Water In Real Life

The Last Episode, The Next Episode

The H2duO — Thu, 05 May 2022 16:31:00 -0500

Thank you to each and every one of you for joining us on this incredible podcast journey. This is not the end, just a branch in a new direction. Please stay tuned. There's more to come!

EP119: Reimagining Collaboration and the Conference Experience

The H2duO — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:00:00 -0500

When was the last time you left a water conference session feeling moved by the dialogue and perspectives presented? Stephanie was fortunate to experience that rare conference high during both iterations of the Young Professional (YP) panel at UMC2021 in Atlanta and UMC2022 in Orlando.

You can catch the summary in the April 2022 AWWA Journal article here. Stephanie was most impressed by the panel's ability to create a safe space where people felt comfortable enough to engage and have a genuine dialogue, even when there was disagreement.

Join us in this discussion about rethinking the way we conference and the ways we have conversations around difficult issues. We also dive into the very real discomfort of stepping outside of your comfort zone. We talk about why its' important to do so and ways to lean into the discomfort.

Meet Chelsea:

Chelsea Boozer is the Government Affairs Manager at Central Arkansas Water and serves on AWWA’s Young Professionals Committee. She was named to Arkansas Business’s 2020 list of 20 in Their 20s and Arkansas Money and Politics included her on its 2021 Power Women list. She holds an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse University, an undergraduate journalism degree from the University of Memphis, and a reporting certificate from the Johannes Gutenberg Universitat in Germany. Chelsea has been published in Opflow and Journal AWWA, and regularly speaks at national and regional water conferences about public engagement and workforce development as it relates to young professionals. As government affairs manager, Chelsea works with government, community, and wholesale partners and stakeholders on policy, economic development, and regionalism efforts.

EP118: EPIC Solutions to the Lead Problem

The H2duO — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:44:00 -0500

Stephanie served as judge for the Environmental Policy Innovation Center's (EPIC) 2022 Water Data Prize. Submissions came form a diverse range of participants ranging from water utilities, to water tech companies, to professors and universities. Inventory, mapping, equity, and communications were the four award categories. The overall prize was awarded to the City of Newark, NJ and the engineer firm, CDM Smith.

During this chat, Jessie (EPIC) shares an overview of the submissions and takeaways gleaned from the proposed solutions. Kareem (Newark) and Sandy (CMD Smith) then break down the winning project, their approach, and advice for other communities working towards meeting the requirements of the Lead and Copper rule updates.

Meet the Guests:

Jessie Mahr is the Director of Technology at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) where she focuses on the data gaps and capacity needs in environmental agencies that could speed up environmental progress. Prior to joining EPIC, she worked on climate change and environmental issues across sections in the US from engineering firms, technology companies, state agencies and non-profits. Jessie holds a Master of Science in Water Resource Engineering and Environmental Policy from Tufts University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from The University of Texas.

Sandra Kutzing (Sandy) is a Professional Engineer and Vice President at CDM Smith in New Jersey with 20 years of experience in drinking water. Sandy is leading CDM Smith’s Lead in Drinking Water Practice with a focus in regulatory compliance, corrosion control optimization, distribution system water quality and developing and managing LSL replacement programs. When not thinking about lead, Sandy spends time traveling, spoiling her nieces and nephews, exercising, reading, and always learning.

Director Kareem Adeem is a Newark native who began working for Newark in 1991 in the Department of Engineering and has moved up the ladder in his field. In 2013, Director Adeem was elevated to Superintendent of Maintenance Operations, where he oversaw daily maintenance operations of the Department of Water & Sewer Utilities. He earned a promotion to Assist Director in 2016 and Acting Director position in 2018. In addition Director Adeem is a member of Water Supply Advisory Council of New Jersey and NJ Task Force on Lead. Director Adeem is credited with rebuilding and rebrand Water & Sewer Utilities. By upgrading the water and sewer infrastructure, the City works to replace every lead service line, Upgrade to its water treatment plant, and the Long term control program (LTCP). He is a dedicated public servant who has and continues to give back to his native community.

EP117: Customer Service Reps - Your Greatest Untapped Resource and Ambassadors

The H2duO — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 17:20:00 -0500

Kathy made a post on LinkedIn that reminded us how absolutely necessary it is for the water sector to recognize the customer service staff in our utilities that have been walking side by side with our customers throughout a global pandemic. This episode is shout out to them and their stories.

We all need a regular reminder of how important customer service reps are to utility work. Most importantly, we can learn from Kathy about how to support customer service reps while they take care of our customers.

Check out her first appearance on the Water in Real Life podcast in EP046, "Innovating the Water Conservation Conversation."

Meet Kathy:

Kathy Nguyen graduated from Berry College with a BA in Speech/Communications and a Graduate Certification in Environmental Management from the University of Maryland. She has been with Cobb County Water System for since 2001. In 2004 she became the Water Efficiency Manager, where she developed, implemented and managed the Nationally recognized, award winning Water Efficiency Program until 2018. In 2009 she became the Senior Project Manager for Water Resources. She is currently the Customer Service Division Manager. Some of the most meaningful recognitions she has been fortunate enough to receive during her career are: the George Warren Fuller Award from the American Water Works Association for lifetime contribution to the Drinking Water Industry in Georgia, The Alliance for Water Efficiency’s Water Star Award for Career contribution to the field of water conservation, and Communicator of the Year for the Georgia Green Industry. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including AWWA, and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals, where she currently serves as Vice-President for the association. She is an active community volunteer with Good Mews a Non-profit no-kill cage free cat shelter. She lives with her patient husband and 5 demanding feline "children."

EP116: Communication and Outreach as a Tool to Break Down Silos

The H2duO — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 08:27:00 -0500

Karyn A. Riley, Esq. first splashed into the water sector 7 years ago after landing on the government relations team at WSSC Water. Since then, she has emerged as a key voice on the sector’s role in leveraging its widespread impact in community engagement and equitable economic development.

Join us in this conversation that demonstrates the value communication and outreach brings to ALL utility staff and operations—not just communicators and communication initiatives.

Top takeaways:

How government often silos itself and the value of breaking down the barriers to collaboration.
The balance required to operate with both a product-minded and service-minded business model as a water utility.
Lessons learned from WSSC Water's public outreach efforts about their rates and affordability initiatives.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion—what is the water industry doing well and where can it improve?

Meet Karyn

Karyn A. Riley, Esq. had absolutely no clue about the water sector before landing with WSSC Water almost 7 years ago and has emerged as a key voice on the sector’s role in community engagement and equitable economic development.

As a member of WSSC Water’s senior and executive leadership teams, Karyn develops and leads organizational strategy for stakeholder engagement and manages relationships with 200+ elected and government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. She guides the organization’s legislative and policy agenda, and as been responsible for legislation that expands affordability and transparency. WSSC Water’s “chief advocate”, Karyn represents the state’s largest water utility before industry, community, and business stakeholders and is recognized for her expertise in organizational leadership, engagement, strategic planning, and policy development.

With her extensive background in economic, policy and program development, Karyn believes that water utilities are anchor institutions with widespread impact on public health, the economy, the environment, and social justice. With the unprecedented infusion of investment in the country’s infrastructure, Karyn knows that now is the time for all players in the sector to commit to using the funding to build not only the physical infrastructure of communities, but commit to building an equitable economic infrastructure as well - especially in underserved and underrepresented ones.

A native Marylander, Karyn is a proud alumna of Hampton University, an HBCU, and holds a law degree from Syracuse University. Outside of her professional career, she is passionate about serving her community as a mentor and volunteer, and she loves dance.

EP115: State Revolving Funds: A Key to Unlocking Community Transformation

The H2duO — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:43:00 -0500

Top Takeaways:

The top three issues concerning state revolving funds.
Data and its role in shaping policy around affordability and equity.
Communication and how it can be a tool to ensure no one is left behind in infrastructure planning.
Ways that the state revolving fund conversation is initiating change in other areas of the water sector.
Resources for small to mid size communities to get assistance for funding.

Resources:

Katy Hansen, katy@policyinnovation.org

Tee Thomas, thomas@quantifiedventures.com

For residents and community groups to discuss and take action on water, climate, and infrastructure:
The Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus co-convened by PolicyLink and the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy.
Anthropocene Alliance
For advocates and water utilities that want to know more about SRF programs
SRF Advocates Forum co-convened by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, EPIC, PolicyLink, and the River Network.
Resource pages from River Network, including the Equitable Water Infrastructure Toolkit and State Revolving Fund Resources
Southwest Environmental Finance Center's SRF switchboard
For towns, cities, water utilities, and others interested in applying for SRF, reach out to technical assistance providers:
EPIC's Funding Navigator
RCAP

The Drinking Water SRF report is here.

Meet Katy and Tee!

Dr. Katy Hansen works to improve equity in local public service provision. As a Senior Advisor for Water at EPIC, she focuses on the allocation of federal financial assistance for water infrastructure. Prior to EPIC, Katy worked at the Environmental Finance Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, Association for Water and Rural Development in South Africa, and Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in the Middle East.

She led projects to digitize over 500 maps of water service areas for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and improve access to sanitation in rural Alabama with the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy from Duke University and an MSc in Water Policy from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Tee Thomas brings 15+ years of water financing and environmental equity experience to Quantified Ventures. Most recently, she served as the Water Finance Director for the state of Vermont. In this role, she managed more than $500M worth of loans, grants, and contracts related to water financing.

She wrote and helped pass Act 185 which overhauled the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund to expand the program to fund natural infrastructure through new mechanisms, including a sponsorship program. She created the Natural Infrastructure Interim Financing Program, which deployed $15M in its first two years of operations, protecting and restoring more than 11,000 acres of land including wetlands, streams, drinking source water protection areas, and river corridor easements. Tee has also been active with the Vermont Legislature, working on water quality policy and legislation related to environmental equity.

Prior to her tenure in Vermont, Tee worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Drinking Water Program and later with the Iowa Department of Transportation as the National Environmental Policy Act Manager.

Tee combines her expertise in the mechanics of the EPA’s Clean Water Act Funding Programs (Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds) with her passion for natural infrastructure. She’s a strong believer in the potential power of public financing to be the catalytic super investor in this fast emerging field of nature-based solutions, while simultaneously and aggressively advancing equity and resilience agendas across the country.

Tee loves surfing, reading obscure non-fiction, and volunteering as an English teacher.

EP114: Communication in Water: Mastering the Marathon

The H2duO — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 00:15:00 -0500

"What you don't do with us, you do to us." This is a truth Trina shared with us about how our customers feel when we don't communicate with them the purpose, intention, and value of the work we do.

Top Takeaways:

Tips on how to use the infrastructure bill as a conversation starter with the community.
Humanizing how we communicate.
Communication metrics.
Tips on how to make the most of outsourcing communication work.
and of course BRANDING!!

Meet Trina

Trina is an award-winning public relations and marketing expert with nearly 30 years of experience developing and managing comprehensive communication campaigns across public and private sectors. Prior to joining HDR’s Strategic Communications practice in June 2018, she was Denver Water’s Director of Public Affairs – Communications & Marketing, where she led the agency’s renown traditional and social media, marketing, advertising, content journalism, organizational communications, and youth education programs.

HDR brought her onboard to help their water clients across the country identify unique opportunities to inform and engage audiences, and spot potential social and political risks associated with their projects. Having spent 25 years in the trenches, Trina typically serves as a senior advisor to utilities’ communications teams.

EP113: The Water Squad's Guide to Using the Infrastructure Bill as a Communication Tool

The H2duO — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Mae breaks down the details of the Infrastructure Bill specifically tailored to the water sector. We discuss actionable ways utilities can use this bill as a tool to open dialogues with all of their stakeholders including elected officials, advocacy groups, and customers. Check it out!

Meet Mae: Mae Stevens is an Executive Vice President at Signal Group and the Chair of Signal Water. Mae provides strategic environmental and infrastructure policy expertise to a diverse range of corporate, municipal, and nonprofit clients. Most recently, she served as Environmental Policy Advisor to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), winner of the 2020 US Water Prize. She handled the Senator’s responsibilities as the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, including staffing the Senator during the crafting and passage of the FAST Act and the 2016 and 2018 Water Resources Development Act bills. During her seven-year tenure on Capitol Hill, Mae was responsible for the Senate Democrats’ response to the Flint water crisis, and focused most of her time on the intersection of water, equity, and affordability, and generally how to make cities and towns even better for the people who live and work there. She also spent nine years working with various nonprofit environmental organizations and think tanks. A sought-after public speaker, she has presented at the Democratic National Convention and her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Politico, Wonkblog, and Wired, and she was a featured guest on Fox Business News. Mae holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University.

EP112: The Water Squad’s Guide to Working with Creatives

The H2duO — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Mike has been schooling us on the rules of design and creativity for six years. These rules set up every project for success by building clarity and bridging the gaps between a client's vision and the best design/creative solution to solve the actual problem. Mike's insight helps non creatives be better equipped and know what to expect when working together. He shares the "why" behind our process, our questions, and our relentless focus on the audience. Top Takeaways

Good design is not all about making something pretty. Effective design solves a problem.
Understanding the creative process sets up a project for success.
Discovery, Discovery, Discovery. Don't get turned off or defensive during the process. The more information we glean from you, the more likely we will create a deliverable that meets your expectation.
The creative rulebook helps remove some of the subjectivity of the craft by providing concrete purpose behind the artistic direction.

Resources Check out Mike's blog about the rules about logo design.

Meet Mike Mike Beitler is an artist with a passion for well-crafted, conceptually successful design. With nearly 20 years of work in the marketing and advertising industry, Mike produces brand strategy and artistic direction that grabs the attention of audiences. He is able to translate the complexity and technical language of water into visual pieces that demand attention.

EP111: The Water Squad’s Guide to Data-Driven Communication

The H2duO — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0500

As entrepreneurs, we've learned to listen to our intuition and when something feels right Arianne says she feels it in her bones. However, intuition and gut feelings shouldn't drive your communication strategy. Dr. Coy Callison heads the research lab at Texas Tech University's Communication Research Center where they run a variety of experiments to test the effectiveness of different communication assets. During our chat we discuss:

The complexity of attitude formation, behavior, and memory-recall and you shouldn't just wing these things!
The types of research Dr. Callison conducts and the data they glean.
The dangers in simply mimicking the communication strategies that others are doing.
Some of Dr. Callison's top takeaways from his research...one has to do with beer!
The power of moral appeals to behavior change.

Meet Coy: Dr. Coy Callison is a full professor and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Media and Communications at Texas Tech University. His research typically focuses on source and message factors and their interaction with cognitive tendencies and saliency factors underlying the attentiveness of individual audience members. His academic research has appeared in Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, and Media Psychology among others. He has worked professionally in newspaper, corporate and non-profit public relations, and media consulting in addition to his earning a Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Alabama. In addition to having published more than 50 peer-reviewed research articles and given more than 70 peer-reviewed peer-reviewed presentations, his funded research projects have investigated strategic water conservation messaging and health communication.

EP110: Innovation Inside and Out

The H2duO — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Innovation is a buzzword beyond the water industry. We met with our innovation guru, Cristina Ahmadpour, and broke open the buzz to get to the nitty-gritty. We discussed concrete ways organizations can create cultures of innovation that result in increased deployment of innovative practices and technologies. Guess what...communication is a key component. Culture change, gaining buy-in for your innovation program, collaboration, and creativity all require an ability to not only communicate your vision but to do so in a manner that inspires others to come along with you. We also dive into ways you can innovate your team culture, even when managing a fully remote team.

Cristina serves as Managing Director of Isle’s North American business. She leads a team that supports the most progressive water utilities in their interest to identify, evaluate, and engage best-available solutions that drive value to their services and business operations. Facilitating an assessment of needs and identifying solutions that respond to top priorities, and how to build a culture of innovation, is an integral part of how she works with water utility leaders today. Cristina is a graduate of WEF’s Water Leadership Institute and has been recognized by the Water and Wastewater Digest in 2016 and 2018 as a top water professional under the age of 40. Cristina is married to her middle school sweetheart and enjoys life in San Diego with their cat Vera Rubin. Backpacking and being in nature is her most cherished pastime, followed by traveling, cycling, and tending to her plants.

EP109: The Business Case for Communications in Water

The H2duO — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Watch the episode. Kelley and her team at Louisville Water Company are a dynamite case study in branding, public engagement, research for the sector. Get your pen/paper/note-taking app of your choice and get ready to take some notes. As fans of design thinking, Kelley's team also demonstrates what design thinking practices look like in real life. If we want to build public trust, we have to follow her lead, get up, and get out in the community. This Queen of Water Branding has an awesome mural on her office wall that we reference during our chat and we wanted to share with y'all.

Kelley Dearing Smith’s career revolves around out-of-the-box thinking and telling a story. Kelley is Louisville Water Company’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing. In her 20+ year career at Louisville Water, Kelley has developed strategic partnerships and communication efforts that build Louisville Water’s brand and highlight the value of something most people take for granted, high-quality and reliable drinking water. Kelley is a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team and directs internal and external communications and content marketing, brand development, education and outreach, public affairs and economic development. Kelley has authored a book highlighting Louisville Water’s history and oversaw the development of the “WaterWorks Museum” at the company’s 1860 original pumping station. Prior to Louisville Water, Kelley worked in television news. Kelley is Chair of the American Water Works Association’s Public Affairs Council and frequently speaks to utilities and businesses on best-practices for branding and communication. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Eastern Kentucky University. Kelley lives in Louisville with her husband Doug and daughters Katie and Kortney.

Bonus Episode: The State of Communication and Water, Tarot Card Edition

The H2duO — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0500

You can't say we're not down to try new things. This was a fun one. We can't promise you an eye-opening communication or leadership takeaway but we can promise some legit entertainment. Would you believe we did a tarot card reading for communication's impact in the water industry? Yes, our dear friend and co-conspirator Duke Greenhill (episodes 4,65,105) took us on a journey. While tarot card readings are usually either punchlines or plot twists in movies, ours was actually pretty fun and meaningful to the work we do for the industry. Enjoy!

EP108: The Social Impact of Water: The Confluence of Data and Story

The H2duO — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0500

“Science informs sound-decision making. Storytelling inspires change. Science, not storytelling, should drive policy and management in the water sector, but we need both to ensure safe & affordable water.” - Manny Teodoro Join the H2duO and Manny Teodoro for this conversation about citizen-based brand equity and its power to influence public trust, messaging for rate increases, the role of politics in water issues, and some hard truths about inequities in drinking water compliance. Resources: Class, race, ethnicity and justice in safe drinking water act compliance. Citizen-based brand equity: a model and experimental evaluation Issue framing and public willingness to pay water and sewer rate increase (in review, coming soon) Meet Manny: Manny Teodoro is an associate professor at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He researches and teaches environmental policy and public management. He’s also engaged in a great deal of applied research on utility management, policy, and finance. Beyond academic study, Manny has worked directly with utility leaders and policymakers on equity, affordability, and regulatory implementation for nearly 25 years. Twitter: @MPTeodoro

EP107: Creativity’s Power to Unlock your Resiliency

The H2duO — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Did you know that creativity plays a vital role in your resiliency? According to a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, creativity encourages positive emotions that unlock our inner resources for dealing with stress and uncertainty. Being "creative" regularly helps build your creative resilience; the capacity to generate and act on positive solutions under the pressures of challenges and change. Creativity requires time and space to reflect and experiment. Have you been giving yourself enough of either the past two years? Or ever? The good news is resiliency is built through ordinary, everyday actions and you can start today! Greg Wukasch (San Antonio Water System) and the H2duO chat about their own experiences with creativity, resilience, and the combination of both. They share some ways you can build more creativity into your life. Greg Wukasch is the External Affairs Manager at San Antonio Water System. Greg in a nutshell: A boat rocker of most things. Pastor. Gardener. Disney Parks Nerd. Has a passionate love for people and doing #WorkThatMatters Twitter: @greg_wukasch

EP106: Mindfulness at work, what the pandemic taught us about ourselves

The H2duO — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Stephanie recently attended her first in-person conference in 18 months. The question of the day - "How have you been?" The standard reply - "Good, busy." At our Virtual Catalyst 2021, our focus was on the communicator (the person) versus the end product they create. Why? Because when we're not operating at full capacity, our work suffers, our culture suffers, and the people we serve suffer. In this candid episode, we put down our "fine," "good," and "busy" replies and opened up about things the pandemic inspired us to let go of or adopt. It's made us better leaders, parents, and human beings. We hope it inspires your own journey.

EP105: Rebuilding Confidence: The Consumer Confidence Report’s Role in Public Trust

The H2duO — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0500

The H2duO chat with a panel of experts about ways to level up the annual water quality reports. Hear feedback from various stakeholder groups through the research conducted by the Environmental Policy and Innovation Center (EPIC) team. Seasoned communication and marketing professionals weigh in on the power of the CCR to build public trust plus learn how collaboration across states can benefit our community members. Watch the episode on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube. Check out EP105 here. Meet the panel. Sam Villegas is Director of Strategic Communication Services for Raftelis and has been conducting public outreach for public works for more than 25 years. After 20 years in movies and advertising in New York, Duke Greenhill is now the chair of Advertising & Branding, Graphic Design & Visual Experience, and Branded Entertainment at SCAD. His work and writings are cited in over half a million industry and academic journals. Wendi Wilkes is the Regulatory & legislative affairs manager at the association of state drinking water administrators (ASDWA) and a policy grad student at Johns Hopkins. She’s a self-described water problem solver living in Washington, DC. Sri Vedachalam is the Director of Water at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and is constantly working to demystify water policies to bring the fastest improvements in equity and environmental outcomes.

EP104: The Adult Learner’s Journey, Leveling Up How We Teach Water

The H2duO — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 09:00:00 -0500

The H2duO chat with Doug about the biggest misconceptions people have about adult learning, ways to overcome those challenges, and tools to build clarity. Meet Doug Kueker, Co-Founder and Director of Learning Services at Vivayic. Doug is the steward of Vivayic’s Learning Solution Model™, which defines Vivayic’s unique approach to helping organizations use learning as a key strategy to advance their mission. In this role, he provides leadership to Vivayic’s team as they work to apply their knowledge of learning and development to help build other’s capacity to good in the world. Since starting Vivayic in 2006, Doug has designed and implemented numerous learning solutions. Our experiences range from helping several Fortune 100 companies and global NGOs striving to ensure a safe and sustainable food supply to consulting with numerous state agencies and educator groups trying to make classrooms and educational systems more relevant and engaging. Doug earned his undergraduate degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Missouri. He holds a MS Ed from Purdue University in Educational Psychology and a Ph.D. in Information Sciences and Learning Technologies from the University of Missouri. He lives in Lake Ozark, MO.

How might we solve the water sector’s most pressing challenges with design thinking?

The H2duO — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Meet Chris Pacione, CEO and Co-Founder of LUMA Institute. He’s passionate about universal design literacy, and he’s a frequent speaker on the topics of design and innovation around the world. He is co-author of the LUMA System and the book “Innovating for People.”

Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities.

Check out the video recording of our chat on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube channel. View EP103 here.

How might we solve the water sector's most pressing challenges with design thinking?

The H2duO — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities.

Check out the video recording of our chat on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube channel. View EP103 here.

Election in Real Life: What your vote means to the water industry with Mae Stevens

The H2duO — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0500

In this special #ImagineADayWithoutWater edition, the H2duO chat with Mae Stevens, Executive Vice President at Signal Group, about what the different possible #Election2020 outcomes mean for the water industry. We also chat about the incredible importance of knowing your audience and tailoring your message to them and the special bipartisan PAC she established with the goal of getting more candidates that will champion water issues elected.

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps elevate and amplify our podcast to new listeners to help us spread the mission of clean water for all. We give a special shoutout to everyone who rates the podcast with 5 stars.

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Thank you for sharing some of your time with us. We know how precious those minutes are. Share your story, you never know who needs to hear it and remember, “Those who tell the stories, rule the world.”

Reimagining Water: The Service Oriented Utility with Hugh Sinclair

The H2duO — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 09:00:00 -0500

100: Those Who Tell the Stories Rule the World—The H2duO in Real Life

The H2duO — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:15:00 -0500

The H2duO get real with their mentor Greg Wukasch (San Antonio Water System) when he turns the mic on them to talk about the H2duO in real life. Stephanie and Arianne talk about the entrepreneur rollercoaster, their friendship, and their own personal journeys.

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others. We give a shoutout to everyone who rates the podcast with 5 stars in future episodes.

Give us some love on Twitter or Instagram and tag us @roguewaterlab or by using #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

99: Water in Real Life Behind the Scenes with George Hawkins and Nathan Ohle

The H2duO — Wed, 20 May 2020 09:00:00 -0500

As we gear up to drop our 100th episode, we let George Hawkins (CEO/Founder of Moonshot Missions) and Nathan Ohle (CEO of Rural Community Assistance Partnership) turn the mics on us. It's been fun to do this a few times along our podcast journey, but having a candid conversation like this right before such a major milestone was timely and fun.

We want to thank each and every one of our fans and followers for all of the support you've bestowed on us the past two years. We couldn't have done this without you.

Give us some love on Twitter or Instagram and tag us @roguewaterlab or by using #WaterInRealLifePodcast

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98: Water Nerds Guide to Taking Public Education Virtual with Shea Dunifon

The H2duO — Thu, 14 May 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Shea Dunifon is the Education Coordinator for the South Cross Bayou Advanced Water Reclamation Facility in St. Petersburg, FL. Since 2017, she has led the education program’s facility tours, classroom presentations, and participation in regional STEM-based events.

While the program interacts with over 40,000 citizens of the community each year, it is a popular resource amongst teachers and educators in Pinellas County. Shea holds a Master’s degree in the Crop and Soil Sciences from Virginia Tech and is the Vice-Chair of the Florida Water Environment Association’s (FWEA) Public Communications and Outreach Committee.

She is also the recipient of the 2018 Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) Public Communications and Outreach Program Award, Individual Category.

Give us some love on Twitter or Instagram and tag us @roguewaterlab or by using #WaterInRealLifePodcast

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97: The Value of Water in Real Life with Dr. Manny Teodoro

The H2duO — Tue, 05 May 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Dr. Teodoro personifies the value of water. He's been preaching the importance of affordability and rate structures in the water sector since 2005. His bold voice ensures the impact of the cost to do business in the water sector doesn't supersede the human right to water. We talk with Dr. Teodoro about his thoughts on affordability and rates, plus how utilities can drop the prevent defense model and adopt achievement cultures.

Dr. Manny Teodoro works at the intersection of politics, public policy, and public management. His research focuses mainly on U.S. environmental policy and implementation, including empirical analyses of environmental justice. In addition to academic studies, Professor Teodoro pursues a line of applied research on utility management, policy, and finance. He’s developed novel methods for analyzing utility rate equity and affordability, and works on these issues directly with governments and water sector leaders across the United States.

Professor Teodoro also studies public management and bureaucratic politics, emphasizing labor markets as political phenomena and predictors of organizational performance. His award-winning book, Bureaucratic Ambition (2011, Johns Hopkins), argues that ambition shapes administrators’ decisions to innovate and to engage in politics, with important consequences for innovation and democratic governance.

Professor Teodoro’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Water Research Foundation, and Cascade Water Alliance, and has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, Policy Studies Journal, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Public Policy, AWWA Water Science, American Review of Public Administration, Water Security, Journal AWWA, and PS: Political Science & Politics. @mpteodoro

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96: Story, comedy, and the art of tough conversations with Tom Kunetz

The H2duO — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Tom Kunetz is the Immediate Past President of the Water Environment Federation. He is currently the Assistant Director of Monitoring and Research for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and is also on the Board of Directors of the Water Research Foundation. He has over 35 years’ experience in the water sector as an environmental engineer. He is a registered Professional Engineer, a recipient of the Charles Walter Nichols Award for Environmental Excellence from the American Public Works Association, and a WEF Fellow.

Recap:

The art of having difficult conversations. Tom talks us through the steps of having conversations with people who hold different beliefs and opinions than ourselves.
The value of diversity in communication styles.
Tom gives us part two of the WEFTEC 2019 story he told at the Opening General Session.
We discuss why speaking "human" and speaking to the emotional level of people is so important when communicating about data.
Second City's role in forging Tom's place in the water industry.
We talk about Matt Damon, Brave Blue World, and how lucky we are to be the ones that get to solve the global water crisis.

