Daniel Lippman was kind enough to invite me to participate in this Q&A for POLITICO Playbook Plus as I celebrated my birthday this year. Thought I would cross-post here.
POLITICO Playbook Plus BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: David Almacy, Bush WH and Edelman alum now PR and digital strategist
11/25/2016
How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom?
“Since my birthday falls on the day after Thanksgiving this year, I plan to spend it with family — assuming that we aren’t still in a turkey induced tryptophan coma. We will probably stick pretty close to home on my actual birthday but may take a trip to Williamsburg to check out the holiday decorations over the weekend. Also, no cake for me. Bring on the apple pie and vanilla ice cream!”
How did you get your start in politics?
“I was a White House intern in President George H.W. Bush’s Administration while in college. After graduation, my first job was in the broadcast services division at the Republican National Committee feeding audio news actualities to overnight radio engineers during the 1992 cycle. After volunteering on the Bush 2000 campaign, I served in the U.S. Department of Education and as White House Internet Director for President George W. Bush.”
What’s an interesting book/article you’re reading now or finished? And why?
“Based on recommendations by two of my friends Gerrit Lansing and Tyler Brown, I picked up a copy of ‘Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World’ by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. In the book, he discusses lessons learned during his military career including how specific leadership principles can be used to optimize success for small groups charged with solving complex challenges. It’s an excellent read and I highly recommend it — especially as we head into the next four years.”
What is a trend going on in the U.S. or abroad that doesn’t get enough attention?
“Our family spent a week in London this past August. I was quite impressed with the digital integration in the United Kingdom such as ubiquitous Wi-Fi, interactive experiences at Parliament and museums like the Churchill War Rooms, easy monetary transactions on the Tube and a restaurant that was fully digitally automated from placing an order to food delivery. Of course, some of this technology is already available in the U.S. but it was notable that as a modern global city, London has invested in ways that we haven’t yet.”
What do you think a Trump presidency/Trump America will look like?
“Well, one thing is for sure. Whether you supported him or not, Mr. Trump has consistently surprised most, even his most ardent detractors, with his success as a politician. I can only hope for the sake of our country’s future that he surrounds himself with good people and that this trend continues.”
What’s your morning routine?
“My daily schedule is pretty straightforward. I’m usually up at 6:45 a.m., check email, then a quick scan of headlines and social media. I drop my daughters off at school then coffee, email again, turn on cable news, and plan the rest of my day which usually consists of conference calls and client work. On weekends, I can usually be found on the soccer field.”
What’s a goal of yours for the next year?
“It seems that most goals typically revolve around self improvement or ambition to improve one’s status in life. All that is fine but I choose to look outwardly in 2017. For me, I am going to try and slow down and invest more time in others. As the great philosopher Ferris Bueller put it, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’ Good advice. We all have a lot more in common than we often care to admit. Instead of thriving on divisions, we all should just slow down, listen to each other, work together, focus on solutions, seek compromise and be thankful for the blessings we have — not just during this holiday season but year-round.”
Source: POLITICO Playbook Plus
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