Last month we began a conversation with NFIB
Regulatory Policy Manager Andrew Langer. Mr. Langer provides some great
insight into the importance of political networking.
Let’s pick up where we left off.
Question: What trends do you see occurring in
political networking?
I see greater scrutiny for the relationships between advocates and policymakers in light of
recent scandals. This will mean, in the end, two unfortunate outcomes:
a greater entrenchment of people within the corridors of power as people
spend more time building their relationships within (and thus reducing
opportunities for junior people to move in and up); the second outcome
will be a near-monopoly on the pre-existing relationships between those
making policy and those doing the advocating.
Question: Any advice you'd like to share on
effective techniques for building a network of people who share similar
interests?
Maintaining contact with people is key –
personally, I suggest regular lunches with groups of people. I go to
lunch with several different groups of people – some on a weekly, some
on a monthly basis. These need not be expensive places – one of my most
successful networking events is a monthly lunch at one of DC’s least
expensive and best-established short-order restaurants.
And I can’t over-emphasize being genuine. Look at
these relationships from the start as building long-term friendships.
People will pick up on it immediately if you’re simply trying to put a
number in your contact book. You’re trying to build trust – that takes
time and that takes honesty.
Question: From the lobbying perspective, what's
the relationship between spending time building a relationship with an
elected official and the policy results that the NFIB is looking to
achieve?
Actually, it’s more important to build the
relationships with the staff – either of an elected official or at an
agency itself. The staff will be briefing the member, and then it’s up
to the member to vote (or make the policy decision). Having a good,
cordial, effective relationship with that staff member goes light-years
towards being successful in the policy arena.
Of course, having a relationship with the elected
official or senior agency principal can’t hurt, but those can take a
long time to develop.
There are two points Mr. Langer made that I’d like to emphasize. Firstly, be
genuine. Since networking is all about building relationships, being
genuine is vitally important – especially in politics, because people
can see through “fakeness” pretty quickly. Secondly, so much of
politics is about who you know, or rather, who knows you. Make sure you
know the right people who can make decisions and can influence the
decision makers. Those are the key people to network with.
Contact Matthew Best at
MatthewB@TheNationalNetWorker.com or Post a Comment on
TNNW Blog.
