30 + reasons why your case is not landing, and what you can do about it.

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Yesterday I bumped into an excellent lobbyist and campaigner who has switched to becoming the CEO of a successful company. We chatted about some of the reasons why people don’t get the public policy and political decisions they want.

I’ve jotted down some of the reasons below. They are surprisingly common.

How many can you tick?

Tomorrow, I’ll detail what you can do to remedy them.

  1. You need a Ph.D. to understand what they are trying to say.
  2. They can’t communicate clearly in writing.
  3. They can’t communicate in meetings with officials and politicians.
  4. They offer no viable solution.
  5. They step in late, or
  6. Don’t step in at all.
  7. Provide no valid evidence to support their position.
  8. Have limited or no existing relations with the appropriate decision-makers and influencers.
  9. They are not trusted.
  10.  They don’t understand the decision-making or law-making process.
  11. Don’t speak to the values of their audience.
  12. They are not good advocates.
  13. They are associated with interests that the mainstream keeps away from.
  14. They are not known beyond their fetish community.
  15. They only want to make their point and leave.
  16. They are unable to work with people who don’t have their worldview.
  17. If they are honest with themselves, they are not interested in persuasion.
  18. Don’t have the time to take the meetings and do the work that is necessary.
  19. They dedicate 80% + of their time to internal meetings, rather than meeting decision-makers and influencers.
  20. They think that there is a silver bullet(s).
  21. They have a Messiah complex. They think that they have someone in their organization/company, who is so persuasive, that decision-makers and influencers will instantaneously meet and agree with this person.
  22. They don’t like officials and politicians.
  23. They would rather be anywhere else than trying to persuade an official or politician, often in the R&D lab, sales conference, or University research centre.
  24. They provide information in the wrong form, e.g.the 44-page position paper, and amendments with no justifications.
  25. They turn up to meetings unprepared.
  26. They turn up to meetings without rehearsing.
  27. They assume your audience knows or cares about  their issue/
  28. They are rude, aggressive, or offensive.
  29. They think that logic alone will persuade people.
  30. They think that threatening officials and politicians with vexatious litigation will persuade them.
  31. The political winds are not blowing in your direction.