Read on Twitter
I am just going to throw my old, slightly dusty Conservative strategist hat on for a weeeeee second. Look away if that scares you. Implementing strategy is the subject matter here.
Reading @cselley’s piece today in the @nationalpost which builds on other excellent Post pieces about the modern Conservative movement aka who potentially votes for whom.
I strongly disagree with his suggestion that Conservative strategy only works in opposition. In 2006 Conservatives went from minority to stronger minority to majority. That translated to 10 years in government. That type of success isn’t just dumb luck.
Patrick Muttart is quoted. He really is one of the best in the business. He knows what a target audience looks like. He can boil down who cares about what into easy to chew pieces. And those categories spell opportunity if you know what to do with them.
In my day I used to say the voters who get Conservatives to a majority are 1) single men under 30; 2) families with 3 kids or more; 3) low income seniors; 4) older women worried about security. Strategy implementation was policy decisions and programs for them.
Patrick talks about potential Conservative voters now being people who believe in 1) Canada and have a strong feeling of national pride; 2) strong controlled borders; 3) tough but fair justice system. This is beautifully cooked red meat, dear strategy people.
(I also very much liked Patrick’s point that these potential supporters “think it is insane that a few protestors can shut down the CN railroad”. But those events often require real time, savvy responses deeply informed by strategy, implemented locally on the fly)
It all made me think about the business of strategy. Good strategy is the foundation of good policy. And that strategy should be simple to understand no matter what business you are in - politics, tech, whatever. Everyone should be exposed to it and be able to repeat it
Seems obvs? But in reality we don’t spend enough time helping people understand it. Strategy needs the “learn it, live it, love it” approach to succeed.
While good strategy looks forward, it also lives in peaceful co-existence with the past. That is where implementation is haaaaaard. It should build, not destroy or desert. If you need a full on brand shift to implement strategy you better find yourself plenty of time and money.
Or get a new strategy.
The article is here 
and I think @cselley, @IvisonJ and the Post crew have done a great job reporting on this fascinating topic. Looks like there is a lot of good strategy there, hanging around, looking for a good owner.
and I think @cselley, @IvisonJ and the Post crew have done a great job reporting on this fascinating topic. Looks like there is a lot of good strategy there, hanging around, looking for a good owner.
(Also the headline is 
) https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-true-blue-erin-otoole-seems-to-be-turning-purple
) https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-true-blue-erin-otoole-seems-to-be-turning-purple
