Stakeholders and Constituency Building:The Foundation for Corporate Political Strategy

Public Policy, Politics, and Constituency Building

Dr. Michael D. Lord

The Washington Campus

Washington, D.C.

© 2010, M.D. Lord

The Playing Field: Levels & Arenas of Analysis & Action

Levels of analysis and action International National (federal) State Local

Focus on the federal level – the trump card

Arenas of analysis and action Executive Regulatory Judicial Legislative

Focus on the legislative arena – the trump card

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Playing the Game:The Tools of the Trade

Informational and influence tactics Political contributions Advocacy marketing Professional lobbying Executive lobbying Constituency building

All are part of the political mix and policy process

Why focus on stakeholders and constituency building? Holistic & strategic Effective & ethical Links and enhances

all other tactics

Ultimately, the trump card and the goal

© 2010, M.D. Lord

PersonalBeliefs &Ideology

Desire toRepresent

Constituents

Self-Interestin

Re-Election

What Influences Legislators?Priorities, Policies, & Politics

Arepoliticiansirrational,unethical?

Understandpolitical

rationality,responsibility!

© 2010, M.D. Lord

‘Altruistic’ LegislatorServe Constituent Interests

Self-Interested LegislatorGet Elected or Re-Elected

Listen to,Are Concerned with,

and Respond toGrassrootsConstituentFeedback

Listen to,Are Concerned with,

and Respond toGrassrootsConstituentFeedback

Why Does Constituency Building Have So Much Influence?

© 2010, M.D. Lord

The Currency of Politics:Power, Influence, Money

Power Influence* Money

$ ≠ votes $ ≠ policy $ often necessary $ rarely sufficient

All part of the mix, but not the same

Are politics crazy? Economics vs.

emotion Reality vs.

perception Rationality vs.

irrationality

The logic of politics The bottom line

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Better Understanding Constituency Building

The system is responsive, but imperfectly so Grassroots taps into both public policy makers’

self-interest (electoral) as well as their altruism The result is that grassroots activities are

singularly effective for influencing public policy Unlike other political activities, there is simply

no substitute for constituency building If you do not have good grassroots, you may

not be competitive in the public policy arena

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Politics and Public Policy:Management Maxims

Politics (and much policy) is decided by…

The Number

x

The Effectiveness

…of activists (‘lobbyists’) on either side

of a campaign or issue.

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Constituents

Eligible Voters

Registered Voters

Actually Vote

ActivelyParticipatein Politics

Limited Political Participation = Constituency Building Influence

© 2010, M.D. Lord

When, Where, Why Do Grassroots Work Best?

Grassroots most effective for simple messages, simple informational and influence tasks ‘Binary’ tasks – e.g., vote yes/no, include/delete Professional and executive lobbying often more

effective for detailed informational and persuasive tasks – e.g., specific legislative content matters

Grassroots more effective in House One ‘unit’ of grassroots spread thin in Senate Senate up for ‘review’ only every 6 years Executive and professional lobbying relatively more

effective in the Senate than in the House

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Grassroots: Party & Ideology

Business grassroots more effective among Republicans versus Democrats Business grassroots = more natural constituency

for Republican policy makers Union grassroots among Democrats a big plus But… It’s the swing, in-the-middle MoC that matter

Employees and local civic leaders as strongest grassroots and ‘grasstops’ assets Employees have the message and motivation:

“My job is at stake!” Local civic leaders cut through the noise and

present a credible, sympathetic compilation of constituent interests and sentiments

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Legislator’sRe-Election

Constituency

Corporate & IssueStakeholders

• Managers• Employees• Suppliers

• Distributors• Customers• Community• Competitors

• Ad hoc

Targeting and Focusing Grassroots Coalitions

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Rich communications and rich media are the most influential forms of feedback In-person Washington, DC office visit In-person home office visit Personal phone call Personal letter Fax E-mail Petition Mass mail

Grassroots Communications:The Medium Matters

Cost-benefitanalysis andappropriate

resourceallocationnecessary

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Grassroots Communications:System Overload

Earlier warnings proved correct Grassroots bandwagon became an arms race Too much of a good (bad) thing? Growth of Astroturf with lots of ‘fertilizer’

The insidious role of e-mail and the Internet Explosion of e-mail, little decrease in other media No increase in resources, time, attention of policy

makers and their offices to cope with the overflow Cheapening of the dialogue, too much noise

Increased cynicism, skepticism, tuning out

© 2010, M.D. Lord

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

DC visit Homevisit

Letter Phonecall

Fax E-mail Petition Massmail

?

