Conservative strategist Norm Atkins is shown in Ottawa in an undated file photo.Chuck Mitchell/The Canadian Press
As a young political science student, I devoured the popular literature as well as the textbooks.
One of my favourites was One Eyed Kings. Over the course of a weekend on Vancouver Island, Ron Graham sketched the major players in federal politics in the mid-1980s: Turner and Mulroney, Chrétien and Wilson, Keith Davey and Dalton Camp.
After reading the chapter on Norm Atkins, a key leader of the Big Blue Machine and Brian Mulroney's campaign manager, I turned to a friend and remarked "that guy is my new hero."
Atkins was not the best strategist. Nor was he the greatest ad man or policy wonk or get-out-the-vote organizer. According to Graham, and verified in conversations since, Atkins was a uniter of purpose.
He brought together the best and brightest, and aligned them to work together. He ended the in-fighting, gave everyone common goals, and kept the team function at peak performance. His campaigns were models of efficiency, because everyone knew their job and rowed together.
In short, he was the ultimate manager: a uniter, not a divider.
During an era of divisive partisanship, it would do many well to reflect on the lessons of Senator Atkins, and the critical role of unity in his success.