Have you ever had a co-worker who always finds a problem to solve, but never has the wherewithal to provide a solution? I know. We all have.
While I was in uniform, there was one especially acute case in my unit. A young leader, he tended to be crippled by obstacles. At the same time, he was always the first to find those same obstacles. As far as yellow canaries go, he was great. But like all yellow canaries in coal mines, he wasn’t much good to us after the problems took him out.
Luckily, he had a commander who knew just how to mentor this young lad – and teach the rest of us a thing or two about leadership along the way. After one too many occurrences of the sky falling around him, the officer in charge finally pulled him aside and said “Listen, I don’t expect you to find the full solution to any given problem. It’s my call how we’re going to get past this thing. But I need you to come up with at least 60% of a solution before you alert me to a problem like this. It’s your specialty area, not mine, and we can all learn from your expertise.”
Yes, he built the young guy up a bit. But more importantly, he modeled an important concept for me at a critical stage in my professional development:
Don’t come to me with a problem without bringing me a feasible solution.
You would be shocked, shocked I say, to know just how many advocacy organizations don’t have this same lesson internalized. I cannot begin to count the number of meetings I had as a political staffer where a visiting organization lacked a clear, actionable ask for the office. When pressed for the solution, they were caught off guard, and often unaware of alternative proposals already being considered.
When you’re trying to call a target to action, simply stating the problem isn’t enough. In the world of advocacy, this is especially true. Elected officials are an inch deep and mile wide on issues – they are generalists to the extreme. Often, the higher you move up the political ladder, the more general they must become. Expecting any less is unrealistic and harmful to your cause.
But that’s why our advocacy organizations exist – to present solutions. With the unlimited number of resolutions, bills, rules and orders issued across levels and branches of government it falls on us to help drive our targets, our story’s heroes, to a proper solution. Unfortunately, that proper solution may be buried in the midst of several other proposals.
While you are in the process of storytelling, laying out your preference clearly, and repeatedly, will bolster your efforts. Here’s how:
- Know the full bill title and number if already introduced
- Present the three (max) most important aspects of the bill for your organization
- Be prepared to repeat yourself
As you’re developing your story, take steps to actively script the these three action items into your meeting. Your primary storyteller needs to practice them in realistic settings to be prepared for interruptions and questions. Falling short of that will leave a critical piece of your storytelling efforts incomplete.
Bottom line? Bring a solution. Ask yourself: do we have a bill or solution to present on this issue area? If not, do we need to focus on this issue area during this particular meeting?
I know there’s a temptation to cover every priority you have in every meeting. Unfortunately, that’s not real-world politics. Our stories empower our ability to develop a lasting relationship with elected officials. Don’t waste the opportunity. Bring a solution that they can understand and execute.
Part of the Possible 