John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, in the midst of tense times, saw the men and women behind the badge as being people he could respect and should defend.

In 1962, America’s youngest President had wisdom beyond his years when he spoke up and chose to make:

• a day in May (usually May 15) specifically Peace Officer’s Memorial Day, a time to remember those who had died or been injured in the line of duty
• The days surrounding it as Police Week every year, a time to celebrate and salute those who continue to serve

​When this effort started, I was no where near being born. From what I can tell through research, living in the 60’s was a hotbed of tension and unrest.

Communication is just talking.

Communication is having a conversation, responding to questions, smiling, offering a speck of hope, and listening.

I was at an event on Tuesday’s Election Night (big election day in Michigan this week!) and got to hear “the conversation” from the new Republican Party Chair of Michigan, Pete Hoekstra.

What I heard from him was:

• Conversation - even from the stage
• Authenticity - both one on one and on the stage
• Humility - he shared the stage with others
• Kindness - offered kindness to those in the room who worked against him at one time or the other

He did not give a 3 hour speech, or read from a teleprompter or stand in the corner and assume “communication was happening.”

I walked away with an extra speck of hope.

We must all learn TO communicate. We must stop hiding from it.
And it’s time to stop assuming someone else is doing it.

Talk with purpose and intentionality. Communicate with joy, interest, and a heart of service and watch how things get better. It can make all the difference.
​
Silence and hiding from communication is no longer an option. It’s time to lean in and start to communicate. Thank you Chairman Hoekstra for encouraging me: there is hope on the horizon.

Communication matters.

And if we ever want to win again as conservatives, as leaders, as peers - we need to embrace it.
​
Lean into some of these resources to start to take yourself to the next level!

• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Saying It Well: Touching Others with Your Words
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
• The Value of Communication: Why It Should Matter to You

We have to know what we are doing wrong if we ever want to see right results.

Conservatives lose when:

• we arrogantly assume we are all supposed to agree on everything together
• we assume we know it all
• we do not take time to listen
• we cannot contribute kindness to those who oppose us
• we lash each other with our tongues, then spit others out with fiery condemnation, then wonder why no one wants to be around us
• we demonstrate bad fruit, lack of follow through and irresponsible behavior
• we lack integrity and kindness
• we assume everyone thinks like us and has to believe like us in order to be effective
• we focus only on the short term and not the long term
• we destroy bridges faster than we can ever rebuild them
• we wound others more than we contribute to solutions and healing
• we shame those with wisdom and arrogantly wield our rants based on only having a piece of the truth

I have to say what few have said. I must also say what will be uncomfortable to many. But someone has to peel back the bandaid and say truth.

If your idea of bringing change to society is to do protests, pickets, boycotts, and rallies - FOR ANY TOPIC - that is not enough. It will not bring the sustainable change that is needed. It is, in fact, the lazy way out if that is your only call to action.

To bring the change needed in our state, our nation, our communities we need 3 things:

1. Repentant and humble hearts
2. Wisdom and favor of Heaven
3. To each do something on a consistent basis that requires us to roll up our sleeves and put sweat into the game, outside of rallies and protests

​We have to get out and serve our communities.
​

As a business you know your market, you have a good product, and you build relationships (for a lifetime) with the customers ...

It is time that Republicans start to see our party as a business. We are not just a clearing house for those who want a stepping stone to become a big deal.

We should stop with the game of “social club” or behaving like we are in 8th grade where the cool kids fight for popularity.

The Republican Party of America should be seen as:

• The group of people with hope
• A team of people with varying perspectives and respect for those who are different than you
• Hard workers, strategic, and pragmatic
• The brand of integrity
• The family always seeking solutions and for ways to serve our community
• The tribe that is aiming to build and not tear down
• People who do what they promise, and act out what they talk about (aka demonstrate integrity)

We should be seen as the happy warriors not the sad and bitter girlfriend who didn’t get her way. (Am I wrong?)

We are the universe where conservatives should know to go for:

• Truth, always based on conservative principles
• Strategies for how to win
• Opportunities for how to serve the conservative team
• Connections for resources
• Opportunities for fellowship, community and friendship

Like a business there is profit and loss, accountability, and a deep understanding of the market. 

