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Effective moral laws derive from an instinct to survive. Moral
behavior is survival behavior in human relationship systems. We offer coaching
and training on resolving emotional blocks, building quality relationships
- and on remaining resourceful during a crisis.
Political Coaching
Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest
man in a given group. Wise politicians use quality communication skills
to quickly gain rapport with a wide variety of people, and to
communicate powerfully to large numbers of people. Can you do this?
Remember that denial can lower your IQ.
Rank is mostly people's beliefs
that you hold it.
You must learn quickly - don't wait for second chances.
Learn slowly, and by the time you get a second chance, you may be too old
to care. You are unlikely to solve problems by ignoring them. But who can
you trust to strengthen your vulnerabilities?
Reputation is what other people
know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.
Lesser skills include
speaking with microphones, dressing and speaking for media interviews
and communicating through newspapers and the internet. We
coach people to communicate dignity and leadership, specifically:
- Improve political leadership
- Build powerful political alliances
- Understand your desire for public service
- Use your emotions during political campaigns
- Serve with awareness, expressing your passions
We can coach people to improve their political
skills, and to develop their political agenda.
Values, Ethics & Etiquette in Politics
What is important to you? Why do you want to mobilize
voters to support your interests, concerns and goals? Why do you want to
formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates, conduct election
campaigns and monitor the work of elected representatives?
Do you anticipate bribes?
Is a honest politician ...
one who stays bought?
Whatever you say, your actions will say it louder.
Do you work for power, prestige and money - or is your effort to
support your vision of community, municipal, or regional leadership? We
can coach you to better know and communicate your values.
There go your people - hurry to catch up
with them, for you are their leader.
Learn to show an abundance of good cheer, enthusiasm, empathy
and sanity. Do you also require coaching in etiquette? Some people can be quite
stuffy about your using their correct titles, especially if their only known
qualities are their ancestors.
Don't write your own Public Relations
(PR) material ... and don't believe your own PR material!
Patterns of Political Power
Wherever you live, you, your voters and your environment
are changing - in more or less predictable ways. We can help you assess
and predict important patterns, and to examine how you can effectively
communicate your values and rules to eight types of people.
We primarily focus on:
- Survival - Food shelter and basic resources
- nothing else is important
- Tribal - Traditions, culture and
superstitions - overly trust and obey their leaders
- Egotistic - Power, respect and dominance
- selfish for rapid ego gratification
- Establishment - Security, stability and
responsibility - intolerant and ethnocentric
- Corporate - Success, money and expensive toys -
materialistic and acquisitive
- Community - Communities and helping
professions - idealistic and inefficient
- Systemic - Creating effective systems and
networking - visionary and multi-competent
- Global - Global survival, ecosystems and
anti-industry - well educated and dedicated
We can help you define and clearly state your
values - in ways that appeal to the dominant values of these eight
groups of potential voters. Otherwise, your task may resemble an
attempt to herd cats.
How can you
give away power ... and still keep it?
Let's Party
Politicians mediate the relationship between groups of
citizens and their government. Democratic political parties pressure governments
to respond to the needs and interests of their citizens. Authoritarian
political parties direct and condition the behavior of their citizens to suit
their own needs.
The name of your party should reflect
the primary or dominant values of potential voters. Sometimes an oxymoron can
please two groups (e.g. the popular Progressive Conservative
party in Canada).
The traditional reward for
a job well done is a harder job.
Internal & External Leadership
Power isn't nearly as all-powerful as it may seem from the
outside. Internal political parties develop around leaders with
power within a government. These leaders recruit party members and
supporters to neutralize the efforts of another party or to gain that
party's cooperation in the pursuit of goals that require broad support.
Leadership is mostly a power over
imagination, especially in a crisis.
External political parties can be developed around leaders
without power within a government. These leaders may recruit popular
support among disaffected groups. (External political parties created many
social-democratic, socialist, communist and fascist parties.)
If fame eludes you, notoriety may suffice.
Political Campaigns
Politicians often avoid saying what they believe or know to be
true. Rather, they say things to win favor with the public; to keep rival
politicians off their back and to stay in office.
The most effective political campaigns are by trusted people
who motivate other people to vote for you. If you can't win, change the game.
Behavior that is rewarded is usually repeated ... but how will you motivate the
motivators?
Power is energy applied to work. Political
power is often an illusion ... and so is weakness.
If you act like a spider in the center of a web, pulling
all the strings, one day the other parties may converge back along their
strings ... to catch you. And should you be scared of strings - they may
fly away. We can coach you to carefully increase the effectiveness of
your campaigns:
- Build a reputation by publishing articles and
books, public speaking, interviews, etc.
- Play to your strengths - let others play to
your weaknesses
- Are satisfied voters referring
potential voters to your agenda?
- If so, show your appreciation ...
can you promote their agenda?
- If not, can you give them an incentive?
- Be in places where you meet people who ask questions.
- Develop good short answers for common questions.
- Know your goals for each questioner.
- Build relationships with these people.
Resist the urge to tell interesting lies, excuses, promises
and stories to people who do
not require rationality and sobriety. More intelligent people will hear you too.
No good deed goes unpunished
Decisions, Diplomacy & Committees
Although most decisions are made with good intentions,
terrible consequences can follow the best of intentions. Good intentions can
lead to bad decisions. What evil ever started without good
intentions? It seems easy to transmute golden decisions into leaden consequences.
Diplomacy is seen as a way to extend
peace, yet diplomacy is often an extension of war. Alliances come
and go, and today's enemy may be yesterday's (and tomorrow's) friend.
Although some wars project or protect the ego of leaders, most wars
are over the control of resources such as food, water and oil.
(Provocative incidents can be manufactured - read about
the start of World War II.)
Not trusting anyone can make you helpless.
The secret is to know who you can trust, as well as who you cannot.
The difference between truth and lies
is often a committee vote. While committees can be slow and sometimes
make bland or even stupid decisions, committees can make you - and break you.
Ten stab wounds in the back
... such a terrible suicide!
Mark Anthony, following the assassination of Julius Caesar by a committee
Bottom Lines
Expect to be attacked by rivals and by the media.
You will displease some people by merely existing.
Accept tests as gifts ... and gifts as tests. To
fail a test is a misfortune but to refuse a test is worse, and often
more irrevocable, than misfortune. If you accept a gift - accept it publicly.
The cost of courtesy is low and the return
is often high.
Any security measure can be neutralized
by someone with appropriate resources.
Your words should reflect your
values, while showing people that you support their values.
Your words will be used against you.
Online Coaching & Mentorship
Bonus tip: Acknowledge and redirect ideas
requiring action. "Good idea! Bring me data to support it," or
"Good idea! Form a committee to discuss it," or "Good idea!
Run it past the party secretary".
Plagiarism is theft. Copyright © Martyn Carruthers 2002-2011
All rights reserved
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