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Learn From The Experts Articles
Ten Life-Saving Rules for Campaign Managers
By Ron Faucheux
The job of a campaign manager is a tough one. In modern, complex campaigns, managers have to keep track of countless moving parts, handle a myriad of details, and always keep an eye on the big picture. They need the trust of the candidate and the cooperation of every component of the campaign. Here are my 10 rules for campaign managers. They should be followed conscientiously.
1. Listen to the candidate.
Really listen. Campaign managers think they are experts at running campaigns. Many of them truly are. But that doesn’t mean they know more than their candidates about every issue. Smart managers should never discount the knowledge and instincts of a candidate, especially an experienced candidate who has won tough elections. Some managers are biased against tactical or strategic suggestions from candidates. They resent the intrusion, dislike being watched, hate the second-guessing, and tend to chalk up most of their bosses’ proposals to ego – or exhaustion. But that’s a mistake. Listen to the candidate, even if what is said appears to be wrong at first blush. Often, when you dig deeper, you’ll find unexpected gems of excellent advice.
2. Listen to real voters, not just people in politics.
It is easy for experienced managers to think they know what voters want without ever talking to them. But a good campaign manager doesn’t isolate himself or herself from what’s going on in the constituency. They get out, meet people, talk to them, and listen to their ideas and gauge changing moods. Polls are great. Targeting studies are wonderful. But none of it matters if the voters are trying to say something that nobody hears. This can extend to relatives and friends of the candidate. People with little or no political experience who are close to candidates often find fault with how a campaign is being run and have a profusion of ideas that could fix things. While some of their ideas may be foolish or unworkable, some of them may be quite good. These people have the candidate’s best interests at heart and can provide a fresh perspective from outside the clutter of campaign headquarters – outside, where the voters live.
3. Budget backwards.
Do not let your last campaign constrict your thinking about the current one. Think fresh. And when it comes to budgeting, think priority. There are a million good things you can fund in a campaign that are irrelevant to the ultimate goal of winning. Wisdom is knowing what’s important and what’s not. So is good campaign budgeting. Figure out what you absolutely need to do to win, and budget it. If something doesn’t contribute to the goal of winning, cut it out. Don’t let conventional wisdom or political customs distract you from taking care of important business even if it means saying no to a lot of spending initiatives – small and large – that well-meaning supporters propose. There’s a straight line to Election Day – and it runs right through your budget.
4. Set regular meetings and mandate attendance.
The campaign manager needs regular contact with the finance team, the political and field staff, and the communications operation. Set regular meetings and conference calls – be they daily, weekly, or monthly. And then enforce the schedule. People in campaigns – paid staff, consultants, and volunteers – need to know it’s not only impolite, but inappropriate to miss a meeting. It is a manager’s job to lay out a reasonable schedule and to demand everybody follows it.
5. Tell your candidate the truth.
This isn’t always easy, especially if it’s bad news. Occasionally, it’s the toughest thing a campaign manager must do. But do it nonetheless. This doesn’t mean you want to run your candidate’s spirits down with endless, debilitating assessments. But it does mean you need to fill the “objectivity gap” that exists in all campaigns. That’s what good management is all about. It is very hard for even the smartest candidates to maintain objectivity in the line of fire. That’s why they need strong, fearless managers to keep their campaigns on track especially when every other external and internal force is pushing to derail it.
6. Question faulty assumptions early.
A candidate who assumes he or she can’t lose needs to be challenged. A strategy team that assumes the opposition will never get off the ground needs to be challenged. A campaign staff that assumes voters will connect the dots on their own, without the help of disciplined message delivery, needs to be challenged. It’s the fundamentals that trip campaigns up. A big, wrong assumption is made, it takes root, and then it undermines everything. The more fundamental an assumption, the harder it is to challenge. A campaign manager must be ready to challenge misguided assumptions before they produce bad decisions and cause major mistakes.
7. Work hard but don’t kill yourself.
Campaign management is a 24/7 obsession. Campaign managers must not allow themselves to become physically exhausted or mentally stale. Not only does that take a toll on the manager’s well being, it also takes a toll on the campaign’s performance. Managers should take time off – a morning break, a long lunch, a peaceful walk, a weekend to relax. Managers need to watch their diets (cold pizza kills), get enough sleep, refrain from too much alcohol, and get medical attention if something feels wrong. Managers in their 20’s and 30’s must understand that the physical wear and tear of a campaign can last a lifetime.
8. Scrutinize everything.
Nothing should leave campaign headquarters unless it’s scrutinized. In larger campaigns, a research director should review all campaign material, letters, mass e-mails, talking points, speech outlines, press releases, ads, and telephone scripts for accuracy. A campaign strategist should also look over everything for political considerations. In campaigns, the pace is fast. Small mistakes are amplified through blogs and picked up by the media. Extra care must be taken in the public messages you convey and materials you produce. It’s a campaign manager’s job to set up a vetting process and insist upon its daily implementation.
9. Watch the money.
Campaigns are ad hoc organizations that are cobbled together for limited durations. Things move fast. Income is uncertain. Everything bleeds cash. Money management is critical and the experienced campaign manager will “watch the money.” As J. Paul Getty once said, “Look after the pennies, the dollars will look after themselves.” That applies to all campaigns, even the well funded ones.
10. Pull the trigger.
Some campaigns meet and discuss, discuss and meet. Decisions are delayed and delayed. Skilled campaign managers do not let endless analysis paralyze decision-making. No matter how many polls you’ve taken, experts you have consulted, or cautions that have been raised, campaign managers need to reach through the fog and pull the trigger. When timing is everything, it is inaction that can be fatal. Napoleon once said, “I may lose battles, but I don’t lose minutes.” That’s good advice for campaign managers.
Each of these 10 rules is easy to overlook in the heat of battle, thus discipline and vigilance is recommended.
Ron Faucheux is author of Running for Office and editor of Winning
Elections, popular books on political campaigning. A political
strategist and analyst, Dr. Faucheux teaches at George
Washington University’s Graduate School of Political
Management. Ron can be reached at Click here to contact this Author
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