A simple, five-step process for ensuring that your PA resources are completely aligned with your company\'s priorities.

1. A Strategic Framework To:
Align Your Public Affairs Resources With Your
Business Priorities
Intelligent Management Inc. Public Affairs
Consulting

2. If this scene looks familiar…
Congratulations! You are like many PA
professionals working with your
business counterparts…

3. Do you have at least one
business client who
looks like this when you
try to EXPLAIN the
policy process…
Then you are not doing
YOUR JOB!

4. How did Albert Einstein
Define Insanity?
Doing the same
thing, over and
over, and expecting a
different result…
Stop explaining… JUST DO IT!

6. The Five Planning Phases For Defining And
Addressing Your Business Needs In The Policy Arena
Phase 1: Review Key Learnings So You Start Your Planning
The Right Way
Phase 2: “Ready, Aim, Fire” Always Trumps “Ready, Fire, Aim”
Phase 3: Get Clarity on Your Business Priorities And The
Resources You’ll Need To Address Them
Phase 4: DEFINE Who Makes The Call On Issues And
Resource Prioritization
Phase 5: The Success of Your Implementation Will Depend on
The Success of Your Alignment

7. Phase 1: Review Key Learnings So You Start Your
Planning The Right Way
• What are the key learnings?
– What were key successes/failures?
• Legislative
• Communications
• Relationship building
As part of annual • Etc.
planning process PA • What should we do differently
functions meet with moving forward?
internal clients to – What didn’t work and why?
– What improvements can be made in
review last year’s results working relationship?
• What were the budget
implications?
– On budget
– Under/over

8. Phase 2: “Ready, Aim, Fire” Always
Trumps “Ready, Fire, Aim”
• What has changed?
– How does this fit with the companies
Issues scanning in terms of
emerging, current and resolved issues?
– What are watchdogs and activists
saying and doing?
– What does opinion research show?
As part of annual
planning process
Internal clients • What is the current political
and PA
PA functions
functions climate for your organization?
meet with
internal clients to reprioritize • What other external
review last year’s business needs
results for coming year issues/factors could positively or
negatively affect certain company
issues?
• Where is the competition?
• What new resources are required?
• How is success or failure defined?

9. Phase 3: Get Clarity on Your Business
Priorities And The Resources You
Need To Address Them
As part of annual
planning process
PA functions meet
with internal
clients to review
last year’s results
Internal clients
PA and internal
and PA
clients
functions
formulate new
reprioritize
plans for the
business needs
coming year
for coming year

10. If You Can Read This…
Just bear with me…

11. Phase 3: Get Clarity on Your Business Priorities And The
Resources You’ll Need To Address Them
• Define primary, secondary and tertiary proactive and reactive issues, nationally, by market
or other geography
– If a company is multi-national what are the international implications?
• Just how visible does the company want to be?
• What is the timeline?
• Define resource needs – And Who Pays…
– What resources will CA provide?
– What resources will individual business functions provide?
– What consultants are required?
– What is the Legal and/or Compliance review process
• What level of executive involvement is required?
– Function
– C-Level
– Board Level
• What is the process for resolution of issues and obstacles that may arise in the policy arena?
– What level of decisionmaker needs to be involved and what is the level of frequency of
involvement?
• Is there a requirement for market testing, focus groups, opinion research?
• Is there a requirement for stakeholder engagement and at what level?
– Elected officials, policy, business, trade, civic, other?
• Is there a requirement for a separate communications strategy?
– Customers
– Consumers
– Shareholders
• Is this a company-specific issue or must it be vetted through industry trade associations or
business coalitions?

12. Phase 4: DEFINE Who Makes The Call On
Issues And Resource Prioritization?
• C-Level Team
As part of annual – May have priorities that were not captured
planning process
PA functions through the planning process that must now
meet with be factored into the overall objectives
internal clients to
review last year’s – Reprioritization must take place at the
results
implementation level
• C-Level Team must decide if Board
Comprehensive
plans are Internal clients
and/or industry involvement is
presented to C- and PA warranted
Level Team for functions
approvals, budge
ts and overall
reprioritize
business needs
• C-Level Team must authorize
sign-off of for coming year expenditures
prioritization
• C-Level Team must commit to
– Supporting objectives
PA and internal – Agree on a reporting process
clients (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)
formulate new
plans for the
coming year

13. Phase 5: The Success of Your Implementation Will
Depend on The Success of Your Alignment
With Business Counterparts
As part of
annual planning
• Once individual plans are
process PA implemented, ongoing evaluation
functions meet
with internal must take place
clients to review
last year’s
results
– What adaptations are taking place in
the policy environment
Internal clients • What is the elected official impact?
and PA
Implementation functions • What is the media impact?
of Plans reprioritize • What is the customer impact?
Commences business needs
for coming year • What is the consumer impact?
• How are stakeholders reacting and what
actions for or against are they taking?
• How are activists and watchdogs reacting?
• How are other industry members reacting?
Comprehensive – What is working or not working?
plans are PA and internal
presented to C-
Level Team for
clients – Are resources being spent according to
formulate new
approvals, budget
s and overall sign- plans for the plan?
coming year
off of
prioritization – What must be recalibrated?
– What must be stopped or re-evaluated
and who makes that decision?

14. We all agree…
There are a lot of
moving parts…
That’s why you
get paid the big
bucks….
To create
clarity…

15. Why Bother?
• Policymaking is a process with well-defined
rules and procedures
• You are no different than any other business
function
• “Getting the job done” means having a
defined process INTERNALLY as well as
EXTERNALLY
• So… Follow the process and get the job
done.