A wise person reminded me there is a strong desire by many in political campaigning and lobbying to be “a beautiful loser”.
The desire runs deep to be a beautiful loser. It has many upsides. You sleep well. You have not compromised. You have purity on your side. Those who don’t agree with you are wrong or stupid. You tried your best. And, maybe there is a conspiracy or two that stopped you from winning this time. You can try again in several years when the issue comes up again in the policy cycle. Maybe, you just needed more time to educate them.
There are some downsides. You lose. You don’t get the position you wanted to be taken up. You’ve spent a lot of time, energy and resources, and got nothing like what you wanted. The rules are in place and they are hard to shift once in place.
Two Schools
Political campaigning and lobbying are about the art of the possible.
It is not the place for purists, puritans and the dogmatic. Political campaigning and lobbying are not instruments for monastic purists. The purist is in the business of political conversion therapy.
Some campaigners and lobbyists opt for a strategy that amounts to “it is my way or no way”. They seem surprised when they get nothing but the smoothing embrace of defeat.
Two Paths
There are two paths you can go down.
Path 1 Path 2
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Pre-suasion. Step in early. Frame the debate.
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Step in late, or wait until the decision is made. |
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Use Persuasion
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Preach dogmatism
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Bring real evidence to the table
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Faith alone is needed
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| Bring real solutions to the table |
There is only one option
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Bring positions that speak to the decision-maker(s)
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Who needs a position paper
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Know the journey, use it to your advantage
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Ignore the process, bulldoze through it
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Civility and clarity
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Try rude and threatening
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The path you choose is up to you.