The Top 10 Things Business Can Learn from Politics

Originally Submitted on 10/20/2002.

Businesspeople consistently complain about politicians and their policymaking shenanigans. As a student of both politics and public policy, I don’t blame them. However, as a former political consultant and campaign manager, I believe politicians have a few things to teach the businesspeople who curse them.

The foundation for these lessons, and the basis of politicians’ common ground with businesspeople, is scarcity. In political campaigns, as in business and life, there is always more to accomplish than anyone conceivably could, and never enough time or money or energy to do it. Politicians, whose campaigns are characterized by scarcity, can teach businesses these important strategies to cope with the challenges of scarcity.

Though a political campaign and a business share some common ground, there is a fundamental difference: while the objective of both is to be number one, only in business does being two or three mean you’re still alive to fight another quarter. In a political campaign, there is a single decisive instant – the moment the polls close – when the game is over.

In a political campaign, every penny, every second, every voter is absolutely indispensable. The Presidential election in Florida proves this: even after the detailed recount by neutral accountants, too few votes separated George Bush and Al Gore to make an unqualified resolution possible. If either candidate had picked up a few extra hundredths of market share, it literally would have made all the difference in the world. It’s an attitude more businesses should adopt.

1. Plan to succeed.

A campaign’s goal is clear: win the election. The careful planning of each incremental step to achieve that goal encompasses: raising money; executing events; conducting public relations; buying print, mail, broadcast, and Internet advertising; coordinating staff and volunteers; orchestrating consultants and vendors; anticipating the strategy and tactics of competitors; and, soliciting input and feedback from advisors. A long-range plan against which a campaign measures the multiple aspects of its motion and progress is essential.

2. Exercise message discipline.

A political campaign, like a business, competes for attention with anything people consider more important than the election – which is, basically, everything. A candidate must tell voters (the candidate’s customers) what he or she is all about as succinctly, powerfully, consistently, and frequently as possible. To ramble, equivocate, mix messages, or pass up a chance to stump for votes (customers) wastes opportunities that no one can afford to squander.

3. Be a people person.

Campaigns must motivate and reward poorly paid and unpaid people who always have more work to do than is possible to accomplish, and have few or no resources. A shared sense of purpose, the opportunity to learn, camaraderie, specific praise, and creative non-monetary rewards keep people coming back. Crystal-clear goals, mentoring, and constructive criticism keep people on the right track when campaigns can’t afford to let anyone waver from the assigned task.

4. Pinch pennies.

In addition to controlling every dollar and managing multiple, expensive projects against an unforgiving calendar, campaigns and public companies must consider the perception of regular public disclosure reports of revenue and spending. Daily cash management, weekly budget reviews, and working with vendors to schedule payments are indispensable components of successfully managing any organization’s finances.

5. Watch the clock.

In politics, an inescapable deadline is literally written into law (the New Jersey Senate race notwithstanding). Campaigns must schedule absolutely everything against that deadline, and orchestrate every task to culminate on that date. More than a few businesses could profit from the discipline of an inflexible deadline. It concentrates the mind.

6. Create a feedback loop.

Political campaigns can’t count on the 80-20 rule. Campaigns are far more dangerously disproportionate: a handful of political activists, perhaps no more than 20 or 30 of each 50,000 voters, influence enough other voters to make the difference between winning and losing. Therefore, an institutionalized process to solicit, receive, refer, and respond to information, questions, complaints, and compliments is a critical factor of successful campaigns. An effective feedback loop, whether informal (such as an advisory board) or formal (with phone banks and surveys) is crucial.

7. Brother, can you spare a dime?

A political campaign requires an entire office staffed during excruciating hours. Somehow, from a standing start, political campaigns must acquire as cheaply as possible the office space, computers, phones, pens, paper, filing cabinets, copiers, printers, and kitchen found in any office. Effective campaigns never purchase anything they might find free; never buy anything they can borrow; and, never pay retail for something they might get wholesale.

8. Exploit technology.

People and money are a campaign’s most valuable assets. Any technology that extends their reach, improves their productivity, or expands their ability to impact voters is a crucial advantage over competitors. However, when you’ve got a lot of people and not a lot of money, it’s important to conduct a thoughtful cost-benefit analysis – sometimes people are cheaper than machines, even if machines are faster.

9. Do unto others.

Unsurprisingly, vendors won’t extend credit to a political campaign. Working on a cash basis and relying on voluntary contributions, campaigns must carefully massage the expectations of their vendors at the same time they squeeze every penny out of every bid. It’s a fine art, a delicate balancing act, and a good reminder of The Golden Rule: campaigns should treat vendors as they’d like voters to treat their candidates, and give vendors plenty of warning if scheduling multiple payments or delaying a payment to accommodate a disclosure report.

10. Assess and adapt.

Twice or three times a week, a campaign must assess its actual position relative to its ideal plan. If any aspect of the real world doesn’t match the plan, the campaign must adjust all the moving parts of its plan to accommodate for the discrepancy. Following a plan without understanding how reality influences that plan is the surest path to disaster for a campaign or a business.

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