You would not believe how many emails we get everyday from independence supporters with ideas on how to get the job done. You would also not believe how incredibly frustrating they can be to read for one reason – they aren’t very helpful.
Here are some tips for submitting your ideas to the TNM that can actually lead to them being adopted and implemented.
Ideas without actions are just suggestions.
Every good idea should end with an action. The natural path is to take an idea, evaluate its merits, develop a plan, and then implement the plan. Begin with the end in mind. How will this help the TNM achieve its mission? What sort of impact can your idea have in practice?
Do your homework first.
The TNM has a long history and is very active currently. We might actually be doing exactly what you are proposing. We seriously receive emails and phone calls on a regular basis suggesting that we put together local groups or try to get the Legislature to file a bill for a vote on independence. The other challenge comes when someone proposes an idea and want to take an approach that is totally contrary to our mission or principles suggesting that someone has no idea who we really are or what we stand for. And. of course, we have to answer all of these or risk being called “nonresponsive”.
The very best ideas come when someone has looked at what we are doing and suggests something totally new or suggests a new approach to something that we are currently doing and understands how it relates to fulfilling our mission.
Put yourself in the equation.
Too many suggestions start with the words “y’all ought to…” These might be the most frustrating of all. At its core, it says that the person who tendered it likely doesn’t believe in the idea enough to be responsible for any part of it. Really, it’s just criticism without consequence and is generally given a very low priority.
Instead, we see that the best ideas are tendered along with an offer to help implement them in some fashion. By accepting a role in the success or failure of the idea, it shows that the person offering believes in it enough to see it through. It also shows that they have some understanding that implementing the vast majority of ideas requires people. Think about what role you could play in helping. Maybe you can’t lead it or you don’t have the skillset to do all of it. What can you personally do to help bring your idea to life?
Think about resources.
I can remember when new got out that Venice (in Italy) held their own non-binding independence referendum. In the absence of official government action, the leading pro-independence group conducted their own referendum. In my opinion, it was superior in many ways to actual standing voting practices in the United States.
What followed, however, was a deluge of emails demanding that the TNM do the same thing. At the time, we had already been researching how to conduct a similar referendum in Texas. What was absent from any of the suggestions that we received was an acknowledgment of the massive amount of resources that it would take to pull it off here in Texas. It was simply a demand that “y’all ought to” do it.
All plans take resources. Just the development of a plan takes resources. Implementing one even more so. The best ideas come with an understanding that it will take a mix of time, people, and money to bring them to life. Even high school policy debaters are taught that when you advocate a policy you must identify the method that you’ll use to pay for it and you must clearly identify who will be responsible for carrying it out. Without those two, an idea is dead in the water.
As a point of comparison, for the TNM to conduct a non-binding referendum in Texas similar to that which took place in Venice, would cost around $4.5 million with $3.8 million of that being in postage costs and would require between 8,000 and 10,000 highly-trained volunteers.
Be open to critique.
When ideas are presented, they are rough and raw. Even the ones that are well-thought out like I described above have some kinks to work out. The absolute worst suggestions are the ones that are abandoned by those who tender them when they meet their first bit of scrutiny. It happens. We’ve received suggestions that were the seeds of a great idea, but when we asked the person bringing it to the table some questions to get a better understanding of the idea, they folded like Superman on laundry day.
When met with critiques and scrutiny, a great idea should lead to discussion, not disconnection. An idea is only as strong as the passion for the idea from its creator.
It’s never as simple as it seems on paper.
No matter how simple an idea is on paper, there are potentially hundreds of factors that will affect the idea. A great example of this was when the TNM implemented County Coordinators years ago.
It seemed like a simple idea. We would find dedicated TNM members in every county in Texas who would represent the TNM, help us organize the members in their county, and help us expand support for the TNM. However, in practice it was a monster.
There are 254 counties in Texas. How would we handle recruiting, training, and managing 254 coordinators? That led to grouping counties into 20 regions. How would we handle recruiting, training and managing 254 County Coordinators and 20 Regional Directors? How would we fund this effort? What about counties that had a massive population? Would those be split? Could we have more than one County Coordinator in a county? How would we channel the resources to these County Coordinators and Regional Directors? What would each role look like on a day-to-day basis? What about meetings? In rural areas, should a County Coordinator be allowed to cover more than one county? What should the expectations be of each role?
Trust me. These weren’t the only considerations. It was such a massive undertaking, before the County Coordinator program was shelved, the County Coordinator Handbook had grown to almost 200 printed pages and we still weren’t able to cover all of the bases.
When you propose a plan, always remember that what you conceive may be a few short sentences or even a few pages, but the more substantial your idea the more detail will be required to bring it to life.
Conclusion
None of this is to say that some ideas are as simple to implement as they are to propose. It happens. In fact, we created an entire section on TNM.ME for you to do just that. Post your idea or find someone else’s idea that resonates with you and hash it out. It’s what we do here at the TNM everyday. Now the process is there where every member to participate. Hit us with your best ideas. We’re anxious to hear them.
