Yes. He handed me a spine. I’ll say that again. Yes. A spinal cord. A protester once handed me a spinal cord. There I was, offering a friendly smile, and the guy hands me a model spinal cord – thinking he was about to embarrass me into agreeing with him on an issue. You haveContinue reading “Stories from Congress: the one where a guy handed me a spine”
Tag Archives: grassroots
A Beginner’s Guide to Building Credibility: Stop Using This One Word if You Want to Win Champions to your Cause
Effective advocates hunt for opportunities to build their credibility.
How Do We Hold Politicians Accountable?
There are no short cuts, no easy buttons, and no magic formulas to get the job done. All our field promises is an infinite game of changing players that offer new challenges each and every day.
Making Sense of, And Moving On From, the 2022 Midterm Elections
By a bit of good luck, I’ve been reading Originals by Adam Grant in the last few days. As a book about original thinking, personal development and change-making, it might not immediately strike you as a relevant read at election time. But here I am, finding myself gleaning important reminders at a time when soContinue reading “Making Sense of, And Moving On From, the 2022 Midterm Elections”
Keeping Your Head on Election Day
But Election Day isn’t a finish line – it’s a starting block. It’s the anticipation of the starting gun for a foot race. It’s getting into position to act. Successful advocates distinguish themselves by realizing that, and visualizing how they’ll react when the starting gun fires.
Become a Better Advocate: Have Hard Conversations
“How do we get our leaders to stop fighting and start working?” I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question. Even working for centrist members of Congress, that sentiment came up nearly every week I was on the job. For almost a decade. I can tell you since IContinue reading “Become a Better Advocate: Have Hard Conversations”
Become a Better Advocate: Find a Team
They take care of the process, allowing you to focus on humanizing the issue.
Success in Advocacy: The Power Behind Your Personal Brand
Focus on serving your issue in a genuine way, with warmth and purpose and you will find your audience.
Success in Advocacy: Clear is Greater than Clever
Being too clever can shut the conversation down long before we ever finish talking
Success in Advocacy: “Just be Human”
These are the basics, the fundamentals, any advocate needs to find long term success. Basically, just be human.
Part of the Possible 