We often find ourselves in legislative campaigns around issues that cause emotions to run high and passionate arguments sometimes (often) overshadow facts. In these types of fights, effective messaging from credible messengers is absolutely critical to campaign success.

Our firm recently went through a hiring process for a new member of the team and sifted through more than 100 applicants to find the person with the best combination of skills, experience, and cultural fit. While AI and finding high-performing talent seem to be on the tip of most founders’ tongues, one item that is rarely discussed is how to best integrate them into your organization. Once new team members come aboard, how do we successfully onboard them into the firm?

Headlines around AI continue to dominate news and social media. Is this technology the next great invention since the internet or the downfall of the white-collar workforce? Our economic boom or the ultimate job killer? We’ve officially reached the point where businesses and consumers alike want, and need, to understand how AI will affect our lives – and jobs – today, and what that means for the future.

There was a lot going on in 2025. Sweeping policy and economic pivots made waves at global, national, state, and local levels. AI investment and advancement took center stage throughout the business community and in our personal lives. And on a note closer to home, we launched and began to grow Calkin Public Affairs.

Just as certain as New Year’s Resolutions will be forgotten by the third week of January, the familiar and comforting march of the legislative and state budget statutory deadlines will guide us through fully ten months of our year. While a well-trodden path, 2026 will undoubtedly hold a few unknowns, detours, and surprises.

The end of every year is always a natural time for reflection, with an eye toward the future. This year, there is a lot to reflect on, and I’m doing so with a lot of gratitude for my family, friends, team, clients, mentors, and everyone else in my orbit who has been part of this journey.

Over the last year, I’ve spent a good amount of time thinking about my leadership style. Essentially what kind of boss I want to be to attract, build, and empower the right team to succeed.

We've talked a lot about how we do this through our Catalyst Model and how it truly sets us up for success. But while it serves as our overarching framework, no Catalyst Model process is the same.

Over the last decade, the media landscape has changed drastically – which isn’t news to anyone in the communications and public affairs world. Newsrooms are shrinking, journalists are being asked to cover more issue areas with less resources and AI is starting to produce more and more content, with varying degrees of reliability and accuracy.

When I get asked by people looking to start their own business about the hardest parts, I rarely say marketing the firm. But in launching Calkin Public Affairs, it became apparent that for the company to succeed we would have to treat ourselves as a client -- to promote our brand, work and service offerings. And while that should be simple given that we do this for clients every single day, the practice of doing so for yourself and your firm somehow feels much harder.

I have known for decades that the life of a consultant, particularly one in politics and public affairs, would never be a typical 9-5 kind of a gig. The work we do is fast-paced and can feel “always on.” That excitement and energy has driven me for so many years – it’s part of what I love about our industry – you never know what the next day will bring in terms of crisis, wins and new friendships. You also know that in this business, some periods simply require more time commitment to reach successful outcomes for our clients.

In part one of this series on managing a crisis, we covered the critical foundational steps for how to prepare yourself and your team as a crisis is unfolding.

Now let’s move on to the crisis itself. Once you have your house in order, the real work begins. In terms of managing clients through a crisis, I also have a few tips to deliver the best counsel and services possible

“Crisis” is a word that gets used frequently in our line of work. In political campaigns especially, it sometimes feels like our days flow from one crisis to another, of varying degrees of intensity. Some crises are just minor issues, easily solved in a few minutes or with some wise counsel. But others have the ability to define or shatter the entire reputations of people, organizations or movements.

It’s no secret the world, and especially California, requires more and more energy to power our businesses, communities and everyday lives. And with population growth and the increasing demand from AI and other technological innovations, that need is only going to continue trending up over the coming years. Long story short: the energy infrastructure we have in place today can’t keep pace with the demands of the future.

The legislative session is in full swing, which means the team at Calkin Public Affairs (Calkin PA) is hyper-focused on what is going on inside the halls, rooms and on the floor of the Capitol Building.

California legislators had until February 21st to introduce bills into the current session, which will make their way through the process until October 12th – the last day Governor Newsom can sign a bill into law or veto it. Legislators and their staff are working tirelessly to gain support for their bills and generate opposition for bills with competing interests.

As I started thinking through the type of firm I hoped to build and the type of clients I wanted to work with, I knew one thing for certain: nothing would be accomplished without an incredible team. I quickly realized identifying talent with the strongest skill set, expertise and experience was critical, but also that talent alone isn’t enough. Building the right team where impressive resumes complement an amazing work culture is the real secret to success.

There’s nothing quite like the energy of a political campaign. The quick start, fast-paced action and dynamic landscape. After decades of real-world political campaign wins, it became clear we could successfully utilize this same approach in the public affairs space.

On February 4th, 2025, something big happened. With an inspiring team behind me, I started an exciting new journey and formally launched Calkin Public Affairs (Calkin PA). This leap of faith has been years in the making and brings to life the best experiences I’ve grown from my 25-year career. On this journey, I’ve seen a lot. Twists, turns, great wins, some losses and through it all— big lessons.