate ladder, need to keep this book handy. However, make sure you do not lose your copy of the book, and whatever you do don't let the media get a hold of it.
The author writes in a light satirical style. On the one hand, the writing style makes the material accessible and easy to read. Chapters are divided in short sections, so it's easy to skim and what find what you need too. The touch of humor makes the messages more palatable. On the other hand, it is written like a corporate handbook, so it can be a bit dry at times. In addition, there is not much analysis of the obfuscations nor much on how to deal with them (that could be another book). For folks in the know, like good librarians, much of this is known already. Yet a strength of the book is that the author lays it out in easy terms. No need to fear excessive jargon.
The book's claims and material is well supported and documented with a good set of notes. If you find yourself reading a passage and thinking "there is no way a corporation did that," check the notes. Not only did the corporation do it, it probably was worse.
As I said at the beginning, this is a book more people should read. It is a book I would hand to my students. If I taught an information literacy class for credit, I am likely to include this in the reading list. I would also say more librarians should read and share it with their patrons.
Overall, I really liked the book, and it was worth reading it. I do recommend it.
4 out of 5 stars.
* * * * *
Additional reading notes:
Why every executive needs this book:
"Every executive should own a copy of The Playbook and hope never to use it. But if there comes a time that scientific knowledge poses a risk to business operations, The Playbook is a guide on whom to hire, how to recruit experts, tips for effective communication, and ways to successfully challenge the science, the policy, and the scientists, reporters, and activists using science to further their policy agendas" (xv).
That is also why every student, librarian, journalist, and activist needs to be reading this book as well. As Sun Tzu advises, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Also, remember as stated in The Playbook, "the central aim of the corporate structure-- the pursuit of profit" (xv).
Why the corporation has the upper hand...for now:
"Fortunately, the number of activists, reporters, and professors interested in this subject is few and there is no institutional support to incentivize researchers who work on denial to act together in any strategic way. To date, there is no top-ranked university that has created a department where experts convene to study scientific denial or consider how to protect science from the interests of free enterprise. Only one major news organization has a designated 'disinformation' unit. There is no undergraduate program of study that prepares students for denial and disinformation" (20).
I did look, and at the time I could not find which news organization the author was referring to in the quote above. Nowadays some news agencies have fact checking units, but the key is none of them can act united nor strategically. And while many information literacy librarians strive to teach, or at least expose, students to ideas of information denial and disinformation, it's just not enough. I also do a bit more in research consults, but that is one student at a time.Again, the author's point about the inability to act in a united and strategic way is crucial and significant.
Corporations do not need to be honest neither do the PR firms and other resources they hire:
"Effective communication need not be honest communication. Unlike the field of journalism, which has historically adhered to a set of standard ethics about the the kinds of information that are acceptable, PR firms have no such standards. They can create and communication any information with little attribution or indication of its origins. PR employees are sworn to secrecy, and are trained in how to persuade as well as inform" (31-32).
On think thanks:
"Think tanks try to capitalize on their earlier reputation as places of imagination but many think tanks today ultimately exist to challenge regulations, draft legislation, fund advertisements, provide expert testimony, influence public opinion, and provide institutional homes for experts whose paychecks ultimately depend on the Corporation" (38).
On consulting firms:
"Consult firms are where public relations and scientific expertise meet. They produce the scientific results to fit the Corporation's needs, including 'product defense' or 'litigation support'" (39).
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