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95: Let’s Get Rural Y’all

The H2duO — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Nathan Ohle currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), a national network of non-profits focused facilitating access to safe drinking water, sanitary wastewater disposal, economic development, and capacity building for rural and tribal communities across the country. RCAP’s work in assisting some of the smallest rural communities in the US helps to build capacity and opportunity in every state and territory across the country, and reached more than 3.2 million people last year.

Nathan previously served as the Senior Advisor at the US Economic Development Administration (EDA), and served on the White House Rural Council, leading the engagement in place-based initiatives across the Department of Commerce. Nathan was recently selected as one of 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in economic development internationally.

Nathan is a member of the One Water Council and the National Rural Housing Coalition, alongside several other non-profit volunteer activities. Additionally, Nathan has earned two bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University, and lives in Falls Church, VA with his wife and two kids.

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94: Time to DIGDEEP into the US Water Crisis: Closing the Access Gap with George McGraw

The H2duO — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

"If we're really going to close this water access gap in America, convince our Congress to reinvest in water infrastructure, have a water future that's truly hopeful, we're going to have to figure out how to fall in love with our water. How can we create a relationship with it, something that doesn't exist right now? It's little things that can help us fall in love again." — George McGraw

"If we're going to serve these communities, and not only serve them but empower them, we have to enter that equation with a humility that can really only come from knowing exactly who the people in those communities are and where they're coming from." — George McGraw

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93: 2020 YP Summit: In Their Own Words

The H2duO — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

If you weren't at the 2020 YP Summit, we hate to say it but....you missed out. But never fear, we've got your covered. You already heard from Erin Mosley in EP089, we've got Tom Kunetz on deck, but we're REALLY excited for you to hear from the young professionals that were in the audience. We chat with them about the biggest takeaways, how they've applied what they learned in real life, and how they think we each can change the world.

Young Professional Guests:

Edward Jankun, P.E., Associate Civil Engineer, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Valette Saldanha, EIT, Project Engineer, AECOM
Stephanie Hubli, Water Engineer, Woodard & Curran
Chelsea Odle, Media Specialist, Central Arkansas Water
Suparna Mukhopadhyay, Environmental Engineer, CDM Smith
Tom Woodcock, P.E., Associate Senior Controls and Instrumentation Engineer, R.V. Anderson Associates Limited

Facilitator Guests:

Kristi Steiner, Associate Project Manager, Jacobs
Erin Mosley, President and Founder, Erin Mosley, Inc
Tom Kunetz, Past President, WEF

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92: Water Nerds Guide to Closing the Water Access Gap

The H2duO — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

91: Water Nerds Guide to Remote Working

The H2duO — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0500

The Rogue Water, LLC team has worked remotely for 2.5 years. They have customers across the country, but also a remote team spread out across multiple cities in Texas, San Francisco, and Wyoming. There are a plethora of resources about remote working available now because of the impacts of Covid-19. However, in true H2duO form, we wanted to give you our perspective in our own way. We are joined by Rogue Water's Chief Revolution Strategist, Nashelley Kaplan-Dailey.

Top Takeaways

Wear pants. Whether it's random knocks at the door, bored children or rogue animals, you never know why you might need to jump up from your seat.
Routine is your friend.
Place matters. Create your space.
Give yourself (and others) some grace.
Test tech in advance.
Try new tools. We love Slack.
Get organized. We use Monday.com.
Don't forget to have fun. It's not all about the meetings. Have team happy hours or movie nights.
Take breaks!
Take strategic breaks. Set time limits on TV and social.
Learn what makes your own "best day".
Specificity matters!
Food. Have a plan for the munchies.

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90: Water Nerds Guide to Communicating about Covid19

The H2duO — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:15:00 -0500

Samantha Villegas is a senior consultant with Raftelis, with more than 25 years of experience conducting public outreach for public works, in the areas of water, energy, and recycling. Samantha has assisted municipalities, water, and wastewater utilities with outreach, branding, reputation and crisis management, as well as the execution of communications strategies to ensure positive positioning for rate increases, acquisitions, capital projects, and change management. Sam served in a lead communications role for both a public water utility and a large, investor-owned utility. She has helped develop a number of guidance docs fir the sector, including ones on lead communication, Legionella communication, and the CCR. Sam has previously presented at Catalyst, ACE, Virginia AWWA’s JAM conference, and SWANA’s Waste Expo. Sam has been actively involved in the American Water Works Association (AWWA), where she served on the Public Affairs Council, and in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), where she was the National Capital Chapter president and now serves on PRSA’s National Board of Directors. Sam holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and is accredited by PRSA.

Top Takeaways

Build trust by ensuring you keep these four factors in mind in your messaging: frequency, transparency, consistency, and honesty.
Reframe the bottled water message. Don't use the same language about why tap is better than bottled. Talk about how using tap keeps bottled water available for true water emergencies.
Give your digital audience the call to action to share information with community members that may not have access to digital information.
Check out the PRSA infodemic infographic. Rogue Water will also have an infographic available about the CAP method from the Vincent Covello Risk Communication Center.

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89: Water Nerds Guide to Handling Stress, Comms, and Equity & Belonging with Erin Mosley

The H2duO — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Erin (Pink) Mosley is President of a rapidly growing consultancy that provides innovation leadership and executive-style coaching to professionals and organizations. She has worked in the water sector for 25+ years and her clients include professionals at all levels of their careers, nonprofit and professional organizations, and municipal government. Her clients practice and apply deep innovation and influence skills to replace their chronic frustration with next-level results.

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88: Troubled Water in Real Life with Seth Siegel

The H2duO — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Seth Siegel is a Senior Fellow at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Water Policy and author of the NYT bestselling book Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World and the new book Troubled Water: What's Wrong with What We Drink. His work has won praise from Tony Blair, Michael Bloomberg, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Shimon Peres and Juan Manuel Santos.

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87: Customers in Real Life with Reed Cohen, Part 2

The H2duO — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:15:00 -0500

Reed Cohen, MSc is Director of the Frontline Healthcare Workers Safety Foundation, Ltd. (a global NGO.) He is also the founder and owner of TRR Consulting, LLC.

His biological safety instructional background includes curriculum design, instruction, management and evaluation on topics including BSL-4 suit training, bloodborne pathogens safety, Biosafety Level 3 and 4 training focusing on proper use of Personal Protective Equipment, Biological Safety Cabinets, and biohazardous facilities maintenance and operations.

Mr. Cohen currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA). He is a lifetime member of the Asia-Pacific Biosafety Association (APBA). Mr. Cohen received his M.Sc. in Biohazardous Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biology and Geography from the University of Texas at Austin.

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86: Customers in Real Life

The H2duO — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 20:00:00 -0500

85: Water Nerds Guide to WEF—Why You Need to Get Involved

The H2duO — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 03:00:00 -0500

We've always known Jackie was the real deal, but she showed just how cool she was when she let Stephanie instigate an impromptu breakdance battle in Jackie's Presidential Suite at WEFTEC2019. We covered a lot of ground in this chat including:

Her biggest goals for her year as president.
WEF's plan for building more diversity and inclusion in the water sector.
Addressing workforce challenges and the apprentice program at Charlotte Water.
Getting YPs more involved, attending WEFTEC, plus some words of experience on the power of personal resiliency and patience when working in a risk-averse industry.
Her one piece of magical advice.

Jackie Jarrell, P.E., is the 2019-20 president of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international organization of water quality professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Va.

Jackie has been with Charlotte Water for more than 29 years. Recently, Jackie was appointed as an interim Deputy Director for Charlotte Water. This has expanded her role to oversee Customer Service, Communications, Industrial Pretreatment, Laboratory Services, and the Industrial Pretreatment Program, with more than 60 significant industrial users.

As a WEF member, Jackie has held multiple leadership and committee roles, including serving as the chair of the Utility Management Program Symposia and the first vice-chair of the Utility Management Committee.

She is actively involved with the North Carolina Water Quality Association, a regulatory advocacy organization of utilities in North Carolina, and is a past chair and a current board member.

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84: Mazars Women of Water Event Mashup

The H2duO — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 07:30:00 -0500

We were so excited to get to speak with several of the panelists at the Mazars Women of Water Event that took place in Washington DC on January 9, 2020. We also got to hit the networking floor at the post-event gathering and get the "word on the street" takeaways from the event too! Our panelist interviewees included:

Pat Sinicropi, Executive Director, WateReuse Association, the only national organization dedicated solely to advancing policy, technology, innovation and public acceptance for water reuse. Pat has nearly two decades of experience as a policy expert and advocate on water-related issues in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the WateReuse Association, she served as Senior Legislative Director for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), overseeing and directing NACWA’s legislative advocacy program, including policy analysis and advocacy on federal water policy related to infrastructure funding and financing, climate and energy, integrated planning, rate-payer affordability, and agriculture. Pat joined NACWA in 2008 after serving four years as Legislative Counsel to the Water Environment Federation (WEF) where her policy advocacy also included biosolids management. Prior to joining WEF, Pat represented the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), an organization providing technical assistance to small, rural communities on drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs.

Debra Coy, Partner, XPV Partners. Debra Coy is a Partner with XPV Water Partners, the largest water-focused growth equity fund in North America, with $400 million in assets under management. She works with growth companies utilizing her experience as a top-ranked investment research analyst and strategic consultant to investors, companies, and municipal utilities. Ms. Coy is well known in the water industry from her 20 years on Wall Street as an equity research analyst, where she developed a leading franchise and broad expertise in covering the global water markets for investors at firms including Janney Montgomery Scott, Schwab Capital Markets, HSBC Securities, and National Westminster Bank. She serves on the Board of Directors for AquaVenture Holdings, Global Water Resources Inc., and Willdan Group Inc., and is a regular speaker and columnist on water industry finance and innovation.

Wendy Stevens, Partner, Mazars. Wendy is a Partner at Mazars where she leads the firm’s Quality & Risk Management Team. Wendy’s more than 35 years of experience includes providing accounting and auditing services to a variety of public and private clients in a multitude of industries. She founded and serves as Chair of Women@Mazars USA. Women@Mazars is a long-term effort supporting the full potential of women leaders at Mazars through education, awareness, and improving visibility of and access to role models. Women@Mazars actively engages all men and women at the firm, building diverse teams to enhance the growth of the firm and the individual. She also serves on the Mazars Group Quality & Risk Management Board.

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83: Brave Blue World Hollywood Premiere Mashup

The H2duO — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 03:00:00 -0500

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82: Water Nerd’s Guide to Design Thinking

The H2duO — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 03:00:00 -0500

Stacy Landreth Grau, Ph.D. is a Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Practice at the Neeley School of Business and Director, IdeaFactory at Texas Christian University (TCU). Her specialty is design thinking/human centered design, where she has developed several courses and workshops at TCU for both Neeley and IdeaFactory. She is one of the founders of Design Frontiers, a professional association around design thinking and creative problem solving in Dallas/Fort Worth. Stacy has authored or co-authored more than 30 peer reviewed articles and 2 books. She also consults extensively with businesses, nonprofits and K-12 schools as a founder of Human Centered Organization, an organization she cofounded with two TCU colleagues.

Top Takeaways:

What is Design Thinking? It's putting a human at the center of everything you do. You have to spend time with people and use that experience to craft clarity.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone and talk to people who may not agree with you or believe what you believe. A survey is great but a conversation is better.
Build in enough time for brainstorming. It will take several sessions to spark that great idea. You have the permission to think and to keep thinking.

Sponsor:

Mazars USA LLP, a full-service accounting, tax and consulting firm, is proud to announce its inaugural Women of Water Summit taking place on January 9th, 2020 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The Women of Water Summit is a dynamic event promoting industry-leading women and fostering discussions around how to enhance the position of women in the sector. The event will bring together hundreds of senior executives and future leaders from the water industry as well as public and private utility companies from across the country.

The Mazars Women of Water Summit will provide an effective platform inclusive of diverse, global leadership and insights for the industry as well as a venue to open dialogue and career leadership advancement paths for women.

This full-day event will consist of three dynamic panels throughout the day, three “WaterTalks” tailored after the famous TedTalk format and what promises to be an amazing keynote address given by Carla Reid of WSSC Water. Panel and “WaterTalk” topics will include cybersecurity and data privacy, diversity in the water sector, finance and water reuse to name a few.

For more details and to register, please visit www.mazarsusa.com/womenofwatersummit.

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81: Water Nerd’s Guide to the Art of Great Storytelling

The H2duO — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 03:00:00 -0500

Dr. Tobin Redwine grew up on a farm in Lazbuddie, a rural community in Northwest Texas. After serving as the Texas FFA President in 2003-2004, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Leadership and Development at Texas A&M University in 2008. While there he developed an affinity for ugly shirts and cheesy jokes. He earned a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Communications at Texas Tech University in 2009, and a PhD in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at Texas A&M in 2014.

Dr. Redwine is currently an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at Texas A&M University. He teaches photography, media writing, and other courses in agricultural communications and journalism. Dr. Redwine teaches and researches storytelling. Specifically, his line of inquiry examines how we identify information, how we make meaning of messages and creating audience-specific content, all in the hope that we can better understand how to tell the story of global agriculture and related sciences.

Top Takeaways

Sponsor:

For more details and to register, please visit www.mazarsusa.com/womenofwatersummit.

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80: Water Nerd’s Guide to Leadership and the Power of Yes

The H2duO — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 10:00:00 -0500

Mark Poling is the Business Strategy and Performance Systems Director for Clean Water Services and has more than 35 years of experience working for utilities; serving in a management role for more than 25. Mark is a Past President of the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association and currently serves on the Water Environment Federation Board of Trustees. A certified Group 4 operator he also holds a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington.

Top Takeaways

You can be leader right where you are. Informal leaders are a big part of getting things done in organizations. Don’t wait to be a leader. Educate yourself and then act on what you’ve learned.
When you get asked to get involved, say yes. For those doing the asking, make the ask personal. Start with a small ask so people don’t get intimidated.
Tackling diversity and inclusion begins within. Start to challenge your own thinking and actions. Did you make others feel welcome? Could your words have been offensive to someone else different than yourself?

Sponsor:

For more details and to register, please visit www.mazarsusa.com/womenofwatersummit.

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79: Water Nerd’s Guide to Putting the Love Back in Gov

The H2duO — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0500

Dr. Sarah Martin is currently Director of Health Solutions at mySidewalk--a technology firm specializing in making local government data effectively inform policymaking. She was previously the Deputy Director of the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department where she oversaw the Department’s initiatives to influence the social and economic policies that shape health inequities. Prior to her job with the city, she was an Assistant Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Missouri, Kansas City’s Bloch School of Management. Dr. Martin received a Master of Public Policy, a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology) and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Martin is currently a Gubernatorial Appointee to the Missouri State Board of Healing Arts, a board member for the Missouri Budget Project and a PHRASES (Public Health Reaching Across Sectors) fellow with the Aspen Institute. She also enjoys reading trash novels, using her instant pot, drinking champagne, hanging at the pool w/ her partner and kids, hop hop dancing, and reading the NYT weddings and obit sections.

Top Takeaways

Don't underestimate the power of debriefing. If things went poorly, this isn't the time to reprimand but rather its time to grow.
Giving credit doesn't mean you're not taking any. Take the opportunity to lift others up with you.
Every good branding campaign begins with empathy.

Sponsor:

Mazars USA LLP, a full-service accounting, tax and consulting firm, is proud to announce its inaugural Women of Water Summit taking place on January 9^th, 2020 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The Women of Water Summit is a dynamic event promoting industry-leading women and fostering discussions around how to enhance the position of women in the sector. The event will bring together hundreds of senior executives and future leaders from the water industry as well as public and private utility companies from across the country.

For more details and to register, please visit www.mazarsusa.com/womenofwatersummit.

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78: Water Nerd’s Guide to Communicating to Your Customers’ Lizard Brain

The H2duO — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 03:00:00 -0500

Karen DeBaker serves as Communications and Marketing Manager for Clean Water Services — the water resources management utility serving more than 600,000 residents of Oregon’s Tualatin River Watershed in the Portland-metro area. Karen joined Clean Water Services in 2000 and she has led the District’s marketing, communications and public education programs since 2007. Karen is chair of the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association’s Leadership Development Committee and past chair of the Communication and Outreach Committee. Karen developed 11 Public Communications Camp workshops for Oregon, Washington and Idaho and formerly served as chair of the Water Environment Federation’s World Water Monitoring Day subcommittee. Prior to joining Clean Water Services, she was a publicist for book publishing companies in Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Top Takeaways

We are all communicators whether it’s in your title or not.
Communicate early and often whether it’s good news or bad news.
We are feeling machines that think – driven by our experiences and emotions.

Shownotes:

4:54 Tell us about the WEFTEC2019 Communications Camp and what the biggest highlights were for you.

Span the range of communications from crisis to social media.
Discussed research, storytelling and branding.
We are Humans first. We are all communicators.

8:38 What stood out from the case studies presented at the Comms Camp?

Ability to work through children to enhance communication and get your message out.
Opportunity to educate the community on the importance of pollution and stormwater.

12:11 What were some ah-ha moments from the camp?

Validation in the importance of communicating early and often, whether it’s good news or bad news.
Our role is to inform the community. You don’t have to have every piece of information before you speak to the community. It’s okay to offer what you have and let them know you will update when more information is available.

14:05 What does the lizard brain do when we share bad news?

The brain is accessing experiences and emotions.
The brain burns 20% of the energy your body uses. 90% of that is subconscious.
We are feeling machines that think.
Marketing is about providing value and solving problems. Your product solves your audience’s problem and not the other way around.
Getting through to the lizard brain is key and takes strategy.

23:05 An example from the Comms Camp: contrasting.

Need to show the before and after. The with and without versions.
One strong message – limit the claims and benefits to three.
Speak with visuals to bring people in.

27:53 The Lightning Round.

Infinite Possibilities – Mike Dooley.
Take a deep breath and stop.
Be Human.

Resources:

This is Marketing– Seth Godin
Take the Stroop Test.

Sponsor:

If you’re a water utility looking to better manage the water you love, then you’ll want to talk to the experts at Master Meter. They understand that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Smart water management begins with accurate measurement. Account for every drop produced and delivered because utilities’ progression towards smart cities and IoT begins here. Master Meter is ready to deliver you game-changing results across finance, customer service, and utility operations. They offer an array of products to meet your utility’s needs. To determine which smart water solution is right for you, visit mastermeter.com. You can also download a copy of their award-winning guide to communicating the value of water to customers here.

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77: Water Nerd's Guide to Communicating Epic S***

The H2duO — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 02:00:00 -0500

Aaron Tartakovsky is co-founder and CEO of Epic CleanTec, a pioneering green technology start-up that is redefining urban wastewater. Aaron previously served as Director of Business Development and Marketing for CB Engineers, a San Francisco-based engineering design firm, where he also ran its R&D division. Prior to that he worked in federal politics and has remained active in affecting public policy on the local, state, and national levels. Aaron speaks frequently on water and cleantech at universities and at industry gatherings throughout the U.S., and recently co-authored the William J. Worthen Foundation’s “Water Reuse Practice Guide.” To respond to California’s water crisis, Aaron was a founder of the Israel-California GreenTech Partnership, a binational initiative launched at Google’s Tel Aviv headquarters in order to develop solutions to the drought and spearhead innovation in the global water industry—the initiative was highlighted at the 2016 White House Water Summit. Aaron was recognized as a GreenBiz 30 under 30 in 2017, and was recently selected for the 2019 Class of Young Water Pros by Water and Wastes Digest Magazine.

Top Takeaways:

Centralized and decentralized solutions can work together to make cities more resilient. Decentralized systems do not take away from the important work cities do.
Interdisciplinary skills are critical for innovation because you don’t know what happens where two disparate ideas come together.
People in the water industry are on par with first responders. They are that important to society.

Show Notes:

9:50 What has been going on at Epic CleanTec?

Decentralized reuse strategies.
Just completed our first commercial install in San Francisco.
Developing a model where centralized and decentralized solutions work in concert.

12:35 What advice do you have for communicating about the “black water” side of the water industry?

Most people never think about what happens when the flush – meet them where they are at.
The same water we have now is the same water the dinosaurs used.
Need to bring the concepts down to their simplest form – remember your audience.

17:01 How are you making decentralized systems appealing for cities too?

We have to explore new models.
These systems can work well together. We want to work together with cities.
We can “manufacturer” water within our buildings now instead of taking it from our national parks.

20:33 Why is being interdisciplinary skills so important when being innovative?

You never know what happens when two different ideas are brought together.
Our industry is guilty of silos.
Interdisciplinary approach is good for workforce development.

25:47 What surprised you about the research you prior to entering the water industry?

Biggest challenges came from equipment manufacturers and their reps.

27:37 What brought you to the industry? What is the story you would tell to bring in new people?

I didn’t study to be in the water industry but had a passion for the environment.
When you are outside the USA, you can see the issues with water more clearly.
Biggest draw is that water touches everything – you need to at least have an understanding of it. Oh and the conferences, they are amazing and there’s a lot of them.

37:28 What’s one hard truth and one thing that makes you the most hopeful regarding World Toilet Day?

Lack of access to sanitation and clean water is a huge global crisis for billions of people.
There are a huge number of people and financial resources being committed to tackle these challenges.
Don’t flush those wipes – Poop, Pee and Paper only.

41:45 The story of cold calling kennels for poop. It’s harder to get dog poop than you might think.

44:30 The Lightning Round.

The Torah.
Letters from Rivka – Karen Hesse.
Practice gratitude everyday.
No such thing as a silver bullet but there is silver buckshot. Each person can do their piece.

Resources:

http://epiccleantec.com

76: Water Nerd’s Guide to Engaging Young Professionals

The H2duO — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 10:20:47 -0500

Chris Caro is a project engineer in the AECOM Baltimore office, with 6 years of experience in the sewer project management field. He is currently a member of AECOM’s DC Metro+ DCS team. Chris’ responsibilities include planning, designing, construction, and commissioning water and wastewater systems. Mr. Caro previously worked as a Project Manager at WSSC for four years. While at WSSC he managed over 20 consent decree projects and was responsible for budget tracking, scheduling, and progress tracking for the overall consent decree program. Additionally, Mr. Caro has been the CSAWWA Young Professionals committee chair for three years.

Top Takeaways:

You can have a significant impact on someone’s life if you can connect them to the water industry. Be that advocate for our industry.
If you want to attract the younger generations, don’t try to sell them on the job description—convey the importance of the work. You can reach them by using the real reasons you get up and go to work in the morning.
Young professionals want connection. They are also wary of social media, so outreach to them through different methods such as texting.

Show Notes:

[4:20] Did you choose water or did water choose you?

Water chose me. The world worked its wonders to bring me to this industry.
Chris’s coming to America story.

[7:50] How did your professor send you down this different path?

Computer programming was not as easy as it might have sounded: The PB&J Story.
That’s when water came in and a light bulb in my mind came on.
Became involved in volunteering with Blue Water.
The playbook for creating the next generation professionals.

[16:08] What advice do you have in attracting the next generation to the water industry?

Showcase the people. You won’t find a better group of people than the people in the water industry.
Talk about the fun! You get exposure to every facet of engineering with water.
Ability to work out in the field.
Talk about more than just design work we do. We get to do work that matters.

[22:57] What is something that will keep people from leaving?

Lead with kindness.
It’s who you work for and with that will keep you in your job.
Investing in your people – networking, education.
Being a good leader takes experience and explaining how to tackle challenges.
People don’t want to feel like they are working for or in a machine.

[30:57] And now, a funny story about Excel.

[38:37] How do we get the YP’s to show up and be involved in professional associations and what social media channels are they using?

Facebook = Moms and Grandmas
YPs are over social media for the most part. They are using LinkedIn and WhatsApp.
Chris is new to Twitter – go find him!

[45:38] The Lighting Round

Game of Thrones
Organization and set up reminders.
Try to connect with as many young people as you can and nudge them into our industry.

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75: Water Nerd Rockstar: Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to Empower Women in Water Everywhere

The H2duO — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 09:00:47 -0500

Brianna Huber worked in the public health field for 13 years before exploring the environmental side of public health. She has been a licensed Class A chemist for the City of East Moline Water Filtration Plant for five years ago. Her tenure in the water industry may be short but her list of involvement is not. Brianna is the current chair of the ISAWWA’s Mentoring committee and a member of the Outreach Committee. She also holds leadership roles in the Upper Mississippi River Water Suppliers Coalition, the USCG Area Maritime Security Council, the Quad City Public Information Officer group and the AWWA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Brianna is also passionate about empowering women in the water industry which she demonstrated by launching and serving as chair of the ISAWWA Women in Water committee where she unites, motivates and supports female water industry workers throughout IL and beyond.

Top Takeaways:

We are so fortunate in the US with regards to water and sanitation. So many people around the world still don’t have adequate access.
If you believe in something, you better be ready to die for it – or run full speed down a mountain to survive.
Women have a critical role to play in solving the global water crisis and achieving the UN SDG6.

Show Notes:

[8:50] Tell us about your adventure and the Tanzanian Gender Networking Program (TGNP).

Strong interest in global water issues.
Planned to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for women in water and water issues.

[12:55] How did you become a tribe member of an African tribe?

The village Chief showed me their water supply and how they were not able to use it due to the poor water quality.
Brianna remains connected to the tribe via WhatsApp.

[17:05] What were some of your biggest takeaways from Tanzania?

The USA is so much more engineered than Tanzania. Very few standards – looked like a lot of chaos.
No infrastructure to support basic needs.
Hard to describe the level of poverty these people experience every day.
Vibrant culture, kind people, what they have they are willing to share. The people are very happy.

[22:48] You said Tanzania doesn’t have concern for environmental issues, what made you come to that conclusion?

There were piles of trash in the front yards of most people’s homes.
More concerned about getting food and water vs. environmental concerns.
Sometimes we think we are doing a good thing but the results don’t turn out as expected – the story of two wells.
TGNP is bringing women into the water industry and using local resources to perform work.

[29:15] What are some of the things you noticed about women and the impact of the global water crisis?

Cannot meet SDG6 without the help of women.
Women still bear the primary responsibility for collecting water. Their lack of education prevents than from participating in the water industry unless they are shown how.
Five words that sum up her takeaways from the trip.
- Existence – Until you see it yourself, it’s not real to you.
- Raw – This is my story and I was a witness to their stories.
- Guilty – This could be my life too.
- Calamity – Our absence of solutions has occurred over many years.
- Inspiring – The people’s passion for life in spite of these circumstances. What I am doing has a purpose.

[35:00] What was it like to come back to the US?

Consider bathing your newborn child in this polluted water. We can trust our water systems without these fears.
I wanted to stay. I fell in love with the Tanzanian people. I enjoyed living in their culture.
Water is life really hits you when you see these issues up close.

[38:45] Do you feel like you’ve been able to raise the awareness you hoped?

People were shocked and disgusted that this still exists.
As a global humanity we need to do better.
Some people still reacted with apathy.

[41:40] Can you tell us the story of your trip climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?

This story is epic y’all. Listen to this whole thing.

[54:10] You said you felt like an island in a male dominated industry. Can you tell us some of the work you’ve been doing to bring women into water?

Created a Women in Water Committee at the Illinois section of AWWA.
Working with the Girl Scouts.
Awareness around navigating parenthood and careers.
No data on women in the water industry. No baseline.

[1:03:06] The Lighting Round

BBC Podcast: 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter
Plan my day based on what I really want to be working on, not just the immediate attention items.
People cannot ignore what is plainly in their sight. Be the change that you want to see.

Resources:

Tanzanian Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) https://tgnp.org

Sponsor:

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74: Water Nerd’s Guide to Making the Water Industry Sexy to the Next Gen of the Water Workforce

The H2duO — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 10:18:23 -0500

Adam Tank has over 10 years of experience in the water industry with a focus on business development, software, and engineering. As the Director of Digital Transformation, he has responsibility for client success related to Transcend Design Generator Software (transcendh2o.com). He works closely with the Marketing and Software Development teams to prioritize development needs and anticipate client requests. Most recently he served as the North America Smarts Cities Director for Suez.

He previously led, and sold, a robotics spin-out of the General Electric corporation which focused on cutting edge potable water pipe rehabilitation techniques. Prior to that he served as GE Water’s Digital Water Leader, managing venture investments and creating software solutions for water distribution challenges. Earlier in his career, Adam served as an engineer in the CPG industry where he both lived and worked in Brazil, and led sanitation programs for General Mills’ largest yogurt plant in North America. Adam received his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Arizona.

