The Qatar chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO Qatar) yesterday hosted Roger Fisk, a key political operative of President Obama, as part of their business workshop series.Fisk gave a presentation of the Obama 2008 election strategy, giving a unique and personal insight into the groundbreaking use of social media to secure community participation and high voter turnout.He stressed the importance of having a strong vision from the outset and gave a heartening account of how an underdog status can be overturned in the face of established competition.Fisk commented that the questions raised by the entrepreneurs at the end demonstrated a high-level of awareness of US politics and technological advances. “It was a wonderful exchange with some really engaged young leaders. We had a great discussion about social media, grassroots organising and how to compete in and win in the 21st century. I think the participants really appreciated some of the connections between our own campaign and its online tools and how they can be put to use in their businesses in Qatar,” he said.Fisk is widely acknowledged to have played a key behind-the-scenes role in the election of current US President Barack Obama. By deploying an innovative campaign strategy and using new-age communication techniques including social media, savvy web usage, and by cultivating grassroots relationships with regional and local political actors, Fisk placed President Obama’s first presidential election campaign far ahead of the opposition.