I digress … thoughts on fish & the environment
On Saturday I gave a talk to some students at the College of Europe on lobbying. I made some suggestions on useful skills and these are the books to learn your craft. On communicating/writing well: Barbara Minto’s The Pyramid Principle. On clear presentation of information: Edward Tufte’s Seeing with Fresh Eyes. On organising your work: … Read more
Some MEPs think the path to European influence is via Youtube/TikTok. They have moved to Brussels and some want to make their mark here. When asked I give the following story. I was fortunate to work for two British Labour MEPs, Dr Gordon Adam and Anita Pollack. I picked up a good idea of what … Read more
Once a year, I give a talk about the windows of opportunity to influence a Commission proposal. Every year, I look back at ashen faces. There are few bites at the cherry, and many lobbyists don’t know about key windows of opportunity. I have a similar talk (plus process charts and case studies) on influencing … Read more
Many lobbyists act like Pavlov’s dogs. The ring of the bell is replaced by the ‘leak’ of a document. Everything stops. All attention is switched to the ‘leak. It seems not to matter that the leak is authorized, usually sent up as a red flag to gauge responses. Many lobbyists have been conditioned to respond. … Read more