Top Takeaways:

We need to take ownership of water’s story otherwise someone else will and the consequences are dire.
Shift from a consumption mindset to a production mindset—if you spend three hours consuming, spend three hours creating.
Water employers can change job responsibilities and freshen up titles to meet the demands of job seekers.

Show Notes:

[5:52] What can the water industry do to retain employees? What is the value of a diverse work background?

Diverse thought comes from diverse experiences.
I wasn’t born a water nerd but got here as fast as I could.

[8:15] How can we do better at getting people in the door of the water industry? What small adjustments are important?

We aren’t just competing for people who want to work in water. We are competing with all organizations and industries.
Change job responsibilities and freshen up titles to meet the demand. Tie in the mission of water – it’s our greatest differentiator.
Each of us has a personal responsibility to reach out and recruit.

[16:00] What is “junk science” and how does it relate to water quality?

In the absence of fact, people make up their own stories to fill the void.
We need to take ownership of water’s story because otherwise someone else will and the consequences are dire.
You have an obligation to tell the truth about how amazing our work in water is.
The oath of the water nerd.
The facts are not enough, you need a story

[23:45] What does it mean to shift from a consumption mindset to a production mindset? How should we be handling content creation in the water space?

If you spend three hours consuming, spend three hours creating.
The power of YouTube and video space.
We just gotta start somewhere – create something and share it.

[30:38] We need to re-humanize the way we tell our story. Give us a few examples.

Reiterate to customers that water employees are their neighbors. They are helping to repair service. They are part of the community. You know them.
Public tree program – named the trees and gave them email addresses. People fully embraced it and wrote letters to those trees and thanked them. Great ROI for learning about problems.

[37:35] The Lighting Round

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
Red Notice – Bill Browder
The 50th Law – 50 Cent and Robert Greene
Spend time just thinking. Blank time.
The need to recruit the next generation of talent into the water industry.

Resources:

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
Red Notice – Bill Browder
The 50th Law – 50 Cent and Robert Greene

Sponsor:

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73: Water Nerd’s Guide to Gen Z: The Future of the Water Workforce

The H2duO — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:00:03 -0500

Ben Brugler holds the titles of president and CEO of akhia. He previously held the titles of president and vice president before being transitioned into his current position in 2018. Under Ben’s leadership, the agency has grown from 15 to more than 60 employees, earning a spot as a Top 100 Workplace in Northeast Ohio, as well as placement on the Weatherhead 100 list of fastest-growing companies in the region.

With more than 15 years of experience in the industry, Ben is well-known among clients and the regional business community as a master facilitator and speaker on topics ranging from content marketing to thought-leadership positioning.

In 2011, he was named to Crain’s Forty under 40 list for his contributions to AKHIA’s Growth.

Top Takeaways:

We need to start planning for the Gen Z workforce because they are coming fast and we are behind. In 2020, 20% of the workforce will be comprised of Gen Z.
Internal communication has never been more important within organizations than it is right now.
Gen Z does not communicate on social media the same way Millennials have – they are not putting their whole life out there on social media.

Show Notes:

[8:40] Millennials are already here. Who is Gen Z?

People think millennials are still 20 somethings – not true, we are in our 30’s now. They are a maturing generation.
Youngest Gen Z’s are digitally native. They have full immersion into digital and technology.
Gen Z balances technology better (e.g., texting while driving compare with seat belts).
2020 – 20% of the workforce will be Gen Z.

[14:23] You talked about the biggest myths about Gen Z, what stands out the most?

Gen Z will only communicate on digital channels – That’s untrue. Over 70% want face to face connections.
37% worry technology is hurting their people skills.
Aware of the consequence of putting your whole life out there on social media.

[18:58] Gen Z wants to work somewhere where they can have multiple roles. What are some other characteristics they are looking for in the water industry?

Our industry has significant labor shortage issues. There is a web of opportunities – no silos, more cross training.
The water sector has a major focus on education and training – that’s a strength.
Value of credentials versus more degrees.
Readily available educational and training resources.
Discussion on specialty colleges and alternative pathways to 4-year college degrees.

[28:00] It is very expensive to train new employees, what is the most shocking number to you?

Turnover costs the US Economy $30 Billion annually.
The number of weeks an open position has gone from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. That’s a lot of loss work and productivity.
30% of employees leave in the first 6 months of employment.
30-40% of employees feel they are not engaged at work.
Disengaged employees cost a company 85% more than an engaged one.
We all want a human answer – talk human to humans.

[38:58] What are some ways as an industry we are playing catch up on communications?

The methods of communications are outdated. Employees don’t necessarily engage in message boards and email.
There is an overabundance of communications for employees. Transparency means communicate what’s important not communicate everything.
No customizable communications. The audience has 5 different generations.
Desire a two-way communication – employees, especially Gen Z have a need to be heard.

[45:10] What are the components of an internal communication program?

Employee Experience.
Employee Engagement.
Training and Development.
Human Resources.
Crisis Communications.

[51:33] Brainstorming has been replaced by education. Can you tell us what you mean by that?

Brainstorming is annoying – it feels draining and tired.
The days of an “idea” are gone – you have to not only develop an idea but talk about how its implemented and advanced.
Fun brainstorming parties used as icebreakers are gone – moving towards Design Thinking.
The creation of a good idea is a process not magic.

[56:41] The Lighting Round

The Disney Way – Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson
Review Industry Feed and LinkedIn. Make connections with people I haven’t heard from in a while.
Don’t be a jerk. Respect one another. It all comes back to communication.

Resources:

The Disney Way – Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

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72: Water Nerd’s Guide to Building Dream Teams

The H2duO — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 09:00:30 -0500

Stephen Sanders is a certified Water and Wastewater operator living in central New York. He has nearly 19 years of experience in the industry. During that time he has worked at several drinking water and wastewater facilities throughout NY. He has worked for public, private, and not-for-profit entities. Currently, he is the Director and Head Trainer for the Environmental Training Center at Morrisville State College where he does precertification operator training. He has been teaching at the ETC for the last 9 yrs. He serves on the state operator certification governance council and on WEF’s recently formed Diversity, inclusion, and Equity taskforce.

Top Takeaways:

A professional is someone who isn’t just collecting a check – a professional is involved.
Diversity needs to be managed and we have to get a lot more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Dream Teams. Just read it, then change how you see diversity and work at it.

Show Notes:

[7:33] What is your connection to operators?

Stephen does operator training and sees 500-600 operators per year. This career in water is multiple jobs down their career path.
Do operators want a voice? Yes, if they want to be a professional. They need to be enc

[10:14] What is the best message we can offer to operators see the value in being a professional?

Education. Leadership needs to recognize the value of your field staff workers. Leadership in utilities needs to understand these individuals are professionals.

[11:40] When should we start talking to students about operations as a career path?

Middle school to early high school.
Can’t just look for operators, need to be willing to train an operator. Need to create the pipeline of workers to fill these roles.

[14:10] What is the biggest industry blind spot?

We need to answer why we are trying to have more diversity. Do we value people and different types of people?
We don’t just want to check the box – we need these voices.
We serve real human beings.
We can encourage one another through storytelling and what it feels like to be out of place. Leaders need to tell stories and influence the organization.

[18:35] What are some ways we can encourage empathy?

We sharpen each other. We need to communicate the value of diverse perspectives.

[20:15] Dream Teams by Shane Snow – what stood out to you most?

The part of our brain that puts up the red flag is unconscious; therefore, we have to put in a conscience effort to resist that urge.
As human beings we are hardwired to be biased and resist those who look different from us. We see each other as threats.
We have been robbed of our ability to have disagreements without “hating” each other. We need to become more comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s our obligation as a water sector. It’s about what we are trying to accomplish together.
Feedback comes from wanting to help someone – it’s not about a personal attack on them.

[27:09] Discussion about the importance of Wu-Tang and the power of diversity.

Diversity has to be managed – it’s not a free for all.
Just because its not comfortable doesn’t mean you should avoid it.
“if it ain’t rough, it ain’t right.”

[31:06] The Lighting Round

Dream Teams – Shane Snow
Get out in the morning with a walk. Need to have a clean desk. Mind the calendar.
The golden rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Resources:

Dream Teams – Shane Snow
Radical Candor – Kim Scott
Creativity Inc., – Ed Catmull

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71: Water Nerd’s Guide to Diversity, Inclusion, and Creating a Talent Pipeline

The H2duO — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 18:29:46 -0500

Melinda White often referred to as Mimi, serves as a Human Resources Consultant for Montgomery County, Environmental Services located in Dayton, Ohio. In her current role, she holds the responsibility for various training, organizational development, community collaboration, and human resources functions.

As an active community member in Dayton, She is a member of the advisory board for Engineering Technology at Sinclair Community College, serves as an executive board member of the National Conference for Community & Justice of Greater Dayton (NCCJ). She has served as an active member and contributor of the Ohio Diversity Council and National Diversity Council since 2008. She is skilled and passionate about bringing people of different backgrounds together to create and achieve shared goals.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Management/Project Management from Antioch University McGregor, a Master’s degree in Management and Leading Change (HR) (MLCHR) from Antioch University Midwest, and a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP).

Top Takeaways

Build your talent pipeline from the ground up by working with the people actually doing that type of work.
Human beings are hardwired to have biases. Bring them to the surface and be willing to change.
Leading with empathy will allow you to build the workforce of tomorrow with the positive diversity and inclusion you seek.

Shownotes:

[4:43] So Mimi, did you choose water or did water choose you?

Water chose me. I started liking it, which is kind of weird.

[5:44] When you presented at UMC we heard a lot about workforce. You came from outside of water so where did you start in developing your talent pipeline?

I had to let them know I wasn’t here for your job. I put on a pair of boots and picked up a sledgehammer. I went on a series of ride alongs with the team.

[7:15]I know each one of my employee’s names. I stand outside my door and wave and tell them how much I appreciate them. They could choose to be anywhere, but they chose here. We are a family.

[9:10]Our boots are dirty and we can step on your carpet – but that’s why we have vacuums.

[9:35]You are working with students to come and join the water sector. Can you tell us a little more?

The Water Utility Technician Program helps let students know the value of these type of jobs– its hard to find operators because we forgot about the trades. The water sector is a lucrative industry with good paying jobs.
A student can take the class, take the test and get a job.
Ask field staff what they would need to succeed in this industry.

[12:21]If you build it they will come – not true unless they know you built it! Mimi went out and marketed these programs to students. She brought field staff and vehicles to gain interest and brought the students on tours.

No one talks more passionately about a job than the person in that job. Have our field staff communicate with potential students about the value of this career.

[15:30]High school students next step is to gain independence. How do we leverage this to make an impact on high school students?

Invite them to place where they can work and talk with people already working in the industry.

[18:18]Getting people in the door is an important part but so is nurturing them. How are you handling professional development?

Our employees were missing key interviewing skills which fostered the need for nurturing and professional development for the field staff.
I am willing to give my time on the weekends if they are willing to as well.
Mimi taught the employees to have more confidence to interview better. This engagement demonstrated care for the employee and that they are valued.
The employees learned how to talk about the job and what they knew rather than relying on someone knowing them.
Key skills: Outlook and Excel classes.
“Boot Up Program” – Managers go out with our employees into the field.
Speed mentoring like speed dating to meet others in the organization and get exposure to other roles.
Host a book club (e.g., StrengthsFinders, True North, Crucial Conversations)

[22:28]Mimi is a Master Trainer in Crucial Conversations.

Mandatory reading and training for everyone in the organization.
Helps employees to have conflict resolution skills.
Teams have a common language with each other “In my opinion….” It’s about having good outcomes.

[25:24]Frustration of being an internal applicant. Invest in your internal employees to retain them. It’s not about money, it’s about time. When it comes to this investment.

[26:31]Tell us about some of the positive outcomes of your program?

The opportunity to intern with the water utility gives them a better chance at a long-term role.
They have invested in themselves and the utility has invested in them.
Employees are using their skills (e.g., Is that a story or is that a fact?)

[29:36]What are some ideas for getting to know 300+ people in your organization?

It’s easy to just say “hello” to someone and learn their names.
The power of having toys in your office.
Remember the little things—it shows how much you care.

[33:24]Why is diversity and inclusion so important for workforce issues?

Diversity is not just about race and gender.
It’s about understanding people to understand their biases.
Diversity is not a comfortable subject but diversity is just about differences.

[36:45]How do you level the playing field by setting the tone for diversity and inclusion?

We are here to understand and not to punish people for their opinions.
Icebreaker: Stand up for Diversity.
Think about a time someone told you “you weren’t good enough.”

[41:29]What is the salad bowl theory?

In a salad you can see all the different parts – the bowl is the workplace and the people are the salad parts.
The salad dressing is the mission, vision and values of the organization – it touches everything.

[44:02]Human beings are hardwired to be biased. That’s okay as long as you know why you have that bias and what you do with it.

Are you open minded enough to change your stereotypes?

[47:15]What can we learn from Disney about diversity especially Belle and Happy Feet?

There is good in everyone.
If everyone has the same talent then the organization can’t move forward.

[52:03]It’s not about accepting, it’s about respecting.

Our people are the main characters in water’s story. They could choose to be somewhere else but they are here with us.
Need to adopt a mentality of servant leadership.
Stop and say “Thank You” to your employees for the work they do.

[56:50]The Lightning Round

Be More Strategic in Business – Diana Thomas.
Why am I doing this and who is going to be affected?
Inclusivity: Take the time to understand. Take the time to smile.

Resources:

StrengthsFinders – Tom Rath

Discover Your True North – Bill George

Crucial Conversations – Kerry Patterson

Be More Strategic in Business – Diana Thomas

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70: Attack of the Fatbergs: Storytelling that Sticks

The H2duO — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:25:40 -0500

Mick O’Dwyer is founder and CEO of SwiftComply – a communication platform that helps water authorities manage their compliance programs. SwiftComply has over 400 customers in the US, covering FOG, Backflow, and other compliance programs. Before SwiftComply, Mick was a wastewater engineer in Dublin, Ireland where he set-up and managed Europe’s first FOG program.

Sponsor:

This episode is powered by Moonshot Missions, the non-profit organization seeking to disrupt the current approach to delivering improvement to water systems. Led by seasoned and skilled experts, Moonshot Missions designs replicable models that help utilities overcome the challenges they face in order to move forward. Moonshot can help you assess your system, select solutions from a pre-vetted menu of projects, plus develop innovative financing approaches. Collaborate with other leaders to work together, develop tailored mission plans and share lessons learned. Together you can build water systems that work more efficiently and effectively to protect and provide for the residents you serve, while also saving your customers money.

If you’d like to learn more or even share your own experience that might be helpful for a struggling utility to adopt and start on a positive path, visit moonshotmissions.org or email george@moonshotmissions.org.”

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69: Rocking the Spotlight—A Crisis Communication Toolbox

The H2duO — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 08:00:58 -0500

Karen Raucher is a policy analyst and risk communication specialist with expertise identifying how to gather, develop, and effectively share complex, uncertain information with a wide diversity of audiences. Ms. Raucher played a leading role in recent strategic climate change communication and policy-focused research for the Water Research Foundation, the Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA), and the WateReuse Research Foundation, as well as for a broad range of individual water utilities. She brings cutting-edge insights to the understanding and application of effective communication and long-term decision-making strategies to address large future uncertainty as well as complex regulatory challenges.

Top Takeaways

Anytime when fear or high anxiety is present, it switches how we process information in the brain. It takes us out of our frontal lobe where we do increased thought processing to the primitive amygdala where our only reactions are to freeze, flight, faint or fight.
Your audience can’t process information beyond the amygdala until you’ve answered their questions of critical concern. As a water professional, you may not even know what those questions are. You need to ask your customers and then listen. It may not even be what you think is a legitimate question based on your experience and knowledge but it must be answered before you can move forward.
Don’t try to communicate alone. Communicate with community thought-leaders and let them help you amplify your message. They know how to address it through the lens of what matters most to their community.
Social media is no longer a choice. 60-70% of people go their first to find their news.
27/9/3. Your brain can only handle 27 words that can be spoken in 9 seconds or less that covers three of fewer talking points. Use this equation when crafting your messaging.

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68: Why Art, Culture, and Water Will Transform Communities

The H2duO — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 08:00:33 -0500

Tyler Knott Gregson is a poet, author, professional photographer, and artist who lives in the mountains of Helena, Montana. His books include Miracle in the Mundane, Chasers of the Light, All the Words are Yours, North Pole Ninjas, and Wildly in the Dark. When he is not writing, he runs his photography company, Chasers of the Light.

Top Takeaways

Reminder: You can’t be afraid to use your voice to create change. You can’t be afraid to talk about the things that are difficult to talk about. You have to accept that not everyone is going to like what you have to say but you still have to speak the truth.
Mindfulness is not something that is touchy-feely. It’s the only way people and organizations grow. You have to get out of your lane because otherwise you just create an echo chamber where all you hear is yourself.
Are you a public communicator that has found “photographer” as one of your many hats? Get some tips from an expert. Don’t worry…anyone can put these tips into action.
Tyler is the author of multiple books and writes every single day. His advice on content development is simply to listen more. There truly is inspiration all around you.

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67: Communication’s Role in Solving the Silver Tsunami Workforce Challenge

The H2duO — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 08:00:08 -0500

Travis Loop has over 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public outreach, and media, with a focus on water and environmental issues. He is currently director of communications at the Water Environment Federation, where he also hosts the podcast Words On Water. He previously directed water communications at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Program, served as a speechwriter for the Governor of Hawaii, and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor.

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66: The Fundamental Value of Infusing Art and Culture into the Water Industry

The H2duO — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 08:00:37 -0500

Radhika Fox is the Chief Executive Officer of the US Water Alliance, a national nonprofit organization advancing policies and programs that build a sustainable water future for all. Radhika is a widely-recognized thought leader on complex water issues, from equity in water to investing in our nation’s water infrastructure. With more than 20 years of experience in developing policies, programs, and issue-based advocacy campaigns, Radhika is a sought-after public speaker and has been interviewed by local, regional, and national media outlets on a wide range of water issues. Previously, Radhika directed the policy and government affairs agenda for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which is responsible for providing 24/7 water, wastewater, and municipal power services to 2.6 million Bay Area residents. She also served as the Federal Policy Director at PolicyLink, where she coordinated the organization’s policy agenda on a wide range of issues, including infrastructure investment, transportation, sustainable communities, economic inclusion, and workforce development.

Top Takeaways

Art begins a conversation about water that facts and figures alone cannot.
Partnering with the artists and cultural practitioners in your community creates new tools to engage the community, new ways to envision and design our water systems and a new lens through which our industry’s technical experts can innovate the future of water.
These partnerships create an entry point for the people in your community that are passionate about helping create positive behavior change.

Resources:

What did Stephanie mean by coming in like Jason Momoa? This. #FiredUp

Advancing One Water Through Arts and Culture: A Blueprint for Action

One Water Summit 2019

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

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65: Creating Contagion in Your Communications with Duke Greenhill

The H2duO — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 04:34:22 -0500

Duke Greenhill is a leading advertising creative and strategist, writer, filmmaker, and omnichannel marketer. He’s known for being among the first to employ augmented reality gaming (ARG) and episodic transmedia marketing in the United States, and for being a thought leader in the luxury branding and advertising space. Duke has published articles on luxury brand strategy and storytelling in top-tier industry press including Fast Company, The Harvard Business Review, The Telegraph, HubSpot and others. His projects have won many industry awards, including Effies, One Shows, Ogilvy Awards, ADDYs, and others. According to Academia.edu, an organization that monitors the impact of published thought leaders, Greenhill is cited in nearly half a million journals and academic papers. He’s currently the chair of advertising and the chair of graphic design at the Savannah College of Arts & Design (SCAD)–the university for creative careers.

Top Takeaways

Keep our message simple.
Remember that our social currency is defined by the quality of our engagement and not necessarily the quantity of followers.
At the end of the day, human beings make decisions emotionally. We use reason to rationalize a decision we’ve already made. If you can conjure up emotion in a target audience and that emotion is what drives them to take action, you’ve won.

Shownotes:

[05:15]At the end of the day, I think water is sexy.

[5:53] I don’t see why there needs to be a distance between the way we market a Tiffany ring and the way we communicate about water.

[6:13] Stop thinking about water as a utility, as something people don’t want to hear about, as some second-rate product or service and start treating it with the respect it deserves.

[7:05] The book–Contagious: Why Things Catch On–breaks down certain components that make communications viral, shareable, sticky.

[7:23] The class–Creating Contagion: From Experience to Entertainment–discusses ways to be at the forefront of communications by focusing first on the entertainment value of the communication and the utility of it–what it provides the end-user, rather than the message and how to sell it.

[8:54] Five elements of story: Character, Plot, Setting, Tension/Conflict, and Resolution. Story is the fundamental thing that makes any kind of communication worth communicating.

[9:30] Story–it’s a drug, leverage the addiction.

[10:40] Communication is easy? HA! (Rabbit hole!)

[12:16] 360-degrees of sticky: a class project involving students to create an omnichannel campaign (which refers to using multiple channels – surround sound)

[14:38] Triggers–anything you can attach a “call to action” to–attaching the purchase or use of the product to smells, taste, shape, color to conjure top of mind thinking. When it’s top of mind they take action.

[18:22 ] Remarkability-anything worth remarking about, repeating, sharing.

[18:43] People are impressed with innovation–it’s a currency all on its own.

[18:56] An example of remarkable innovation–predictive audio

[22:42] Water nerds: we have to tell the story of our passion!

[23:05] Water should be a luxury brand.

[23:36] Currency of Clout: (social currency) the value that your followers place on whatever information it is you want to share with them–that beats the number of followers you have. Quality over quantity.

[24:40] Positive Influence: Fyre Festival

[27:49] Negative Influence: Snooki

[29:19] Gamification–application of gaming principles, competition, to a commercial communication. Think fit tech.

[30:20] How Dr. Dre and Beats by Dre teaches us about data and measurement.

[34:39] Keeping our messages simple.

[37:30] Campaigns vs. platforms.

[38:33] Platform vs your brand.

The brand is the foundation of everything. If you don’t have that together and if you’re not consistent with it, platforms and campaigns are a moot point.

[39:50] Scaling the viral mountains.

[43:10] Managing the emotion in human decision-making.

Resources:

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Duke’s all-time favorite)

Sponsor:

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64: Winning Over the Social Media Gatekeepers with John Gonzalez, Comms Director @neorsd

The H2duO — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 18:43:28 -0500

John Gonzalez is the Communications Manager and Social Media Coordinator for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in Cleveland. The Sewer District has been actively engaged in social media since 2009, building reliable followings on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere to share updates, answer questions, and promote often-overlooked aspects of clean-water work. As an 18-year member of the Sewer District’s communication team, he also contributes to the utility’s public outreach strategy and oversees its internal communications programs.

Top Takeaways

Social media is a serious commitment to both your customers and your organization. Show you take it serious by coming prepared with a solid idea of the strategy, structure, and substance you plan to use regarding social media.
Social media is always on. Make sure your strategy and your people are empowered with the tools and bandwidth required to do social media right. It’s not a M-F, 8-5 gig.
Negative comments are inevitable. Name the elephant in the room and come prepared with a plan to address issues when they come up.

Sponsor:

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Communication’s Role in Being THE World-Class Utility with Carla Reid, GM & CEO at WSSC

The H2duO — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 14:59:36 -0500

Carla Reid serves as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer (GM/CEO) at WSSC (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission). She is the first woman to serve in this capacity. Reid is a civil engineer and senior executive with more than 30 years of business and leadership experience in the public sector.

As GM/CEO, Reid leads the 101-year-strong water utility, the largest in Maryland, in all aspects of the business. She serves as a board member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Prince George’s County Workforce Development Board and the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce and is an active member in the community. A true champion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, Reid also advocates for programming that increases the number of girls and other under-represented groups in these disciplines. In recognition of her professional achievements, community leadership and mentoring, Reid was named one of The Daily Record’s 2019 Maryland’s Top 100 Women.

Top Takeaways

If you want to earn employee buy-in include them in the process. Carla invited any of her employees to participate in the recent strategic planning process. They conducted a S.O.A.R analysis together and revisited their core values.
“Collaboration and communication are key to becoming world-class.” Whether it’s engaging staff or customers, WSSC is dedicated to working together. Carla believes that to get people to advocate you must collaborate and demonstrate that you were listening and that you care.
Building diversity and inclusion begins by starting early, meeting people where they’re at, and bringing people in to see the awesome work you’re doing. That means getting into schools at a younger age, encouraging STEM programs in schools, and even bring-your-child-to-work days.

Sponsor:

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62: The NACWA Mashup: Talking Comms with some NACWA Super Stars

The H2duO — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 21:00:38 -0500

We had the honor of being the luncheon keynote at NACWA’s StratComm conference in June 2019, and while we were there, got to interview some of their amazing board members and committee members.

Top Takeaways

Lisa Van Riper brings her private sector marketing experience to the water table, stressing the importance of branding our “national treasure” of water. She explains that branding matters in the water industry because its how we communicate to customers that their bill is an investment in the public health and the environment of their community.
Bess McCoy shares on the role of stormwater in public communication on flooding, as well as the value of water.It’s important to communicate the importance of stormwater issues that promote public safety and preparedness.
Tom Sigmund talks internal comms, the manager’s role, and encourages us to simply “make it weird, until its not”.
Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells discusses the impact of the 50% anniversary of the cuyahoga river fire and the significance for the clean water act and NEORSD. She also touched on their approach to communication—the 3Ts—Timely, Transparent, and Thoughtful.

Show Notes:

Lisa Van Riper:

[6:00] Branding is a starting point for shaping your messages.

[8:50] I’ve only been in water for 5 years, and before that I had no idea what a treasure this industry was. We are a national treasure, and nobody knows that.

[11:30] We have an educational fence on our pump station with different interactives.

[17:00] A brand is about the personality, the mantra, the architecture, the messaging, the positioning…

[18:30] We try to unite everyone around the brand, and did this with internal town hall meetings.

[19:30] Renew and transform are very similar.

Bess McCoy:

[26:00] How are you communicating about flooding issues to your community?

[28:00] We knew we were in a position to inform and educate, and that’s our job.

[28:30] What is some of the public outreach you’ve been doing around advance awareness for flooding?

[29:30] Real estate agents have been great partners in getting our message out.

[32:00] what is the value of NAQWA?

Tom Sigmund:

[34:00] How are you communicating about the transition from a wastewater utility to a producer of “new” water?

[36:30] We realized our biggest impact would be outside the fence.

[37:30] Starting initially as an engineer, what made you a believer in communication?

[44:20] The first step in terms of internal communication, is just start- “make it weird until its not”

[46:00] NAQWA is the best representation in our industry both for legislation and regulation.

Kyle Dreyfus Wells:

[47:30] How does the story of the cuyahoga river fire shape perception and environmental policy in ohio?

[49:10] The story that resonates for me for NEORDS is the success of the clean water act, and how the river shows that.

[50:40] The concept of service brought me to the water sector.

[51:30] We have a burden to make up for the mistakes of the past.

[53:20] It is leadership’s role to make sure people are empowered to give the difficult answer.

[54:00] Check your terms.

[55:30] When it comes to social media, you have no choice.

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells—is CEO of the North East Ohio Regional Sewer District. As CEO she oversees the operation of one of the largest clean-water agencies in Ohio, a district that treats 90 billion gallons of water every year thanks to the work of more than 750 employees. She works closely with seven Trustees and nine directors to ensure efficient management of hundreds of miles of sewer and stream networks, a multi-billion-dollar 25-year Project Clean Lake program, and a regional wet-weather strategy for the health of Lake Erie and more than one million residents.

Before becoming CEO, Ms. Dreyfuss-Wells coordinated the District’s watershed management, including the Regional Stormwater Management Program and the application of stormwater control measures to reduce combined sewer overflows under the District’s Green Infrastructure Policy. She is past chair of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Stormwater Management Committee and the One Water Council of the US Water Alliance. She serves on the NACWA Board and chairs the District 1 Natural Resources Assistance Council for the Ohio Public Works Commission’s Clean Ohio Conservation Program. In 2012, Ms. Dreyfuss-Wells received the Stormwater Professional of the Year award from the Ohio Stormwater Association and the NACWA President’s Award.

