Bringing a knife to a gun fight
Don’t be naive about who your opponents are and what they really want. Seemingly irrational opponents may have a very rational motivation to shut you
Menu
Dissent: The Consensus Strategies Blog
Ten Things You Should Know About Project Applicants
1. They have got to win this approval. The business men and women who appear before your commissions and boards seeking approvals are under tremendous
Ten Things You Should Know About Project Opponents
1. Opponents defy demographics. They now come from every ethnicity, age, party, ideology, region, religion, and gender. While in many situations the more affluent —
Ten Things You Should Know About How the Public Feels About Development
1. Stop all development anywhere near me. 79% of Americans want no new development projects in their communities. Now that does not mean they are
Consensus SVP Interviewed by Rogue Rocket
Successful movie studios are harnessing digital media and grassroots techniques to build audiences and promote films. Consensus SVP Owen Eagan is a leading expert on
The Self-Storage Conundrum
When your projects benefits become its negatives. Self-storage is experiencing explosive growth. Annual industry revenue in the US is now $38 billion and it remains
Hiding Is Not a Strategy
Hiding is not a strategy. The opponents are coming whether they are anxious abutters, political opportunists, competitor funded rabble-rousers or local activists. Keeping quiet doesn’t
Top 10 CRE Developer Mistakes
History is constantly repeating with developers making these same old mistakes. Learn from experience and have a strategy to avoid these common problems. 1. “Don’t
The Truth about Fake Protesters
Whether protesting a president, a policy, a pipeline or a development project, it is highly unlikely that protesters have been paid. It is much more
The Usual Suspects
These Characters show up at every public hearing.You know they’re coming but are you ready for them? By Patrick Fox EMAIL Opponents dominate public
Clandestine Market Defense
By Patrick Fox EMAIL It’s secretly acting to protect your market share and profits from an encroaching competitor by generating and organizing community opposition.
Empowering Fools
Dealing with the Idiotic, Irrational and Incomprehensible By Patrick Fox EMAIL Anyone advocating for a controversial initiative today
Truthiness and CRE Rules of Engagement
By Patrick Fox EMAIL Credibility is crucial for commercial developers but not so much for their opponents. The greatest advantage held by opponents today is
Managing Land Use Campaigns
Tips for Managing the Unmanageable By Patrick Fox EMAIL Every commercial real estate development team is made up of experts from a variety of disciplines. Managing
Broken Planning
Broken Planning: How Opponents Hijacked the Planning Process By Patrick Fox EMAIL Former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill famously said that “All
Political Due Diligence in Commercial Real Estate
By Patrick Fox EMAIL Any company making decisions about a commercial real estate deal does a lot of due diligence. They study demographics, market share,
When Public Hearings Go Horribly Wrong
Zola faces the mob, by Henry de Groux, 1898 Having a good project is not enough. Remember that it is all about the politics. By
A Developer’s Nightmare
Whether you call them NIMBYs, BANANAs, CAVE* people or misinformed nutcases, they are organizing to stop your project and, often, they are winning. By
Dealing With Angry Citizens
By Patrick Fox EMAIL Some people are just plain angry. Fear of change as well as rumors, misunderstandings and outright lies can leave developers confronted by