Negotiations, PR, Parenting and Governing

March 30th, 2010 9:53pm

I was fascinated to hear the role parenting and communications skills played in Nancy Pelosi’s successful drive to win over most House Democrats on the critical health care vote. The House Speaker ramped up interpersonal communications by holding many targeted meetings with subgroups, including the conservative Blue Dog Democrats, liberal Dems, anti-abortion and pro-choice caucuses.  Pelosi was able to forge consensus by listening to each group and seeing what it would take for them to support the bill.

The NPR story referred to Pelosi’s mothering skills -- having “eyes in the back of her head” and calling out members of Congress who tried to sneak out of the meetings. She was also using important skills for public relations: listening and negotiations.  Often, PR professionals serve their clients best when they can bring in critics or wavering supporters and learn what it will take to win their business or support.

Public relations guru Patrick Jackson once told a national PRSA audience that a single critic does a company a favor by calling attention to a problem early when it is more manageable. Such responsiveness can avert a full-blown crisis.  Jackson acquired this wisdom counseling clients in the 1990’s from Coors Brewing--who was facing a boycott from Hispanics--to the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in New Hampshire.

Toyota’s refusal to acknowledge the problem with unintended acceleration is only the latest example of what happens when companies ignore their critics.

For successful negotiations and effective governing, the tools are:

Listening first Seeking areas of common ground Compromising where possible Letting the critic/stakeholders know what actions you are taking as a result of their input Keeping the lines of communication open

Posted in: Education

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