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Patriot Games: The Game Plan for Getting Heard in the Political Arena (Part 1)
Successful manufacturers have a plan for just about any contingency. They’re thinking ahead about adopting new technology, cutting energy costs and handling health care issues. Increasingly though, one of their biggest challenges is dealing with the complex landscape of increasing regulations, politics and government.
The decisions made by people in state capitals and in Washington, D.C., affect every aspect of how they do business.
Spending millions on lobbyists is one tactic to deal with this complexity — though not always a successful one, as demonstrated by the recent Comcast-Time Warner debacle. The alternative is for company leaders to engage in some tough evaluation and creative thinking about how to get through the political noise. They need new strategies to promote their priorities and get the politicians and policy decision-makers on their side.
Politics permeates everything
Increasingly, working the political angles is just part of doing business. Companies find politics comes into play early and often, whether they need a local permit for storm drainage or in directing major federal action on immigration reform.
According to the National Manufacturers Association, top issues for manufacturers…
