I have been asked what books I’d recommend on lobbying and campaigning.
I am a bit stumped. To me lobbying is the art of political persuasion of politicians, regulators and those who influence them. I am a lobbyist. I have been a lobbyist for all sides, from NGOS, Foundations and industry. The craft and skills are the same for whoever your client is or employer.
Lobbying amounts to effective political persuasion and political communication. I learned this craft from canvassing from an early age, working for politicians, running campaigns, passing laws for politicians and within the Commission. I personally think it takes about a 20 years apprenticeship.
I would recommend the following excellent books:
Political Campaigning
On political campaigning I would recommend two excellent books:
Ed Rollins – Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms: My Life in American Politics
Chris Rose’s How to Campaign
Persuasion and Communication
Persuasion happens by words, whether in the written or spoken form. Being good in both is ideal. Being a good listener though is the rarest and most vital quality.
These books will help you become better persuaders:
Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Speak, How to Listen
Robert Cialdini’s two Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade
Chris Rose’s What Makes People Tick
Learning Machine
You’ll spend a lot of time learning new subjects. You don’t, whatever your clients think, need to know the issue as well as they do. You need to know it as well as you will need to for the meeting with the politician or civil servant. Developing the skills to learn, often quickly, new information and being able to communicate it clearly and persuasively is vital.
Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book provides excellent advice on how to digest and understand new information from books.
Know the Journey – Have the right Guide Books
You really do need to know how laws and rules are adopted and passed where you are working. You’ll need to have a collection of well thumbed guides and primary texts by your desk and the core guides on the area of legislation you work on. If you are not comfortable with these core core guide books, you’ll be walking blind going forward.