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Messages from the archive of Rutherford Hall, critical communications strategist
Rutherford’s Rule:
I have many adages about how to do business but there is one I stress so often my colleagues now routinely refer to it as Rutherford’s Rule. If a business associate or contact suffers a big setback, maybe loses their job or gets passed over, take them out to lunch or for a drink. Stay in touch with them, try to treat them as if they were still a valued contact. Help them out if you can but mostly treat them like they haven’t just died.
There are two reasons for this. First, and most important, it’s the decent thing to do. It costs no more than a couple of hours of your time. And second, doing the decent thing is often good business. People bounce back and they always remember who was still there for them when everyone else disappeared. Good business is not merely transactional. If people mattered yesterday, they should matter today.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Well forgive me a little licence. I admit, yes, that technically speaking I’m not aware of any colleague who has used the phrase. But I’m sure they would call it Rutherford’s Rule if they had my flair for personal branding — and alliteration.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Yes I know I’ve been applying Rutherford’s Rule to Warren for several years now and all I have to show for it are some very large lunch bills. But you have to play the percentages and Warren is partial to a good claret. It’s like being a vulture fund, seeking out value that others have missed. And he still keeps his ear to the ground.
WhatsApp to Stephen: And speaking of Rutherford’s Rule, I’m in Birmingham this week for the Tory conference.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Yes, I’m buying while stocks are low. Also I booked our tickets much earlier in the year and it seemed a shame to waste them.
WhatsApp to Stephen: That’s right, I’m going to enjoy the driving rain, the security checks and all those MPs and aides who behave as if they are still in power. Just so I can enjoy a couple of glasses of white wine, which of course you can never find in London.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Next year will be better though. By then no one will care about them at all so any effort we put in will really pay dividends, as long as they eventually return to government. In any case they are still often connected to what’s going on.
WhatsApp to Stephen: How many?
WhatsApp to Stephen: They’ve all requested a meeting or a coffee. They can’t all be looking for work. Well I suppose they can. I’ve never even heard of some of these people. And we only tend to employ aides or officials.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Oh my god it’s relentless. I’ve seen a dozen today already. I feel sorry for most of them although one or two have been a bit entitled. One former minister seemed to think we should pay a lot for his strategic advice and to have him “on the letterhead”. I feel like asking which aspect of Tory communications in the past year made them think we’d consider their strategic advice a net gain.
I’m having to palm them all off with vague talk of odd piecework we might use them for in the future. The hope was they’d fan out into business, stay useful and think well of us but it’s just a lot of underqualified people desperate for work. It’s basically the Jarrow March but with a taste for champagne.
WhatsApp to Stephen: This is the exact opposite of Rutherford’s Rule. Since there are so many I’m just having to disappoint them all. I’m now going to have to take some of them to lunch just to repair the damage. This could end up costing a fortune.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Maybe we can set up a small political panel that has lunch with clients every month or two and stick a couple of them on it for £500 a month. It’s still a client service, not too pricey for us. Of course we’d need more Labour MPs but that could be helpful if we pick wisely. I still say this will pay off in the long run.
Rutherford’s Rule: corollary
I wanted to follow up with a real world revision to Rutherford’s Rule, which I still stand by 100 per cent. The one issue with buying when stocks are low is that sometimes they are low for a reason. Buy the dip, not the freefall. So while a few judicious punts can pay off, you don’t want to overload your portfolio with penny stocks.
Doing the right thing remains good business, but there’s no need to take decency to extremes.
Messages recovered by Robert Shrimsley