Ms. Dreyfuss-Wells graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She earned master’s degrees with honors in both Public Affairs and Environmental Science at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa. Before joining the District, she was Director of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc.

Tom Sigmund—is the Executive Director of NEW Water, the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, where he has been since 2007. NEW Water is a regional clean water utility serving 230,000 people in 15 municipalities providing wholesale conveyance and treatment services. NEW Water has 99 employees and an annual budget of $42 million. NEW Water expresses its attitude of viewing the material sent to its facilities as valuable resources to be recovered and reused and a commitment to protecting its most valuable resource, water.

Mr. Sigmund is a Professional Engineer in Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio. He is a member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and serves on the Executive Committee of their Board of Directors.

Mr. Sigmund has a MS and BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Bess McCoy—is a Public Affairs Specialist with the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), serving on a team of four in the district’s Public Affairs Division.

Driven by her passion for public engagement and government transparency, Bess leads MSD’s employee communication and municipal communication efforts. She is responsible for engaging more than 1,000 employees and 88 municipalities in MSD’s efforts to protect the public health and water environment. Bess also serves as an official spokesperson for MSD. The “positive face” of the district, she is the primary representative for MSD’s proactive media engagement including their educational campaigns and stories highlighting their preventative activities.

MSD is two utilities in one; it is a wastewater utility and a stormwater utility. With over 9,000 miles of sewer lines and seven wastewater treatment plants, MSD is the fourth largest sewer system in the United States. MSD serves more than 1.3 million customers in a 520 square-mile service area that includes all of St. Louis City and 90% of St. Louis County.

Prior to joining MSD, Bess served as the Public Information Officer for the City of Creve Coeur, a municipality in St. Louis County. She also spent four years working in the advertising industry where she specialized in online marketing and strategic research. A lifelong St. Louis area resident, Bess earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Saint Louis University.

Lisa Van Riper- is Director of Enterprise Communications at AlexRenew, the advanced water resource recovery facility for Alexandria, Virginia, and parts of Fairfax County. She established the communications department for AlexRenew and led the rebranding of the organization as Alexandria’s Water Transformers.

Prior to AlexRenew, Van Riper was Assistant Vice President, University Communications at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. She turned around the communications department to better serve campus partners and led innovation to increase visibility for the university, including tripling media placements, developing a social media program, and creating an online recruitment advertising strategy.

Van Riper also worked at CarMax, Inc. as Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs and Store Marketing, where she established the communications practice and CarMax Foundation. She also led grand openings and store experience marketing, and the program to secure a place for CarMax on the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work for” list.

During her career, Van Riper and the teams she has led have won more than 45 awards for communications excellence from communications, university, and water industry associations.

Van Riper is Vice-Chair of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Strategic Communications Committee.

Sponsor:

This episode is powered by Rogue Water, the public communication company founded by the H2duO, Stephanie Zavala and Arianne Shipley. Rogue Water is dedicated to revolutionizing the water industry—one person, one story, one experience at a time. We are award-winning communication professionals with a decade of experience working in water utilities moving the needle forward in communication, outreach, and education to build stronger relationships between the water sector and the public it serves. These relationships serve as the foundation needed to make the necessary changes that create a sustainable water future for all. Are you ready to go Rogue?

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61: Making Water the Catalyst for Community Transformation with George Hawkins

The H2duO — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 11:13:55 -0500

George Hawkins is the President and Founder of Moonshot Missions, a non-profit enterprise that offers communities and utilities a choice: 1) to undertake an assessment to identify opportunities for improvements, or 2) to select from a list of model projects that have been field-tested in other communities. George Hawkins is the Harvard educated Founder of Moonshot LLC and just recently, Moonshot Partners, a Professor of Practice at American University and former head of DC Water. He facilitated the transformation of DC Water and Sewer Authority to DC Water and oversaw taking DC Water from some very challenging times to the national and international reputation it now enjoys. George wants to help other enterprises tell their story, create replicable roadmaps and reach their dreams.

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60: The Water Nerd’s Guide to Creating a Culture of Communication with Dr. Jacque Lambiase and Dr. Laura Bright

The H2duO — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:13:16 -0500

Dr. Jacque Lambiase and Dr. Laura Bright are professors in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU. Together they direct the Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU, now in its seventh year. Since 2010, Jacque has consulted with or spoken to groups about earning their share of discussion in social media and public relations opportunities, including talk to the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers, Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Department of Labor, among others. Dr. Bright’s research focuses on social media addiction and fatigue, big data and personalized advertising, and citizen engagement online. She also consults various companies and organizations on optimizing their digital presence. For more information, please visit www.brightwoman.com or follow her on Twitter @lbright. You can follow Jacque on Twitter @lambiase.

Top Takeaways:

Executive presence involves breaking down leadership to its core attributes creating a roadmap of traits you can focus on and develop to become a better leader.
A connection culture is one where employees feel connected to one another, connected to the organizational mission, and that they can make a difference. This type of culture is key for building brand ambassadors within your organization.
Being prepared for a crisis is about more than having a plan. It requires dedicated time to practice throughout the year. The magic of crisis communication happens in the prep work, not what happens during the crisis.

Shownotes:

[4:33] Learn more about the Certified Public Communicator program at Texas Christian University. It’s open to everyone! You don’t have to be from Texas.

[5:35] How do we keep communicators across silos on the same page?

[8:14] You have to nail your internal communication before you can hope to communicate effectively externally. Learn how to create a culture of communication.

[12:45] Executive presence breaks down the different characteristics of leadership that people can learn and harness to become better leaders.

[14:40] The art of listening and the difference of empathetic listening.

[17:53] Executive presence and listening are important ingredients in creating a connection culture—one where employees feel valued and connected to the mission.

[21:21] What does inbound and outbound communication look like internally? “You can’t sit in your office and wait for employees to respond.”

[29:00] Find creative ways to communicate mission and vision. Tell stories around your mission and show how employees are embodying the vision and values.

[36:40] Having a crisis communication plan is not enough. It has to be rehearsed!

Resources:

TCU Certified Public Communicator Program (Sign up early, they fill up fast!)

Make Your Bed: Admiral William H. McRaven

Fired up or burned out: Michael Lee Stallard

Crucial Conversations: Kerry Patterson

Susan Bates: All the Leader You Can Be

Americana: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Samuel Pepys: Claire Tomalin

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59: Clean Water, Women of Water, and Beer: A Water Nerd Trifecta with Julie Nahrgang

The H2duO — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 04:40:32 -0500

Julie Nahrgang is the Executive Director of the Water Environment Association of Texas and Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies. Julie has worked and volunteered with WEAT since 2009. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology from Trinity University in San Antonio and received a Lifetime Honorary Studentship to the Student Union at the London School of Economics. She has worked with nonprofits since 2003 as an organizer, manager, program developer, legislative liaison, and currently as an Executive Director. As such, Julie oversees all of the legislative and regulatory changes pertaining to the clean water sector. She monitors bills, testified for and against wastewater related legislation, and represents WEAT and TACWA in a number of TCEQ and TWDB stakeholder areas.

She is active with a number of community nonprofits and water aid organizations including the Gazelle Foundation.

Top Takeaways:

We talk about workforce and the many initiatives WEAT and WEF are doing to tackle the issue, but Julie also raised a thoughtful point on how important language is to how we brand ourselves and market ourselves to the next gen of water professionals.
The Pure Water Brew Alliance is such an important and unique way to open the conversation about reuse water with not only our customers but with the local entrepreneurs in our communities.
Julie gives us some behind the scenes intel on WEATs rebranding, her team’s process and WHY it was so important to them to do so.
We end with a discussion on building diversity in the water workforce, some of the great steps already being taken, and how we have to build our allies across demographics to truly build the movement towards change in the right direction.

Shownotes:

[4:16] “Water chose me.” Julie’s water story.

[6:03] What’s the biggest benefit to a career in wastewater that we aren’t communicating well enough? WEAT/TAWWA Operator Springboard Program, workforce, and innovation in resource recovery)

[6:53] Hiring and maintaining a skilled workforce is foundational to the mandate and mission of protecting human health and the environment.

[7:19] Brookings Institute publication, 2018

The national median age of the workforce across all sectors is about 42 years old.
The median age of plant operators is 46 years old.
Plant operators will retire in greater numbers in one fell swoop

The US Government Accountability Office:

Estimates 37% of all water utility workers and 31% of all wastewater utility workers will retire in the next decade.

[8:46] Tout the benefits of a career in the water sector:

Nationally there is a lower educational barrier to entry with comparatively higher wage rate in the 10th and 25% percentile meaning the vast majority of jobs in our sector pay a more livable wage than other sectors.
We offer careers that are somewhat buffered from external shocks. Everyone will always need clean water services.
Be a part of something bigger than yourself. We are THE enterprise. You’re protecting human health and the environment.

[11:35] The evolution of the semantics around wastewater treatment, it’s no longer waste, it’s resource recovery plants. The folks that work there aren’t wastewater operators, they’re clean water workers.

[12:19] A power plant isn’t called a coal plant, it’s called a power plant because of what it produces. Our plants produce clean water and they recover resources so we need to be intentional about the language we use because it also goes back to how we market ourselves and these careers.

[14:16] Operator Springboard Program, WEAT/WEF, developed in the YP group at the WEF level by some Texas. Three-pronged approach, high school curriculum program, paid operator internship program, and veterans apprenticeship program.

[15:35] Prepares high school kids to take their class D upon graduation and graduate with that license to make them employable. They also have a direct relationship with the city of Houston to create a direct pipeline of work opportunities.

[16:22] They’ve begun creating those relationships, had a group of high schoolers tour the exhibit floor at Texas Water and it was very well received by students.

[18:39] The Water Academy at Tarrant County College, a partnership with TCC and Trinity River Authority. It offers classes, educational opportunities and paid internship opportunities.

[20:05] Tyler Community College will offer continuing education courses, build the relationship while they also build a similar water academy there.

Communication and clean water:

[23:10] It used to be that if we were cleaning the water we were doing our job and no one needed to say anything about it. If we’re having to clean water we’re therefore saying that people make the water dirty, and yet there is a stigma around talking about it.

[26:02] There has been the move towards destigmatizing the clean water industry, talking about the infrastructure and communicating to the public. We’ve come to understand that we have to do this if we hope to get anywhere in regards to policy and funding.

Across the globe, it’s been recognized that offering sanitation services is a defining factor of being a developed nation, and yet in the US, we’ve only just started to get on board with communicating that publicly as a vital public service to human health.

The sector is undervalued because it’s NOT talked about and because of the stigma around the work they do.

[31:41] Pure Water Brew Alliance is really the perfect threefold demonstration tool for those 21 and above so communicate the incredible technology available that allows for direct potable reuse as a safe water supply source, the one water ethic in that all water is just one water, and a little about resource recovery plants and the delicate treatment process.

[38:16] Rebranding a member association. The clean water sector is innovative and doing rad things. They wanted a mark and a website that reflected that not only because that’s what they are but because that’s how they want to market themselves to members.

[40:45] One piece of advice is to be imaginative…you don’t have to have Texas in your logo just because you always have or because everyone else in your space does. Create a mark that represents where you want to go or that differentiates your organization.

[43:44] Women, diversity in water. Julie feels encouraged by the fact that the question of how to build more diversity in the workforce is being asked across the sector, not just within certain groups. Learn about the InFlow program of WEF…the outreach program from the clean water side to historically black universities and colleges.

[47:04] Women side…we can support each other by making sure many different voices are being heard on conference panels, we can support each other through industry events, etc.

Resources:

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Sponsor:

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58: Water Nerd’s Guide to Branding the Value of Water with Dr. Glenn Griffin

The H2duO — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 09:00:21 -0500

Dr. Glenn Griffin (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin; M.A., B.A., The University of Alabama) has taught courses in creativity and portfolio development for more than 20 years and is also an author and researcher. His research, focused primarily on the subject of advertising creativity, has appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Psychology and Marketing, the Journal of Interactive Advertising and the Journal of Advertising Education, among other publications. He has also written for Campaign (UK) and HOW magazines. In September 2010, his co-authored book, The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas Are Born (with Deborah Morrison), was published and became a top 10 best-selling book on advertising creativity. Dr. Griffin’s students’ work has been featured in both national and international press, including Advertising Age, Adweek, Archive and CMYK magazines and recognized by The One Club, the Art Directors Club and the Clio Awards, among other organizations. In 2015, he was honored to receive the Donald G. Hileman Educator of the Year award from the American Advertising Federation’s 7th District.

He has been invited to speak about the creative process and the power of ideas at events such as the SXSW Interactive and EDU Festivals, the HOW Design Conference and in consultation with a variety of corporate and academic organizations.

Top Takeaways:

The idea of “rounding up” is how brands can do business while also doing good.
Millennials and Gen X go out of their way to do business with brands that include doing good as part of their business model. This is a huge untapped opportunity for water utilities.
Doing good has to become a part of modern branding and it has to be authentic. It can’t be lip service.
Branding isn’t a logo, a tagline, or something only relevant to consumer products. A brand is your face to your audience, and we all have a face.
You don’t have to be Coca Cola, you just have to be relevant to your customers and having water and wastewater service is pretty relevant to the lives of customers.
There are three phases to brand reputation.
- Attention generation—telling your audience who you are, what you do, and what you’re about. This is the beginning of your brand’s life cycle.
  - You should leave this stage as soon as you can when you recognize that your audience knows who you are and what you care about.
  - If you find yourself stuck here, you may be doing something wrong.
- Uncertainty reduction—reminding your audience who you are. Repeat, reiterate, delve into specifics. Maintain certainty and assurance.
  - Most brands spend their lives in this phase.
- Transcendence—brands in this phase have an audience so confident about who they are they can use their brand power to explore other related issues or areas i.e. Stella Artois partnering with water.org to help the global water crisis.
Some strategies for each phase:
- Attention generation is an ideal time to use traditional advertising.
- Once brands move on to uncertainty reduction, brands should be proactive and not reactive.
- If the only time the communication team springs into action is to put out fires or deal with disruptions, you’re doing it wrong.
- Proactive work will soften the blow because you’ve built trust with your audience and they will give you the benefit of the doubt.
- Brands in the transcendence phase can use their power to solicit help or gain partners to engage in social causes.
Established brands should shift the mindset from having to defend the brand to proactively advocating for the brand.
The idea of rounding up is only successful if both sides of the partnership benefit.
Hiring consultants or agencies can help organizations from becoming myopic.
Many utilities are in a good place to be seen as power brands. If your utility has all the qualities of a power brand, own it. Don’t think you can’t be seen as one because you aren’t Coca Cola (a private consumer brand). Power brands are:
- Highly familiar
- Highly relevant (when the brand impacts your life daily and is regularly engaged with)
- Competitively positioned
- Growing versus retracting
- Future-focused
You have to have target markets. “No one has the budget to market to everyone.”
People don’t like bullet points. They want the thread of narrative that is found in story.

Resources:

The Creative Process Illustrated by Dr. Glenn Griffin and Deborah Morrison

Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller

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57: Water Nerd’s Guide to the Creative Process with Dr. Glenn Griffin

The H2duO — Mon, 27 May 2019 09:00:09 -0500

Top Takeaways:

Creativity isn’t magic. The superstition around it divides us. Everything we know about creativity through science and research shows that every human being with a normally functioning brain is a creative being.
Creativity is purpose driven. An idea is only creative if it is useful and useful to more than one person. The goal is to push humanity forward. Everything weird and or different is not necessarily creative.
Understanding the way our minds work as individuals allows us to make our minds work better and more efficiently.
If you’re paid to think for a living it’s best to know how to put your brain in gear and on the right setting so you can be as productive as possible.
Creative Process Dimensions: Identity—Which one are you?
- Explorer—draws inspiration from everything around them.
- Collaborator—likes brainstorming in a team. Appreciates the synergy working with different expertise and perspectives around the table.
- Believers—would rather not over analyze the process and risk compromising it. The process must be protected.
- Executors—they have a plan and trust the process.
- Seekers—enjoy the hunt. No stone is left unturned.
Dimension: Experience—How does it influence the creative process?
- Builds confidence
- Offers perspective
- Acknowledges reality
- Promotes sharing
Dimension: Rhythm—How does the work move forward and get done?
- Step by step—the process unfolds in a series of steps.
- Waiting, persisting, persevering—the process, although slow and tedious, continues until a solution is found. Often the rule rather than the exception.
- Coping with fear and doubt—developing a plan to overcome the fear and doubt that inevitable strike every creative. Channeling the inner voice that says, “You can do this.”
- (Not) watching the clock—a part of the business. Time is always a factor. The goal is to do the best work in the time allotted.
Dimension: Values—What are some of the guiding principles?
- Quality ideas come from large quantities of ideas—your first idea is not the best. Your best idea is buried in a stack of 900.
- It’s important to ask questions—stay curious. Challenge the conventional wisdom.
- Creativity is an act of rebellion—a part of the creative soul. New ideas challenge the status quo. They can make people uncomfortable. They require bravery.
- A proper work environment is important for creativity—create in a place that feels good.
- Clients don’t have to be the enemy—clients know their products better than anyone. Respect them and they’ll respect you. Make them part of the team.
Dimension: Rituals—Feed the brain so it can do its best work.
- Embrace your habits
- Break up the work with play
- Find relevance in the irrelevant
- Indulge your comforts
- Pursue other passions
Dimension: Emotions/Moods/Virtues—What is the right mix of personal qualities that helps facilitate success as a creative professional?
- Optimism
- Determination
- Joy/Lightheartedness
- Humility

Resources:

The Creative Process Illustrated by Dr. Glenn Griffin and Deborah Morrison

Sponsor:

Each year, thousands of hours are spent pulling together the right data to execute drinking water programs. 120WaterAudit’s software and testing kits are TRANSFORMING how government agencies and municipalities manage drinking water programs. Cities like Pittsburgh, Loveland Colorado, Kenosha Wisconsin, and Fort Wayne Indiana use the 120WaterAudit platform to execute their Lead Service Line Replacement, Lead and Copper Compliance, Customer request and other drinking water programs. Our software and kits streamline your water quality testing programs, centralizing your data so that it’s easier for you to meet regulatory reporting requirements and communicate with your customers. Learn more or schedule a free demo at 120wateraudit.com.

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56: Water Nerd’s Guide to Communicating Climate Change and Water

The H2duO — Mon, 20 May 2019 14:28:14 -0500

Top Takeaways:

Most Americans don’t understand the difference between weather and climate so always begin the conversation with that assumption. “Weather is the clothes you wear today. Climate is the clothes you have in the closet.”
Consider conducting audience segmentation analysis on your customers in order to communicate more effectively. Not all audiences think the same way. People respond to information based on their attitudes, actions, beliefs, and values.
You can say the “c” word aka climate change. Don’t skirt around using it. More people will be upset with you if you don’t use the word versus if you do.
Start small. Begin the conversation internally and reach out to your trusted subject matter experts.
Climate change is only one of the many uncertainties facing water utilities today. Water utilities need to be saying more to their customers about these challenges and uncertainties versus springing information on them at the last minute. Customers need to be engaged and aware of what’s happening in their water system.
Two-thirds of Americans are willing to pay more today in order for their water utility to be prepared for the impacts of climate change in the future.
Pessimists only makeup 8% of the population but get the most attention because they are the loudest. Don’t pander to the naysayers. Keep them on your radar and prepare leadership with talking points to respond to this segment.
Keep the conversations and solutions surrounding climate change focused on mitigating local impacts. The regions that report the highest concern for potential impacts are regions currently experiencing extreme weather events such as severe drought or hurricanes.

Resources:

The Educated by Tara Westover

Water Utility Climate Change Alliance

EPA Climate Change Information

Sponsor:

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55: Why Telling Water’s Story Works: A Rogue Case Study

The H2duO — Mon, 13 May 2019 12:39:25 -0500

Becky Johnson has over 27 years of experience in domestic and international environmental management. She is an experienced consultant, auditor, and an international speaker. Becky is formally trained as a geologist and brings a fresh, common-sense approach to her projects, as well as an in-depth understanding of regulatory programs. She has provided consulting and training to the water and wastewater treatment industry for over 20 years and brings that experience to the classroom at TCU, providing students with a “real world” view of the field and practical hands-on experience vital in today’s job market. She has served as a member of the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists since 2011.

Top Takeaways:

Water utilities and local universities and college need to partner to ensure students receive the hands-on experience necessary to spark interest in joining the water industry.
Telling water’s story through the lens of your audience and in a language they understand is the only way to build trust and buy-in, whether it’s a room full of students or the general public.
Increased rates are inevitable. If we’re going to ask that people pay the true cost of water we have to be willing to be transparent and upfront about what they’re paying for. We have to demonstrate the value of water every single day.

Resources:

When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce

Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner

Sponsor:

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Real Talk about Leading on the Lead Issue with the First Lady of Water, Cathy Bailey

The H2duO — Mon, 06 May 2019 12:50:41 -0500

Cathy Bailey is the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works Department (GCWW). In over 200 years, Cathy is the first woman and first African American to lead Cincinnati’s major, independent, municipal water utility. Cathy leads a team that ensures safe drinking water for a regional population of more than 1.1 million citizens; supervises a team of 600 full-time employees; and oversees a $110 million operating budget and a $450 million capital budget over the next five years. Cathy is a strong champion and key visionary behind Greater Cincinnati Water Works award-winning Lead Service Line Replacement Program.

Cathy has distinguished herself as a leader throughout her career, focusing on communications, strategic thinking, innovation, technical excellence, outreach, teamwork, and of course fun to solve problems and positively impact the community. Her community work and leadership roles were recently recognized when she was named one of the 2018 Greater Cincinnati YWCA’s Career Women of Achievement and as one of the Cincinnati Venue Magazine’s Women of Influence.

Show notes:

Cathy talks to us about her water journey and her mindset of moving around the table versus climbing up the ladder. “It’s not always about moving up. Sometimes it’s really making the most of the space you’re in.”

Being active and giving back to the community was instilled in Cathy at an early age. Hear how this drives her commitment to community in the water industry: “As much as we talk about the value of water, we don’t get out in the community and then BE that…..It shouldn’t be an agenda item, it should be how we function.”

Many people are scared of involving the community at the very onset of a new initiative, but Cathy gives powerful anecdotal evidence of the trust and buy-in that doing so earns you.

Our communities are diverse. We have to really KNOW our communities in order to best outreach to them. Who will resonate most with them?

Learn how they use data from surveys, the billing system, and employees to really learn about their community so they can better serve them and meet them where they are.

September 1992 is when Cathy decided she was never going to conform. Hear the story.

How can women in water support one another better and not be threatened by other women “being in their space”? Recognize the piece of the puzzle you represent and how you can best connect with the other “pieces” around you.

What does it mean to be F.I.E.R.C.E?

Rising YPs….check this out!

Resources:

The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman and William Pentak

The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy by Anna Clark

Sponsor:

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053: Public Outreach Lessons from the Campaign Trail with Kenny Thompson Jr. of PepsiCo

The H2duO — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 03:04:49 -0500

Kenny Thompson Jr. is the Senior Director of Government and External Affairs at PepsiCo, the largest food and beverage company in the United States. He leads PepsiCo’s business-wide strategy for targeting, investing, cultivating and maintaining signature partnerships with external stakeholders to drive positive business and community impact.

Before joining PepsiCo, Kenny held several positions in the Obama White House, including Special Assistant to Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Senior Advisor to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Special Assistant and Advance Lead for President Barack Obama.

Kenny spent two years on the Obama for America Campaign in 2007 and 2008 as a member of the National Advance Staff, during which time he traveled to 38 states and over 100 cities.

A native Texan, Thompson has a Master’s of Business Administration from Georgetown University. He received his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, where he played baseball for the Horned Frogs.

Currently, Kenny serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute, the AddRan College of Liberal Arts at TCU, and is a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council at TCU.

Kenny and his wife Jessica live in Washington, DC.

Top Takeaways:

It all comes down to knowing your audience and building relationships
Learn best practices on approaching elected officials
Local matters now more than ever–driving policy change at both the local level and on capital hill

Show notes:

[7:34] Local matters now more than ever. Building relationships with the mayor, city council, school boards are crucial to making an impact locally.

[11:29] What can we learn from political campaigns that we can apply to our outreach efforts?

[12:34] What motivates people locally and showing them how it impacts them on a daily basis. Once you get people motivated it’s much easier to get people organized.

[15:37] Come with solutions, they get noticed. Anyone can come with a problem, come with a solution. If you can identify a problem, identify a solution.

[16:46] Don’t let the great be the enemy of the good.

[19:12] Use your subject matter expertise to promote your cause. Don’t assume because the person across the desk has more power that they know more than you.

[19:55] Tips when speaking on Capitol Hill: Member of Congress care about what’s going on in their districts. Make sure you tie all things back to their district, don’t forget to give credit where credit is due. Connect to local mayors and local decision makers “I’ve been working with the mayor in our city about this and they support this.”

[22:27] Use events to build your lists but stay engaged with your audience. Don’t let the connection end at the event.

[23:55] There always needs to be a call to action. Be specific. Don’t ask them to do three things, ask them to do one thing. The more times you ask the more likely you are to get action.

[26:45] The importance of building relationships with key influencers. Don’t just focus on the elected officials, but also who are they listening to? Where are they getting their news?

[29:40] Changing policy takes time and it will feel like two steps forward, one step back. “When you’re building relationships you just want to be an honest broker.”

[30:49] “Anyone can kick down a barn door.” (Sam Rayburn)“But very few people can sit down at a table and know the public policy or a specific issue and advocate for it and engage with other people thoughtfully.”

[34:52] What are some of the ways PepsiCo is taking on local initiatives related to water? Working with local farmers to reuse water, fixing irrigation problems, putting water back into the system. Partnering with organizations at the local level, Flint, Sacramento, Baltimore to help fix infrastructure problems.

[37:24] Kenny talks about starting with the basics, like infrastructure, as the first step to solving major issues such as education. *Boom: He’s a #waternerd

Resources:

What It Takes by Richard Ben Cramer

Educated by Tara Westover

Sponsor:

WaterNow Alliance believes that local leaders hold the keys to our future. WNA is a nonprofit network of over 400 councilmembers, mayors, water district board members, and utility management nationwide that champion sustainable, affordable, and community-based solutions to water management challenges. They are a catalyst for change and an architect for solutions. WNA helps to identify and overcome barriers, provide tools, training, project and policy support, and shares best management practices for local initiatives advancing community resilience. WNA is a forum for collaborative action through convenings and annual summits, and a network for local leaders to learn from each other.

Join this unique network of local decision makers leading the way to a healthy and resilient water future for their communities. Membership is free and open to the decision makers who vote on all things water from policy to programs to rates and who are ultimately accountable to the public. Visit waternow.org/join or email info@waternow.org.

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052: The Water Nerd’s Guide to Rocking Public Meetings, Part 2, with Dr. Larry Schooler

The H2duO — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 03:47:01 -0500

Be sure to check out part one of our conversation with Dr. Schooler in EP051 first.

Dr. Larry Schooler is the father of two and husband of one. He is also a mediator, facilitator, consensus builder, and public engagement consultant. He spent eight years developing and overseeing the public engagement division for the City of Austin, one of the first of its kind in the country. He is now director of consensus building and community engagement at CD&P, a Texas-based consulting firm. He’s also a senior fellow at the National Civic League and the Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas, and a subject matter advisor for 100 Resilient Cities. He divides his time between Texas and Florida and enjoys long walks on the beach, long runs on marathon courses, playing the piano, and rooting for Houston sports teams. His first book, on public engagement in truth and reconciliation and how the public can help resolve big conflicts, is due out later this year.

Top Takeaways:

The nuts and bolts of public meetings–
- What are some things to come prepared with?
- What are some things to keep in mind?
- What are some things you need to have in mind to keep your head right if you are facilitating meetings?
Empathy is at the core of effective communication. Communication isn’t a person with a megaphone, it’s a dialogue. Both parties in the conversation may not agree, but the conversation is necessary. Ultimately, that’s how change is made.
People don’t always agree with every decision made that affects them, but they are more likely to be supportive or have trust in you and your organization if they were given an opportunity to have their voice heard and if their input was taken into consideration during the process.

Show notes:

[3:20] Stephanie’s worst-first-date analogy. Is only talking about ourselves and only about the negative things creating the mob killing the messenger vibe?

[4:23] The agencies spending the time meeting with people when the temperature is average or low find public engagement to be a lot easier to handle than the agencies who only show up during a crisis. Relationships matter.

