the ever curious PR guy

Communications key to energy company survival

Whether you’re a multi-national oil and gas company, a power utility, a wind energy operator or an offshore tidal wave energy start-up – any company that produces energy – at some point you’ll be confronted with the realization recently experienced by Mark Miller.

Mark Miller is CEO of UK-based Cuadrilla Resources, an exploration and production company specializing in unconventional oil and gas. One day recently Cuadrilla was working the UK’s only shale gas drilling project, when suddenly the British Geological Survey alerted Cuadrilla that a 1.5-magnitude quake within approximately 1 mile of the drilling site had been detected (an earthquake of magnitude 1 is described by the British Geological Survey as "not felt - detected by seismic instruments only," while magnitude 2 is "felt by very few people").

The British Geological Survey suggested the earthquake was caused by Cuadrilla’s use of hydraulic fracturing to drill the deep, gas-bearing rock. Although no direct connection between the earthquake and the use of hydraulic fracturing has been proved, Cuadrilla’s project is on hold until the company can convince regulators that it can continue to drill safely.

Following up on Cuadrilla’s efforts to straighten out the situation, The Wall Street Journal recently reported:

"Meanwhile, Mr. Miller began a series of public meetings to try to calm local jitters. The Cuadrilla CEO says he didn’t expect to be quite so much in the public eye. 'I thought it would all be about well design and raising finance,' he says. 'Sometimes you feel like you’re a spokesman for the global oil and gas industry.' "

The old-school energy industry mentality is: bring the financial, operational and technical means to deliver your business. You win if you watch the cost and produce a greater surplus of revenues. Communicate externally only when you really have to, mostly when a crisis occurs.

The new-school energy industry mentality is: Instill confidence that you can deliver your business by productively dealing with the myriad people who are interested in you, like customers, employees, suppliers, partners, the government, local communities, the energy talking heads and social media chatterers, and the general public. This requires a lot of communications and the skill set to manage, but it is a change in what value means for any energy company.

 

Reputations are built on doing

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." - Henry Ford

I would expand on Mr. Ford's quote by saying that "you can't build a reputation by talking about what you're going to do." This applies to both people and organizations and companies.

Another one would be "it is pretty hard to build a reputation by talking about what you're doing (assuming you started doing the thing)." You have to find a really good and creative way to share your doings. Lots of organizations do great things but don't share them and no one notices. Sharing does not equal simply communicating.

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Algorithms in communications and public relations

Think of communications as algorithms, a collection of proven plans or instructions to help get you from point A to point B.

Say your organization is having an image problem around a specific issue. You hire a professional communicator or public relations expert to come up with an "algorithm" -- a plan, a solution, an idea --  that takes specific variables and formulas as given realities and then goes to work.

It used to be that the notion of an algorithm was around speed and efficiency to get around a mathematical task or problem. Like, say, sorting numbers in a particular order in less than a nanosecond, like this sorting algorithm at work:

So, look at our world today, and the digitization of our "social" life (think Facebook, Google, etc.). No longer is digital helping us crunch the numbers, it is now an intermediary between our own selves. 

As our social lives continue to depend more and more on machines run by algorithms, how are the algorithms assuming what you and I are all about? How are the machines figuring out how we need to be communicated to or with? What biases do they think we have and prefer? How do they help us, or not help us, unlearn biases? What is the overall purpose of specific "social" algorithms?

I don't know the answer, but this video made me think of that.

 

Pitching musicians to financial media?

If I was leading awards for the Public Relations Society of America, I would award Warren Haynes' PR person with the Best Use of Media Relations Award for getting Warren Haynes into CNBC (video HERE).

Talk about a great way to get in front of a new audience to promote your music, share something relevant to this audience (the business side of music), and re-inforce Warren Haynes' key reputation for the hardest working musician around. Way to go.

101 ways to say "I love you" to your audience

I may be a bit crazy on this one, but I bet you can pick up a dozen ideas here for the next time you want to wow your audience with a special touch.

 

101 Ways to Say I Love You

Corporate speech and presentation tips from the master of the craft, Apple's Steve Jobs

Great article HERE summarizing a recent case study on why Apple's Steve Jobs is so effective during his speeches and presentations. What are Jobs's basic techniques?

-Humor

-Spontaneity

-A mix of self-deprecation and pride

-Instilling a sense of community

 

Tip from a lion to communicators

"Until the lion learns to speak, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." - African proverb

My take on this is not so much the obvious, that one must "learn to speak" in order to own the story of you or your organization.

Instead, it is an important reminder that communications is the sovereign criterion of the enterprise. You chart your own course with your vision and the way you build the story of your vision becoming reality. You have to get grounded on this every day in order to be effective.

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Can we agree on something? Anything?

 

Despite all the shouting and disagreement happening in the public scene (distortedly amplified by television), it is refreshing to know that there are indeed some things we all agree on.

 

Communications case study for wind farm development

via www.thesolutionsjournal.com

I like the summary of this case study on gaining buy-in for an urban wind farm:

"The successful development of the Spanish Fork wind project demonstrates that renewable-energy entrepreneurs need to be flexible, consider the costs and benefits that may accrue to various stakeholder groups, and engage in educational outreach about the benefits of urban wind energy to the local community prior to, during, and after construction. The success of clean energy hinges not only on establishing markets for utilities and power users but also on building social movements within local communities." Emphasis mine.

 

Great tips for writing bios

via the99percent.com

This post HERE has great tips on writing effective bios for yourself or others.