In the progressive world, we build a lot of coalitions and project partners for us to complete our work and change people's lives. I work with coalition campaigns, and I know that building coalitions and working with project partners is sometimes easier said than done. There are a lot of things that make coalitions work, but here are two things that I've found really help keep the relationships strong:

Are you a loud talker? Do you notice your coworkers walking away from you or tensing up when you're on the phone? Do you find yourself alienated at the end of a week when you had to make particular use of the telephone? There's a simple, if sometimes challenging solution.

Core listening skills can be invaluable in all aspects of life. For 1:1 meetings, they're critical. Really listening can make the person feel valued, respected, and important. Beyond that, when you really listen you'll get a much better sense of how the person you're meeting can fit into your campaign. Here some things to keep in mind at your next 1:1 meeting:

Are you shared on a lot of Dropbox folders, but find yourself using just a few regularly? Is your Dropbox tapping out your available hard drive space as people add large files to your shared folders? Dropbox can be a great tool for teams and file sharing, but it can also cause problems if you're shared on many folders, or if constantly updating files clogs your bandwidth.

Have you ever attended an unfocused training on too broad of a topic? I definitely have. Developing a training is a challenging process, especially when there's a lot you WANT to cover. How do you narrow down to the necessary skills, and ensure that participants walk away with learning they can put into action? To help us develop our trainings (both the overall agenda and each individual session), we use the KSA Test.

I've managed a lot of great people, and I love providing references when my former staff, interns, or volunteers are looking for a new gig. But there's one thing that a lot of folks forget to do that can make a big difference:

If you're running a small campaign or organization, there's probably not a lot of wiggle room in your budget. Here are a few places small campaigns can save money:

I used to fill up notepads with notes from meetings, only to have them fade into oblivion. Then a friend recommended Evernote, one of the growing options for online note-taking and storage tools.

Since it's nearly April Fool's Day, this seemed like a good chance to share one of my favorite pranks - the slightly misspelled email address. The goal of this prank is to make someone think that you've added people to an email thread when you actually haven't.

As fans sat down to watch the return of Mad Men, most probably weren't thinking about organizing. But when Don Draper turned progressive crusader against Big Tobacco last season, it made us think about some of the organizing lessons we can draw from the show. There are lots of ways that Don and the gang at Sterling Cooper Draper Price can inform our work. Here's a little Mad Men-inspired advice:

Lets Set The Scene: You have a huge event coming up for your organization and a budget akin to the size of a pea. What comes next? Often raffles and auctions bring in the money needed to close the budget gap, but where can you get items for your raffle or to auction off?

No matter what type of volunteers you're organizing (building a finance committee, or an advisory board, or a neighborhood field team), there will be times when you need to apply a little pressure to get things moving. But there's also a time when you need to back off for the long term health of your team. Here are a few things to consider if you're asking volunteers to shoulder the load for you: