Synergy in the District

(Handling Law & Order situations)

1. In-place Mechanisms: Monthly coordination committee meeting, telephone etc.

2. Peace time efforts help in conflict handling. Engaging leaders. Gel in with the local
customs, express sympathy
3. Joint media management
4. Elections, CM/VVIP visits, event management, disaster handling: instances requiring
heightened coordination
5. Practical insight: NHAI Land Acquisition at Jind (Haryana) - Kila Zafargarh issue

Some Rules of Thumb

1. Meetings
a. Win through your actions, never through argument. No one ever wins an
argument.
b. Never look as though you are in a hurry. It betrays a lack of control.
c. The relationship is more important than any one meeting. Gain the trust.
2. Local Politics
a. Know who you’re dealing with – do not offend the wrong person.
b. Do not commit to anyone. Gain power as a mediator
3. Negotiation (Law and Order):
a. Decide early, with whom to negotiate. If necessary, create that leader.
b. Always say less than necessary
i. Saying less will keep you from saying something foolish or even
dangerous
ii. Keeping silent makes people reveal more about themselves. This is
information you may be able to use against them later on.
c. Conceal your intentions
i. Pre-decide your offer, but don’t make it till the last. Sell the benefit,
never the proposal.
ii. Control your appearances and emotions. Play sincere.
iii. Every agitation leader has a weakness or insecurity you can use to your
advantage. Look for the 2-i-C.
d. Make other people come to you
i. Use bait if necessary. Control the options: get others to play with the
cards you deal.
ii. Never deal with a crowd, always with a crowd-leader.
4. Reporting to “Headquarters”
a. Never be the bearer of bad news. If inevitable, add a line of ‘solution’.
b. Never put your trust in institutions (a.k.a. “service”), always in people.
5. Taking Action in the field
a. Wrap your iron fist in a velvet glove. An initial act of kindness or honesty will
distract and disarm people.
b. When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy.
c. Concentrate your forces. Move swiftly and surely.
d. Enter action with boldness. Boldness strikes fear; Fear creates authority.
Hesitation creates gaps. Boldness obliterates them.
Credits: Carnegie(1936), Greene (1998), OHPHP (2013)