Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1249IR // #c1249Synthesis

"What you do in the four years between elections helps determine how many people are, by the time you reach those critical final days, already in the “decided” column."

— In our words · Source: This Is the Plan (Ben Wikler)

[Use when]

You're saving effort for the final push of a sale, a vote or a launch.

[Why it matters]

By the endgame of a campaign most people have chosen a side. The small group still undecided only matters if the race is close. That depends on work done long before anyone was paying attention.

Filed under situations:When a rival’s move changes your gameWhen you need a yes and they’re not there yet

More from This Is the Plan

#c1233"Here’s the operating principle: All other things being equal, you’ll be most persuasive to the people with whom you have the closest…You want to change minds and are about to start with the widest, least personal channel available. #c1234"Keep a CONSTANT WATCH on the DOUBTFUL VOTERS, and from time to time have them TALKED TO by those IN WHOM THEY HAVE THE MOST CONFIDENCE."You need to win over a wavering group and are deciding who should deliver the message. #c1235"Whenever a new way to reach someone unsolicitedly and cheaply pops into existence—mail, texts, Facebook messages—it has a brief twinkling…Your team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.

Same situation, different book

#c1353Give each crowd its own night to winYou're selling the same event or product to several groups that compete with each other.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1278Choose the face the judges will chooseYou're right on the merits and need to predict how a crowd, market or committee will actually decide.From Trade Outside the Box #c1549The Cathartic Purge and the Shadow of TranquillityUse when a strategy session or research team is prematurely locked into a dogmatic narrative and needs a…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers #c1515The Pilot's Orders (Reciprocity of Perfect Virtues vs. Blind Subordinate Virtues)Evaluating executive candidates who claim "brilliant judgment" despite glaring personal vices, or designing…From Handbook of Platonism