The first time I heard the words Relational Organizing during the Pete 2020 campaign, I had no idea what that meant. It sounded complicated, but it was really quite simple: talk to everyone you know about Pete, the traditional word-of-mouth. People are more likely to listen to someone they actually know in real life—from their extended family, neighborhood, or faith community—than a stranger showing up at their door.
Relational organizing at its best is nuanced. It has to be natural and authentic for it to be successful. For me, it meant telling everyone about my trips and podcast interviews. At work, my colleagues would ask, “Where are you going now?” At first, they were more interested in the travel than Pete, but then they had to ask “What is it about this guy Pete?” I’m not sure how many people I was able to sway in this rather indirect way, but I can say that I definitely got his name out there. They knew who Pete was because I was traveling nearly every weekend going to Pete events.
When I came up with the idea for the Twitter Travels for Pete podcast, I thought it could be used to spread the word on Pete. Every time I interviewed someone, they could share the episode with their family and friends –Hey! I’m on a podcast!! I’m not sure to what extent that happened, but I know others on Team Pete were sharing my podcast, using it as a relational organizing tool.
As I was writing Traveling the Trail for Pete, it occurred to me that once again, I was engaged relational organizing. I was creating something that could be shared to spread the word on Pete. Sure, the book is for our Team Pete community in celebration of a campaign near and dear to our hearts, but isn’t it also a good way to show others why we worked so hard for Pete?
I’ve had positive comments from readers in both camps. To the insiders, the book is a way to relive the excitement of the campaign, to revisit the Rules of the Road, and most importantly remember why we supported Pete in the first place. For those who weren’t involved, they read with genuine interest, amazed at what a devoted following Pete had and how hard everyone worked.
Spoiler: The adventure isn’t over. Pete’s political career is just beginning, and more and more people are getting to know him now as Secretary of Transportation. Although I don’t want to speculate on future offices here, I think Team Pete knows what’s ahead, and we’ll be ready to report for duty. In the meantime, relational organizing never stops.