Tag Archives: operative

Tuesday Truths 2015 edition v41

Photo credit via

One of my favorite times of the year is just getting started – fall temperatures with crisp weather and the excitement of GOTV. It’s really difficult for me to think of campaigning into Election Day when the weather doesn’t involve stepping over crunchy leaves and wearing scarves and gloves while doing honk and waves. It seems unseasonal to be wearing shorts! What are your favorites for the season?

Let’s get rolling with Tuesday Truths!

  • As we talk about the women’s movement, it’s becomes increasingly important to discuss intersectionality and how it affects perspective. In industries such as tech and politics, where the ratio of men to women is rather appalling, companies are making strategic decisions to increase diversity. They’re touted for their approach to include women, but don’t take into account that life also involves other communities of color. It’s understandable to think that the issue can be viewed as insurmountable and that any stride in diversity is seen as a win, but to not address that intersectionality in diversity also adds to the challenge.
  • A history lesson for my AAPI brothers and sisters who may not be aware of the civil rights leadership of our African American brothers and sisters. It’s due to their struggles that we, as AAPIs enjoy those civil liberties.
  • For all of my friends and colleagues who work on the Hill, I salute your service to this country. The environment of being overworked and understaffed while doing your jobs would make most people quit, but it’s your dedication to improving this country that may drive your get-up-and-go attitude. Think Congress is dysfunctional? It can be but it’s still on the frontline of the biggest policy issues of the day.
  • And….we circle back to the reasons WHY people stay in positions in organizations that they hate. Not every day is going to be a GREAT day at work. Sure, it’s fantastic if we have a streak of those kinds of days all the time, but the reality is that we have ups and downs to the work day/week but if you find that the work environment is toxic and causing way more stress, think about why you’re actually staying in your job. Don’t let peer pressure determine where you work.
  • We end on one of my favorite topics – fundraising! Yes, it’s a pain to do and yes, half the battle is motivation but there’s a strategy to all the phone call mayhem. Here are a few ways to identify donor psychology. Sometimes I feel like I’m a part time therapist 🙂

Thanks for reading/sharing and please don’t forget to subscribe!

— Madalene

 

 

 

Tuesday Truths 2015 edition v39

Photo credit via

It is cray cray time – lots of events this week so if you catch me around town looking slightly crazed, I’m trying to remember where I’m supposed to be and therefore trying to remember where my clients are supposed to be too! Last week, I was really fortunate to attend the White House arrivals ceremony of Pope Francis and it was well worth getting up at 4am. If you ever get the chance to attend an arrivals ceremony, I hope you make arrangements to participate. Definitely a DC moment – to be perfectly honest, I was thinking about past movies that feature WH ceremonies or events that happen on the South Lawn, particularly the scene from X Men: Days of Future Past – check it out! When Hollywood goes completely wacky!

white house pope

On to Tuesday Truths!

  • When life gets this crazy, I get a little anxious and that’s when I know that I really need to go to the gym so that I can release some of that excess anxiety. It’s also the same when I get in a bad mood or feeling overwhelmed. So when your life is getting out of hand, step away from the crazy and take a breath. I’m a thinker – I think about all the different scenarios when I’m stressed and that usually means all the negative outcomes. After I’ve thought of all the possible things that could go wrong, I try to focus on the best outcome and prepare myself for the worst so that I’m not so frazzled. Life is too precious to let the crazy control me. I try to be a positive person and when I’m around negative people, I start wanting to butt heads with them and that’s not good for anyone either. I’m also a realist because as much as rose colored glasses can make a situation better, I also want to be pragmatic. Life is about moderation and I want to experience it as fully as possible on my terms. I recently watched Inside Out and thought my own core memories that have made me into the person that I am today. Every experience has been a learning one and I look forward to experiencing every aspect that it can offer.
  • If you look through my twitter feed, you will find that I follow lots of restaurants, chefs, politicos, my fellow Democratic/Republican operatives, and fashion folk. One of my associates gave me “The Devil Wears Prada” dvd as a gift (not really sure what they were trying to say there LOL) but Anna Wintour has a reputation for being quite decisive aka bitchy. I think I’m decisive once I have input. Let’s collaborate on ideas and feel out all the different ones to reach a decision. Women leaders who are deemed decisive don’t get the same level of respect of their male counterparts who carry the same attitude. Don’t shy away from knowing what you’re doing and empower those who work for you to do the same.
  • I’ve always talked about defining your own version of success and not comparing someone else’s journey with your own. Did I plan to be in this particular place when I started? No, but as I was going along I made decisions based on the current situation and tried to plan accordingly. Hustling is not part of my DNA so I had to learn to do it and do it well enough so that I could get clients. I believe in creating my own luck and one of the ways to do that is to imagine the life you want and make it happen. Is it better to work all the time so that you can have a more relaxed life later? That depends on how you want to do it. A door closes and a window opens. There’s no perfect clean way to do life – sometimes it gets messy and sometimes it can present itself with a pretty bow.
  • At the request of a friend/colleague, I recently met with a young woman who works at a large organization as a fundraiser. She hasn’t been at her position for very long (maybe 3 months) and she felt a little out of place. There was some resentment from the junior staffers of her hiring because they were passed on a promotion. She’s a mid level fundraiser so she has a supervisor while she also manages an assistant. We talked a great deal about making her own tribe. Sometimes it’s not with the people in your department and as a woman of color in a mainly Caucasian organization, it may mean looking for people who may understand first hand what it means to work in that kind of situation. It’s important to have some social ties with people in a professional environment for the sheer fact that it builds relationships. They don’t need to be your BFF but being sociable and understanding some of each other’s key interests makes us better humans. If everything was transactional, there would be no personality to your work and as a result, no willingness to compromise or “see” one another when you’re in an environment to collaborate.
  • I often tell people that regardless of your age or experience, everyone can give back. You might wonder, I don’t have any management responsibilities or this is my first job – all great experiences to share with those who are looking for their 1st professional endeavor. In my perspective, I don’t lead an exceptionally exciting life but there are people who want to have a similar life and want to know how I got to this place. If it helps them achieve their goals, I’m happy to share my story and help them along the way. Networking works both ways – you share your experiences with those who are in need of a person to help them and you share your experiences with those who can help you.
  • I’m a BIG fan of my colleague, Joe Fuld’s political consulting firm, The Campaign Workshop – he has a blog as well as great “how to” e-books on running a campaign. One of his staffers wrote a fantastic post about down-ticket races and tips on how you can win. Check it out and follow Joe on twitter @joefuld for great campaign advice!

