This is very cool, Katherine! It sounds like you're somewhere between relief (somebody is finally listening!) and panic (omg what if this is our only shot?!).
A few things to keep in mind: * Don't mistake the quickness of their meeting scheduling with their quickness in...well, in any other capacity. Over and over, I've seen people in gov't and pseudo-gov't bodies get excited about doing things with us, but when it comes time to actually get the doing done...slower than molasses. Their default speed is very different from yours, and they don't really respond to any sort of deadlines except for when the polls close. * Don't get wrapped up in doing "big things". Gov't folks are used to having to work at a scale where, frankly, most things don't work. That's why it always feels like they're not getting anything done. It's so expensive for them to get approvals & buy in that the things they're used to doing MUST be at a certain scale, other wise it's not worth it. *Resist getting wrapped up in their need for scale.* Think big, but act small. * Focus on helping them deliver a single small result, more specifically, a *single small win. *Related the the "big wins" mindset that gov't folks bring to the table, they're also not used to success. It's AMAZING how the conversation can change when you can help them deliver a tiny success. Note the difference in what I said: not for you to deliver that win, but help *them* deliver the win. They need to feel it for themselves. This is the ultimate quick-start for building real trust, and getting a sense for how you might work together in the future. * To that end, trying to do a large-scale study is the sort of thing that I wouldn't do as the first project together. Do something smaller, focused, local, etc. Win-able. * When talking to the press, keep the message laser-focused on what's *already* been done, and avoid talking about "what could be" or "what will be". This will keep you (and your political partner) from making promises that you can't keep. I've got a lot more that I can share on this topic, but I know that you're feeling time-crunched right now so I wanted to get the most salient points in your hands ASAP. Oh, one last thing - don't forget to have fun. :) -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 5:47 AM, Katherine Warman Kern < kather...@comradity.com> wrote: > very good insight about SME's Thanks > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