Therefore, we should be:

• Producing content our target market wants
• Meeting our target market at their pain points
• Taking time to listen to our target market and community
• Communicating outward what we are thinking and doing
• Always staying fluid for changing our optics and approaches
• Always staying rooted in our fundamental principles

A girl can dream can’t she? What would happen if we started treating our parties like a business? Instead of how they are currently running?
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It’s time we win as conservatives again. Let’s run this ship like a business. Thoughts?

It’s amusing to me how the progressives whine and complain about some particular element of society until they change it. Then they experience (even unconsciously) the impact of the absence of said thing. And they stumble around pondering “hmmm what could go wrong? Why is there a problem?” I want to scream at them, “you eliminated the very thing that helped hold things together! Of course things are going badly!”

• Governor Whitmer in Michigan championing the killing of the unborn but now creating a committee to figure out why the population is going down
• Communities devaluing the family unit yet wondering why youth are getting into so much trouble
• Progressives screaming at us that rights of women must be put on the pedestal of society to such a degree that men are now forced into the backseat (in some scenarios) and yet now blamed for not doing more.

WELL IT STOPS WITH US. It’s time we stand for truth, demonstrate the benefit of truth, and smile with joy as we explain the truth. And for one, I am excited to rally a nation to say “can we start to celebrate men again?!”

Following is a poem I completed in 2016. May it encourage the men and inspire the women to see how much their role matters. How do we win as conservatives? We stop allowing lies to perpetuate and with that comes the celebration of women and men and the immense need of their unique gifts so we can know a healthy society.

So you are a conservative and you are frustrated that “no one is hearing what you are saying”? Welcome to the arena! The place where you have to learn how to more effectively communicate because your message matters! 

1. Determine what your message is: make sure it is succinct, clear, summarized. 
2. Frame it in a way that will be understandable to your target audience. I.e. if you want teenagers to grasp it, stop preparing a White Paper for them to read. 
3. Be clear about what the issue is and what you want people to do with it. Don't put it on your audience to muddle through to make sense of the issue: tell it to them. If they have to work at it they won't do it. 
4. Build a list of influencers and then invite them to share the information:
   - Influencer: someone who has a group of people they inform, and who has an audience that listens to them. 
   - Share the information with said influencers but in a way that they can skim and grasp quickly, possibly with links to click on for more information.
5. Share it on all your social media platforms, framing it in different ways to fit to that paradigm. 
6. Build your email list and distribute information through your email list. 
7. Lean on Media: If it’s a timely topic, push it with a Press Release or Briefing with the local Media. Ask them, “are you aware of this issue? Here are some ideas your audience might be intrigued by …” And remember to follow up. 
   1. Understand how to advance your topic with media.
   2. Follow up, follow up, follow up 
8. Repeat. Never understand one post, at one spot is sufficient.
9. Have it on a website, or a google drive link. Make sure it is someplace they can come back to, easily find, and refer to again and again and again.
   
10. When appropriate do a video explaining your idea or why you think it is imperative: not everyone reads content. Some people appreciate audio form, or visual form. If it's an urgent topic be prepared to share it many different ways.  
    
    

Bonus ideas:

• I love sending informative pieces to friends I know will be interested via text message. 
• If it’s urgent and timely pick up the phone and leave a message “Hey you should know about …” 
• Never forget snail mail … 
• Advertise in local newspapers 
• And at public gatherings, ask if an announcement can be made 

Sometimes you think the hardest piece is putting the  message together but it’s equally as hard to make sure it gets out there, is received, understood, and acted upon!

Also, don’t be discouraged when you have to share the information in different ways more than once. The word is it could take up to 10 times of repetition before someone connects. 

But if your message is important - it's important to put the time in to distribute the information far and wide. Email me amy@generationstrategies.com if I can help! 

- Amy 

P.S. KEEP LEARNING

1. Review this article that says you may have to repeat your message up to 10 times! 
2. And review this article for more insights on Psychology and Marketing. It has some definitions of terms and style information you might appreciating knowing. 

Imagine one day that voters can say:  

“I knew the Republican Party and her leaders really cared about me after engaging with them on social media.” 

“I learned more about what it means to be a conservative and a Republican by the content they provided on social media.”

“I got involved in my local community to make an impact for conservative ideas, because of the resources the GOP provided to me through social media.” ​