How to Build a Business and Sell It for Millions by Jack Garson

Author:Jack Garson [Garson, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780312383114
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2010-03-10T14:00:00+00:00

18

Government Relations

Making Friends in High Places

Most subpoenas come in thick envelopes. Ours certainly did.

It sat there on the conference table waiting to be opened. We all had an inkling of what was inside, and we would have just as soon gone home for the day and let someone else deal with it.

My client was a highly regulated financial services company. It’s an industry in a field full of land mines. One consumer complaint could trigger a multiyear Attorney General investigation or a U.S. Senate hearing. One consumer complaint could trigger a class action lawsuit, cost a fortune in legal fees, and bury you in an avalanche of adverse publicity.

And guess what? All of that bad stuff exploded from that envelope and a couple of others just like it that we received over the next few weeks.

As we stared at that first envelope, one thought hung over the room. Howie, the CEO, looked at me and asked, “Is it too late to start that government relations program that you’ve been noodging me about for years?”

Yes. It was too late.

The advice that I had been giving Howie about starting a government relations program is the same table pounding that I had been doing for my clients for years. Invest in the process. Get to know the power players. Contribute. Host a fund-raiser and attend a bunch of others. Network. Get others to give. Hire a lobbyist. Get out the vote. In short, make friends in high places.

Why do it? Because anybody can get in trouble. Because there are thousands of laws and regulations and too many “gray” areas. Because you and your colleagues sometimes make stupid mistakes. Because there are government paper pushers who have all the time in the world to torture you with endless investigations. Because, as Howie discovered, one consumer complaint can lead to an envelope full of troubles.

The government asked Howie’s company for hundreds of thousands of documents that the investigators never intended to read yet kept demanding. Top executives were tied up answering questions and distracted from their business plan. Growth went out the door, along with some good employees. Business decreased and it was harder to hire new employees. Suitors previously interested in investing in or even buying the company shied away and took a “wait and see” approach. The media coverage didn’t help, either.

The fate of your company may hinge on an effective government relations program. Think of it as insurance. And no one’s selling policies as the hurricane rolls in. Or think of it like fire extinguishers and parachutes. It’s there just in case. In a crisis, you need the power players to return your calls, you need to be able to meet with the right people, and you need a fair hearing of your concerns. The power players don’t run when you’re in trouble; they actually stop and help—although there are no guarantees. And when you’re just trying to get a law passed or quash someone else’s, a good program may actually sway a vote or two—which could make all the difference.

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