Most defeats in campaigning and lobbying are self inflicted. The seeds of defeat are planted early on.
A lot of the time, you find it hard to move on beyond finding out that someone does not back your position. I’ve never found this a problem. I expect it. So, I simply adapt.
Just saying you are against an ideas, proposal or position – from the Commission, Member State, or MEP – does not mean much. You need to evolve.
After all, ideas, proposals and decisions change a lot.
Don’t do this
You can have two options. You can work to bring about change or accept events.
What most sides do – NGOs and industry – is a mix of complaining, moral indignation, denial, shouting in the wind (or today a response on Twitter), sometimes throwing in a bit of conspiracy theory.
You can complain as much as you want to, but it complaining won’t get you very far.
It may make you feel better, but that feeling will last only a short while, and it will have no impact on changing the direction of travel.
You can wail like a banshee in a padded cellbut no-one is going to hear you. If anyone heard you, the wailing wouldsound so incoherent and deranged, it is probably better that no-one heard you.
Anyway, it does not work. The tingly group think satisfaction it brings does not help decisions get changed.
So, you need to move on, from denial and indignation. As a rule of thumb, give yourself about 30 seconds to wallow in self-pity.
Some Tips to get what you want
I have found it is suprisinglyt easy to get a lot of what you want. If you want to change decision makers minds, you need to try something new, something that works.
Tip 1: Speak to them
It makes sense to work out why they are not listening to you. A lot of the time, they can’t hear you because you have never spoken with them.
If you can’t be bothered to communicate with someone in a constructive and pro-active way, the chance that they’ll learn what you want to communicate about is well slim.
If your attempt at communication is a mix of rudness and passive aggression, don’t be suprised that whatever you sayt is noted and disacreded.
Tip 2: Does it hit the mark
It makes sense to check back in with your audience and ask if what you said make sense to them.
If it does not, ask why, re-calibrate, and adapt.
It does not make sense to continue using a narrative that does not hit the mark.
Tip 3: Use real evidence
It really helps to come forward with evidence . By evidence, it helps if it is real evidence, not just pub facts, or research with the academic standing of Trump University.
You are often dealing with technocrats, and as a tribe, they like real evidence.
The evidence should follow the guidelines set down by any legislation or their own guidelines, like the Better Regulation rule book.
Tip 4: Make sure your case is clear
It helps that when you present your case and evidence, it is in words that don’t require a Post-Doc in the field to understand your position.
This is a surprisingly common mistake. Water boarding officials or politicians with dense text does not make your case stronger, it just makes it incomprehensible.
Tip 5: Bring a real solution to the table
You need to bring a viable solution to the problem to the table. It does not have to be a McKinsey study. Real life examples and ancedotes are fine.
If you can’t be bothered to provide a way out by showing a clear alternative solution, please don’t be surprised if you find your work ignored.
Tip 6: Turn up on time
You need to bring your case to the attention of the right people, in the right way, and the right time.
Waking up about an issue until after a decision has been made is pointless. It is surprisingly common.
The trick is that there is a lag between when decisions are made and when the decision is made public. For example, if you ignore inter-service consultation and contact Commissioners on the day of the College meeting when the decision on you issue is being adopted, you are too late.
You need to retro-engineer the decision making timelines. If you work backwards, you have a good idea of what you needto do, and by when.
Tip 7: Set aside 20%
These are two rules of thumb I learned in my late 20s when campaigning.
It’s a good rule of thumb to spend 20% of your budget on research.
It’s a good rule of thumb to have 20% of your budget on free spend.
If you don’t invest in research, you are going to find out that you are basing your advocacy on false grounds. Just because you think something to be true, and even if it seems plausible that it is true, does not mean it is true. And, if you run ahead without checking your case, you are going to be caught out, usually at worst time possible.
You may think that spending 20% of your project’s resources is too much. If you throw 100% of your resources into something that flops, you will find out how expensive failure is.
At the start of work, budgets are assigned with seeming pin-point accuracy. Some people are so smart that they know exactly how much money they will need for an action in 15 months time. They are kidding you and themselves.
Most of the time, opportunities will come out of seemingly of out the blue. If you don’t have the resources to deploy to harness serendipity, you will miss some of the best chances to win you have. So, set aside 20% for when luck knocks on your door.
Tip 8 – Have a plan
If you have don’t have a campaign or lobby plan, you are guaranteed to fall short. In my experience, this is most accurate indicator of success or failure from day one. Most campaigns don’t have one, so fail.
Tip 9: Base your planning on reasonable worst scenario
Base your planning on the reasinable worst case scenario. If you base your planning on the basis that everyone you deal with is going to support you, you are going to be in for a shock.
Don’t be a manic-depressive doomsayer.
Look at the opportunities and supporters with cold detachment.
Just because your political allies in the EP back you, does not mean you are going to get a majority. Have a look at Vote Watch EU to see how similar issues have been voted on.
Tip 10: Plan ahead
You can’t influence decisions already taken, but not made public. Too often effort is made trying to change things that won’t be changed.
If you want to change a decision, you need 2-3 months to move the needle.
Tip 11: Be civil
Go and speak to the people making the decisions, and be nice and constructive when you are doing it.
Decisions often go somebody’s way because they are civil, pleasant, and constructive. People give the benefit of the doubt to nice people.
If you want to wreck your chances, try a bit a bit of passive aggression, grand standing, and rudeness. I’ve found this the number one technique that people engineer their own self defeat.
Tip 12: Go to the Centre
Don’t embrace the political margins. Decisions are made in the centre. When the political margins embrace your cause, it is likely your case will be rejected by the majority mainstream.
Tip 13: Mimicry
Try this mental trick. Look at things from the perspective from the person you are trying to get their support.
Mirror the style of their memos. Don’t do font 10 for 5 pages. Font 12 and 1-2 pages, annexes allowed.
Read back their own guidelines, manifesto, and rule book and use it as the basis to back your position. It is harder for someone to reject their own rule book.
I’ve used Mises, Gramsci and the late Pope John Paul II to support backing the same amendment with 3 different political groups. They all backed the amendment.
Tip 14: If they don’t back you, find someone else to make your case
A lot of the time, someone whose support you need is not just going to back you. Don’t waste your time trying to change their mind,.
Find someone who can persuade them to change their mind instead.
I’ve found a call from Prime Minister or President can have a powerful way of changing the direction of votes or proposals. A gentle reminder to a MEP from a Minister or Shadow Minister from back home, can be a helpful reminder of a Party’s official line on a vote.
Sometimes, the caustic wit of a leading columnist, leading coverage from the FT or the Economist can help decision makers change their minds.
For reasons unknown to me, with a lag time of a few months, a major piece in the National Geographic, leads to Damascus like policy conversions.
Tip 15: “If you don’t know where you are going, then it does’not matter which road you take, does it.”The Chersire Cat, Alice in Wonderland
Follow the map of the policy or legislative journey but realise the map is not the territoiry. The territroy changes in small ways for each journey. But if you ignore the map you are going to get lost.
Whilst ancient navigation maps were often secret, guarded by mariners, today’s maps are public, if little read. If you want to consult the maps, a local guide will help you.