Joe's Dirty Dozen

Joseph W. Sutschek
V.P. DevelopmentRamco-Gershenson, Inc.
Twelve Rules for Good Government Relations
Many small businesses seek to work for government entities. Joe Sutschuk is a veteran deal maker and developed this dirty dozen list many years ago. Joe spent many years with the city of Southfield, and is currently vice president of Development at Ramco-Gershenson and a member of the Walsh Novi President’s Advisory Council. He’s been using this list for more than a dozen years, but it still rings true.

1. Never make a commitment that you can’t keep.
This the absolute cardinal rule. You need to develop a trustworthy relationship. Once that trust is broken, it is virtually impossible to rebuild. All future plans and projects will be highly scrutinized to your long term detriment.
2. Be a good corporate citizen.
Your company needs to be and be viewed as a good citizen that responds to appropriate public needs in a positive manner. Communities will ask you for help in a number of different ways, not just financial. Stretch as far as you can to accommodate the various requests that come your way.
3. When working in a community for the first time, take extra time to review your company’s background and your position or role in it.
You want to make sure that the community comes away from your meeting with the impression that you and your company are highly capable, professional, and honest. This requires that you dress and talk professionally, show respect, and be very straightforward in answering questions.
4. Pay attention to proper protocol.
Always have the appropriate company representative, by rank or title, at the appropriate meeting. You don’t want to have your lowest staff member be your sole representative at a meeting with the planning director, the mayor, or city manager. You run the risk of insulting them and telling them that your request is not really as important as you are making it out to be.
5. Make sure your relationship is not just business.
Make occasional social calls. You don’t want to be viewed as the shop that only comes around to sell something. Drop in on occasion to just say hello, drop a note, and invite officials to lunch. Be mindful of the frequency, the relationship must always be and appear proper.
6. When you appear before a planning commission or city council show them that you respect them and the positions they hold.
Start your presentation by introducing yourself by name and title. Introduce all other participants and what they will present, if anything. Have all questions come through you. You can decide to answer them yourself or hand off to one of the other experts. Always answer all questions through the chair. This allows you to control the answers and show the chair that you recognize the authority.
Make the length and content of your presentation appropriate for the scale of the project or topic. Be thorough, but not overly verbose. Above all, shut up when you have sold the refrigerator.
Never lose your temper or show anger. Answer all questions politely, directly and to the point. They will know if you are trying to hide something. If you don’t know the answer or do not want to answer the question, tell them you don’t know or that you are not authorized to answer.
Show up a few minutes early regardless of your position on the agenda.
Sometimes you can pick up some tips from observing the conduct of the meeting on another project. Never have side conversations when the meeting is going on.
7. Never assume that the staff is dumb, over paid and underworked just because they work for the government. On the contrary, most government workers are bright, know their jobs, and work hard. Don’t ever make the mistake of underestimating their ability. Their bottom line is just not necessarily the same as yours.
8. Government is a political animal. There is always a political agenda.
Even the most professional staff representative will reflect that agenda. You must discover that agenda, and to the maximum extent possible, make your plans and presentations reflect it. Government agencies generally have to do with aesthetics, tax base, infrastructure costs, image, corporate citizenship, etc. Your profitability is not a real concern of theirs.
9. You only have six bullets in your six shooter, use them wisely.
Even the best of relationships will only accommodate a given number of considerations. Save them for your most important projects.
10. Be realistic about your expectations.
Good government relations will get you objectivity, a quick meeting, a telephone call returned and in general, common courtesy. It will not get you a decision if the government agency concludes that it is not in their best interest.
11. Let each project stand on its own.
Keep the past in the past. You won’t be a winner all of the time. Sometimes you will lose. Be a good and gracious loser. Don’t let the fallout of a prior loss affect the current deal.
12. Recognize that political contributions are a way of life.
Be prepared to deal with political contributions. You will not be able to respond to all of them. Develop a company policy that places a priority on requests.