Customer Satisfaction: Fixing Small Problems Before They Become Big Ones
Denial, the old saying goes, ain’t just a river in Egypt. That rattling sound you hear when you drive your car? Ignore it — maybe it will go away. That pain in your back? Probably caused by sleeping in an awkward position last night. Feeling sluggish? Grab another cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s nothing, but […]
Easing Anxieties and Meeting Needs: Communications Tips During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life across our society and economy. Energy-company communicators are scrambling to keep up with the changes that are roiling our lives each day. Doubtless some communicators are dismayed when they can’t find their crisis communications plan. Even worse would be a plan document that is outdated, filled with names of […]
Public Speaking: How Would Lincoln Tell That Story?
Recently I had the pleasure of listening to world-renowned presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin (left) discuss her book, Leadership: In Turbulent Times at a sold-out event at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus. Her talk was especially riveting because she shared numerous stories from her decades of research into four U.S. presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Teddy […]
Stakeholder Engagement: Build Bridges Before You Hit Walls
Stakeholder engagement is a mindset as well as a specific business practice. Energy companies are gradually accepting that their ability to conduct business requires the consent of critical constituencies, including customers, investors, employees, communities, regulators, strategic partners and others. The term “social license to operate” includes, but is not limited to, stakeholder engagement. Over the […]
The Perils of Pursuing Profits Over Purpose
Craft beer is huge in Colorado, where I live and work, as well as many other places. When I travel, I always try to sample local craft brews. So it was with some dismay I read recently that one of Colorado’s largest craft brewers, employee-owned New Belgium Brewing, was acquired by an Asian beverage conglomerate. […]
Gifts for Energy Communicators: Our Best-Read Content from 2019
Gifts for Energy Communicators: Our Best-Read Content from 2019 EEC Perspectives gained dozens of new subscribers this year, many of them in the last few weeks after I hit the conference circuit. For that reason, and others, we’re re-gifting our best-read content from 2019. You don’t have to wait until December 25 to unwrap these […]
Changing Your Organization’s Culture One Minute at a Time
In last month’s blog, I discussed the wide gap between words and deeds among Colorado energy companies on the issue of stakeholder engagement, and how that disparity finally caught up with them in last year’s election. Sooner or later, I believe that same tendency to favor talk over action will hit providers of electricity. I’m […]
Earning, and Keeping, Your Company’s Social License to Operate
April 16, 2019 was the day that social license to operate (SLTO) became real for Colorado’s energy companies. That’s the date that Colorado’s governor signed into law Senate Bill 181, which is transforming the business environment for Colorado oil & gas companies. If you wanted to quibble, you could say the date SLTO became real […]
Energy Crisis Communications Made Easier
My blogs on energy company crisis communications have consistently drawn high readership, possibly because of the spate of crises that have hit energy companies, their communities and their customers in recent years. See here. And here. And here. And here. But after a summer of bad news for energy companies, it looks like it’s a […]
Environmental Communications: When Green is the New Black
In recent years, a growing number of electric utilities have added “sustainable” or “environmentally responsible” or “cleaner” to their longtime vision of providing electric service that is safe, affordable and reliable. That’s one part of their response to a shifting market. Even utilities operating in traditionally regulated monopoly markets, where there is no threat of […]
