Hack Your Bureaucracy

Tailor Your Pitch Our friend and White House colleague Kumar Garg was always willing to advise on how to pitch ideas inside the building. Early in the Obama Administration, Kumar pitched the White House Science Fair to communications and West Wing staff. Kumar convinced them it was a great idea, low risk, and very doable even under short timelines—and got permission to organize an event at the WH residence and Rose Garden. It was massively successful as a Presidential messaging event—and as an occasion for the Administration to release new science policy and funding announcements. It went so well that it turned into an annual tradition inside the Obama White House. But *why* was Kumar successful in pitching this idea? Timing helps. This was admittedly early in an Administration. But Kumar also knew his audience (busy comms staffers and political staffers fresh from a campaign) and tailored his pitch to appeal to them. He understood how to align the core idea (a science-focused WH event) with the goals of his audience (positive press for the Administration). Kumar pitched visually, using photos of kids, robots, & 3-D printers to show what the President would see, and what the media would capture. Kumar also included a brief, credible plan about how he could recruit a diverse set of kid scientists/engineers from across the country, using science fairs and clubs. What lessons should you take from this story? Here are a few tips for your next pitch: ? Know what winning looks like. ?For communications staffers, winning is a great photo of the President in a positive national news story, and positive local press across the country.? For Kumar, a policy staffer, winning meant a POTUS speech and an artificial deadline to drive major STEM deliverables from the executive branch agencies and outside partners. ? Make it simple. It’s easy to understand the idea of a White House Science Fair: kids at science booths. The title is self-explanatory, even if you know nothing about science. ? Less is more.?Everyone, especially WH staffers, is busy and overloaded.? Kumar’s pitch was easy to get quickly. ?Be specific and credible. Kumar’s plan was concrete and believable. ?Appeal to the heart. President Obama talking to and playing around with teen inventors is a fun, original, and heartwarming idea. Had Kumar pitched a traditional East Room speech with heads of federal science agencies in attendance, he would have been appealing to the head—and probably would have failed.? ?Follow through. Once Kumar gained a reputation for delivering a successful event while also being easy to work with, he had massive credibility—and was able to successfully pitch many other ideas during the Obama Administration (This is part of a regular series where Marina Nitze and I write about the tactics and stories in our book, Hack Your Bureaucracy.) Friends, we’re curious: how did you tailor your pitch to make it land more effectively?? Let us know in the comments below!