Cassie Smedile | Principal, Cornerstone Public Affairs
Cassie Smedile is a Principal in Cornerstone’s D.C. office who spent more than a decade on Capitol Hill. After seeing ten August recesses, she shares a business lesson from one of Washington’s oldest traditions.
The workday isn’t 9-to-5 anymore. Smartphones have made it nearly impossible to truly leave the office, and in most industries, that always-on expectation shows no signs of letting up. Congress is very similar with one exception: August. Every August, no matter what’s left on the docket, Washington, D.C. becomes a ghost town.
The halls of Congress empty out, committee hearings disappear from calendars, and lawmakers scatter back to their districts. For D.C. based staff, it often means wrapping up the day a little earlier. For members, it means county fairs, town halls, ribbon cuttings, and their fill of corndogs and lemon shake-ups.
This ritual happens every year, regardless of whether it’s an election year. Members of Congress leave Washington because they understand an important truth: they cannot effectively represent their constituents if they are hundreds – or even thousands – of miles away.
It is easy to get caught up in the conversations happening inside the Beltway. Every day brings a new headline, a new controversy, or a new theory about what Americans supposedly want. August recess serves as a reminder that the conversation on the ground is often very different.
Businesses can fall into the same trap.
When organizations are looking to grow, evolve, or modernize, they often seek advice from consultants, investors, analysts, and social media commentators. Those perspectives can be valuable, but none of them are a substitute for hearing directly from the people who actually buy your product or use your service.
Cracker Barrel recently learned this lesson firsthand. In an effort to refresh its brand, the company introduced changes that many longtime customers viewed as abandoning the character and nostalgia that made the restaurant a beloved American institution. Whether every criticism was fair is beside the point. What mattered was that customers felt disconnected from a brand they thought they knew. Instead of generating excitement, the changes sparked backlash and forced the company to spend months responding to frustration.
The lesson is not that organizations should never change. Some of the most successful companies are willing to adapt before they have to. The lesson is that change is far more likely to succeed when it reflects the needs and expectations of the people who made the organization successful in the first place.
Washington could benefit from that reminder from time to time as well.
For all of the city’s influence, strategy sessions, and insider conversations, there is no substitute for hearing directly from the people who live with the consequences of public policy every day. That is why the tradition of Members of Congress trading in Capitol Hill for county fairgrounds every August persists.
The most important conversations this month will happen far from Washington. They will take place on Main Streets, at town concerts, in local diners, and beneath the grandstands of state fairs across America.
Whether you’re running a business, managing a brand, or serving in Congress, that’s often the best place to find out how you’re really doing. Does your organization prioritize time in the field? If not, put it on the calendar – in permanent ink.
Just in case you need some ideas on where to get a good corn dog or hear some live music this summer, the Public Affairs team thought we’d share our favorite local fairs and festivals:
David Ramsey: Double Decker Arts Festival
Marc Goldberg: Hampton Beach Seafood Festival
Bianca Barrios: Ultra Music Festival
Sean Coit: Italian Market Festival
Nick Dye: Roots Picnic
D’Andre Henderson: National Folk Festival
Mike Reed: Cheyenne Frontier Days
Kelsey Schuster: BottleRock Napa Valley
Cassie Smedile: Milwaukee Summer Fest
Jimmy Centers: Iowa State Fair
Ben Sheidler: AthFest
Samuel Coffman: Delaware County Farm Festival
Hyma Moore: New Orleans Jazz Fest
Richard Carbo: French Quarter Fest
TJ Tatum: Shrimp and Petroleum Festival
Kirsten West: BravoCon
Charlie Hannema: Tulsa OktoberFest
Want to be first to receive news from The Briefing Room? Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. To learn more about Cornerstone’s Public Affairs and Strategic Communications offerings, please click here.