Everett Dirksen

"Get out in front and lead the parade": turn a weakness into your pitch

A PE firm in Washington, D.C. wasn't taken seriously next to New York. Rubenstein used Senator Everett Dirksen's line about leading the parade when you're being run out of town, and pitched Carlyle as the firm that best understood companies affected by the federal government.

“Well, Senator Everett Dirksen used to be a Senate minority leader, said famously, when you're getting kicked out of town, get out in front and pretend you're leading a parade. What does that mean? It means take advantage of the situation you're in. So I said, we're in Washington. We understand that companies heavily affected by the federal government better than the guys in New York. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't, but it sounded good.”

Steal thisList your biggest perceived handicap, then rewrite it as the specific edge only you can claim.