WASHINGTON – What enabled the Republicans to take back control of the House of Representatives? How did BP maneuver in the wake of the Gulf Oil Spill? What stratagem did Denise Richards employ when asked to comment on Charlie Sheen’s latest bender?

For the graduate students of the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) at The George Washington University, these are questions to which there are specific answers. Chemists have the periodic table and, now, students of politics, communications, marketing, and journalism have one too.

The GSPM today announced that it will offer an innovative new graduate course, PMGT 6265.18, The Elements of Influence, for the 2011 spring semester, beginning in January. Based on the landmark classification system, The Standard Table of Influence Strategies, and critically acclaimed book and the course’s namesake, PMGT 6265.18, The Elements of Influence will bridge political leadership with strategy management. The three-credit graduate course will be taught by lead instructor Alan Kelly, a veteran technology consultant and strategist based in the Washington, D.C. area.

Designed for pre-professional masters track students in political management, communication, marketing and political science, the 16-week-semester syllabus is based on a groundbreaking framework and lexicon of influence theory. Researched and tested by Kelly, it presents the first practical and in-depth classification system – a kind of periodic table – for breaking down and predicting moves and countermoves of organizations and people in politics, business and entertainment.

Using case-based analyses, strategy mapping exercises, and simulation and war gaming techniques, students will hone their abilities to analyze political campaigns, political communications, public relations campaigns and information warfare, as well as to predict their consequences.

“This is another first for The George Washington University,” said Dr. Chuck Cushman, acting director of the GSPM. “GW is leading the way in professional political education, and the GSPM is excited to offer a class with such an innovative approach. This course sharpens political management as a leadership function through a tried and tested strategy management system. Alan Kelly’s decision-support framework gives our students important new tools for being ethical leaders in political management.”

The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University is the nation’s preeminent school of applied politics, offering graduate programs in political management, legislative affairs, strategic public relations and PAC management, as well as international programs in Latin America and Europe. The school seeks to improve politics by educating its students in the tools, principles and values of participatory democracy; preparing them for careers as professional, ethical and effective advocates and leaders at the international, national and local levels.

Alan Kelly, 52, is a visionary business strategist, political commentator, and award-winning Silicon Valley public relations agency CEO. In 2006, he authored the book on which PMGT 6265.18 will be based: The Elements of Influence: The New Essential System for Managing Competition, Reputation, Brand, and Buzz (Dutton 2006 and Plume 2007). In the same year, Kelly founded Playmaker Systems, a Bethesda, MD-based management consulting and software services firm specializing in the development and execution of influence strategy. In 2008, with GWU adjunct professor of political management Michael Cornfield, Kelly created and co-hosted Plays for the Presidency, a news feature at www.politico.com and XM satellite radio’s P.O.T.U.S. channel 130. He is well known for his founding and leadership of Applied Communications Group, a Bay Area-based public relations and research firm that earned numerous best-in-class recognitions for its work from 1992 to 2003 with companies such as Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, Genentech, VeriSign, Veritas Software, BEA Systems, TechNet and Informatica. He is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society and is a senior fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Kelly holds an M.A. in communication research from Stanford University and a B.A. in public relations from the University of Southern California.

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Note: Course syllabus, electronic logos and photos for The George Washington University and PMGT 6265.18 instructors are available on request.

Useful links:

About The George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management

About Alan Kelly

About Charles Cushman

About Playmaker Systems

About The Elements of Influence

Publishable image of The Standard Table of Influence Strategies

Publishable image of The Playmaker’s Glossary