Just because you have watched Miss Sloane does not make you a good lobbyist.
Too many lobbyists rest on what worked in the past. That no longer is good enough. Thankfully, the Brussels Bubble is not DC, so what worked for Miss Sloane or her opponents in DC is not going to work in Brussels.
Advice worth listening to from the Godfather of Comitology
This morning, I attended excellent training from Daniel Gueguen and Vicky Marissen from PACT on ‘Secondary Legislation: understanding the process and using it strategically”. The training is excellent and I’d recommend it. A lot has changed in Brussels since 1975 when Daniel Gueguen started.
Since the Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009 the rules of the game have changed. Too many are unaware the game has changed.
There is a slide near the end of the training entitled ‘the 8 dimensions of EU public affairs’. It spells out the skills set needed for the modern and effective lobbyist.
- Legislative Monitoring
- Business intelligence
- Procedural analysis
- Strategy
- Networks
- Coalition
- Lobbying
- Communication-Media
I’ll give my take on each below
- Legislative monitoring.
You need to know where your issue is. If you feed in late you are not going to influence a thing.
I think this needs to be done by a by a mix of two things.
First, you need to keep an ear to the ground on your key files. You are going to need to speak to the people who work on the development of your files regularly. I recommend providing them with a lot of useful information, rather than just asking for things. I put the ratio at 10 to 1.
Second, you can retain a trade association, agency or monitoring service. I like EU Issue Tracker. There are lots of good services out there.
I think a mix is useful.
2. Business intelligence
This is the non-public information. This includes the voting lists and 4 column documents. This is key to represent your interests well. This will depend on your network.
3. Procedural analysis
If you don’t the current procedure you may as well shut up shop. You need to walk around in your head how both:
- the Commission adopt proposals
- how Better Regulation works;
- how your particular area of legislation comes to decisions,
- how RPS, Delegated acts and Implementing measures work
- how ordinary legislation works, and
- for some areas, like workers health and safety or financial safety, there are more elaborate procedures.
This is a lot to walk around with. If you don’t want to walk around with it, you’ll at least have a ‘bible’ that explains the procedure. I have two copies of a variety of bibles at work and at home as basic reference books. They are there to answer the most obscure question, day or night. I find it useful to double up on reference books. There is nothing more annoying forgetting the voting numbers late at night and finding the answer close to hand helps put the mind at rest.
4. Strategy
Strategy is one of my least favorite words. It is too abused. For me, it is not a series of random acts retroactively cobbled together as a strategy, usually after the campaign has ended. There is an easy way to tell if there is a strategy. Just ask for the written plan. As to what should be in the plan read this post.
If you don’t have a strategy that is written down, you are going to lose.
5. Networks
You don’t need to be connected to large networks. If you have good connections with all the key decision makers and influencers in your area, there is no point dissipating your energy.
But, however brilliant you are, mixed with boundless energy, you will need to draw on others to inform you.
If you want to better understand the power of networks read ‘Connected’.
6. Coalition
If you want to win today, it helps to work as a part of a coalition. WWF has used this vehicle to bring together players who want to push progress forward and set the agenda. Their gameplay is the ‘smart zone’ framing the future. Their success rate is very high.
7. Lobbying
I am going to go out on a limb here. Lobbying is not about internal meetings. Lobbying is about having a face to meeting with the people who make decisions or influence decisions.
If you don’t like people or find it hard communicate clearly with this audience, I think it is better you go and do something else. A surprising number of people get into lobbying who really don’t like politicians or civil servants. I had a wonderful client who just did not like politicians or civil servants. The main challenge was to get them not share their views on why our audience had opted for a fallen path.
8. Communication- Media
The bad news – the 8-page position paper is no longer effective. I am not sure it ever worked.
If you can’t appeal to the values of the person you are communicating with, it is better to shut up shop now.
You have to be totally honest. If you lie, you are a lost cause.
If you think social media is ‘novel’, it is time to consider a new career path.
The world is always changing. It is time to adapt. Find out what influences and persuades your target audience. What worked in 1973 when the Denmark, Ireland and the UK joined the EU may not have stood the test of time. Things change, so change with it.
Does your lobbyist have these 8 qualities?