Working Wounded Blog: Bolstering Your Base

Oct. 26, 2005 — -- News Flash: President Bush's approval ratings sink to an all-time low.

There is a tendency for second term U.S. presidents to suffer declines in popularity. No news there. But the malaise facing Bush's second term does have an unusual side -- most of the sniping right now is coming from Republicans. This not only has huge implications for Bush, but it can also teach the rest of us political animals, who toil in the corporate jungle, a very important lesson: It may sound strange, but the president has lost touch with his base, and all of us have to stay in touch with our bases or we may suffer the same fate.

The president had appeared to maintain his base of support across a broad spectrum of challenges that might have brought down a less-disciplined operator. Iraq, Katrina, stalled Social Security overhaul, investigations into a number of Republican Party leaders -- Nothing that happened on his watch seemed to stick to him personally. Bush seemed like the ultimate Teflon man.

Then along came the Harriet Miers nomination for the Supreme Court. Suddenly, Bush faced a landslide of criticism, including some sharp comments from right wingers. It's like they say -- when you lose Ann Coulter, you've probably lost the country. (Actually I don't know anyone who has ever said that, even Ms. Coulter herself, but you get the point...)

Which leads us to lesson number one -- your most loyal supporters, in politics or in the corporate world, can accept a certain amount of trouble coming from your direction. But what really sets them off is being taken for granted. The "nod" and "wink" policy that seemed to be at the heart of the Miers nomination managed to disenfranchise many of Bush's most loyal supporters.

It's very important not to surprise your strongest supporters. Take the extra step to give them advanced warning if you are about to do something that may trouble them. Take the time to fill them in about your decision and your rationale for reaching it. And give them a chance to give you feedback before they read about your decision in a company memo or the newspaper.

What are some other ways that we can lose our base? It can be remarkably easy to take our most loyal supporters for granted, to leap to the conclusion that they'll be with you no matter what happens. But do this at your own peril, as the Miers nomination suggests. It's better to adopt the philosophy that your base has to be won over on a regular basis. This will not only increase the loyalty of your people, it will also create a dialogue that will only make your work stronger.

I can hear what many of you are saying to yourselves: "What does this have to do with me? I don't have any supporters at work." Nothing could be further from the truth. You've got your bosses, the people who report to you, colleagues who look out for your back on a regular basis, vendors and customers who depend on you, etc. We all have a network of people who help us make it through the work day.

I don't want to be off-base here, but if you don't have a base to rely on, isn't it time that you built one?

"Few great men could pass personnel." -- Paul Goodman

From "Guerilla Travel Tactics" by Jay Conrad Levinson and Theo Brandt-Sarif (Amacom, 2004):

"Plan as far ahead as possible. Planning ahead is the single most important strategy you can use to consistently travel where you want, when you want at the lowest possible price. Planning seven days ahead is better than nothing at all, planning a month out is better yet, planning a year ahead of time is ideal, especially if you want to use frequent flyer miles and hotel points. That's not so say you should purchase your air ticket or book your car rental one year in advance, but to simply start the wheels in motion. When you begin figuring out what you want to do well in advance of your travel date, you give yourself the opportunity to research various strategies and maximize your options."

"Here is a way that I got back against a practical joker. About ten years ago, I had a coworker who told me every blonde joke he could think of -- including the one about how to tell if a blonde has been at the computer. At the time, I had a kaleidoscope screensaver on my computer. I had another friend come in to work early and put a piece of cellophane covered in White Out on my monitor. When I came in, I yelled at my coworker for taking the joke too far. He kept on swearing he was innocent, and no one in the group believed him. It was years before anyone found out that I'd set him up."

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Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, an internationally syndicated columnist, popular speaker and a recent addition to the community of bloggers. He welcomes your comments at bob@workingwounded.com.

This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.