[5:00] When people say “build trust” what they’re really saying is (a) show that you know what you are talking about and (b) demonstrate an effort to building a relationship–don’t remain a generic, faceless entity.

[5:29] Meet people where they are. People are bringing their own perspectives to public meetings. Empathize with them. Talk about their feelings regarding the issue at hand. Share perspectives.

[6:55] “I’m not there to convince them they are mistaken. I simply need to share what this looks like from our vantage point and why it’s important to us, which hopefully leads you to hear it in a different way.” Larry, on his role as a facilitator.

[7:17] Keep in mind that the natural reflex is defensiveness. Saying things like “no decision has been made,” even if it’s true, automatically makes people think a decision has been made. Understand this and be prepared.

[8:26] The more an agency can anticipate and prepare responses, the better. Anticipate answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Come prepared to lead with empathy.

[10:12] Ways to manage a “difficult” room.

[13:19] Anecdotal story about handling heated conflict in the moment.

[14:41] How do we get more people to show up at public meetings?

[15:16] Make it simple for your attendees. Larry gives us things to keep in mind when planning your meeting.

[21:59] Larry explains how he develops facilitators. Yes, YOU can do this.

*BONUS–Check out Larry’s facilitator pop quiz–Dr. Larry Schooler’s Facilitator’s Quiz

[28:48] Responding to participants that think you don’t get it.

[31:47] Larry’s take on staying neutral and objective as a facilitator and what entities working with facilitators need to keep in mind.

[34:23 ] Dr. Larry Schooler tells us more about the book he’s working on focused on how the public can resolve big conflicts.

Resources:

Book: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

TedxToronto: The antidote to apathy by Dave Meslin

Dr. Larry Schooler’s Facilitator’s Quiz

Core Value Awards

Sponsor:

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051: The Water Nerd’s Guide to Rocking Public Meetings, Part 1, with Dr. Larry Schooler

The H2duO — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 03:04:43 -0500

Top Takeaways:

How important your mindset is when developing your public engagement strategy–a little open-mindedness goes a long way.
Ways Larry gets people over common hurdles of the fear of public engagement.
His tip on how to diffuse a situation at a public meeting where you feel a little uncomfortable
Larry reminds us not to assume everything is fine just because no one shows up to your public meeting.
Plus is your communication a preventative care visit or is it a trip to the emergency room?

Show notes:

[7:07] Why do water utilities need to participate in public engagement? “People who are affected by a decision ought to be able to affect that decision.”

[8:05] If you’re going to ask me to do something to change my habits or pay more for something or going to change the terms of the relationships we have as citizen or government, I think the outcomes are a lot better when the folks being affected are giving a chance to have a voice in it.

[8:44] Going to a primary care vs. emergency room. There may not be a ton of urgency or motive to go to the primary care doctor but it’s a much more cost-effective way to handle your health than waiting to have to go to the emergency room that is usually extremely time consuming, expensive, and can be traumatic.

[12:33] It’s about the abstract concept of trust building and the more concrete concept of relationship building.

[13:30] Core Values Awards by IAP2. A lot of the best practices are coming from Australia and Canada.

[15:13] “I’m willing to support this because the process was fair.” A member of the public spoke at council and said that even though they didn’t agree 100% with the recommendations the utility was given to council, they were willing to support it because they could tell that the process had been fair, people had been given the opportunity to give input, and all the sides were taken into consideration.

[17:20] Go in with an open mind. Don’t begin a process with decisions made that you’re then going to ask the public to give an opinion on. That doesn’t mean that no decisions can be made because there will be areas that concern public health, public safety or finances that you can’t bend on completely. Only ask about the things that you would be influenced by what they told you. Make sure you then close the feedback loop and demonstrate what you did, based on the feedback you received.

[20:09] Most of the time when cities or public utilities are looking for feedback, people are presented with technical information that isn’t easy for everyone to respond to. Keep it simple and basic so you don’t create a barrier for someone to give feedback.

[23:21] Don’t assume just because no one shows up to your public meeting it means that everything is cool.

[25:52] When agencies have gotten it wrong. Project delays and cancellations cost the city 15 million dollars. If you hire out help, make sure you take the time to bring them up to speed on the culture of your community. This is why these things take time and you can’t wing them well. People see straight through that.

[30:48] Any way you engage, whether it’s a public workshop, a face to face meeting, a public hearing, someone online or text message is going to have limitations. The more you study and prepare ahead of time the better it will be. Let’s role play a post that’s supercharged and see how we would respond to it. We need to know what we’re getting ourselves into no matter what that medium will be. The timing of the message and timing of the involvement of the public.

[40:05] You don’t have to change your professional opinion or water down your expertise. Just keep an open mind and if there are decisions that haven’t been made or you have time to make, take pause to make a judgment until you’ve heard what the public has to say.

[40:32] Take the raw public data and the opinion of experts and give both to decision makers unedited.

[42:40] Hiring a public engagement professional can help you by providing coaching to deal with stressful situations and/or by creating a space for constructive dialogue to occur.

[43:03] Interject when you’re feeling uncomfortable. “I want to address your questions, but I’m feeling uncomfortable.”

[47:23] Public notices.. use the language you have to but example what you mean below in plain English.

Resource:

TedxToronto: The antidote to apathy by Dave Meslin

Core Value Awards

Sponsor:

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050: The Water Nerd’s Guide to Advertising

The H2duO — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 02:49:58 -0500

Ryan Romero believes good advertising creative begets good business and happy clients – something he learned working for agencies including Tribal DDB and Publics on clients such as Pepsi, Dyson, Microsoft, and T-Mobile. In his professional career, he has transitioned from the role of a traditional copywriter to that of a digital ACD, and from his native Texas to Washington, and back again. He has earned international awards, launched entirely new mobile phone platforms, created innovative applications, and even sold lunch buffets to seniors, but found freedom in teaching the creative process to students since joining the faculty in 2011. Besides lecturing at the University of Texas, Ryan is a freelance writer and creative director, co-founder of Big Machine in the Sky, Ducati rider, tattoo canvas, and a pretend grown up.

Top Takeaways

[11:54] Your brand better be about representing your audience. If it’s all about you it’s like being on a blind date with some who only talks about themselves.
[26:01] The biggest mistake most organizations make is thinking all we have to do is tell them we exist because what we do is awesome and they just fall in love with their own brand. We have to tell that story in a way that other people will get excited about.
[51:19] Just because there’s nothing new under the sun, doesn’t mean there aren’t new connections to be made. [53:28] Creativity is effective surprise. Collect a lot of dots (experiences and ideas) and save them because you never know how things will connect later.
[01:03:07] Mr. Rogers: There is no one who you cannot learn to love, once you’ve heard their story. A lesson in empathy when creating our message and working with each other to deliver it.

Shownotes

Branding: [9:34]

[9:54] Who is the character, or archetype, that exists in the world that your target audience would either listen to, want to be friends with, and respect?
[11:54] Your brand better be about representing your audience. If it’s all about you it’s like being on a blind date with someone who only talks about themselves.
[13:11] Branding is all about dating. It’s about falling in love with that brand and finding an emotional connection.
[16:56] You have to start the creative process from the place of nobody cares to everyone hates you. You have to start from a place of deficit. I have to say something totally riveting and interesting to get these people on board, immediately.

Audience:[17:45]

[18:55] More than just demographics. Psychographics are far more useful. Imagine the characteristics you would use when describing the person you’re trying to set your friend up with.
[20:51] Audience with water: what’s the common thread between these different groups of water users? Working class?

Writing:

[24:22] B2B folks sometimes forget they’re still talking to human beings. Know what content serves what purpose. White papers will help decision makers make better decisions but how do you get them to read the white papers?
[26:01] The biggest mistake most organization’s make is thinking all we have to do is tell them we exist because what we do is awesome and they just fall in love with their own brand. We have to tell that story in a way that other people will get excited about.
[29:25] You can be serious and human.
[30:19] Doing more creative brainstorming. When is it time to change the formula? Ask why? If you ask why five times you can usually get to the heart of an issue so you can solve the actual problem.

Tips for working with a creative agency: [35:52] Trust the people you hired. Trust the process. Good creative takes time.

[38:40] The misconception of, “I write all day.” There is a skill. There is training required to put yourself in someone else’s mind–to be able to step outside of your own head and say “Is this interesting?”
[42:27] Good creative takes time. Don Draper from Mad Men isn’t real life.
[46:45] Marinating on an idea is part of the creative process. There is a frustration phase where the logical mind gives up and subconscious mind kicks in and makes a creative connection that works. It silences the internal critic.

[51:19] Just because there’s nothing new under the sun, doesn’t mean there aren’t new connections to be made. [53:28] Creativity is effective surprise. Collect a lot of dots (experiences and ideas) and save them because you never know how things will connect later.

[01:03:07] Mr. Rogers: There is no one who you cannot learn to love, once you’ve heard their story. A lesson in empathy when creating our message and working with each other to deliver it.

Resource:

Book: Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan. The classic guide to creating great advertising.

Sponsor:

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049: Getting Your Elected Officials Fired Up About Water with WaterNow Alliance

The H2duO — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 02:53:27 -0500

We had the opportunity to speak at the WaterNow Alliance Summit in Austin, TX last week. While there presenting our “30 ideas in 30 minutes”, we had the privilege of chatting with some members from the WaterNow Alliance Summit.

Cynthia Koehler

Cynthia Koehler is an environmental attorney and water policy expert with 25 years of experience in state and federal water advocacy. She has served as a Director of the Marin Municipal Water District Board since 2005 and was reelected in November 2018 for a 4th term. Cynthia was appointed to US EPA’s Local Government Advisory Commission (2016-2018), and serves on a number of boards and advisory councils related to environmental sustainability. She was previously the California Water Legislative Director for Environmental Defense Fund, and Legal Director for Save the Bay. Cynthia holds a BA from Pomona College, and JD and Environmental Law Certificate from the University of Oregon School of Law.

Cooper Martin

Cooper is the Sustainable Cities Institute Director for the National League of Cities and on the WaterNow Alliance Leadership Council. He is the NLC’s research and technical assistance expert for topics related to sustainability and climate resilience. With the help of a 2-person sustainability team, they support, inform, and celebrate city-led sustainability efforts. Additionally, Cooper helps provide strategic direction, program development, and operational support for the entire NLC Center for City Solutions.

Eric Letsinger

Eric Letsinger a member of the WaterNow Alliance Leadership Council and is the Founder and CEO of Quantified Ventures, an impact investing firm that helps clients finance specific and measurable environmental, health, and educational outcomes. He is a “tri-sector” executive, bringing 25+ years of leadership experience in government, nonprofit, and private sector organizations operating in healthcare, environment, education, and housing. He has led transformative, public-private initiatives to drive social impact in complex, cross-sector business environments including IBM, Baltimore Public Schools, Baltimore Housing Department, Cyveillance Software, PWC, and Samaritan Inns Homeless Services.

Melissa Elliott

Melissa is the Manager for Public Outreach, Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc., providing strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and risk communication services to the utility and municipal sector. She previously held roles at Denver Water, as the director or public affairs and manager of water conservation, as well as, City of Aurora Public Relations Manager and Senior PIO. She’s served as chair for the public affairs council and an active member and mentor of the Public Relations Society of America. Melissa is the president-elect for the American Water Works Association.

Top Takeaways

Cynthia:

Trust your customers, speak to them in a language they understand. You’ll create a reservoir of trust in your community.
A lot of water decision-makers don’t think they are water decision-makers, but they are! Regardless of the issue that motivated them to run for office.
When trying to get input from the public, there is no silver bullet answer. It’s a silver buckshot approach. Take the time to know your audience and reach them the way they want to be reached.
There is incredible potential in scaling localized water systems. We should start looking at buildings like sponges.

Cooper:

Investing in water on a local level isn’t new, but the challenges local governments are facing are making these investments incredibly difficult. This is especially true when considering more frequent environmental challenges such as droughts or flooding depending on where you are.
“Retail education,” the face to face style, may not be the most efficient but we’ve certainly found it to be the most effective.
All of us need to elevate the importance of water in our day to day work.

Eric:

To address the daunting challenges we’re facing as an industry we have to begin pursuing innovation. “We’re not going to business-as-usual the challenges we’re facing.”
“We have to create different ways to finance projects because no one handing public funds is awarded for choosing innovation.”

Melissa:

The communication climate is so different than what it was in the past. People are paying attention now, the negative stories have long legs, they stick around longer, and we have a trust crisis. Consistent communication is the antidote.
We can’t leave our elected officials behind when communicating the value of water.
Water utilities need to start investing more in communication efforts. A study by the Water Research Foundation showed that only half of utilities have a PIO on staff.
Doing every platform at once is not a sustainable social media strategy. Pick one, get good at it, see some success, and move from there.
The “general public” is not an audience. Break it down into stakeholders based on the level of interest and level of influence.

Sponsor:

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048: Bridging Talent and Tech with 2019 Imagine H2O Accelerator Winner, Megan Glover of 120WaterAudit

The H2duO — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 05:49:55 -0500

Megan Glover is the CoFounder and CEO of 120WaterAudit, a software and point of use company that provides solutions to Government Agencies, Public Water Systems, and School Districts to manage their lead in drinking water programs. A data and software veteran, prior to founding 120WaterAudit she spent nearly 15 years as an executive building and scaling various software as a service products in Indianapolis including Angie’s List, Compendium, Delivra, RICS Software, and DyKnow. With a passion and knowledge base for utilizing modern software technology to solve problems, 120WaterAudit provides modern software and tools necessary to solve some of our most complex drinking water challenges.

Top Takeaways:

If the water industry wants technology and innovation that addresses the exact challenges facing the industry, it’s so important for them to give feedback to the companies seeking to create relevant solutions.
To the startups, lose the mindset of “if you build it, they will come.” Solve simple problems that have been solved in other industries and apply them to the water industry.
The more siloed data is, the less usable it is. The first step is getting your data house in order so that you can actually use it to make more effective decisions.

Show Notes:

[10:18] Check out what it means to be a part of the Imagine H2O accelerator program.

[14:00] Learn why it’s so important for utilities to give feedback to innovative companies to create more meaningful, relevant solutions.

[16:03] Megan gives words of advice to startups seeking to enter the water space.

[18:15] Megan shares some simple first steps for how utilities can manage data better.

[23:27] How running lean can be detrimental to your organization and how technology and data management can value-add time back into your day.

[26:58] What being an entrepreneur has taught Megan about falling outside of the normal timeline or template of life.

[36:04] Megan talks about the importance of shifting the mindset about communication in the water sector to be customer-centric.

Resources:

Be Fearless by Jean Case

Sponsor:

Imagine H2O is a water technology accelerator empowering people to develop and deploy innovation to solve water challenges globally. You can be innovative about anything, from your hiring process to the way your organization deals with hexavalent chromium contamination. What matters is that you’re constantly trying to improve the way you’re doing things, and the better you are at innovation, the better you are at everything. Learn more about Imagine H2O, our accelerator and beta programs at imagineh2o.org.

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047: Service, Smart Sewers, and Slaying the Basics with Pete Buttigieg

The H2duO — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 05:44:07 -0500

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is the chief executive of the City of South Bend, where he was also born. He took office in 2012 at the age of twenty-nine and is responsible for the city workforce of over 1,000 employees and an annual budget over $380 million.

Buttigieg has been profiled by the New York Times and was called “the most interesting mayor you’ve never heard of” by the Washington Post. An officer in U.S. Navy Reserve from 2009-17, Buttigieg took a leave of absence to serve in Afghanistan during a seven-month deployment in 2014, earning the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his counterterrorism work.

A Rhodes Scholar, Buttigieg studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford and has a degree in American History and Literature from Harvard College. He lives in a formerly vacant house he is restoring in the same neighborhood where he grew up, with his husband, Chasten Glezman, and their dog, Truman.

Top Takeaways:

Partnering with a local university allowed them to deploy local innovation to optimize the system they had in place and support the local economy.
On communicating water issues with elected officials: Keep it simple and be patient. “A lot of our most talented and capable people sometimes forget about the ratio between what they know and what I’m capable of absorbing.”
Veterans are a fantastic source for the future water workforce because of the shared value of service. “What military service and good municipal public works have in common is they are a form of service and professional work that makes everything else possible.”
Go where you’re needed, no matter how surprising or unexpected that place may be.

Resources:

Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

Sponsor:

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046: From Frowns to Wows, Innovating the Water Conservation Conversation with Kathy Nguyen

The H2duO — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 03:32:08 -0500

Kathy Nguyen graduated from Berry College with a BA in Speech/Communications. She studied Environmental Management at the University of Maryland. She has been with Cobb County Water System since 2001. In 2004 she became the Water Efficiency Manager, where she developed, implemented and manages the Water Efficiency Program. In 2009 she became the Senior Project Manager for Water Resources. She is currently the Customer Service Division Manager. She is a member of: American Water Works Association, Georgia Association of Water Professionals, Technical Coordinating Committee for Metro North Georgia Water Planning District, Department of Community Affairs WaterFirst Adjudication Team, Technical Advisory Committee for both the State-wide Water Plan and the State-wide Water Conservation Plan, Past-Chair of the Alliance for Water Efficiency Public Education and Outreach Committee, the Georgia Water Wise Council the Georgia Section of American Water Works, The Irrigation Association SWAT Promotional Working Group.

Top Takeaways:

Kathy spoke about how she dramatically shifted the public buy-in of her water conservation program by shifting her mindset and approaching conservation through the prism of her customers.
In this episode, we chat about that very shift and why we think it’s an important message for young professionals to hear, as well as anyone that wears their passion for what they do on their sleeve.
Everyone should have a mentor that scares the crap out of them.
How the adage “the way we’ve always done it” kills the culture of creativity and innovation in our organizations that retain the next gen.
If you manage customer service staff, it’s your job to make sure every other manager understands the value your employees bring to the entire organization.

Show Notes:

[5:25] Alliance for Water Efficiency: Water efficiency takes a back seat in almost every other water association. It filled a void and coalesced all the experts from the other organizations.

[7:38] Cobb County Efficiency Program: Kathy gives an overview of their very diverse conservation program.

[10:25] Shift in Mindset After the lifting of a two-year drought restriction, the public didn’t continue to save water, instead they called for Kathy to be fired. Kathy got creative and shifted her messaging from conservation ethics to tying the water resource to being a fiscal resource, an economic development tool.

[13:48] “I don’t understand why the entire water system can not run like the water efficiency program.” That was a big endorsement from one of the biggest critics. Their message had resonated with the right group.

[15:07] “I would like in water if the word stakeholder was less scary than nuclear holocaust. When I say I’m going to have a stakeholder task force I may as well have said I just pushed the button.”

[15:41] “You have to find and know your customer base. It has to be more than a slogan. It has to be more than the label of your program. Every single thing you do has to tie back to that idea.”

[16:28] The Atlanta Braves moved to Cobb County. They massaged their water use/cost like a “water bank”, a water balance. “If we save this, we can do this.”

[18:20] When you eliminate divisiveness between groups by letting go the personal feelings. “You can preach to the choir, but you may be alone.”

[19:48] “We all have the person who comes to every single workshop you do. They’ve implemented everything you’ve told them to do. They’re flushing the toilet with a bucket. But they’re not your problem.”

[23:07] Value of Mentors

[26:52] “Everybody has a mentor that lets them do something scares the crap out of them. There’s no other way for them to be ready. Then just stand back like one of those trust falls.”

[27:59] Young Professionals The adage so prevalent in the water industry of “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is counterproductive to the young generation that wants to look at things differently. “They come by their caution in a legitimate way but we’ve got to crack the door open a little bit and realize there is more than one way to do things.”

[32:12] “I don’t understand when we made the decision that the only people that bring value to the water industry have to have an engineering degree.”

[37:17] Customer Service…Customer Relations “If they (customer service representatives) understand they are a conduit for those customers getting access to safe drinking water and sanitation, that they’re the gatekeepers for that, and they are the ones that talk to customers about that, then that just elevates the way that they feel. As a manager, it’s my job to make sure every other manager understands the value they bring to the entire utility.”

[39:33] “We can’t leave them (customer service representatives) locked up in a cage. We got to send them out there to get personal development and pour back into them.”

[40:15] “We handle water, wastewater, and stormwater. All a customer knows is that they are calling the water system. So the person who answers the phone is expected to be an expert on every single thing that happens every single day, every crazy decision we make, every nutty policy implemented that some customer might have a problem with, is probably going to come to their phone at some point. And they have no idea when they pick up that phone.”

[44:27] Kathy’s elevator pitch for water and the value of water.

Resources:

The Coaching Habit by Michael Stanier

Sponsor:

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045: Water Innovation Week, The Human Capital-Technology Nexus, and More with Imagine H2O

The H2duO — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 05:24:36 -0500

Nashelley Kaplan-Dailey directs Imagine H2O’s Policy efforts, a suite of initiatives identifying and advancing policies leading to the broader deployment of water innovation. Nashelley joined Imagine H2O from WaterNow Alliance where she was Senior Project Manager working with government, NGO’s and the private sector to design and implement programs and policies supporting sustainable water management at the local level. Nashelley is a member of the California Bar and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2013. There, she focused on Resource Management and Water Law and was an active member of the Environmental Law Clinic. Before and during law school she worked in various roles, including for the San Diego Mayor’s Office under Jerry Sanders, in environmental compliance, and in litigation support.

Tom Ferguson is the Vice President of Programming for Imagine H2O, charged with developing the accelerator model as well as building out the policy and leadership capabilities as they scale. Tom comes to Imagine H2O from strategy roles at Project Frog (a San Francisco green buildings company) and Tamar Energy (an AD network developed in London). Prior to business school, he spent three and a half years with ERM, the sustainability consultancy, where he was an engagement manager. Tom holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA in Politics from Edinburgh University.

Top Takeaways:

“The power of a learning organization comes down to compounding expertise. The more informed and the more diversity of the information that is hitting your employees, the better and more imaginative they are going to be at solving the problems in front of them.”

“The older generation is getting accustomed to using technology, the current and rising generation likes technology and innovation, and the next generation will expect it.”— Clifford Chan, East Bay Municipal Utility District

The culture of your organization is what people in your organization do when no one is watching. It defines the environment in which people work. It’s difficult to build. It requires a relentless drumbeat. The mission statement should be the prism through which all things are run.

Treat your employees like customers. You are selling them a product all the way through. They are buying something from you. They are spending their most valuable commodity with you—their time.

Show Notes:

[8:02] We talk some of the (troubling) statistics related to workforce and succession in the water industry. At its root, succession planning is about saving the aggregated expertise of our retiring water professionals so that we retain that knowledge and wisdom when they leave.

[13:44] Talking points for managers and directors seeking to save and grow their travel/training budget line item.

[16:27] “The power of a learning organization comes down to compounding expertise. The more informed and the more diversity of the information that is hitting your employees, the better and more imaginative they are going to be at solving the problems in front of them.”

[19:44] How does Imagine H2O ensure diversity in their programming?

[23:16] Sometimes you don’t know what’s going to come out of bringing a diverse group of people together, but that’s ok. The key is to create the conditions to have conversations that are differentiated and honest and emergent in the moment because that’s where the excitement happens.

“Let’s see where the rabbit hole goes because that’s how you get to the new stuff.”

[24:10] What are some ways we can ensure we’re sending the right people and they’re bringing back value to the organization?

[29:48] Tom and Nashelley share some examples of organizations that do a good job at cultivating talent from within. Just collecting a pay check is no longer enough. The reason people stay at a job is beyond just the money. It’s about engagement, meaning, adding to their skillset, do they feel fulfilled, etc.

[32:47] We discuss how demonstrating trust in your people is way to retain them.

[35:53] Innovation on a budget. Even a small amount of money can help remove the friction from the deployment of innovation.

[36:43] How do we maximize the human capital and technology nexus?

[41:52] Catch future water nerds while they’re young. Get them interested and aware while they are still in their academic career. Offer opportunities to work in real world situations and not just in academic theory.

[43:24] The culture of your organization is what people in your organization do when no one is watching. It defines the environment in which people work. It’s difficult to build. It requires a relentless drumbeat. The mission statement should be the prism through which all things are run.

[46:20] The technology isn’t the point. The machine of change are the people themselves and we need to be taking care of the people.

[47:30] The importance of the intrapreneur—the innovators within the organization.

[53:15] We talk communication’s role in solving the workforce issue. It’s important for utilities to put themselves in the shoes of audience they are trying to attract and make those touch points reflect the desires of that audience.

[58:02] Treat your employees like customers. You are selling them a product all the way through. They are buying something from you. They are spending their most valuable commodity with you—their time.

Resources:

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Rogue Water Recap of the 2018 Imagine H2O Summit and Gala Part 1

Rogue Water Recap of the 2018 Imagine H2O Summit and Gala Part 2

From Apple to H2O: One entrepreneur’s quest to digitize water in India’s second-tier cities

Sponsor:

This episode is powered by Imagine H2O. Imagine H2O is a water technology accelerator, so why are we laser focused on NextGen issues? Because innovation is a mindset, not a technical accomplishment. You can be innovative about anything, from your hiring process to the way your organization deals with hexavalent chromium contamination. What matters is that you’re constantly trying to improve the way you’re doing things, and the better you are at innovation, the better you are at everything. Join Imagine H2O and Water Environment Federation in San Francisco March 21st to get better at everything.

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044: Why the Value of Water Could be Your Key to Attracting and Retaining Talent with Jorge Rodriguez

The H2duO — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 05:11:28 -0500

Jorge Rodriguez is a passionate (obsessive?) water guy. He is a Zillenial that refuses to acknowledge he’s a millennial. Jorge was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is a professional civil engineer and program manager with 14 years of experience in water and sewer infrastructure projects. Over the last 11 years, he’s been working with a company called Pure Technologies, a Xylem company. He’s enjoyed working with water and wastewater utilities all over the U.S. and some other countries. His role is to help them understand the condition of their large pressurized transmission systems and make decisions on renewing or replacing such assets.

Top Takeaways:

Use your excitement and passion for the industry to be what attracts and retains the next generation of water professionals.

Good ideas come from everywhere. You may be an engineer and not a communicator on paper, but your ideas can help communicate the value of water. Share them.

We all take water for granted, even those of us who work in the industry. Internal communication is just as important as your external outreach program. Remind your people the vital role they play in delivering the most important services directly impacting public health.

Show Notes:

[5:30] Jorge, like many of us, just fell into the water industry. Hear this story.

[9:20] Hear some of the ways Jorge is engaging with the young professionals on his team.

[14:50] Jorge talks about why it is so important to spend the time to make connections with our customers and to put ourselves in their shoes.

[16:55] How they work with underserved communities.

[22:00] Jorge talks about attracting and retaining the next gen.

[26:10] Jorge talks about partnering with utilities in their communication and outreach efforts. He gives some examples of their informal education program including a hydraulic model and quizzing people on their water source.

[32:38] This one is for all the water nerd spouses out there. Thank you for putting up with our water nerdness.

[35:24] Jorge gives us his personal take on what it was like going through Hurricane Maria with family on the island.

[40:58] We ask Jorge about his favorite conference experience in 2018. Hear why he chose a non-water conference and the power of being a water nerd amongst non-water folks.

Resources:

Alone Together: Sailing Solo to Hawaii and Beyond by Christian Williams

Sponsor:

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043: Talking Leadership with 2018 PNCWA Woman of the Year, Chanin Bays

The H2duO — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 02:13:55 -0500

Chanin Bays is the Administrative Services Manager for Clackamas County Water Environment Services. She began her career with Clackamas County in 2007 in the Elections Division, before joining Water Environment Services (WES) in 2010. As the Administrative Services Manager she supports business activities of Department leaders and technical staff, manages administrative support staff, policy analysts, and customer service specialists. Oversees coordination of human resource activities and leads development and implementation of performance measure methods and tracking procedures. She also manages the department’s procurement and records management activities. Chanin is currently the Chair of the Utility Management Committee and was recently awarded Woman of the Year from PNCWA. She holds an MBA from George Fox University.

Top Takeaways:

You don’t need support from everyone to start strategic planning. Some people may want to wait and see and that’s fine. But don’t let it stop you from starting. “Waiting for 100% buy-in is a recipe for disaster.”

“I think as a leader it’s my job to talk to my team about what their dreams are.” This is awkward for some people. But it’s about what’s the big idea? If I had “this” I would feel successful in my job, in life, in career, etc? How can we connect that nugget of passion to your daily job? That’s how we stay young…to continually stay motivated.

