𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 ‘𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮’ 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲: 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 🎯

Too many ED professionals pitch a project because it’s a good project. Amateurs pitch the project; professionals pitch the solution.

Politicians and senior managers are driven by visibility, avoiding future crises, and demonstrating tangible results to their voters/stakeholders.

Stop talking about the action – pitch the solution. Your brilliant £10M infrastructure investment is not an ‘input’; it’s the Crisis-Averter or the Legacy-Builder.

𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 🤝

Formal partnerships are slow, rigid, and take time. The delivery of a complex project relies on informal, trusted, and swift relationships across organisational boundaries.

You need the Planning Director to fast-track permits, the Utility CEO to prioritise connections, and the Transport Lead to greenlight access roads. They all work for different masters.

The solution? cultivate the Relationship. Invest time before the project needs approval. When the project hits, you aren’t sending a cold memo; you are making a quick phone call to a trusted colleague.

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗼” 🚫

Complex projects often die because one obscure department or statutory body exercises an unexpected veto late in the process. This is the Adaptive Deficit in action: the failure to anticipate and adapt to institutional inertia.

The solution? Identify the departments with the highest veto power before you finalise your proposal and engage them as co-designers. Ask them: “How can we structure this so it meets your regulatory requirements and achieves our economic outcome?” This forces them to transition from a gatekeeper to a facilitator. It makes the final approval process a ratification, not a debate.

Political capital is your most finite resource. Secure it by understanding the motivations of your stakeholders and relentlessly pursuing operational excellence.