“In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail;
against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper
than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions.”
That quote from Abraham Lincoln is as relevant today as it was when it was uttered over 150 years ago. Whether it’s the cost of gas at the pump, the war in the Ukraine, whether opening a convenience store in a neighborhood or posting a stop sign at the end of any street, everyone has an opinion and the right to express it. It’s those opinions, that sentiment that ultimately drives voters to the polling place and decision makers to render their decisions on all issues international and local, big and small.
And whether we’re talking about building a new school or town hall or a wind or solar farm in a community, the ability to effectively identify, cultivate and clearly articulate public sentiment to decision makers separates the successful projects from those that fail. It’s easy enough to count to the three or five votes you might need at the town council to win. Far more challenging is demonstrating to the “three” or the “five” that they should support your position. The fact is, generating public sentiment requires effort, it requires organization, it requires resources and it requires a campaign to pull all of it together. That’s where Hawthorn Group comes in.
The tools available are so much more advanced than in the past. Social media is chock full of options and every community and interest group anywhere in the country has the ability to exchange data, case studies and experiences based on the press of an “enter” button and the use of a search engine. That said, that data, that sentiment needs to be channeled and organized. And with all the advanced social tools, there’s still no substitute for “boots on the ground,” the ability to identify support at the local level, build a coalition, cultivate it and create an environment where policy makers and public officials can be comfortable that support exists for their decisions, whether for or against. Hawthorn understands the trends and the tools and has been putting them to use to solve client problems for three decades. Got a challenge? Let us build a solution for you, help you reach the right people and get to the right outcome.
