Get to the heart of your organisation. When I was at the Alzheimer’s Society it was the carers and people with dementia; at Oxfam it was those who were poor despite courage and resourcefulness. As an MP, it will always be my local voters. Get to know them, listen, and act accordingly.
Do the numbers. Charities understand this much better than governments. You need to gather information obsessively, understand the resources and costs and just how cost-effective that cherished plan really is.
Accumulate more friends than enemies. Common sense? But many managers and politicians still behave like a cross between David Brent and Godzilla. You can’t always agree with people, but if you take the trouble to be polite, listen and try to understand their view, you’ll find they tend to repay the compliment.
Assume success is possible. A good lesson from fundraising and political campaigning: don’t worry too much about the odds, just focus on beating them. I was told the Alzheimer’s Society could never win Tesco Charity of the Year. When we did, it was worth £2.5 million. Then I was told I was unelectable.
Know your weaknesses. All those who’ve worked with me know mine. But they knew that I relied on them to do the things I couldn’t.
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Stick to your principles. Even (especially) when focusing on success. I once refused to work on cigarette advertising accounts and turned down donations that would have compromised my charities. You’ll be called purist, and the rest, but many politicians have shown all too clearly what happens when you get this wrong.