United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The following is the email I sent in response to a letter that I received from a group of distinguished CEOs from some of the most influential businesses in the water sector.  In their letter, the CEOs describe an effort they have launched to seek a more collaborative and coherent effort to present the case on the value of water to the public we serve.  To put it mildly, I agree:

To the Water CEO Group,

I appreciate very much receiving a copy of the letter that you have authored on advancing the interests of our industry.  I wholeheartedly support this direction and am prepared to invest both my own personal time and the resources that DC Water can bring to the table.  

If anything, I would go farther than what the letter contemplates.  Perhaps due to my location in Washington, DC combined with my background as an advocate, I am disheartened by the multiplicity and complexity of voices and organizations that jockey for visibility and consequence in our arena.  Unfortunately, this reality reminds me of the challenge faced by the thirteen colonies as they marched into the revolution – united we stand, divided we fall!  I sense that although almost every group is well run and consists of good people with good ideas, the industry as a whole is so fragmented that we seem divided and weak, rather than unified and strong.  Given the stakes at hand, a combination of a vital service and enormous needs, this reality must change.

On the other hand, I am absolutely thrilled by the potential that is before us – because we are an industry that touches virtually every person in the country – often with a written bill and message on a monthly basis.  We can naturally tailor a unified national message with a local focus and flavor, linked to requests from political leaders and others for outcomes that matter to the very lives of their constituents (and our customers.)  I agree that we need to persuade the public about the value of water – and want to also emphasize what needs to be done to secure this resource as well.  We are investing an enormous amount of time, energy and money into this effort in our fair city, but are acutely aware that a better national effort would make all our local work far more effective – and then connect back to a broader success on issues of national significance.

Please let me know how I can help, I am ready and raring to engage.

Warm regards,

George

Green Infrastructure Brown Bag

Join George as he talks about DC Water's proposed green infrastructure pilot at the DC Environmental Network. The event takes place Thursday, May 3 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Registration is required.

• DC Environmental Network

Be Water Wise.

Governing Magazine

Governing managing editor Elizabeth Daigneau covers DC Water's tap marketing efforts. In my view there are two important aspects to this article, maybe three.  The first is the obvious - which is that utilities that produce drinking water as their product need to seek the support of their customers with the same vigor and effort that any consumer product company employs.  We have allowed companies that sell bottled water to arrive in the market place and expand their share almost without comment or response. While I believe that bottled water has a place as one option for consumers, I also believe it is an option that is relied upon far more than it need be - at significant cost to the consumer, the environment, and to us as water purveyors.  We deliver an excellent product that we need to present to our customers in fun and innovative ways - and always be thinking about new ways to respond to their needs.  The TapIt campaign, which yields an easy way to refill reusable water bottles to solve the challenge of getting water on-the-go is a great example.  The second issue is the powerful nature of hiring and enabling good employees to engage their passion.  While I get credit in this article for much of DC Water's focus on tap water, I know as any good CEO does, that most of this success is due the excellent people who are leading the charge.  In my case, many people in our organization are focused on our drinking water campaign, lead frequently by Alan Heymann - the Director of our Office of External Affairs, and members of his team like Sarah Neiderer.  Moreover, everyone on Team Blue (what we call our work force) who does the actual hard day-to-day work to keep the water system running smoothly and safely is part of delivering this product.  That leads to the final point here - which is persuading our customers of the desirability of our product is connected directly to gaining the support of our customers as ratepayers. That is the lifeblood of our organization, and through us, the lifeblood of this city!

• Cities Tout Municipal Tap Water as Better Than Bottled (Governing, April 2012)
• Is city tap water better than bottled water? (SmartPlanet, 04/03/2012)