Monument Turns Sweet Sixteen

It’s September of 2006. I’ve gone into the consulting business after a decade in government, but my first firm turned out not to be the right fit, and my would-be business partner has just been snapped up by one of my handful of clients. I’m a Republican with the upcoming elections accurately forecast as a total Democrat takeover of the Congress. But under the theory that it’s the American Dream to be your own boss, I launch Monument Policy Group as a solo operation.?

Fast forward 16 years, and the firm now known as Monument Advocacy has over 40 full-time employees, almost 100 clients from the elite of American business and non-profits, a major presence on the West Coast, and a track record of success, ethics and camaraderie.?

So how did Monument get from there to here? I didn’t go to business school (wish I had) but learned some important lessons over the years that might fit well with an MBA curriculum.?

First, hire the best and give them room for leadership. When I was looking to name my small enterprise, it was tempting to go with something eponymous like Verdery Consulting – my last name is unusual and my Bush Administration experience had led to some minor level of notoriety. But a family friend who had named her public affairs business after herself counseled to find a generic name for two major reasons: 1) to avoid fights over whose name would be added to the masthead; 2) to allow us to staff client relationships based on what a client needed, not whose names were on the letterhead – aka nobody at the firm is the “B Team.” When I walked past a DC gift store and saw the classic photo of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Capitol, with the moon perched above, the idea of Monument Policy Group was born. This generic name has served us well, especially when we were able to secure the one-word @Monument Twitter account.?

Second, don’t chase risky cash that raises tough ethics questions. The saying that everybody deserves a lawyer does not mean everybody deserves a lobbyist or public affairs consultant. So, we have refused to represent foreign governments, avoided ‘billionaires with personal problems’ as clients, and been up front with clients about actual or potential conflicts. We certainly have left money on the table with this approach, but it has made it much easier to talk to a potential client whose image is integral to their success.?

Third, create an environment that builds careers for those starting out. Like most firms, we started out very top heavy with almost no support staff or younger analysts. But as soon as we had some financial breathing room, we started hiring cadres of younger managers and directors who do the heavy lifting of research, policy analysis, fly-in logistics and content development. And we initiated the Monument Fellows Program for college students and recent graduates looking for hands-on experience – over 120 fellows later, the program has become our main hiring pipeline and provided enough bodies to actually field a Monument softball team in 2022 (more fun than wins!).?

Fourth, our firm has evolved as advocacy has evolved. The days of having success on an issue simply by walking the halls of Congress are long gone. Winning issue campaigns now means creating “surround sound.” That work includes lobbying of course, but also storytelling across multiple platforms: social media, creative influencer communications, reporter engagement, paid media and in-district events. We’ve built a world-class public affairs team to complement our government affairs work, and we have sought out senior players who are as comfortable talking to a CNN reporter as to a Legislative Director. ?

Fifth, politics now evolve so quickly that we have had to adjust approaches pretty much every election cycle. The collapse of the regular appropriations and budgeting process (think fiscal cliff and shutdowns) created both opportunities and major risks for government-dependent clients. The rise and fall of President Trump and his willingness to attack normal business objectives, not to mention the January 6 fallout, has destroyed the normal cozy relationship between big business and the Republican Party. And for a firm with a huge technology client portfolio, the bipartisan angst around big tech has been a complete 180 from the ‘too cool to touch’ industry mantra of just a few years back.?

So as Monument turns Sweet 16, it’s time for thanks. Thanks to our clients, whose trust and friendship makes a business possible. Thanks to our friends in government who hopefully see us as partners of the highest caliber. Thanks to our families who put up with the difficult schedules and demands that all consultants must satisfy to earn their keep. Thanks to all my current and former colleagues at Monument, particularly my partners Tim Punke and Andrew Howell who took huge leaps of faith in joining the firm early in 2007. And thanks to this amazing and flawed country that guarantees the right of individuals and businesses to speak their minds, engage policymakers, and play a role in what types of public policies the United States chooses to have.?

After Monument’s launch in 2006, a good friend who ran the Disney DC office, Richard Bates, used to call me when I was a one-man shop and needle me by asking ‘where’s this group?’ Richard sadly passed away in 2020, but he lived long enough to see that Monument had indeed turned into a powerful and respected group. And the best is yet to come.?