A 1980s hip-hop group called Whodini had a hit song called “Friends” The lyrics go like this – Friends how many of us have them?  Friends, the ones you can depend on?

Many of my peers in the public affairs industry are probably tired of hearing this, BUT relationships and friendships matter.   It’s true, right?  Particularly, in the sport of politics – - learning to leverage relationships is an important part of being successful.  To our clients and strategic allies, I’m the first to acknowledge that DCI Group is in the friends business.  Our recent recognition by the National Black Chamber of Commerce at their 18^th Annual Conference in Houston highlights just that.  Although, I cannot take credit for starting this relationship, I understand the need to have a friend in groups like NBCC.

We all have relationships that we’ve formed with folks from all political stripes – the question that I’d like for you to ask yourself is – how can you build on these relationships to support the public affairs issues you’re working on?   We’re all third party experts and should always be thinking of ways to connect the dots for the issues we’re working to promote.   I’d like to encourage you all to think of ways to bring new voices to the table for future issues and campaigns.  It’s always a challenge finding those authentic voices when we need them most, but my philosophy is simple, nurturing relationships over the long-term will be extremely helpful when you’re looking to engage the right voice at the right time.   That’s what friends are for, right?  Listen to the song by Whodini and they make the same point:  “Friends – how many of us have them? Friends, the ones you can depend on… “

How many can you depend on for your public affairs campaign?