“What we need as a nation is for women to begin dreaming again and to step up and start claiming those moments. We have to find a way to connect to our communities and I really believe that getting more women into the water industry is the game changing idea.”

Show Notes:

[5:28] “When you can throw your passion behind your work, it has an amplifying effect.” Chanin’s rise at Clackamas County Water Environment Services.

[6:57] NASA had the janitor. Clackamas has Harvey Clark, the plant operator. So what do you do? “I save lives.”

[9:50] Chanin talks about how Clackamas handles their strategic planning efforts.

[13:50] How do you overcome the naysayers? Why it’s important not to let them stall your efforts.

[17:15] Learn how informational interviews are important not only when changing careers but also to continually grow in your career. They are also the secret weapon for the introverted networker.

[21:38] Find out why sharing dreams and sharing stories are essential to effective leadership. “As leaders we need to allow ourselves to dream and share those dreams because that’s what inspires others to do the same. This also translates over to storytelling and idea sharing. We need people to share their story or their ideas because you never know who needs to hear it. You never know the next idea that could be a break through if we don’t voice those ideas.”

[28:20] Listen how Chanin and her team are using the value of water narrative to engage with the community.

[36:40] Chanin was recognized as the 2018 Woman of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association. Hear her advice for the rising female water professionals in the industry. “We need you. What we need as a nation is for women to begin dreaming again and to step up and start claiming those moments.”

Resources:

Courage by Gus Lee

National Opinion Survey About Water by Blue Drop

Sponsor:

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042: The #RunningDry Movement with Global Water Advocate Mina Guli

The H2duO — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 05:58:33 -0500

The founder and CEO of Thirst, Mina Guli is a global leader, entrepreneur and adventurer passionate and committed to making a difference in the world. Following a 15-year career as a world leader in climate change that started with law, but progressed quickly to the World Bank and to co-founding boutique investment firm Peony Capital, Mina established Thirst – a non-profit that is solving the water crisis by changing the way we think about water.

Since its launch in 2012, Thirst has educated more than 2 million students in China, has had more than 600,000 participants in its innovation competitions and now works with more than 1000 qualified volunteers and has the support of the Chinese Government.

To highlight the global water crisis, in 2016 Mina completed the 7 Deserts Run — running the equivalent of 40 marathons across 7 deserts on 7 continents in 7 weeks. A self-confessed “non-runner”, Mina told the stories of some of those affected by the crisis during the run. The success of the expedition encouraged Mina to undertake the 6 River Run in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6. She ran 40 marathons in 40 days down 6 of the world’s great rivers on 6 continents. With media coverage around the world, including on CNN, BBC, ITV, ABC and CCTV, Mina’s messages about water have reached more than 4 billion people, inspiring a generation of water heroes.

Mina has been recognised for her leadership: she has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Australia’s most influential women, and by Fortune Magazine in 2016 alongside Angela Merkel, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and the Pope as one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world.

On November 4, 2018, Mina began her next challenge: #RunningDry, which will see her run 100 marathons in 100 days around the world for 1 reason — water.

Top Takeaways:

A research study that Mina participated in showed that 80% of Millennials changed their behavior once they learned more about the water crisis and the changes they could make to positively impact the problem.

Three out of four Millennials wanted to amplify their impact by telling their friends, family, and community.

“We’ve been so barraged by advertising, by corporate communication, that we no longer listen. I think the only way for us to convey messages is through the power of people, through the power of word, and the power of different, innovate messaging.”

Show Notes:

[3:42] Mina tells us how a lawyer and banker became a woman on a mission to solve the global water crisis.

[8:55] Learn more about the origin story of the #RunningDry movement and the 100 Marathons in 100 Days.

[11:11] Mina talks about her time in Israel with the creators of drip irrigation at Netafim.

[12:50] Mina shares the powerful story of how the seemingly darkest moment in her life actually shifted the #RunningDry movement from one woman’s crusade to a global movement.

[23:06] What can we learn from tying water to activities people already enjoy and are engaged in such as running?

[27:20] “We need to communicate differently. We need to communicate in a way that encourages people to listen, to connect, and to act.”

[29:10] How can subject matter experts in water tell water’s story better?

[32:15] Global water issues impact women and children on a far greater scale. Mina talks what it means for her to be a woman fighting for his cause amidst the Matt Damons (Water.org) and Scott Harrisons (Charity:Water) of the world.

[35:30] Unlike other campaigns focused on the global water crisis, Mina’s is centered around building awareness and education efforts that promote behavior change. She talks about why companies like Colgate and Reebox have rallied behind this idea.

[37:46] What does success look like?

[40:25] How can you get involved in the #RunningDry movement and what’s next for Mina?

Resources:

www.minaguli.com

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

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041: The Rising Next Gen of Water Nerds with Steve Drangsholt

The H2duO — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 05:35:50 -0500

Steve Drangsholt is an Infrastructure Market Sales Leader with Brown and Caldwell in Boise, ID. Steve has a background working both as a consultant and for a public utility in the pacific northwest. He’s an engineer and project manager with a knack for bringing strong teams together to solve complex problems for communities dealing with intense wet weather and dense urban environments. His innovative and disciplined approach has led to reductions in CSOs and SSOs throughout the Puget Sound in Washington State. Steve is Pacific Northwest through and through having grown up in the Portland Oregon area, attending the University of Washington and beginning his career in Seattle. He has a strong passion for water and wastewater and is heavily involved with the Water Environment Federation and his member association the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association. Outside his day job, he enjoys cycling, paddleboarding and spending time around the Boise River.

Top Takeaways:

There are so many benefits to being involved with water industry associations such as WEF and AWWA. They offer valuable mentoring opportunities, professional development, and the ability to network and learn from other professionals you may not have met otherwise.

Young professionals should measure their success by the impact they’re making and not the title on their business card.

The water industry is massive and yet still feels like a tight-knit family. Therefore, it’s best to have a mindset of competing on ideas versus competing against people.

Show Notes:

[4:00] Check out Steve’s water journey. Does it sound familiar at all?

[11:05] Steve explains the numerous benefits of being involved in WEF.

[20:09] Steve explains the value he gained by working for both a public water utility and private engineering consulting firms.

[28:20] What can we do as an industry to really remember our “why”? How can engaging with the public in events like Waterpalooza help create empathy in the industry?

[35:12] Why is cultivating the young professional community so important to the next generation of water nerds?

[42:42] Steve talks why it’s important in such a tight-knit industry to compete on ideas, not people.

[48:20] When it comes to the public’s perception of the value of water, how will we know when we’ve made it? What does success look like?

Resources:

EP015 The Long Run: Seth Godin Podcast (Akimbo)

Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Drive by Daniel Pink

Start with Why by Simon Sinek

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

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040: Why Communication Comes First with George Hawkins

The H2duO — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 04:05:03 -0500

George Hawkins is the Harvard educated Founder of Moonshot LLC and just recently, Moonshot Partners, a Professor of Practice at American University and former head of DC Water. He facilitated the transformation of DC Water and Sewer Authority to DC Water and oversaw taking DC Water from some very challenging times to the national and international reputation it now enjoys. George wants to help other enterprises tell their story, create replicable roadmaps and reach their dreams.

Top Takeaways:

As water nerds passionate about communication, obviously, our chat with George Hawkins is ripe with takeaways:

The incredible importance of communication to our industry, however, it’s always a treat to hear that perspective from someone who is on the front lines of water technology and financing the way that George is.
We talk about the importance of internal communication and how you have to begin on the inside to ever hope to have an effective external communication strategy. Internally this means not only writing down your mission, vision, and values but living them as an organization and ensuring your entire team hears them used regularly and sees them in action.
We also talk about the role of communication in earning trust with the communities we serve.

Show Notes:

[4:15] Life after DC Water: how entrepreneurial life has treated George Hawkins this past year.

[8:21] George shares how his perspective of the industry has changed given his new role in it this past year.

[12:46] George gives us examples from his experiences that made him an advocate for communication in the water industry.

[22:23] In his own words: advice on how water educators and communicators can win over upper management.

[28:56] Why it’s so important for an organization, especially in the water industry, to not only believe in the mission but more importantly, act on it.

[35:58] George shares how can utilities earn back their communities trust, given the fact that people are sort of wary, of us but we need their trust to move forward with new infrastructure and technology.

[44:06] Hear George’s take on why customer service is so vital to utilities today, especially related to adopting new technology and addressing funding needs.

[57:00] With all he has seen and been introduced to, hear what has THE George Hawkins the most excited about the future of water.

[1:05:12] George speaks directly to all you men and women in the field, braving all conditions, and working tirelessly in a thankless job. He shares with you why what you do matters so much.

Resources:

The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

Sponsor:

The Alliance for Water Efficiency is a non-profit organization and North America’s authoritative resource for water efficiency. Their mission is to promote the efficient use of water to achieve more resilient communities, businesses, and ecosystems.

The AWE network brings together more than 450 member organizations, including water providers, business leaders, government agencies, non-profits, academic institutions, and associations.
AWE advances sustainable water use in partnership with its members through research, advocacy, resources, and education.
AWE gives communities the tools and training to manage water resources sustainably, helps build the market for tomorrow’s technologies and services, and partners to advocate, educate, and legislate.

Learn more and join the network by visiting www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org or emailing membership@a4we.org.

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039: Catalyst2018: The ABC’s of Communication

The H2duO — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 05:39:40 -0500

Catalyst:

You can register at www.roguewatergroup.com/catalyst.

Catalyst takes place June 19-21, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas on the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Due to the logistics of this unique summit, we can only accommodate up to 70 people. We have less than 50 spots left so sign up today!

Shout out to our incredible Catalyst2019 sponsors: Texas AWWA, Water Environment Association of Texas, Lower Colorado River Authority, Alliance for Water Efficiency, 120WaterAudit, and Dallas Water Conservation. If you’d like to sponsor the most ROGUE water summit around, visit the Catalyst website for more information.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

038: Catalyst2018 Mashup: Part 2

The H2duO — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 04:59:02 -0500

Takeaways:

Catalyst is more than a conference. It’s an experience meant to educate, collaborate, and invigorate water educators and communicators. Catalyst is structured around the Rogue Water A.B.C.S. of water communication: Assessment, Branding, Content, and Strategy plus the added bonus of Tribal Collaboration. In this episode, we talk a little strategy, a little branding, and some collaboration too. In EP003 with Greg Wukasch, External Affairs Manager at the San Antonio Water System, he explained why it’s so vital that we break down silos internally and rally around the truth—that first and foremost water utilities exist to serve the customer. In EP004, we spoke with Duke Greenhill, marketing guru and Chair of Advertising, Branding, and Graphic Design at Savannah College of Art and Design, about the power of branding. There are a lot of misperceptions about what branding is and isn’t but the bottom line is that branding helps build the connections between customers and the utility that are needed to move forward. Finally, in EP005, Ryan Beltran, filmmaker and founder of elequa and the Make Water project tells us his story of a filmmaker turned water innovator. Hear how he’s partnering with the San Antonio Water System’s high school program, Impact, to use his love of film, water innovation, and maker spaces to teach the next generation of water nerds how they can make a difference in the global water crisis.

Catalyst:

Registration for Catalyst 2019 goes live at 8am CST on Jan 14, 2019. You can register at www.roguewatergroup.com/catalyst.

Catalyst takes place June 19-21, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas on the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Due to the logistics of this unique summit spots are limited. We can only accommodate up to 70 people, so sign up today!

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

037: Catalyst2018 Mashup: Tribal Collaboration

The H2duO — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 05:03:06 -0500

Takeaways:

In early 2018, Greg Wukasch, External Affairs manager at the San Antonio Water System asked Stephanie and Arianne if they would partner with them to create a summit built for water educators and communicators by water educators and communicators.

They said yes before he finished the question. Catalyst follows the Rogue Water ABCS of water communication which are assessment, branding, content, and strategy. We believe that nailing these core basics directly impacts your ability to move the needle forward for your education programs, your communication campaigns and your organization.

At Catalyst 2018, we ended with a section called Tribal Collaboration, where we had three industry rock stars talk about the power of collaboration in our industry from a local, national, and global perspective. These are snippets from our podcast interviews with them leading up to Catalyst.

EP011: Tom Ferguson, VP of Programming at ImagineH2O, talks the incredible importance of communication to the water sector from his global and entrepreneurial perspective.

EP002 Travis Loop, Director of Communication and Outreach, Water Environment Federation, talks the importance of understanding your audience when it comes to effective communication.

EP008 Lynne Christopher, Education Coordinator, San Antonio Water System tells us about their CORE program for San Antonio ISD teachers and the ripples that program is already making. So without further ado, let’s get to the show.

Catalyst:

Registration for Catalyst 2019 goes live on Jan 14.

Catalyst takes place June 19-21, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas on the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Due to the logistics of this unique summit spots are limited. We can only accommodate up to 70-75 people. Sign up for the Water Nerd newsletter here to be the first to register.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

036: The Gratitude Mashup: We’re Better Together

The H2duO — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 01:36:55 -0500

Season One’s Call to Actions:

We asked every single person we interviewed what the call to action most important to them was and, boy, did they answer. Here are some things to ponder as we leave behind 2018 and kick off 2019 to face new dreams, new challenges, and new trails to blaze.

EP002 Travis Loop, Director of Communication and Outreach, Water Environment Federation

EP003 & EP023 Greg Wukasch, External Affairs Manager, San Antonio Water System

EP004 Duke Greenhill, Chair of Advertising, Branding, and Graphic Design at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia

EP005 Ryan Beltran, President and Founder, Elequa

EP006 Jennifer Henderson, President, J.O. Agency

EP007 Megan Yoo Schneider, President, Seven Management and Consulting, Inc.

EP008 Lynne Christopher, Education Coordinator, San Antonio Water System

EP009 Dr. Rudi Thompson, Director of Environmental Education Initiative, University of North Texas

EP013 Alan Heymann, President, Blue Drop

EP014 Samantha Villegas, President and Founder, SaviPR

EP015 Erin Ruszkowski, Environmental Engineer Major and the Best Rogue Water Intern Ever, University of Alabama

EP016 Mike McGill, President and Founder, WaterPIO

EP017 Chris Long, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, Michigan State University

EP018 & EP019 Tom Hickmann, Director of Planning and Engineering, Bend, OR

EP020 Todd Danielson, Chief Utilities Executive, Avon Lake Regional Water

EP022 Robb Barnitt, CEO and Founder, Dropcountr

EP024 Chris Wolff, President and Founder, Adventure Hydrology

EP025 Kendall Haven, Story Researcher and Author

EP026 Sarah Zink, President and Founder, Sarah Zink Business Training

EP028 Tia Lebherz, Director of Outreach and Special Projects, California Water Efficiency Partnership

EP029 Khun Khunaraksa, Portfolio Manager for SE Asia, Water.org

EP030 Jon Acuff, New York Times Bestselling Author

EP001 & EP011 Tom Ferguson, VP of Programming for Imagine H2O

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

035: The Curiosity Mashup: Leadership Begins With Curiosity

The H2duO — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 05:00:43 -0500

Check out our guests’ full bios and episodes at:

Top Takeaways:

Tom Ferguson, vice president of programming for the Imagine H2O accelerator program discusses with us why curiosity is one of an organization’s seven superpowers.

Imagine if your employees were empowered to become 15% smarter each year, knowing that knowledge compounds over time.

New York Times bestseller, Jon Acuff, tells us about the career savings account from his book Do Over. He explains why your job title doesn’t inhibit your ability to grow.
Greg Wukasch, our mentor and external affairs manager at the San Antonio Water System, drives home how curiosity inspires the courage necessary to be an effective leader.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

034: The Empathy Mashup: Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes

The H2duO — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 05:43:59 -0500

Check out our guests’ full bios and episodes at:

Top Takeaways:

Dean Chris Long speaks with us of the value of taking the time to invest in true engagement with your audience. Only then does education have the opportunity to be transformative.
Greg Wukasch, our mentor at the San Antonio Water System, recapped for us the Transformative Issues conference on Affordability hosted by AWWA and WEF and how the closing panel of both water professionals and non-water community advocates drove home how empathy means inviting everyone to the table that needs to be.
Alan Heymann shares a story that demonstrates how empathy begins within, internally, with your own employees. Brand buy-in begins with them.
Mike McGill, founder of WaterPIO reminds us that empathy requires putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, even—and maybe especially—your biggest opponents. We chat with Mike about both he and our experiences with Erin Brockovich and what it taught us about the power of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

033: The Authenticity Mashup: Your Biggest Differentiator is You.

The H2duO — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 04:00:43 -0500

Check out our guests’ full bios and episodes at:

Top Takeaways:

“If you only have a hammer, everything’s a nail.” A utility is like a toolbox and each of the departments are different tools. Some jobs you’ll need a hammer, while other jobs you need many tools. By working together, tools can be complementary. It’s important to know what each “tool” of the utility does and how best to use them.
Authentic stories are everywhere. All you have to do is be willing to ask and listen.
Access to information isn’t just about bill pay and water usage. It also provides utilities the ability to communicate about other areas of concern for customers such as hydrant flushing. Robb gives a case study on Dedham Westwood Water District outside of Boston.
Don’t be afraid to be the only one left standing in your corner. Your biggest differentiator is being you. Own your corner.

Sponsor:

Utilities can now automate leak alerts with Dropcountr – the customer portal built for water utilities. Dropcountr helps customers manage their water use and avoid unwanted usage with leak alerts. The team works with the utility to set automated burst and continuous usage thresholds for their users, to help them avoid bill surprises, reduce customer calls and improve customer satisfaction. The leak alerts run in the background, your team never needs to think about them – it’s kind of like magic. Find out more about Dropcountr and the work they’re doing at theh2duo.com/dropcountr.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

032: Curate Connections Mashup. Making Connections that Make Impact.

The H2duO — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 03:58:34 -0500

Check out our guests’ full bios and episodes at:

Top Takeaways:

If you want to connect, you have to make your message all about your audience.
To make connections, you have to build relationships. You have to know yourself before you can even begin to understand someone else.
Listening builds connection. Remember the 80/20 rule. Talk less, listen more.
From across America to across the world, water folks are doing the work that matters. We’re more similar than we think.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

031: The Bold is Gold Mashup. Do you have the Courage to be Bold?

The H2duO — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 05:28:58 -0500

Check out our guests’ full bios and episodes at:

Top Takeaways:

Coffee/beer diplomacy is key to building relationships with your customers, especially your biggest opponents.
Reveal, not conceal is key to building and maintaining trust with your community. Brand yourself like your customers have a choice in service.
Effective storytelling is an incredibly powerful differentiator in the water sector.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

030: Tips on How to Finish What you Start and Punch Fear in the Face with Jon Acuff

The H2duO — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 05:18:31 -0500

Jon Acuff is the New York Times Bestselling author of six books including his most recent, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. For 20 years he’s worked for some of the biggest brands in the world to tell their story, including The Home Depot, Bose, and Staples. Most recently he’s spoken to hundreds of thousands of people across the country for companies such as Microsoft, Nissan, and Comedy Central. He’s also written for Time, the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Reader’s Digest, and MSNBC.

Top Takeaways:

“If you can’t see time, it’s fictional.” Jon talks the benefits of using a year-at-a-glance wall calendar.
Questions from your audience shouldn’t be seen as a sign of failure. Questions are guideposts for future content.
“Measure your hours, not your word count.” Creating content is a process. Don’t stunt your progress towards where you’re trying to get to by not appreciating how far you’ve come.

Show Notes:

[3:58] Jon explains why people don’t finish what they start and the role perfectionism plays.

[6:13] Done is better than perfect, and some is better than none.

[6:58] Find out what secret rules we follow that make us get in our own way for finishing the things we’ve started.

[9:16] The value of a year at a glance wall calendar “If I can’t see time, it’s fictional.”

[11:22] You have more time than you think. “Time won’t find you, you have to find time.”

[14:25] Humor can help humanize the story “It doesn’t mean a comedy skit. It means at the right time, you use humor to take the tension out of the room.”

[17:47 ] Jon talks about the career savings account from his book Do Over and explains how every career is a process of reinvention.

[21:00] How do you narrow down your list of topics and ideas for presentations when you have so much you want to say?

[23:27 ] Questions from your audience shouldn’t be seen as a sign of failure.

[25:07] Jon gives his opinion on what the young professionals of the industry can start doing now to be ready for the leadership positions down the road?

[27:50] The gingerbread method and how it can help you capture the moments from the day to use in your content.

[28:50 ] “Measure your hours, not your word count.”

[30:54] “Will you face the fear of today, or the regret of forever?” How you can begin to punch fear in the face.

Resources:

Jon Acuff books we’ve read:

Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters

Do Over: Make Today the First Day of Your New Career

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

Jon’s book recommendations:

Longmire book series by Craig Johnson

Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny

This is Marketing by Seth Godin

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

029: How Collaboration is Solving the Global Water Crisis with Water.org Portfolio Manager, Khun Khunaraksa

The H2duO — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 05:05:17 -0500

Khunapong “Khun” Khunaraksa is a Portfolio Manager at Water.org. Khun is focused on water utility financing programs in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. His passion stems from his expert experience as a water engineer and that he is originally from this region. This is why Khun is proud to be a part of a team working diligently to achieve access to safe water and sanitation for all. He’s seen firsthand how access to safe water can change communities and empower people in Southeast Asia, inspiring him to help reach even more.

Top Takeaways:

Things you might already know:

Water.org was founded by Gary White and Matt Damon
844 million people around the world lack access to clean water
2.3 billion people around the world lack access to sanitation
The global water crisis requires $114 billion dollars of investment each year to solve

Things you may not have known:

Water.org began their water credit program in 2003. To date they have impacted the lives of 14 million people and now impact one million people every quarter
The average micro loan in Indonesia is $100 to tap into the local water utility
The repayment rate for the water credit program is 99%
Water.org works with local utilities to accelerate progress towards ending the global water crisis
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Collaboration is key
Water.org uses partners on the ground to do public outreach efforts that communicate the value of water and sanitation
Ultimately, we are more alike than we are different. People want the best for their family
Just like in the US, getting buy in from all stakeholders, from management to field crews, is essential to the success of a program

Resources:

Join the Poo Crew! Contact Khun on LinkedIn or via email to be added.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

028: Listening Tours—Is Your Member Org On Tour?

The H2duO — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 05:53:49 -0500

Tia Lebherz is the Director of Outreach and Special Projects for California Water Efficiency Partnership. She has spent her career working with environmental and water non-profit and municipal organizations both in her home state of California and across the county including WaterNow Alliance, Imagine H2O and Food & Water Watch. Her experience and skills include organizing, advocacy, facilitation, coalition development, and strategic engagement. She also has extensive media and communications expertise. Tia graduated with honors from University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and completed Green Corps, a competitive fellowship program for environmental organizing. In her spare time, Tia enjoys coaching youth soccer, finding any excuse to travel up and down the West Coast and working on her side-project to launch a “water-neutral” winery in California called R. Debauche.

Top Takeaways

Make sure you’re bringing all the stakeholders to the table. All categories of water users, utilities, private sector companies, etc should have the opportunity to lend their perspective.

Tia shared with us some of the tools CALWEP is using to dispel the myths and rumors circulating about the new California water conservation regulations.

Hear some of the outcomes from the listening tour CALWEP conducted for their partnership members to ensure the organization’s focus was on the areas that add the most value to their members.

Tia gives some great tips for young professionals just starting out, especially related to networking and getting the most from those experiences.

Resources:

Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

027: Water Nerds Guide to WEFTEC 2018

The H2duO — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 05:55:35 -0500

2018 was our first WEFTEC experience, however, it occurred the same week as Water Smart Innovations which we were speaking at. We had 36 hours to take in one of the largest conferences in North America. Throughout our careers, although we included wastewater in our education efforts, most of our time was spent on the drinking water side where the perception was that WEF and WEFTEC were only about wastewater. We’ve learned that WEF and WEFTEC are so much more and are truly representative of the One Water message and mindset. We met some amazing people, connected with old friends and met our new friends in real life that we’d only known via social media. We aren’t journalists, we’re storytellers and the story of our experience at WEFTEC 2018 can be summed up in one word: people. We wanted to share them and their stories with you!

WEFTEC is the largest conference of its kind in North America and offers water quality professionals from around the world with the best water quality education and training available today. Also recognized as the largest annual water quality exhibition in the world, the expansive show floor provides unparalleled access to the most cutting-edge technologies in the field; serves as a forum for domestic and international business opportunities; and promotes invaluable peer-to-peer networking among registrants. Curtis Smalley, City of Waco, says, “Everyone in the industry needs to attend WEFTEC at least once, but then WEFTEC is like potato chips: You can’t go just once!”

Top Takeaways:

Opening session keynote, Kevin Brown, blew us away. Check out his book The Hero Effect and you’ll get a glimpse of the message he shared with the room. Water nerds are everyday heroes.
Water’s Worth It. Be sure to check out the newly revamped, rebranded, revitalized campaign and, most importantly, use it! Check out the amazing video that debuted at the opening session.
Get involved! Find a committee that speaks to what’s most important to you.
Thirsty? Try some Pure Water Brew near you and get involved.
Get on Twitter! All your water nerd friends are there.

Sponsor:

Show notes:

Tom Kunetz, WEF President

Barry Liner, WEF

Bri Nakamura, WEF

Travis Loop, WEF Director of Communications and Outreach, WEF Words on Water Podcast Host

Dylan Christenson, Black and Veatch

Michael Quamme, Apex Engineering

Mary West-Calcagno, Director of Public Utilities at Moberly, MO

Azya Jackson, Environmental Engineer, Dept of Public Works at LA Sanitation.

Megan Yoo Schneider, WEF PCOC Chair, President of Seven Management and Consulting, Inc

Julianne LaRock, the outgoing PCOC chair.

Sharon Miller, WEAT PCOC Chair, North Texas Municipal Water District

Jennifer Louden, Laboratory Manager, Raritan Township Municipal Utilities Authority

Todd Danielson, Director of Water Utilities, Avon Lake Regional Water

Rahkia Nance, WEF

David Martin, KnoWater, Director

Melissa Pomales, Arcadis, Puerto Rico

Renee Kayal, WEF

Jenny Hartfelder, outgoing President of WEF

Eileen O’Neil, WEF, Executive Director

Steven Drangsholt, Brown and Caldwell, check out the interview he gave at WEFTEC to the Water Online podcast folks.

Tom Ferguson, Vice President of Programming, Imagine H2O

Zac Young, H2nanO

Emily Hicks, FredSense

Elly Perets, CEO and James Perry, Director of Business Development, Utilis. Check out their benchmarking program in November.

Melissa Meeker, Gwinnet County Water Services, Water Innovation Center.

Ian MacLeod, Master Meter, Vice President of Marketing

George Hawkins, Moonshot

Mark Jockers, Clean Water Service, Pure Water Brewing Alliance

Cletus Better, Veolia

Debra Shore, Water Reclamation District of Great Chicago

Cameron McWilliam, Brown and Caldwell

Jennifer Zach, MentorAPM

Paul Crocker, Kansas City Board of Public Utilities

Who we missed.

Nathan Coey aka the @water_jedi on Twitter, City of Pataskala, OH

Jenelle Armstrong, The Thrasher Group

Christine Wood aka @sewer_chic on Twitter.

Water Online Podcast

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

026: Why Emotional Intelligence is the Key to Innovation and Leadership in an Organization

The H2duO — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 03:45:07 -0500

Sarah Zink is on a mission to teach people how to discover and use their ‘superpowers’ to be more productive, profitable and powerful. As a multi-dimensional businesswoman and a “multi-preneur” with a background in education, psychology, and community development, Sarah uses her education and experience to work with individuals, businesses, corporations and municipalities across the country to increase effective communication, develop emotional intelligence and escalate productivity.

Sarah is an active consultant, coach and trainer, working with global clients such as Amway, Nexen Petroleum (Energy), Pearson Publishing, and Texas Instruments, as well as local companies such as Texas Health Resources, and the Cities of Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield, as well as many others. She is also a seasoned speaker, author, radio show host and video blogger. She was recognized in 2015 as a ‘Great Women of Texas’ by the Fort Worth Business Press.

