Getting Noticed is a book for the novice politician or for anyone who is thinking about running for political office. The inspiration for this book came after five first time candidates that I knew ran for office. Out of the five, only one was successful. He was successful because he already had the skills that are necessary for a politician. He also had that one elusive ingredient that gave me the title. He was a known entity in his community so many voters knew who he was before he even announced his candidacy. In other words, he had been noticed. This lack of notice by the public is what stops most first time candidates in their tracks. That and the absence of the needed skill set. So, I wrote this book.
To contact the author, hey, that's me, go to the contact page and send me an e-mail. Or, call, 562.234.1003.
Table of Contents
Getting Beyond Raw Getting to the Beginning Get Out! Get Physical Get Vocal Getting the Presence Getting Practiced Getting a First Campaign Organized Getting the Milk and Honey Getting to Know Them
The Preamble
Getting Beyond Raw
No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind… John Donne
I know your type. You see the problems. Slums, overcrowded hospitals filled with the uninsured, an economic slump, war, floods, fires, dogs roaming back alleys, street racers killing pedestrians, abortion, drugs, homeless wanderers sifting through garbage, pedophile priests, overburdened teachers, abusive mothers, killer husbands, schools that are armed camps, kids that don’t learn, illegal immigrants and Islamic fascists. What a world, nation, state, city we live in! But why worry when there’s you, standing there, ready and poised to take it all on. You know how to fix things. You burn with a fire in your belly that you, yes you, have the answers that will save the world. All right, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration. You want to save only your city, your community, your state, your nation. What ever, wherever the geographic location is, you know that you can do it. Save it. So you will run for office. You will make a difference. Now all that is left for you to do is make your intentions known by marching right down to the appropriate office to file for your candidacy. Hold on right there. Let’s talk basics first. The basic is this; to win an election you must resonate in some way with the voters. I do not care a wit that you may, or actually do have the answers that can lessen human suffering. Get it into your brain that only you, your mother and your closest friends know that you have the answers. Unless you are an Arnold Schwartznegger, no one outside you inner circle has a clue as to who you are much less what you stand for. At this moment, you are untrained and untried in a very high stakes endeavor. Depending upon the race you want to enter, you will have to get your message out to, at the very least, hundreds of voters, more likely thousands, and if you are a big city dweller, hundreds of thousands. During the primaries, you will have to capture the interest of your own party. In the general election, it is all the voters-at-large, with an emphasis on the undecided, which will win you the office you seek. Even if you run as an independent or in a nonpartisan race, you will probably see two election cycles for you very well could be caught up in a runoff election. However you look at it, election seasons are long and arduous. Elementary information, I hear you retort? It is that, absolutely. Yet it seems to me that hundreds of political candidates toss this elementary information right out the window when they set out to run for office. You may argue that you are different, that your circumstances are unique. Yet, answer truthfully now, how much preparation have you put into becoming a viable sought after candidate? Have you been asked to run, or are you running because you desire the job? It is a job, after all, and like any other profession you would want to enter, there has to be a certain amount of training for it. How many weeks or months have you put into training for political service? How many years? Have you spent as many years learning to be a political candidate as it took you to go through college or learn your present job? Do you have the right skill set? Or will some consultant have to charge you thousands to bring in the right coaches to get you through your first run that you will, statistically speaking, lose. The fundamental question for you to ask, of yourself, is this: Are you running to serve yourself or to serve your would-be constituents? Answer the question with all the intellectual and emotional honesty you have. If you answered that it is a bit of both, for you and the people you will serve, then you get a gold star for honesty and objectivity. Holding political office is an exceptional and interesting job because it allows you to try and answer some of life’s pressing questions regarding the best way in which to govern. Therefore, you must be both interested in doing the job as well as serving others. You are ready to press on. Let’s begin by taking inventory of what skills you have to become a feasible candidate. In preparing for a campaign, there are, of course, the usual elements of the issues, knowing the territory and having a plan for leadership, which begins with a plan for your campaign. Even if you hire a campaign manager to run your campaign, you still need to tell him or her what your mission is about. Can you tell him or her in 25 words or less what your mission is? No? Then, for now, you are a pile of mush when it comes to defining who you are and what you are, politically speaking. I know that Roger Ailes was absolutely correct when he said the candidate is the message. Truly, anyone who gets up in front of an audience to speak on any subject is also the message. The raw material of what you are will have to be developed so that you do indeed become the walking, living embodiment of your mission. Yes, you are the message. You may have messengers who will deliver your message, but as the candidate, it all begins with you. Are you prepared for such a responsibility? Is it more than you thought it would be? Did you think it would be easy? No, you are not that naïve. But I know that most of you didn’t have an inkling that it would require a distinct set of skills. Being a candidate, in this order, is part prophet, part philosopher, part sales person, and part manager. You begin the race by crying out in the wilderness that if citizens do not heed the signs of the times (housing slump) there will be dire consequences (depression.) You then evolve into the philosopher because you have a deep understanding of the underlying causes of the problem, along with a concept to fix it. Now you need to turn sales person because the prophet/philosopher was the quick and easy part. Sales is the tough one because you will now set about to persuade all those voters to elect you and the fix that comes along with you. Your managerial skills must always be in play because that is what leadership is about. From the moment that hat is tossed into the ring, your leadership style will be on display. If you lack leadership abilities that too will be evident to the voters The point of my little book is before you go public you need to, in the privacy of your own life, get some skills. Before you get branded as useless, wacko, dumb, unelectable or worse, the perennial candidate, get some skills. Before you ask supporters to give you thousands of dollars in donations to your cause, get some skills. Skills take you from the raw state to well done so that you do well. What are the skills I am referring to? Prophets and sales people usually have good communication skills. Philosophers have clarity. Good managers know when to lead and when to get out of the way of their staff. So there you have it, the skill set consists of good communication on all levels, focused thinking that translates into a clear message and solid, practiced leadership capabilities.
Getting Noticed is a book for the novice politician or for anyone who is thinking about running for political office. The inspiration for this book came after five first time candidates that I knew ran for office. Out of the five, only one was successful. He was successful because he already had the skills that are necessary for a politician. He also had that one elusive ingredient that gave me the title. He was a known entity in his community so many voters knew who he was before he even announced his candidacy. In other words, he had been noticed. This lack of notice by the public is what stops most first time candidates in their tracks. That and the absence of the needed skill set. So, I wrote this book. 