A Peek Inside the Radical Mind: Alinsky’s Rules for the Radical Examined

By T.L. HEADLEY, MBA, MA, BA
Genesis Group Principal
ONA, WV – Has your company ever been targeted by protesters?
If you are part of an extractive industry — mining or logging – or if you are part of the chemical or power generation industries you have probably been the target of activists.
If you wait until the protestors are at the gates, it will be difficult to get ahead of the game. Like a football team that is always playing on their own end of the field, it is much harder for you to score than the opponent.
But what if you had a copy of the other team’s play book?
This article will provide you exactly that – a look at the radical’s play book. With this information, you will be able to plan responses for probable lines of attack, potentially blunting them before they can harm your company. You should also be able to develop your own plays – turning the tactics against the protest groups.
Keep in mind, many of the protest groups are shill groups – fronts for organizations ranging from activist law firms such as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ) to anarchist environmental terror groups such as Earth First. Instead of focusing on responding to their moves, imagine the impact of a group of unemployed miners and support staff protesting in front of the TLPJ offices in Washington — signs accusing the firm of ignoring the needs of the workers in an effort to land big judgments – David and Goliath in reverse.
Saul D. Alinsky, who died in 1967, is often called the father of modern American radicalism. He developed strategies and tactics that tap into the emotional energy of grassroots and radical groups to generate and support anti-government, anti-institutional, and anti-corporate activism. Alinsky’s ideas are used as a set of model behaviors and actions.
Grassroots pressure on large organizations is growing. Studying Alinsky’s rules and developing empathetic counteractive strategies can level the playing field.
Here are eight of Alinsky’s 13 Rules for Radicals. They take advantage of the patterns of weakness, arrogance, repeated mistakes, and miscalculations large organizations and their leadership make:
1. Power is not only what you have, but what the target thinks you have.
Potential Counteraction: Preparation and knowing the opposition.
Do your homework. Who benefits and who doesn’t?
Have the numbers for the media. If the opposition is small, say so. Utilize local response to show the real support you have in the community. Show how the opposition is hurting the community. Portray yourself as David to its Goliath – turn the tables. Take the offensive.
2. Never go outside the expertise of your people. Feeling secure stiffens the backbone.
Potential Counteraction: In other words, let the experts do the talking. If you have a problem that requires the input of an expert, get that input. Don’t send a technical person to talk about legal issues. Conversely, don’t send a lawyer to talk about technical issues. BOTTOM LINE – Don’t speculate!!!!
If you are the target, watch for people who are talking outside their comfort zone. Watch for the key mistake. Hit the mistake and then hit it again!!! Remember the image of Michael Dukakis in the M1Abrams tank – he was out of his element and it showed. The Bush campaign NEVER let it go. Remember the John Kerry “reporting for duty…” comment. It opened the door to the Swift Boat vets campaign. The result …
3. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the target. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Potential Counteraction: The answer above holds true. ALWAYS speak from the position of expertise. Utilize your resources. Take your time and prepare responses as much as possible. Seek the advice of experts, utilize them and DON’T wing your answers! DON’T talk off the cuff!
4. Make the target live up to its own book of rules. If the rule is that every letter or E-mail gets a reply, send thousands.
Potential Counteraction: COMMON SENSE! If your web site is being bombarded with junk e-mails, shut it down. Document the attack! Provide the information to the press and, again, portray yourself as the David to Goliath. You are the wronged party! There are software packages that can recognize boilerplate letters and email. Set up an automatic return for such email when possible. If it becomes too heavy, shut down the email portion of the site.
5. Ridicule, especially against organizational leaders, is a potent weapon. There’s no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force concessions.
Potential Counteraction: Alinsky is right, it is irrational. The problem is, the criticism often carries a seed of truth. We have all seen it. The criticism of the upper management of a company as concerned only with making money. Turn that around, what IS the primary concern of most in upper level management? It is to maximize shareholder value. Translation: Make money!
While there is not good response once the charge is made, it is possible to make the charge itself seem irrational. They called President Reagan the “Teflon President” because nothing stuck to him. Why, he disarmed the criticism by always being himself. He was open, congenial and always smiled. Nothing seemed to really affect him. The answer? Don’t respond directly to the attack. Don’t get angry! Don’t stray from the issues. Be open and honest. Show your best side, but BE SINCERE!!!!!
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy. They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’ll even suggest better ones.
Potential Counteraction: Turn the attack around. Make sure those who are doing the protesting see the human side of their target. Take the coffee and donuts. Set up a port-a-potty and some other amenities. If the opposition is getting no response – no fight – they will lose interest and move on to other tactics. It takes a lot of discipline, but like Gandhi and King, the best response often means taking the high road and letting the other side appear to be the heavy.
7. Keep the pressure on. Never let up. Keep trying new tactics to keep the opposition off balance. As the target masters one approach, hit them with something new.
Potential Counteraction: As the answer for number six suggests, the goal is to provoke response from the target. Response breeds interest on the part of the protestors. It feeds the protest. When you can change the rules – take the attacker off their feet — the game changes. Ignore the efforts to build pressure. Let the steam off through openness and responsiveness to the broad community.
8. Pick the target. Target an individual, personalize the attack, polarize and demoralize his/her supporters. Go after people, not institutions. Hurting, harassing, and humiliating individuals, especially leaders, causes more rapid organizational change.
Potential Counteraction: This is often the most hurtful form of attack, but it is also the easiest to defend. This is a tactic of desperation. See it as such. Don’t hide from the attack. Show it for what it is – an unfair, hurtful attack on person. Keep a copy of Alinsky’s rules, let the media and the public see the play book. The American people love the underdog. Again, turn the attack into one of David (you) versus Goliath (the attacker). Let the people see the humanity of the target. Personalize the attack in the minds of the public – in other words, let the people see the callousness of the attack and its planned nature.
There are few surprises, just a lack of preparation.