Top Takeaways:

Don’t let the word ‘emotion’ scare you. This isn’t a Rom-Com. Building your emotional intelligence is key to growing your organization and most importantly your own leadership skills. Today we chat about:

Your ‘lizard brain’ and its role in your response to fight, flight, freeze, or faint.
Ways to improve your own emotional intelligence
Signs that someone you know, including yourself, may be lacking emotional intelligence
During the first 90-seconds to 18-minutes when something new gets dropped on you, your adrenal glands start going, oxygen supplies decreases to your brain and your IQ score can actually drop up to 30 points.

Resources:

Women Who Run With The Wolves

The Myth of Male Power

A Passion for Leadership

You Are a Badass

20 Tips for Power Chicks

Sponsor:

Show notes:

[4:16] Sarah breaks down emotional intelligence (EQ).

[5:24] Why is EQ so important to the success of an organization?

[12:14] Response to change is different for everyone.

[13:39] Effective communication is a key element of successful change management.

[16:40] How do I know if I am emotionally intelligent? Sarah gives examples of low EQ.

[23:00] Sarah gives action items you can implement to grow your EQ.

[25:59] Learn to label your feelings with Dr. Gloria Wilcox’s Feeling Wheel.

[28:55] The practice of mindfulness.

[31:00] Starting with self-awareness.

[33:59] Sarah describes what emotional self-management tips she gives to clients beyond the theory.

[35:30] The three biggest words that matter in any difficult circumstance.

[38:44] Disappointment and unhappiness impacts your productivity the most at work.

[41:17] Look at the role we play in the situation.

[42:07] Sarah talks about honing in on EQ, empathy, and social dynamics helps you be better managers and leaders.

[45:54] The most overlooked communication strategy.

[47:28] EQ doesn’t mean fluff, touchy-feely, or hugging kittens. Mastering your EQ can make you more powerful.

[49:01] Hope is not a strategy.

[52:21] Employees at all levels need to learn relationship management.

[53:35] Dealing with conflicts in the workplace.

[59:49] Face-to-face conversations make the most forward progress.

[1:00:34] Sarah touches on the “good ol boys club”.

[1:05:01] I’m concerned about companies that don’t think emo IQ is important. Tell me why it isn’t important. The tool that can help each individual employee retake their personal power and how they deal with other people. How could that not be important?

[1:05:43] If we begin to retake our power and our personal responsibility, I’m more concerned with companies that don’t think emotional intelligence is important.

[1:05:53] Arianne kicks off the “lightning round” of questions: Sarah’s favorite book, what drives her productivity and her one call to action.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

025: The Science Behind Storytelling with Master Storyteller and Author, Kendall Haven.

The H2duO — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 03:17:19 -0500

Kendall Haven is an internationally recognized Subject Matter Expert on the cognitive neuroscience of story and helped create the study of the Neuroscience of Story. A performing master storyteller, Haven has, for over 30 years, led the research effort for the National Storytelling Assn. and International Storytelling Center into effective story structure and into the process of story-based influence and persuasion and has been designated as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University.

Haven’s two seminal works (Story Proof and Story Smart) have revolutionized our understanding of the neural and science aspects of effective story structure. He serves as a story consultant to departments in various U.S. government science agencies (Navy, EPA, NASA, NOAA, and NPS) and to the Singapore Armed Forces as well as with numerous corporations, nonprofits, and educational organizations.\

Top Takeaways:

People aren’t interested in ideas, they’re interested in people. If you listened to Episode 12: Water Nerd’s Guide to Storytelling, we introduced Kendall Haven’s research on the neuroscience behind storytelling. We take this convo deeper as we chat with Kendall Haven about:

The decades of research that demonstrate the power of story.
How our brains are hardwired from birth to process all information by putting it in story form.
Why providing information in story form makes your content more memorable and impactful.
Your greatest storytelling resource are the people of your organization.

Resources:

Story Smart: Using the Science of Story to Persuade, Influence, Inspire, and Teach by Kendall Haven

Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story by Kendall Haven

Sponsor:

Show notes:

[4:15] Kendall’s story, a master storyteller who worked for entities like NASA, Boeing, the World Bank.

[10:36] Storytelling is hardwired in your brain even you were born.

[11:46] Key reasons it’s worth it to focus on storytelling.

[13:50] Stephanie’s first intro to storytelling and finding out about Kendall’s research.

[15:40] Kendall gives a sums up his research to develop his two books Story Proof and Story Smart.

[20:50] How your brain processes stories– what reaches your conscience mind.

[27:35] Kendall gives an example from Story Smart of the how the Make Sense Mandate and the Neural Story Net works.

[30:07] Your choice to end stories negatively or positively–emotional impacts occur either way

[32:22] We set up a story from Story Smart: how the use of effective storytelling drastically changed one non-profit’s ability to fundraise and change behavior.

[33:28] Before we get into the story–Kendall breaks down the basic elements of a story. *Write this down and refer back for presentations, posts, publications, etc!!

[36:49] The non-profit story continues–Rotary Club were working with hospital for AIDS children. People need more than the numbers/results, they need the full story, which includes the bad parts, the struggle.

[41:34] United Airlines example that shows you the employees and the behind the scene complexities of a plane ride.

[47:20] Definition Storytelling–Story (noun) and Telling (verb)

[49:48] What happens when we aren’t consistently communicating with our customers and letting them fill in the information gaps with their own “banks of prior knowledge”?

[50:25] The curse of family stories.

[52:00] The curse of knowledge.

[53:08]
If you want to communicate, you’ve got to start not with where you are, not what you know, not with what you want to say. But with where your target audience is and with what they know, with what they think.
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[55:06] How do you overcome the two curses?

[57:35] Character writing–have the people who represent your target audience in the room or conversation with you.

[59:12] Kendall breaks down the Make Sense Mandate and the Neural Story Net.

[1:05:17] Stephanie relates this to the “2015 High Water Bill Outrage” in North Texas.

[1:07:42] It’s about understanding the story your audience already has and reframing it.

[1:09:18] Kendall breaks down in-depth how to craft an effective story.

[1:18:15] Arianne kicks off the “lightning round” of questions: Kendall’s favorite books, what drives his productivity and one call to action.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

024: The value of water through the lens of adventure with Adventure Hydrology founder, Chris Wolff

The H2duO — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 05:12:09 -0500

Christopher Wolff is a Hydrologist, Adventurer and Storyteller who is using his passion for the environment and his love for exploration to change the way we learn about this little blue planet we all call home.

For over decade, Chris worked as a Hydrologist for organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Environment Department, and County of San Diego. Seeing the need for a new way to communicate water and natural resource science, Chris founded Adventure Hydrology in 2018.

Adventure Hydrology is a social media forward platform that uses the lens of adventure to teach people about our amazing world.

Chris is also working to make Adventure Hydrology a channel where other scientists, researchers, volunteers, and activists can share their stories, as we come together to inspire and engage others to explore, discover, and protect our amazing world.

Top Takeaways:

People seem to know about geology, ecology, and biology but most don’t know what hydrology is. They don’t know the importance or value of water but take this challenge as an opportunity to think outside of the box. Chris is turning the tide by making water ‘sexy’ through adventures like white water rafting, climbing mountains, canyoneering and glissading.
Three things we, in the water and environmental industries, can get in our way: using fear or scaring people about issues, letting politics lead the way, and not sharing data and knowledge to move the needle forward.
Storytellers must fight through those with trepidations of sharing information to teach the value of water. Continue to bang that storytelling drum.
Be aware of your surroundings to bring action and protection of the resources you love.

Resources:

Firefight (Reckoners Series) by Brandon Sanderson

Sponsor:

Time Stamps:

[1:30] Shout out to Imagine A Day Without Water

[3:38] Chris explains ‘why water’.

[7:28] Adventure Hydrology brings the “sexy back” for water.

[11:18] Definitions of canyoneering and glissading.

[13:15] Sponsorship and partnership opportunities.

[14:58] What it’s like to work for the federal government, aka U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to Chris.

[17:40] Inspired by an experience on the Rio Grande, the idea for Adventure Hydrology was born.

[19:43] Holy discontent.

[20:30] See the Rio Grande River episode.

[22:37] Hurdles we face in the industry.

[24:09] There are “darn cool” things going on in our industry. Is there a fear of success?

[26:24] Stop waiting for people to come to us, we as educators have to go to them.

[31:35] Telling the “wild” water stories.

[33:57] #RealNews. Everyone has a water story to tell. Water creates connections.

[38:41] Dinosaur tangents are fun.

[40:49] Chris tells what’s important about education around water and natural resources

In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” – Baba Dioum

[44:03] A walk through of Chris’s video planning process.

[47:53] Chris breaks down Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps he recently attended.

[53:34] The H2duO and Chris play a word scrambler game to demonstrate how literally everything can be connected to water.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally or believe will add value to our readers. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

023: Affordability, leadership, and the impact of showing up with Greg Wukasch

The H2duO — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 02:48:34 -0500

Greg Wukasch, our mentor, previous speaker at Catalyst 2018, guest on episode 3, and current manager of the External Affairs Department with the San Antonio Water System. Beginning in 1998, as an Education Coordinator and now as the External Affairs Manager. Greg really considers himself more of a “story teller” putting together water stories for citizens across the city he loves. When not talking H2O, this self-professed water nerd also enjoys talking strategic planning and corporate culture.

Greg and his team have developed impactful programs that have continued to create community between SAWS and the community it serves. These programs include the high school education program Impact.

Top Takeaways:

So many times we look to each other and compare, especially in the communication and education sphere of the water industry, to get ideas and standards. But affordability is different. Every city is different in terms of demographics, struggles, infrastructure issues, and services therefore affordable water issues will be unique.
Go where your people are already gathering. Go beyond the social media and take a more personalized approach with our customers, with your neighbors.
Greg’s two big leadership takeaways: have the courage to lead and it’s ok to make mistakes, just handle them well.
You can’t be afraid to try something out and if it doesn’t work in the moment don’t be afraid to change it at the last second to meet the needs of your people.

Resources:

4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling

Servant Leadership on Action by Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Sponsor:

Show notes:

[4:55] Kick off with the affordability-Greg attended The most relevant and timely conference had ever been too.

[5:38] Affordability and affordable water issues are beginning to make their way to the top and to many different cities.

[6:20] Manny Teodoro kicked off the conference explaining the uniqueness of affordability.

[7:35] Greg will talk about SAWS affordability program, being gut punched by the opening speaker, and the outreach goals they’ve reached.

[10:24] Greg was listening to intently to Manny Teodoro’s presentation he forgot to take notes at times. See his presentation notes here and follow twitter @MPTeodoro. Words on Water episode.

[13:10] Greg breaks down SAWS humanized outreach strategy of “meeting them [customers] where they are”.

[17:53] Greg takes the program further-gives an example of trying something new adjusting as you go.

[20:35] We’re at a moment in the industry where the analytical side is meeting a social science side.

[24:56] Be an authentic leader, willing and wanting to be with our neighbors.

[26:13] A theme within the podcast about being authentic and being connected with your customers.

[27:24] Find your ambassadors to amplify your message.

[28:00] Closing down the conference with an impactful panel that includes industry professionals and advocates for the poor.

[31:51] Greg attended the global leadership summit-hear his takeaways and how he turns his learning into action.

[34:04] It takes Courage to lead. It takes courage to believe in a cause bigger than yourself. -Simon Sinek

[34:13] You must get comfortable taking risks. Fear has no place in your success equation. It takes courage to be a leader. -Carla Harris with Morgan Stanley

[34:50] “Things were going fine with our affordability group, why did you have to come in and try to do something bigger.”

[35:28] Not being afraid to make mistakes. The road to success is paved in mistakes well handled. -Danny Meyer restaurateur

[38:39] Greg gives examples of taking action from the theory he learns at conferences and books.

[41:30] Arianne gets fired up: are you taking what you learn from conferences and summits back to staff and implementing the takeaways and action items?

[44:50] Knowledge hoarders

[45:02] Great leaders constantly learn and share the knowledge.

[46:15] Seth Godin’s blog inspired Stephanie.

“If you’re not working to changes minds, why are you here again?”

[48:37] Greg’s quick encouragement to the H2duO.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

022: Communication-the Baseline for Conservation with Robb Barnitt, CEO and Founder of Dropcountr

The H2duO — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 02:32:48 -0500

Robb Barnitt is the Founder and Chief Executive at Dropcountr, a water SaaS (software-as-a-service) company that transforms data into actionable information for utility staff and their customers.

Robb has spent his career working at the intersection of technology and sustainability in roles with Arthur D. Little, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and several Silicon Valley startups. He holds a Masters degree in Engineering from Stanford and an MBA from UC-Berkeley.

Top Takeaways:

The water sector has amazing committed people. They want to do something meaningful. This extends to the technology-oriented folks–developers and engineers. For those young professionals that want to make a difference, there’s a lot to like about the water industry.
Customers view water utilities on the same level as the other utilities they communicate with regularly. They expect a higher level of service and access such as real-time alerts regarding usage thresholds, leaks, and bill notification.
Access to information isn’t just about bill pay and water usage. It also provides utilities the ability to communicate about other areas of concern for customers such as hydrant flushing. Robb gives a case study on Dedham Westwood Water District outside of Boston.
At the 2018 WaterSmart Innovations Conference: Dropcountr, Rogue Water and Alliance for Water Efficiency are teaming up to discuss the importance of communicating with your Spanish speaking population in your community. A more complete inclusivity requires delivery of information in a language that’s preferred by the customer. If you want to educate and develop that relationship then you need to be speaking the same language. Whether Spanish is a requirement or just a preference, it’s a pretty nice gesture. It’s more than a translated website, you can actively engage in the culture.

“Strive to be more than a vendor, be an industry participant.” Robb Barnitt, Founder and Chief Executive at Dropcountr

Resources:

Conscious Capitalism: the Heroic Spirit of Business by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

Tech resources:

Survey:

Sponsor:

Master Meter Inc delivers game-changing results for you across Finance, Customer Service, and Utility Operations. They offer an array of products to meet your utility’s needs. Check out their free ebook on financing smart water solutions here.

Show notes:

[4:20] Robb’s origin story, from rural America to water tech startup CEO.

[8:45] Why is it important to be in the water sector, in this moment?

[11:30] How is technology helping to bring utilities into the digital age with their customers?

[12:50] Case study from Dedham Westwood Water District about communicating with customers regarding hydrant flushing.

[17:08] The importance of communicating with your Spanish speaking community.

[21:25] How water tech startups can play a role in bringing the next generation to the water industry.

[25:00] Robb’s guiding principles aka core values and Arianne forgetting ours.

[30:00] Robb gives more case studies of communication positively impacting communities in Folsom and Denver.

[34:50] Upcoming research on the impact of different messaging over time.

[38:15] Stephanie’s soapbox on how the private and public sectors can work together to ensure that what’s being created is truly solving a problem that utilities can use to move forward.

[40:23] We quiz Robb on where his water comes from and how his own water provider is doing.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

021: Podcast piracy–a take over by the seadog, Travis Loop, who interviews the H2duO

The H2duO — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 02:14:57 -0500

Water In Real Life co-hosts, The H2duO, aka Stephanie Zavala and Arianne Shipley, have received many questions from listeners about who they are, their relationship and their business, Rogue Water. During a recording of the Water Nerd’s Guide to Happy Hour episode, their pod was pirated by none other than the scallywag, Travis Loop. Blimey!! As a podcast host himself, the privateer (pirates who are sponsored by the government #fitting) took over as captain and made the duo walk the plank aka answer his questions. Note: this was recorded during a live happy hour–we suggest you listen with your favorite happy hour beverage as well. ARRR!!

Top Takeaways:

We break down ‘who is who’… Rogue Water, a consulting company, and the H2duO is our nicknames “water girls” and “dynamic duo” combined. Plus it’s easier to say (and less Twitter characters) than Stephanie Zavala and Arianne Shipley.
The H2duO is to Rogue Water as Steve Jobs is to Apple. The best of friends lift each other up. Our relationship works because we’re very yin-yang, we learn from each other personally and professionally.
Stephanie reached out to Erin Brockovich about changing the utility communication game. Ms. Brockovich responded…
Embrace the haters. Let the haters fuel you. The greatest revenge is to continue the hustle and be the best we can be.

“Over time, I’ve matured or grown but am I gonna say that they never bother me, and they never upset me? But that’s what Jay-Z and whiskey are for.” –Stephanie Zavala

Resources:

Rogue Water, the H2duO’s public communication consulting company that helps

Open Letter to Erin Brockovich by Rogue Water

Dirt Off Your Shoulder by Jay-Z

Sponsor:

Show notes:

[6:40] Who are the H2duO?

[] The story of how Rogue Water was born on a napkin.

[14:10] Our role. How do we control this two-headed monster?

[23:20] That time we talked for Erin Brockovich for 90 minutes

[25:00] The infamous Rogue Water Open Letter to Erin Brockovich blog

[32:25] Arianne talks raising livestock in Texas and that water connection

[38:15] Travis asks “What the deal with Texas?” and we talk water issues in Texas

[43:40] Haters gonna hate.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

020: The Value of Water, More than a Metric

The H2duO — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 05:05:01 -0500

Todd Danielson’s social media information states his blood type is H2O positive because water is core to him, which is definitely important in his role as the Chief Utilities Executive for Avon Lake Regional Water. A 20-plus-year veteran of the industry and a professional engineer by training, Todd most enjoys asking, “what if,” and helping to implement better ways to serve the public, improve the environment, and spur the economy.

Top Takeaways:

Avon Lake Regional Water rolled out a residential combined sewer separation program, received feedback, and took action to work together with residents for implementation. In 26 months they’ve signed over 300 loan agreements with customers and committed well over 1 million dollars.
Sometimes it’s one person, such as Samantha Villegas (Episode 14), who help form a deeper understanding for the value of communication. Other times it’s first hand experiences such as a frazil ice event. Either way, the value of proactive and consistent communication is evident.
No matter what, you’re going to spend time and money communicating. An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure. Put in the work up front and build that “relationship bank account” with your customers.
“If you only have a hammer, everything’s a nail.” A utility is like a toolbox and each of the departments are different tools. Some jobs you’ll need a hammer, while other jobs you need many tools. By working together, tools can be complementary. It’s important to knowing what each “tool” of the utility does and how best to use them.
Recognize the importance of what a utility can do for the economy of a community. As George Hawkins, famously states, “water utilities support all jobs”. Many areas are actively promoting development through water availability and the resiliency of their system.
Think business plan versus master plan. Incorporate other challenges utilities face such as fats, oils and grease, biogas, and energy. How does creating solutions for these challenges benefit customers, both residential and commercial?
Whether you’re in the industry or still in school, one thing is certain, we want to make a difference. Providing water and wastewater services has made a HUGE difference, but its the status quo. In order to make a difference, we must do more, such as partnering with schools, or becoming energy neutral, or reducing our carbon footprint. We must communicate what we’re doing to attract the younger workforce.
Utility affordability is a very real issue. What are the intended outcomes for an affordability program? Do customers need a hand out or a hand up? Water use audits, leak repairs, and bill payment counseling are options being implemented in many cities. Never discount the partnerships that can form from these types of programs.
Keep your customers in your community and keep the community thriving.
Metrics aren’t always statistical. Simply seeing customers using reusable water bottles is a success indicator. Being asked to give tours, increased enrollment in the local college’s water-related courses, an increase in applications for open positions, and of course an increase of social media engagement are all indicators for the value of water.
If we don’t fail at times, then we aren’t pushing hard enough.

Resources:

“Leading Change” by John Cotters

“The Man in the Arena” Teddy Roosevelt

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

019: Part 2- A Case Study in Revolutionizing Community Engagement in Utility Master Planning

The H2duO — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 21:33:46 -0500

Bio: Tom Hickmann is a civil engineer with over 25 years’ experience in wastewater, stormwater, water supply, water rights, system design, hydraulic modeling, utility management, and utility master planning. Mr. Hickmann is the City of Bend Engineering & Infrastructure Planning Department Director focusing on oversight and implementation of all master plans and capital improvement projects.

He has been credited with bringing innovative ideas to the City, solving challenging issues and overseeing record infrastructure growth in one of the country’s fastest growing cities. He is noted for championing a unique approach to big-ticket infrastructure decision making and bringing these concepts to engineering audiences nationwide. He introduced hydraulic modeling techniques and implemented an enhanced modeling analysis which has been used as an example for assessing future infrastructure needs of growing communities.

We met Tom at the Utilities Management Conference in February 2018 and his presentation rocked us to our core. We had an incredible chat with him that we decided to break into two episodes. This is the second half of our conversation where we talk building a team that can implement community engagement, affordability, justifying technology, and the power of coffee (or beer) diplomacy. If you didn’t catch EP018 you’ll want to check that one out first.

Top Takeaways:

[6:00] How they use Strength Finders and the DISC assessment to ensure they have the right people on their team and on each project.
[7:50] “You have the best engineers in the world. Great—I’m glad you do. But I also need the best communicators in the world to get a project done and if I don’t have them I’m going to fail.”
[8:34] Transparency begins by admitting the bias you’re bringing to the table.
[13:40] New technology tools that can help with transparency.
[18:33] Overcoming the fear related to dealing with the negative criticism. It’s ok. Just be like an elephant. Don’t take these things personally. Don’t let them get to your core. Learn to realize that maybe they’re saying that, not to get to you personally. Learn to step back and understand the issue you’re bringing forward is contentious. Not you, personally.
[22:40] So you’ve embraced the need to communicate and engage—now what? How do you move you, your team, and your department forward? Tom explains “creative firing.” “Sometimes you have to help people move along. Sometimes that’s hard to do. Sometimes that takes a while but if you’re going to bring about change, you have to do it.”
[25:22] “Look, you’re driving to a cliff and you don’t even know it. I’m trying to tell you to push on the brakes. You’re not going to do that. I know that. So I’m going to step off the bus.”
[29:21] “Your job as directors is to raise leaders and you can’t raise a leader who isn’t operating in their strength.”
[31:38] The issue of affordability and how they realigned their utility master plan to align with their financial master plan to lessen the impact on rates.
[43:21] Justifying innovation in the water sector.
[50:55] Combining technology, with face to face, and a little coffee (or beer) diplomacy. The incredible story of how Tom turned his biggest opponent into his biggest advocate by investing in some old-fashioned face time.

Resources:

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration— Ed Catmull

Plain, Honest Men — Richard Beeman

On Thinking Institutionally — Hugh Heclo

Public Process in Utility Master Planning — Thesis by Tom Hickmann, P.E.

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

018: Part 1- A Case Study in Revolutionizing Community Engagement in Utility Master Planning

The H2duO — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 05:22:24 -0500

We met Tom at the Utilities Management Conference in February 2018 and his presentation rocked us to our core. We had an incredible chat with him that we decided to break into two episodes. This is the first half of the conversation when we discuss how Tom set out on a mission to disprove the value of communication and public outreach through his thesis and ended up proving himself wrong. He then became not only a vocal proponent and advocate of public involvement in master planning, but also practiced what he preached and revolutionized the way his department conducts business.

Top Takeaways:

[12:14] Hear Tom tell us about how he set out to debunk the need for communication and public involvement, proved himself wrong, and transformed his career.
[14:40] “I realized at that point in my career that my skill set had run out….The engineering part is fun and easy. The hard part is finding the support, the financial backing that you’re asking these people to make investments in.”
[17:15] “I had an obligation to citizens to engage them and to give them, quite frankly, a voice in democracy and that was a game changer for me. To realize all of these investments are an extension of our democracy. Yes, it’s technical but, fundamentally, citizens have a right to have a say so.”
[22:16] Population growth impacts how cities communicate with the public.
[27:26] Tom explains the value in regularly surveying your constituency. The survey questions can’t be generic, you have to dig deep to get a real sense of public trust and buy-in. Surveys aren’t enough either. It’s best to pair them with focus groups and interviews.
[34:51] Bold leadership and what it takes. “Leadership is situational, it’s not individual. There’s times when our skill sets and our natural abilities align with the moment, align with the point to lead. A good leader realizes they aren’t always the best person to lead on every issue.”
[40:08] A case study on the project that transformed him and everything he understands and believes. Hear how lack of public involvement landed them in district court, and how creating true public involvement, in the beginning, could have saved the city the incredible amount of time and money spent in delays and legal fees.

Resources:

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration— Ed Catmull

Plain, Honest Men — Richard Beeman

On Thinking Institutionally — Hugh Heclo

Public Process in Utility Master Planning — Thesis by Tom Hickmann

Sponsor:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

017: The Transformative Power of Education with MSU Dean, Chris Long

The H2duO — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 00:53:47 -0500

Dean Christopher P. Long is a Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University who is committed to expanding the transformative power of liberal arts research and teaching and creating new opportunities for collaboration among community partners.

He began his tenure as Dean on July 1, 2015. Under his leadership, several advances have been made including the creation of the Center for Interdisciplinarity. He has successfully established the College of Arts & Letters as a catalyst of innovation and collaboration at MSU through signature partnerships, such as the partnership with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences to advance a holistic approach to food research (Food@MSU).

He is the co-founder of the Public Philosophy Journal, an open forum for the curation and creation of accessible scholarship that deepens our understanding of issues related to public relevance, and editor of The Journal for General Education. He is an expert on both ancient Greek and contemporary continental philosophy and received his MA and Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in New York and BA from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Dea

Top Takeaways:

[21:27] The value of reverse engineering the metrics you measure by going back to your core values. “How are we living out the core values in a way that’s identifiable as showing that we’re actually making progress towards the vision that we share.”
[36:30] Millennials do not want to learn passively and we need to be raising the bar of our educational programs and institutions to meet their expectation and thirst for knowledge and impact.
[44:02] How using technology and a variety of mediums is the expectation of student learners today.

Resources:

Kindred— By: Octavia Butler

Sponsor:

Show Notes:

[6:30] The value in including the community at the beginning of the research stage, when the questions that are trying to be answered are formulated and what that means for the water industry at [8:06]

[11:04] Reasons why partnering with a higher education institution is valuable when conducting research on your community.

[13:15] The old model of community engagement vs the new model and how the public philosophy journal is creating an open source mindshare community.

[14:19] “Making ideas public is at the heart of publishing.” “Ideas have transformative power. They have the power to both shape and misshape our relationships with one another.”

[14:50] How MSU and the Public Philosophy Journal are making the journal a community feedback mechanism.

[15:45] The four different aspects they look for: relevance, accessibility, intellectual coherence, and scholarly engagement.

[16:50] Accessibility issues—when we’re speaking a “different language” than our customers.

[19:22] How do we do a better job at communicating the transformative power of education?

[19:53] “How are we being authentic with one another and attentive enough to each other in the moment so that we can find the words that need to be heard? What needs to be heard versus what I want to say?”

[21:27] Metrics—how can we be doing a better job at showing the impact of our efforts?

[23:15] “The question then becomes how are we living out the core values in a way that’s identifiable as showing we’re actually making progress towards the vision that we share.”

[23:40] Reverse engineering metrics by going back to your core values.

[24:58] Word of caution—how metrics can pervert the mission we’re trying to accomplish when not aligned with your core values.

[29:45] The importance of integrated education. “We need to provide our students and future citizens with a more holistic and textured understanding of the world we care about.”

[34:02] Two different approaches to education and outcomes.

[36:30] What makes millennials different and what can current generations expect when they hit the workforce?

[39:18] What are ways we can better engage with the millennial generation?

[41:08] Using the way millennials are raising the bar in education to justify raising the bar in our own informal education programs.

[43:28] Real world example of informal educators using different mediums to engage her students.

[44:02 ] Using technology in education.

[46:46] Technology in education also means understanding that with great power (technology in your pocket) comes great responsibility.

[47:52] The Greek roots behind why combining the written and oral forms of knowledge transfer create the most impact.

[54:48] Collaboration and why it’s hard for some entities to get on board.

[57:34] The beauty in the complexity of discussion around issues versus keeping conversations on the surface level with the simple “yes and no” responses or only discussion of the pros and cons.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

016: Combating PR Crisis with PIO Pro Mike McGill, WaterPIO

The H2duO — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 01:33:58 -0500

Mike McGill has spent his entire career as a communicator, having served as a leader in journalism and public relations. Before founding WaterPIO, a communications firm specifically aimed at helping water and sewer operations, he served as a Director of Communications and Customer Service for water utilities for a dozen years including Chief Communications Officer for Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington, North Carolina; Director of Customer Relations and Communications for Loudoun Water in Loudoun County, Virginia; and Public Affairs Coordinator for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a utility that serves nearly two million people in the Washington, DC Area. Mike is a graduate of Syracuse University and began his career as a news producer in CNN’s Washington bureau, and as the News Planning Editor for WUSA-TV in Washington, DC.

