And who are these wise men whom Clinton called in his hour of need? The toothy, perfectly coiffed Robbins pushes a wildly successful line of books and videocassettes on his widely aired infomercials. He purports to teach instant success through “concentration of power” – that is, thinking really hard. At corporate seminars he walks barefoot over hot coals and then gets paper pushers to follow suit. Robbins, who won’t comment on the specifics of his meeting with the president, says he wasn’t surprised to get the big call – a lot of his southern California-based business is geared toward helping “people who are already good at what they do get better.” Clinton will add Oval Office luster to a list of Robbins’s associates that already includes Andre Agassi, Princess Di and Tommy Lasorda. High-profile clients get a full treatment called the “cognitive evaluation system,” which covers everything from their diet to their mental state. Customers fill out a detailed questionnaire and then fax Robbins daily progress reports. Robbins says he helps these people discover what they do when they function at their best. He then “re-engineers” their lifestyle so that they always function at “peak performance.” For acomplete treatment, Robbins says, business bigwigs pay $1 million or more. The presidential house call, though, was free of charge. Robbins patriotically volunteers that he is “pleased to help the country.”
Celebrity cheerleaders aside, Robbins has plenty of detractors. This year his lawyers say he settled the last of five lawsuits brought by former distributors of his video seminars who accused him of reneging on promises for exclusive marketing rights. Robbins’s conspicuous consumption – he presides over an oceanside mansion inDel Mar, helicopters to his Palm Springs vacation home and dresses in dazzling suits – has also drawn fire. Dr. DouglasLaBier, who directs the Center for Adult Development in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit research center, says Robbins is full of “bulls–t.” “Robbins’s vision of success – money, pools and the like – is outmoded and dangerous,” he says.
Covey, the author of the mega-best-seller “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” is more low key. He still lives in his modest family home in Provo, Utah, and is more in line with mainstream American values, say self-help industry analysts. Covey, a devout Mormon, likens his teachings to a secular version of his faith’s solid virtues. In other words: be upright, do good, and you will be rewarded. His spokesperson says that whenever Covey talks to leaders, he asks them to write “a personal mission statement,” a concise summary of their goals and values. (Perhaps Covey, unlike the president’s own aides, can get Clinton to focus his message.) Covey’s stock is high in Washington these days. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, for one, swears by him.
Will the gurus be able to help the president right his course? Robbins is hopeful and is “watching for signs” that Clinton has “changed his values system.” One thing is certain, however. These meetings won’t help the president’s credibility. As one observer close to the White House asked: “Is Jeanne Dixon next?”
