Looking at the upcoming political agenda of the Commission, it is obvious that a tidal wave of biblical proportions of ambitious climate and environmental legislation is coming.
Whilst the signs are there – Political Guidelines, Green Deal Communication – a lot of people see the next five years as much the same as the last ten on the climate and the environment front.
I guess they are speaking to different people than me. My gut tells me that the climate and the environmental agenda of the von der Leyen Commission will be the most ambitious for 20 years.
And, even if only half of what is on put on the table gets through by the end of this mandate, it will mean a profound change to Europe’s society, economy and environment.
So, looking at what’s about to come out from 10 March, I guessed people were fine-tuning their legislative and policy playbooks to deal with the busiest five years they’ll ever have to deal with.
When I mention it, most people ask what a playbook is? As a former NGO political campaigner, I mention that NGOs have a lobbying and campaign playbook. It is by Chris Rose, and is called ‘How to Win Campaigns’. I was raised on it. If you are serious about lobbying and campaigning, you need a well-thumbed copy of it
If you are about to be hit by a legislative flood of biblical proportions – and it is likely you are – you’d better read it.
Many lobbyists know that NGOs have a playbook. And, even when they discover they can buy it, only a few do, and even fewer read it.
I realise that few people read seriously. I regret this. If the people read it, they’d learn how to deal with the attacks successfully.
If you face an attack from an NGO or a legislative proposal from the Commission – and there are going to be a lot of those soon – most of the time people go down into one of the early stages of grief. Often, it does not move beyond denial. The denial often persists after the law is adopted and published.
There is a different playbook. It amounts to reverse-engineering the NGO playbook. It’s what I use. After all, if it works, why not use it.
You can, if you are courageous, engage with the right people, at the right time in the process, with the right messages and evidence to walk away or relatively unscathed. It’s a playbook that draws on clear checklists, steps, and evidence.
It is an approach only for the courageous and those who really want to win.