Communications Frustrations

Is it a sincere letter?A ‘spun’ form letter?Spam? Junk mail?From the district?

Outside?Who cares?

I don’t have time.Why bother?

Post-9/11 changes

??

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Real Grassroots Versus Electronic Astroturf

Conflation, confusion of noise, Astroturf with real, ‘good’ grassroots deflates effectiveness Organizations have used lower-quality grassroots

constituency building (including Astroturf) more than tapping into and activating their real grassroots and grasstops resources

The data reflect real phenomena and real frustration that grassroots constituency building strategies and tactics must understand and deal with to be successful

You can’t fake it. It’s a waste. You’ll regret it.

© 2010, M.D. Lord

From E-mail & Internet toTwitter: Are You Serious?!

Still powerful (unparalleled) for internal organization, communication, activation

But CMF, CongressOnline et al. unrealistic Even most sincere, authentic, and personal

messages still may get lost in all the noise E-mail will never be a rich exchange medium Its very easiness, cheapness, and quickness are

precisely its weaknesses “Have your e-mail talk to my e-mail”

Except e-mail for personal, established contacts, grasstops (non-public e-mail)

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Quality Communications = Effective Policy Influence

Need for increased emphasis on quality and differentiation to cut through the noise

Grassroots, grasstops ‘bundling’ Linking grassroots with rich, personal grasstops Limited time, attention, focus of policymakers

Reach out and touch someone… The telephone: A great grassroots device! It’s rich, attention-getting, not easily faked, and not

easily ignored! Increase in role, influence of home offices

© 2010, M.D. Lord

(Good) Grassroots Never Really Goes out of Style

“Today, more than ever, Washington lobbyists simply give the signal for the real “lobbying” pressure -- letters, telegrams, phone calls, and even visits from the folks back home.

This pressure, most Congressmen find, is more effective than anything a half a dozen Capitol Hill influence men could do, and the lawmakers couldn’t curb it if they wanted to.”

-- Wall Street Journal, March 12, 1956, p. A1

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Influence: The Impact Equation

Communications influence as a function of: Quantity: More ≠ better, but #s still do matter. Message: Sells itself or DOA? Craft it. Media: Rich media move minds; junk mail dumped. Motivation: Trivial or compelling? Motive matters. Timing: Early or late? A little can go a long way. Focus: Smartly targeted or falls on deaf ears?

Invest in what really matters: The bottom line Do not waste time and resources on people, politics,

and policy you cannot realistically hope to change Do not confuse efficiency, numbers, checklists

(e.g., Internet, e-mail, scorecards) with real effectiveness

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Proactive Constituency Building vs. Reactive, Defensive Tactics

Many efforts still defensive, tactical reactions Reactive, not proactive Driven by tactics, not strategy Immediate & short-term, not ongoing & long-term

The result is limited effectiveness Cannot build an effective base of grassroots and

grasstops political capital & organization overnight Ad hoc, reactive tactics = costly, uphill battles Reactive tactics not only ineffective, but often

actually damage public ‘brand’, political capital Negative performance implications

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Corporate Constituency Building & Stakeholder Management

Take a stakeholder management approach Need for more proactive, holistic, ongoing

corporate stakeholder management Need for more proactive, holistic, ongoing

management of corporate political capital Think strategically re: firm/issue stakeholders

Who are the key stakeholders? What are their motives and interests? How are they likely to act and/or react? What is their power and influence? How can they be better managed (co-opted)?

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Transparency & Trust,Cooperation & Innovation

You cannot do it alone Stakeholders as allies, not enemies Solutions, not just problems Opportunities, not just threats

Cooperation vs. competition Power of the many and of the periphery Ask, listen, engage, embrace, share Co-enable, co-empower, co-create

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Constituency Building: Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Inside-Out

Need to link politics and public policy with business strategy and performance The CEO as Chief Public Affairs Officer Internally & externally

Public affairs & government relations function ‘Locals’ (D.C.) vs. ‘expats’ (business managers) Mix it up. It’s a team effort.

Outsourcing and vendors Think strategically, not tactically. Buyer beware…

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Stakeholder &Public Affairs

StrategyIntegrated,Holistic,Effective

POLITICALSTRATEGY

Integrated,Supportive,

EffectivePOLICY

STRATEGY

Integrated,Profitable,

SustainableBUSINESSSTRATEGY

‘Three legs

of a stool…’Eith

er a

virt

uous,

or a v

icio

us,

cycl

e…

© 2010, M.D. Lord

Stakeholders and Constituency Building:The Foundation for Corporate Political Strategy

Public Policy, Politics, and Constituency Building

Q&A?

© 2010, M.D. Lord