Top Takeaways:

[57:48] Capture your “gee-whiz” moments. Mike talks about how he turned a main break into a positive front page highlight of employees.
[19:24] The 2018 JD Power Water Utility Residential Customer Survey showed that even a modest commitment of time and resources will get you an exponential benefit.
[52:52] The importance of building relationships doesn’t only reside with the water provider/customer relationship. The most important relationship is between the communicator and the water provider staff so they understand what your ultimate end goal is–to protect the integrity of the invaluable service they provide to the community every day.

Resources:

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – By Chip and Dan Heath

Power of Moments – By Chip and Dan Heath

Rogue Water’s open letter to Erin Brockovich

Sponsor:

Show Notes:

[5:30] The story how Erin Brockovich brought Water PIO and Rogue Water together

[11:00] “We’re the defenders of public water.”The good people who work in water, they’re public servants and they don’t do it for the glory. They deserve to have their stories told and their actions defended.”

[18:00] How communication is the key building block to establishing trust.

[19:24] JD Power 2018 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Survey insights. “It’s not rocket science. It’s about building relationship with your customers through communication.”

[20:36] “A modest commitment of time and resources will get you an exponential benefit.”

[21:25] Using your SWOT to plan your communication strategy.

[24:21] Using communication as a tool to gain support for what needs to be done in the future.

[24:40] “You really do have to explain that water is a product. You don’t just drink what falls from the sky.”

[25:50] Educating your elected officials is vital for them to understand rates.

[28:48] On treating the press like an ally and not the enemy. “It’s basic human nature. If you make my life easier for me, I’m probably going to give you the benefit of the doubt when something comes up down the line.”

[29:07] Even if the press doesn’t use your story, you’re still winning because you’re building a relationship and that you’re there with information and will be responsive.

[29:40] “If you run and hid and go dark, especially during a crisis, you’re only hurting yourself because people will fill in the gaps themselves.”

[31:00] Create the situation where your customers and the press are coming to you first because you have an established presence.

[34:00] If you’re communicating regularly you’re going to be in a much better place when a crisis hits.

[34:35] George Hawkins as a case study on how being available to the press was a key part of the rebrand.

[36:30]Perception vs Reality based on the Corona Environmental Study presented at the 2018 Utilities Management Conference.

[39:20] Tips on how to get more eyeballs on your messaging to be the primary source of information.

[40:05] Bill stuffers–an oldie but goodie.

[41:30] Mixing digital communication with traditional face to face public engagement and outreach.

[45:45] Using mail house targeting technology to get the most bang for your buck with direct mail.

[46:30] Journalists are doing more with less. The bureaus are bare boned. Utilities need to capitalize on this by providing compelling stories journalists may not have previously considered.

[48:10] Annual reports are your opportunity to show what you’ve been doing to your stakeholders which may be very important when the time comes for capital improvement projects.

[50:35] “Communication is an operation just like a water or sewer operation in your shop.”

[52:52] The importance of building relationships doesn’t only reside with the water provider/customer relationship. The most important relationship is between the communicator and the water provider staff so they understand what your ultimate end goal is–to protect the integrity of the invaluable service they provide to the community every day.

[54:35] Combating the “You don’t know anything, you’re just the PR guy.”

[56:18] Train your field staff to be on camera. Secret insider: Sometimes the press will be more lenient with a person that isn’t in the communication field.

[57:48] Capture your “gee-whiz” moments. Mike talks about how he turned a main break into a positive front page highlight of employees in the Washington Post.

[1:02:20] “We’re so immersed in what we do we lose touch with what will be impactful to our audience. You have to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.”

[1:05:00] Your biosolids may be on fleek but your customers won’t care unless you make it about them.

[1:06:40] How to overcome communication fears when you’ve been burned in the past. You would never let other areas of operation stop improving, don’t stop improving in your communication efforts.

[1:09:24] Your customers perceive water quality differently than you do.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

015: Water Nerds Guide to Millennials with Erin Ruszkowsi, Rogue Water Intern

The H2duO — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 03:00:38 -0500

Erin Ruszkowski is a sophomore at the University of Alabama studying environmental engineering and policy and Spanish. Beginning in 7th grade she attended summer programs through Duke University TIP (talent identification program) program which helps gifted students discover their abilities, explore new academic challenges, and celebrate their accomplishments. Erin is a self proclaimed water nerd and has loved water since she was seven years old when she began asking her aerospace engineering parents questions about water and the environment. Erin is a presidential and engineering leadership scholar and also a member of the Alpha Phi sorority at the University of Alabama.

Top Takeaways:

As obvious as it seems that the millennial generation relies on social media, they understand better than most that it’s a place to connect socially, not the best way to get accurate information. Turns out they prefer to find reputable sources on Google.
Erin talks about her Water Nerd’s Guide to Millennials internship project. She focuses on how we can market and connect to them and why advocacy is an appealing option in their generation.
She drives home the message of using social justice and social action to bring people into the water industry, especially of her passion-driven generation.

Resource:

Ted Talk: “Why climate change is a threat to human rights” by Mary Robinson

Quote:

“It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness”- Chinese Proverb

Sponsor:

Master Meter Inc:

If there’s one thing I can be certain of when it comes to you, it’s that you love water. If you are a water utility looking to manage the water you love, then you’ll want to talk to our friends at Master Meter Inc. They understand that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. And smart water management begins with accurate measurement. Account for every drop produced and delivered because a utility’s progression towards smart cities and IOT begins here. We’re trying to be the game changers of communication and and our partner Master Meter is here to deliver game changing results for you across Finance, Customer Service, and Utility Operations. They offer an array of products to meet your utility’s needs. To determine which smart water metering solution is right for you visit mastermeter.com.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

014: Coming in hot with truth bombs from Samantha Villegas, President of SaVi PR

The H2duO — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 16:53:07 -0500

Samantha Villegas, APR is an award-winning communications strategist, committed to using her powers for good. For more than 20 years, Sam has worked to expand recycling, promote water conservation, increase investments in energy efficiency, enhance opportunities for veterans, foster immigrants’ rights to work, support common-sense gun legislation and much more.

Throughout her career, Sam has been an active volunteer in the Public Relations Society of America, the largest public relations association in the world, serving more than 20,000 professional members. In 2010, she served as Chair of the Mid-Atlantic District (representing 10 chapters). In 2013, she served as president of the Society’s largest chapter, the National Capital Chapter (1,500 members), where she expanded its volunteer service awards, revived its Hall of Fame award, and created a thought leadership initiative. In 2016, she was elected to the Society’s National Board of Directors, where she helps oversee operations and the Society’s strategic direction.

In addition to her service in PRSA, Sam volunteers locally, providing more than $25,000 worth of pro-bono PR counsel and support to social service organizations in Loudoun County, VA where she lives.

Sam was a 2017 Washington Women in PR “Woman of the Year” finalist. She holds a Master’s Degree in environmental policy from Johns Hopkins University and is accredited in public relations by PRSA’s Universal Accreditation Board.

Top Takeaways:

Ethics and public relations go hand in hand. Withholding information prevents your citizens from making informed decisions.
Water providers should brand themselves as if their customers have a choice in who they choose for their water service.
Employee engagement has to be rooted in reality. It can’t just be a catchy tagline. Truly invest in your employees and then create the campaign around what actually exists.

Book:

This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today by Chrissy Metz

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Sean Covey, Chris McChesney, and Jim Huling

Sponsors:

Rocketbook Smart Notebook: Our friend Ryan Beltran got us hooked. It instantly connects and stores all your notes, ideas and doodles in the cloud with a free smart notebook app. Get 10% off your order of the Rocketbook Smart Notebook using the code: FromtheFuture

Audible is offering our listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to audibletrial.com/waterinreallife and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs – download a title free and start listening.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

013: Talking leadership, communication and branding with Blue Drop’s Alan Heymann

The H2duO — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 02:00:03 -0500

Alan Heymann is President of Blue Drop and the Chief Marketing Officer of DC Water. Blue Drop is the non profit arm of DC Water. Alan led the team that conceived, planned and launched Blue Drop in November 2016. At DC Water, Alan lead the utility’s effort to expand its revenue base by marketing products and services to new customers. Earlier in his career, Alan was a television reporter, producer and anchor in this native Illinois. He was previously Vice President of Communications for a large global advocacy organization and also served as Chief of External Affairs for DC Water, from 2010-2013.

Top Takeaways:

Water utilities may not be competing for market share but they are competing for mind share, the attention spans of our customers.
It’s important now more than ever to create leadership training for the next generation of emerging leaders.
How we as communicators, both inside and outside of the utility, can work together to duplicate products, not efforts.

Book:

That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together by Joanne Lipman

Sponsors:

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

012: Water Nerd’s Guide to Storytelling

The H2duO — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 03:00:17 -0500

Storytelling has become buzzword that is even permeating the water industry conferences. It can conjure up memories of having a story read to you at bedtime. This episode provides legit cognitive facts that back up the way the human mind is hardwired to respond to and retain information from stories.

In their first installment of the Water Nerds Guide, the H2duO focus on the science behind storytelling. They’re going to discuss why we need to reframe the way we handle communication in the water industry, the science behind storytelling, and some things to keep in mind as your craft your own stories.

Books:

Story Proof by Kendall Haven

Story Smart by Kendall Haven

Sponsors:

Rocketbook Smart Notebook: Our friend Ryan Beltran got us hooked. It instantly connects and stores it all in the cloud with its free smart notebook app. Get 10% off your order of the Rocketbook Smart Notebook using the code: FromtheFuture

Top Takeaways:

Learn how customer expectation are reframing our conversations.
“Stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts or figures alone.” Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stephanie introduces Kendall Haven author of Story Proof and Story Smart. His concept of the neural story net: the part of our brain that makes connections when there is missing information.
Kendall Haven also talks about four major concepts related to how to best deliver your story: engagement, transportation, relevance, influence
Readability is key. Poor readability causes: frustration, irritation, and suspicion.
An image with a human face gets 38% more engagement than those without a face.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

011: The Seven Superpowers

The H2duO — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 03:00:48 -0500

Tom Ferguson is the Vice President of Programming for Imagine H2O, charged with developing the accelerator model as well as building out the policy and leadership capabilities as they scale. Tom comes to Imagine H2O from strategy roles at Project Frog (a San Francisco green buildings company) and Tamar Energy (an AD network developed in London). Prior to business school, he spent three and a half years with ERM, the sustainability consultancy, where he was an engagement manager. Tom holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA in Politics from Edinburgh University.

You can check out our first interview with Tom on Episode 001. We were so excited to bring him back on to give us an unabridged version of his Catalyst presentation on the Seven Superpowers any organization can master to increase performance and productivity. There are a ton of nuggets and takeaways to be had. We suggest listening to this one with a notepad in hand.

Takeaways:

When we get caught up too closely in our own work, we lose sight of the general, the simple, the basic principles that are the nonnegotiables to success. We need to learn to stop and take the time to really focus on the fundamentals.
Focus! It’s so simple but so often overlooked. Everyone has an “elephant” to eat. You have to master focus in order to tackle it one bite at a time.
Knowledge compounds. Imagine the potential for your organization if you made learning a priority and encouraged ongoing learning. Imagine if every person in your organization became 15% more knowledgeable because of it and that 15% compounded each year across every employee.

Resources:

If you’re like Arianne and don’t have time to read a book but are dying to expand your reading list, Audible is your solution. Audible’s selection of audiobooks, original shows, news, comedy and more is unmatched anywhere. Get a free audiobook with a 30-day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/WaterInRealLife

The Rocketbook Smart Notebook instantly connects and stores your notes, doodles and lists in the cloud with the free smart notebook app. Use the code: FromTheFuture and you’ll get 10% off your order!

Books

Big Mistakes by Michael Batnick

The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

010: Catalyst Mastermind Summit Recap w/ Rogue Water

The H2duO — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 06:00:03 -0500

The H2duO recap the Catalyst Mastermind Summit in their first solo show. Stephanie and Arianne, co-founders of Rogue Water, their public communication consulting company, recently co-hosted Catalyst in San Antonio, TX. Over sixty people attended the inaugural non-traditional summit. This summit literally traveled from a hotel ballroom, to a rooftop bar, to a jazz lounge and ending at a desalination plant.

Catalyst is a mastermind program for water educators and communicators. The goal is to empower water educators from across the state of Texas with the ABCs of water communication–assessment, branding, content, and strategy while also inspiring them through collaboration and case studies.

Together they break down some of their favorite takeaways for those who couldn’t attend and to reignite those who did.

Takeaways:

The vibe! From the get-go it was welcoming, energized, and exciting. The first night at the networking event gave us a strong sense of the tribal collaboration that would happen in days to come.
Greg kicking off the event with some gut-punching “why? But, why?”
Back to the basics. Nailing the basics: why, mission, values, is a powerful tool to move your programs, department, or yourself forward.
The Hawk (aka George Hawkins) landed… and dropped some serious inspiration! “Water is the cornerstone of modern day civilization, so essentially the future of civilization rests firmly on the shoulders of water educators and communicators.”
Tribal collaboration- yeah we took it locally, nationally and globally. Travis Loop (national level) broke down some do’s and don’ts of ways to message to people.
Using strategy from script writing and poetry to evoke emotion from your audience.
No one is a ‘social media expert’ because it changes so fast! Google Analytics is the best tool to see whos engaging with your content. Interns know the latest apps. Get inspired from what others are posting on your channels.
Videos are powerful tools to tell complicated stories.
Adults learn differently than kids. Megan Yoo Schneider teaches us brain-based learning and points out “death by powerpoints”.
Respectfully retiring, yourself? No, your programs.
Pebbles create ripples. Be a pebble.
Show the impact of your education programs using water bills. Dr. Rudi gave us both quantitative and qualitative ways to show ROI.

Resources:

If your like Arianne and don’t have much time to read a book but are dying to get a specific book, Audible is your solution. Audible’s selection of audiobooks, original shows, news, comedy and more is unmatched anywhere. Get a free audiobook with a 30-day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/WaterInRealLife

Want a copy of Incite? Email Rogue Water: stephanie@roguewatergroup.com

Books

10: The H2duO
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

9: Dr. Rudi Thompson

Social Marketing: Why Should the Devil have All the Best Tunes by Gerard Hastings:

Hands on Social Marketing: a Step by Step Guide by Nedra Kline Weinreich

8: Lynne Christopher

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

The Big Thirst by Charles Fisherman

7: Megan Yoo Schnieder

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

6: Jennifer Henderson

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

All Marketers Tell Stories by Seth Godin

4: Duke Greenhill

Pukka’s Promise by Ted Kerasote

Meditation by Osho

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Laudato Si by Holy Father Francis

3: Greg Wukasch

Good to Great by Jim Collins

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni

The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling

2: Travis Loop

Blue Mind: The Surprising Science that Shows How Being Near, In, On or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do by Wallace J. Nichols

Tools

6: Jennifer Henderson

Coverage Book

5: Ryan Beltran

Rocket Book

Programs

8: Lynne Christopher

SAWS Impact Program

SAWS CORE

SAWS Rain to Drain

5: Ryan Beltran

Make Water Project

Water, Texas Film Project

Republic of Makers Maker Space

San Antonio Water System’s Impact Program

Podcasts:

7: Megan Yoo Schnieder

Building your Dream Team with Shane Snow by EOFire

5: Ryan Beltran

Reply All Podcast

Gimlet Media Podcast

2: Travis Loop

Words on Water Podcast

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

009: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Dr. Rudi Thompson

The H2duO — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 03:17:41 -0500

Dr. Ruthanne “Rudi” Thompson is a UNT Distinguished Teaching Professor, Director of the Science Education Research Laboratory, and Director of the Dallas Environmental Education Initiative (EEI). Rudi worked as a high school Biology teacher, created and taught an AP Environmental Science course and co-developed the Elm Fork Environmental Education Center on the Campus of the University of North Texas. All of these experiences culminated twelve years ago when the City of Dallas Water Conservation and Recycling divisions put out a Request for Proposals for the design, development, and implementation of an Environmental Education Initiative. UNT’s proposal was selected and in these 12 years since, the EEI science educators have provided direct, inquiry-based, resource conservation instruction to more than 229,200 learners, pre-k through 12th grade, within the City of Dallas.

We met Dr. Thompson when she presented about the Dallas EEI program at a WENNT meeting earlier this year. WENNT is the Water Educator Network of North Texas meetings we attend monthly. We loved how she was able to show real impact for the program, both in dollars and gallons. She is looking for partners to spread her research! We’re hoping that by spreading the word about the success of the Dallas EEI program that she is able to gain new partners across the state, the country, and even the globe.

Top Takeaways:

Intergenerational transfer multiples the impacts of children learning about water conservation (Dr. Thompson says that’s just a fancy way to say kids guilt their family members into conserving water).
Learn how Dr. Thompson used quantifiable data to show that commitment to saving water was translating into actual water savings.
Research doesn’t always needs to be complicated. Sometimes all you need are some water bills and an Excel spreadsheet.

Resources Mentioned:

Social Marketing: Why Should the Devil have All the Best Tunes by Gerard Hastings:

Hands on Social Marketing: a Step by Step Guide by Nedra Kline Weinreich

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

008: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Lynne Christopher

The H2duO — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 13:15:27 -0500

Lynne Christopher has been a youth educator in the San Antonio Water System’s (SAWS) Communications Department for ten years. Ms. Christopher coordinates school education programs for the company to include Impact, SAWS award-winning high school service learning program. Her duties in addition to coordinating Impact, include classroom presentations, conducting field trips, curriculum development, managing the SAWS mini-grant program and teacher training.

Top Takeaways:

Clearly defining your why, your mission, and your values are the first step to creating an organizational culture of impact. Only then can you move on to defining the core characteristics you hope to foster in those that participate in your programs.
Investing in effective water education programs that produce water literate citizens help create a water-centric culture in your city.
Measuring informal education is difficult. Surveys are beneficial but anecdotal evidence, stories, can be the key to measuring the impact of your programs.

Resources Mentioned:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

The Big Thirst by Charles Fisherman

SAWS Impact Program

SAWS CORE

SAWS Rain to Drain

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

007: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Megan Yoo Schneider

The H2duO — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 04:00:27 -0500

Megan is a bridge builder. Over the last 12 years, she has had the opportunity to work for a myriad of private sector consulting firms and for several public agencies. She has also served on several boards of directors, and she currently serves as the elected Director of Division 7 for the Municipal Water District of Orange County, in addition to her role as Policy Director to 5th District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett in Orange County.

Megan has also served on dozens of committees for the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the California Water Environment Association (CWEA), and the Santa Ana River Basin Section, in addition to several other professional associations over the last 14 years. Currently, she is the Vice-Chair and incoming Chair of the WEF Public Communications and Outreach Committee and the Chair of the CWEA Kirt Brooks Memorial Scholarship Committee. She’s organized over a hundred conferences, seminars, plant tours, presentations, community events, and more, and she is part of the inaugural graduating class of the Water Leadership Institute.

Megan’s company, Seven Management and Consulting, Inc., is also a partner with Blue Drop.

Top Takeaways:

Educating the youth not only impacts the adults of day through their parents, but also is growing the next generation of water ambassadors.
Brain-based learning is about finding the most effective way to teach adults, which is much different than the way children learn.
When ideas are created in a silo they only benefit the people in the silo. Collaboration creates solutions with more widespread impact.

Resources Mentioned:

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Podcast: Building your Dream Team with Shane Snow by EOFire

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

006: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Jennifer Henderson

The H2duO — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 15:00:15 -0500

Jennifer Oliver Henderson is a marketing communication specialist with nearly 20 years of experience. Her professional achievements include “40 Under 40” awarded by the Fort Worth Business Press in 2008, Texas Wesleyan University’s Alumni Service Award in 2012, the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014, Great Women of Texas in 2014, Top 20 Women to Watch in 2016 and alumni scholar of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. She is also recipient of more than 100 local to international design and public relations awards. For fun, she runs Gallery 440, featuring a large collection of international modern art as well as local contemporary Texas artists.

Jennifer conveys the incredible value consistent public relations efforts has on building relationships with your community rooted in trust and transparency. We also discuss the world of art and the value art plays in evoking emotion and creating connection with our messages.

Top Takeaways:

An apology, when appropriate, goes a long way. Accountability and honesty is refreshing in a day and age filled with spin, misdirection, and the misperception of perfection conveyed on social media.
What someone else says about you, including reporters, is eight times more valuable than any advertisement you pay for.
Make your content relevant to your audience. Tell your story but through their eyes.

Resources Mentioned:

Coverage Book

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

All Marketers Tell Stories by Seth Godin

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

005: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Ryan Beltrán

The H2duO — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:00:14 -0500

Ryan Beltrán, founder of elequa and the Make Water program, is an award-winning filmmaker and innovator with unique experience connecting DIY water technology, student collaborators, and creative storytelling. His early film experience included interning for Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry on productions with Kanye West, White Stripes, Conan O’Brien, Daft Punk and more. Over the years Ryan has taken his ideas to the White House Water Summit, Flint Michigan, and impoverished communities in Colombia.

So how does a filmmaker rubbing elbows with Kanye and Richard Linklater get involved in water? Sometimes you come across a story that just has to be told and water’s story spoke to him. Ryan shares with us his involvement as a mentor on the open source technology team for the teen Impact education program at San Antonio Water System.

Although he claims not to have a water “a-ha” moment where it all just clicked, he definitely felt drawn to water’s story through a culmination of experience around the world related to issues surrounding clean drinking water. This led him to his passion for electrocoagulation as a potential solution. As a true believer in collaboration, he shares all of the innovation and technology coming out of his company, elequa, by practicing open source technology via his involvement with maker spaces and his Make Water film series to be released beginning in 2018. You can check out the work of he and his high school Impact teams at makewater.org.

Resources Mentioned:

Make Water Project

Water, Texas Film Project

Republic of Makers Maker Space

San Antonio Water System’s Impact Program

Reply All Podcast

Gimlet Media Podcast

Rocket Book

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

004: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Duke Greenhill

The H2duO — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 03:15:42 -0500

Duke Greenhill has nearly 20 years of success as a global marketer, a widely published thought leader, and an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter. He has held senior positions at some of the world’s most respected agencies in Manhattan and Washington, DC, and he founded Greenhill+Partners, a Manhattan-based boutique consultancy specializing in brand storytelling and luxury brands. He has worked with some of the world’s most respected organizations, too, including Levi Strauss & Co. (Dockers), Chanel, Adidas, MasterCard, Red Bull, Tiffany & Co., Ritz-Carlton, Ameriprise Financial, L’Oreal, the Government of Monaco and more.

As a widely published thought leader, Duke has written numerous articles on business and marketing for The New York Times, The Telegraph (U.K.), Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur, the Harvard Review and others. Duke has been honored to receive numerous industry accolades and ranks his graduate Academy Award nomination chief among them. He has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA with honors from Columbia University. But, whether Duke’s working on digital media or traditional, moving images or still, strategy or creative, he brings a priceless skill set to the table: that of a steadfast storyteller.

Three Key Points:

“The human brain is hard-wired to react to certain structures that we call storytelling, beginning, middle, end.”
“If a conveyance of information, and we can call that story, is authentic to the world in which the story is taking place and the person who’s telling it, then it’s compelling.”
“In the context of a brand, the idea is connection. You don’t just want a customer or a supporter, you want a zealot. And that’s where you find them, when you’ve connected. Not just convinced, but connected.”

Resources Mentioned:

Pukka’s Promise by Ted Kerasote

Meditation by Osho

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Laudato Si by Holy Father Francis

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

003: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Greg Wukasch

The H2duO — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 22:00:16 -0500

Since 1998, Greg Wukasch has worked in the External Affairs Department with the San Antonio Water System, beginning as an Education Coordinator and now as the External Affairs Manager. Greg really considers himself more of a “story teller” putting together water stories for citizens across the city he loves. When not talking H2O, this self-professed water nerd also enjoys talking strategic planning and corporate culture.

Greg and his team have developed impactful programs that have continued to create community between SAWS and the community it serves. These programs include the high school education program Impact.

Three Key Points:

The whirlwind is never going to go away. The key is to find the tools to manage it to stay laser focused and on mission.
We accomplish more when we break down the silo mindset of departments i.e. engineering, education, customer service, etc.
Mentorship is not about just smiling and nodding. Real mentors aren’t afraid to have the tough conversations and will challenge you to be the better you every day.

Resources Mentioned:

Good to Great by Jim Collins

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni

The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and believe will add value to my readers. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

002: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Travis Loop

The H2duO — Thu, 31 May 2018 19:05:51 -0500

Travis Loop is the Director of Communication and Public Outreach for the Water Environment Federation. Professionally, he has nearly 20 years of experience in media and communications. Travis is the host of the WEF Words On Water podcast. He previously served as Director of Communications for the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as the speechwriter and a communications manager for the Governor of Hawaii. Aloha!! Travis also worked for eight years in the media as a newspaper reporter and editor in North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Hawaii.

Three Key Points:

Allowing others to tell our story adds credibility to the story we tell about ourselves.
Whether it’s crafting the content of your messaging or in media training, keeping a laser focus on what information your audience wants to hear is key. Write for them, not for you.
This industry can be stressful. Channel your inner duck–let it just roll off your back and just keep paddling forward.

Resources Mentioned:

Words on Water Podcast

Blue Mind: The Surprising Science that Shows How Being Near, In, On or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do By: Wallace J. Nichols

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

001: Catalyst Mastermind Speaker Series Tom Ferguson

The H2duO — Thu, 31 May 2018 19:05:10 -0500

Tom Ferguson is the Vice President of Programming for Imagine H2O, a nonprofit organization empowering people to deploy and develop innovation to solve water challenges globally. Imagine H2O’s accelerator program picks 12 startup companies for over 200 applications from 36 countries. The chosen accelerator companies receive customer validation, industry visibility, investor access and mentorship opportunities.

Three Key Points:

Communication is incredibly important to the vitality of the water industry in today’s environment.
It’s ok to have fun with water. How a little bit of irreverence, showing you have personality and can have fun, can be a differentiating factor that allows you to cut through the noise.
A colorful elevator pitch for the value of water.

Check out Imagine H2O and learn about the twelve companies currently in the accelerator program that are truly changing the world of water. If you have the opportunity, consider attending the Imagine H2O Innovation Forum and Gala in 2019. Sign up to receive updates here.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

000: Introducing the Water In Real Life Podcast with The H2duO

The H2duO — Thu, 31 May 2018 19:02:31 -0500

Hey everyone, we are Stephanie Zavala and Arianne Shipley aka the H2duO. Thank you for joining us for the very first episode of Water in Real Life. Every Monday, we’ll be releasing a new episode. Our content will shift between interviews with thought leaders from inside and outside of the water industry, to solo shows or rather, conversations between Arianne and I that will highlight a resource we feel will benefit you as you work to tell your story to your customers.

Our first nine episodes will be interviews with the speakers from Catalyst. Catalyst is a mastermind summit we are co-hosting with the San Antonio Water System, the Texas section of the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Association of Texas. The event will take place June 20-22, 2018 in San Antonio. The speaker lineup is diverse and includes well known water rockstars like George Hawkins, former general manager at DC Water, now founder of his own company Moonshot. We’ll also be chatting with thought leaders from the marketing industry, film, and the academia world. To fit everyone in prior to the summit, we’ll be releasing two episodes a week, one on Monday and one on Wednesday.

In July, we’ll begin with our regularly scheduled weekly releases that will hit iTunes or your podcast player of choice every Monday.

In case you’re wondering “who are the H2duO” that would be me and Arianne. We both worked for municipal water utilities for ten years before we made the difficult decision to leave behind the jobs we loved and forge our own path in the industry. We’ve seen first hand the power of building relationships in the communities we serve and we measure this impact in stories.

We’re both passionate about the men and women that serve their communities in water utilities. Arianne and I share similar origin stories that include being inspired by the hard work they put in daily to ensure public health. Be sure to check out our stories and see how they compare to your own water story.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter @THE_H2duO and Instagram the_h2duo. We believe in open source knowledge and we love to share the people, places, and resources that inspire, instruct, and incite us to action. To be a part of this sharing of knowledge, please subscribe to our mailing list.