Thanks fore reading/sharing & if you haven’t subscribed, get on it!

–Madalene

Tuesday Truths

thing worse than being blind

Photo credit: The Only Thing Worse Than Being Blind is Having Sight and No Vision

We’re heading into a short work week so it might be a good time to brush up on your resume, start making new goals for the new year (I’m too much of a planner) or maybe just bail out of work early to get in some holiday cocktails (is that more your speed??)? In the meantime, all you politicos looking for a new gig, you can read up!

  • Post election funk? It’s a good time as any to be reminded about an older post I wrote around this time last year (here). The day after Election Day, I put away about 8 weeks of dry cleaning that was sitting in my closet so laundry gets a lot of play post election! If you’re looking for the next opportunity and haven’t joined Democratic GAIN, then you should do so immediately. Looking to set yourself up for 2016? Then take the time to read this article from Democratic GAIN COO @lucyMWhall for Campaigns & Elections.
  • For those who are still nomadic political hacks, it’s the start of the Off Year election cycle and prepping for the crazy that is 2016. Have you ever wondered if our industry has gotten better in pay during the off years? If so, this article is just for you!
  • My friends over at the Campaign Workshop shared with me a fantastic info graphic on call time. As a person who lives and breathes call time all the time, this is really great to help those who need additional help to stay on track or just to get on track. Committing to call time is half the battle (right, fellow fundraisers?). Thanks so much to @joefuld for sharing & bringing it to my attention!
  • I remember the days when people would look at me and wonder if I was old enough to manage staff (the benefits of having good genes that make me look youthful!) and having to combat those questions by my actions. If you’re ever in want of respect and building good will then use these techniques because if you do it consistently then you would have earned it.
  • Everyone talks about will power or habits that successful people utilize or don’t participate in but how about some exercises to help improve your mental strength? @AmyMorinLCSW has a few tips to exercise the most important muscle you can ever have in life.

Alright folks, hit me up in the comments section or tweet at me @madalenemielke. If you found the articles interesting, please feel free to subscribe so that you don’t miss a post and share the post with your network! Thanks for reading!

— Madalene

Sorry, this is not the “West Wing”

arum group campaign buttons

Have you ever worked on a campaign as a paid operative? Yes, can you believe that people get paid to talk on the phone and go door to door like a vacuum salesperson to shill for their candidate? In the recent decade we’ve seen enough episodes of “West Wing” to tell when there’s a bit of creative license but if you get a group of operatives in a room, you can certainly hear campaign stories that no one could ever think could be possible. For us old timers, campaigns didn’t have fax machines unless it had thermal paper and pagers were the way to get a hold of me if I was on the road. People might have confused me for a dealer but at least, my parents might have mistaken me for a doctor.

Technology has brought us so many more “friends” but people still trust in their real time friends to validate positions and as advocates. I recently had my house renovated and I’ve given out the name of my contractor to numerous people because I had a positive experience and would like for them to have a similar experience. This also applies to voting and choosing the best candidate. Birds of a feather flock together. Although I may have friends with differing public policy opinions and haven’t drunk the kool aid to the extent that I blindly follow, I think it matters when we get outside of the beltway to see what normal people think. The right messenger can do a world of good or bring on doubt of a candidate’s ability to represent their constituents.

Regardless of how big or small, campaigns can be exciting and are sometimes filled with drama but more often than not, it’s an organization trying to manage chaos around them. All. The. Time. Whether it’s internal or external forces that pull on the resources, campaigns are always about raising and spending those resources towards a common goal: Winning. That magical number is 50% +1.

The best part of campaigns? Talking to people! Getting feedback and using it to see who is for your candidate, who is not for your candidate, and who is still undecided. With only 3 resources to get it all done, how do you manage expectations to execute a campaign plan? What are those 3 resources you ask? Stay tuned to find out!

Tell us about your 1st volunteer/paid campaign experience. We want to know!