Prime
Fibs....Juicy Morsels That Are Not What They Seem
Part Two
Do you ever wonder where certain "laws" of public affairs
management and strategy are initiated and how they are accepted
into the mainstream thoughts and practices of paid professionals?
Do you ever question why we take advice from certain "experts"?
Click here
to get the answers and read the complete article . . .
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"When the ACC
PAC was established in early 2002, we were concerned about
our ability to motivate our members. Amy's reputation was
tops in the industry and while preparing for the meeting I
was confident that Amy's professionalism and meticulous style
were a win/win. Not only did she motivate our members, her
presentation was so convincing that 90% our attendees at our
first ever PAC and grassroots meeting and fundraiser became
PAC members at the top giving level."
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- Dana Langley Birdsong
Director, Political Action Committee
American College of Cardiology
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The Science Behind Rewards And Recognition For
PAC And Grassroots Members, Part 1
Providing significant rewards and recognition have been a constant
mantra of government relations professionals who want to increase
participation in their PAC and grassroots programs. In fact, the
program I led for nine years, the Nationwide Insurance Civic Action
Program, was a leader in establishing systematic informal and formal
recognition programs which were duly copied by corporations across
the country. Click
here to read the complete article.
How To Integrate Grassroots Into Your
Corporate Culture
Many grassroots programs fail because the corporate culture does
not understand the value of employee/member grassroots involvement.
While a grassroots or PAC leader cannot change an organization's
culture, there are initiatives we can undertake to accelerate the
appreciation for grassroots advocacy. Click
here to read the complete article . . .
 Enhancing
The Communication Effectiveness Of Your Grassroots Advocates, Part
2
By Greg Coker
The value of knowing one's back-up style is the ability to monitor
both individual behavior as well as recognizing others under stressful
conditions. Most participants of the political process have observed
the stress level during the last two weeks of a legislative session.
Tensions are flaring, the stress level is high and it's not uncommon
to witness unproductive communication among legislators, lobbyists
and grassroots participants. To
read the complete article, click here . . .
Innovate To Motivate Exceeds Expectations!
As many of you know, my grassroots and PAC consulting colleagues
Peter Kennerdell, Tony Kramer and I partnered to sponsor a different
type of professional development conference for senior level PAC,
grassroots, and lobbying professionals.
We convened in Orlando, Florida January 30 through February 2.
The following are just some of the comments we received from conference
participants. Click
here to read the comments.
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"Our work with Amy
is resulting in a grassroots network of more assertive recruiters,
more effective leaders, with more happy and rewarded volunteers
that are sticking around. For example, in July we had a coalition
of 20 with a network of 50. Now we have a coalition of 75
with a network of 500. We watched the lightbulbs go on as
my grassroots networkers listened to Amy Showalter and partook
in her activities. All of them commented on how informative
and useful her training modules are."
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Sarah Mikesell Growney
Director, Wyoming Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition
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Beyond Fundraisers & Fly-ins -- New Grassroots Advocate Training
Resource
If you ever found yourself wishing that your grassroots advocates/PAC
members would stay in touch with their elected officials all year,
TSG has a resource for you.
I have authored a new publication that will teach your advocates
how they can connect with their lawmakers all year, not only when
they need their vote. "102 Ways to Keep in Touch with Your
Elected Officials All Year" contains over 100 legislative,
social, campaign, political and general networking techniques that
result in more active advocates.
Custom imprinting is available, as well as licensing opportunities
and booklet text customization for your particular industry/profession.
Click here to view a sample
of the booklet as well as an order
form.  .
January's Poll Results
Last quarter, our question was, "What's the one program
initiative you did not accomplish in 2001?"
The resounding response was failure to design a grassroots recognition
program. Click
here to read the analysis of the poll and Amy's proposed solutions
to the problem.
And The Hits Just Keep On Coming . . .
The Good Stuff
This issue's hit is an observation that I heard at a recent conference
for public affairs professionals. One of the panelists was talking
about how to maintain the grassroots culture in one's organization,
and how to respond with alacrity to lawmaker's requests for testimony,
grassroots letters of support, and so forth.
She stated that she attended a coalition meeting recently where
the coalition members were considering hiring an outside consulting
firm to collect positive stories from the coalition's members for
legislative testimony, letters to the editor, etc.
She said, "I didn't say anything in the meeting, but I thought
to myself, I do that all the time - - I'm always on the phone talking
to my members to get their stories. If I have to hire somebody else
to do it, that means I'm not doing my job." She's right. She's
a pro and understands the importance of positive member stories
to demonstrate grassroots results.
I don't believe that grassroots professionals can be expected to
know the activities of every one of their members, but we surely
should strive to know what our most productive group -- the top
20% -- are up to. If you don't know your stories, how can you evangelize
other members to support grassroots advocacy and grow your grassroots
membership?
Recommended Reading
"In Good Company - How Social Capital Makes Organizations
Work", By Don Cohen and Laurence Prusak
This book was rated as one of Harvard Business Review's Top Ten
for 2001.
As one who has experienced grassroots results via social capital,
I am a true believer in the necessity of social connection to maximize
one's grassroots and PAC programs. The authors cite numerous case
studies from successful organizations that foster informal employee
interaction to share knowledge, build networks, etc. The interaction
results in more trust and knowledge sharing.
The implications for government affairs professionals? To
motivate employees and members to contact their lawmakers, give
to the PAC, etc., we must encourage trust, which is a by-product
of social capital. If we can encourage our members/employees to
share with us and each other their advocacy experiences, grassroots
organizing challenges, etc., we can build greater cooperation and
trust via social capital.
This coincides with John Heino's research with the Nationwide Insurance
Civic Action Program members, who stated that one of the most influential
factors on their decision to contact their legislators when asked
was "the veracity of all corporate communications." Peter
Drucker said it best -- "Organizations are no longer built
on force but on trust."
If time is short, read chapters one, five, and seven.
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About The Showalter Group, Inc.
The Showalter Group works with associations and corporations that
want to increase their grassroots and PAC productivity. We provide
highly customized solutions via grassroots consultation, public
affairs staff and volunteer training, coaching for public affairs
staff, keynote presentations, and grassroots project management.
To book Amy Showalter to speak at your next meeting, or to inquire
about our grassroots or PAC consulting services or other products,
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