Category Archives: Underdog Influence
Occupy Wall Street: Do They Have the Underdog Edge?
The Occupy Wall Street protesters are the latest high-profile example of how underdogs don’t use their positions as effectively as they could.
I give the protesters credit for getting off their computers and on the streets. Research we conducted with hundreds of grassroots professionals found that getting their volunteers into the trenches was their No. 1 challenge.
Read the entire article at my K Street Cafe Blog.
Single Voice (On Steroids) Sinks Coast Guard Rule
I read a recent article in Roll Call entitled “Single Voice Sinks Coast Guard Rule.” It told the story of Susan Balistrei who “single- handily” caused the Coast Guard to rescind a regulation relative to life jacket design. The article was also featured in the September 27 edition of the K Street Cafe blog: http://www.kstreetcafe.com/
The Coast Guard issued a new rule regarding life jacket design without providing for public comment because it “considered this rule to be noncontroversial and did not expect any adverse comment.” Balistreri wrote to the Coast Guard that aspects of the regulation could enable currently approved inflatable products to be marketed to teens, and that these life jackets weren’t safe for teenagers. …
“May I Help You?”
One technique for building relationships is to find ways to help the “big dog” you want to influence. Joel Ulland, who represents the Minnesota Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society before the Minnesota state legislature, built a relationship with an unlikely person of power long before he needed the relationship.
Ulland is a member of several coalitions for Minnesotans with disabilities. In the spring of 2005, Minnesota was reeling through three years of budget cuts. Ulland knew this meant tough times for people with disabilities.
“The state was facing a deficit for the third straight year, and the Republican governor refused to raise taxes. The question became not if the state would make cuts in state programs, but where the cuts would…
Invest in Political Careers
Chip Thayer, a well-known antismoking advocate and volunteer for the American Cancer Society in Massachusetts, turned heads with his advocacy success.
Thayer persuaded a conservative Republican state legislator to vote for a bill that would ban smoking in the workplace in 2004. In fact, state Senator Scott Brown had voted against the smoking ban when he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. That gave Thayer the tough challenge of asking Brown to change his vote, a request reserved for only the most intrepid underdogs.
To make it even more difficult, Brown had run in a special election to become a state senator and won by a narrow margin. Lawmakers who narrowly win their seats are typically averse to controversy and intent…
Avoid the Issue
When they meet with the big dogs, smart underdogs don’t always talk about their causes. In July 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned a 10-year cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases (also known as “pain-and-suffering” awards). The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) began an intensive lobbying and grassroots campaign to get the cap restored.
Brad Neet, the chief operating officer of St. Michael’s Hospital in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, identified not one but two state lawmakers on record against WHA’s position: Senator Julie Lassa and Representative Louis Molepske. He describes how not talking about the issue directly with them worked for him. “It’s important to get to know these individuals as people before you talk issues, before you make any request….
