Conjecture 1: The beginning

Doctrine 1: Framing. How to shift frames?

Question: what do you think of when you hear the word framing?

How do you get an emperor to walk in the nude in public? How do you get his employees to carry his invisible coat? How do you get an entire people to line up and applaud?

Who considers ‘the new clothes of the emperor’ a nice albeit not a spectacularly thrilling fairy tale will perhaps say: “Well, a story about a vain figure who believes the first lie.” That lie itself is a classic example of a syllogism: who doesn’t see the clothes is stupid (A=B). You don’t see the clothes (C=A). Ergo: You are stupid (C=B). There are also people who consider the tale a powerful metaphor of communication, Framing: how to shift frames and belief. They will have noticed the spin doctors, the leader, de executive staff and the followers. Not that this last group has in any way a better point than the other group that just considers the emperor a little bit stupid, but nonetheless it’s fairly easy to recognize the contours of ‘war’ in the view of the latter: leaders and their propaganda, executioners and followers or applauding civilians. The only group that fails in the story are the victims. They don’t in war however. Also one recognizes the skeleton of many corporate scandals. At Enron for example, the staff followed the uncovered cheque of the Board of Directors (Ken Lay cum suis). The stockholders were cheering with joy. Many victims here too, among which all the employees who lost their jobs and pensions, due to a complete lack of integrity. Sometimes the corporate silence is broken, in the tale by the child, itself (not yet) part of the adult frame C=B, and nobody wants to demonstrate in public his own incapacities. The process that follows is comparable to the earlier process: what used to be hurrayed now gets reviled. The tale hides many questions. With all of us, academics, professionals, politicians, journalists and everyone interested in the matter, I would like to discuss these questions the coming weeks. Wouldn’t it be nice if you joined in the debate!

Next time: Factual inaccuracies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo7mT_Ijx5E

Literature: Sherron Watkins, 2004, Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron

You tube: Sherron Watkins: The Lessons of Enron: The Importance of Ethical Corporate Leadership.

Literature: Sherron Watkins, 2004, Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of EnronDoctrine: framing