Morningstar Communications Luminary Blog

This past Friday, Morningstar Communications hosted about 20 local executives at an executive breakfast featuring Sheila McLean, director of the North American ECO Network for MS&L Worldwide, the global agency of which we are the Kansas City office.

We call these periodic gatherings “Illumination Sessions” and, based on the feedback we received on Friday, we nailed the name. Sheila shared enlightening data and trends in the environmental sustainability sector and helped us understand the coming regulation/legislation in this space that will have an impact on virtually every single business large and small.

Sheila’s ECO Network works with Fortune 500 companies and other large organizations to determine where they are in their sustainability journey and how to maximize ROI for their environmental initiatives. The case studies she shared were fascinating and described how seriously companies are taking the sustainability challenge. As Sheila described it, we’ve reached a tipping point: no longer is it enough just to be “in full compliance.” Today, in order to gain credit from stakeholders, companies need to show that they’re implementing creative solutions that go above and beyond simply what is required by law.

One of the diagnostic tools Sheila and her team uses with companies is printed below.  Where would you place your organization on this continuum?

 Local executives recently attended our final Illumination Session of 2009, an executive briefing with our Public Affairs Practice Director, Neil Dhillon. As Managing Director of our MS&L Washington, D.C. office, Neil discussed:
•    How local businesses can influence government policy
•    Ways to get into the national conversation
•    The Obama administration and its top priorities

Download the podcast to listen to Neil’s interactive session. Hear intriguing questions from the audience, and Neil’s insight on topics ranging from social media and race issues, to new bills in progress, such as transportation and housing.

After you listen, tell us what you think about the session – we’d love to hear your feedback!

In her last post, my colleague Sheri discussed how every company has a legislative issue. So how can you make government work for you?

During our September Illumination Session, Neil Dhillon discussed many ways for companies to get involved in public policy. Last week, I blogged about sharing your perspective on legislative issues with the media. This week I’ll cover Neil’s second suggestion – taking your voice to Capitol Hill.  

From talking with your state representatives to lobbying on the hill, you can make your company’s voice heard to those government officials who can make a difference.

One timely topic is stimulus money. Only around 11 percent of stimulus funds have been executed to-date and the government only has a year to distribute these funds. That means they have a lot of catching up to do. If you think your company may qualify for stimulus funds, let it be known.

Neil also stated that we shouldn’t be shy about talking to our government leaders. They are in office to be our advocates. Ask them to represent your interests and if they don’t listen the first time ask again. If needed, bring experienced professionals with existing relationships into the picture.

Every day our colleagues in our MS&L Washington D.C. office are working on Capitol Hill to affect legislation that is important to our clients. The next time your company faces a legislative issue remember that you can affect policy and consider calling us if you need help making it happen.

Programs including CNN and CNBC can be a good way to gauge the temperature on issues circulating in D.C. But you may have watched these channels and felt left out.

It seems like there's hardly ever an expert who isn't from the east coast. This dynamic actually creates an excellent opportunity for those of us from the Midwest. Our perspective is not often represented, making it more attractive to the folks who book experts on these shows.

No matter your industry, you probably have someone at your company who can fulfill this role and provide perspective on how legislative issues affect people in the Midwest. This type of commentary plays well not only in the national media, but also in local media. For instance, a guest column written for the opinion and editorial page of The Kansas City Star can be a great way to share your company's position on the issue.

So, as you're looking for additional opportunities to share your perspective with constituents, don't discount national political talk shows or local media.

It’s great to be at an agency where we can call on global resources to help provide valuable advice and counsel to our clients.  That’s exactly the role Neil Dhillon, managing director of our MS&L Washington D.C. office, played when we brought him in for an Illumination session with clients and friends last week.

Neil walks in all the Capitol Hill circles (he was telling us the story of being at the recent joint session of Congress when Congressman Joe Wilson hurled his famous “You lie!” shout at President Obama) and spent many years working in politics, including as a deputy assistant secretary in the Bill Clinton administration.

One area of interest to our guests was Neil’s take on the current administration and how the changes taking place on Capital Hill will affect businesses. Neil talked about the ambitious reform agenda President Obama has taken on in his first year. All new presidents come in with a full plate but, no surprise with what’s happened in the world over the past year, this one is particularly busy.

In addition to the obvious topical area, healthcare reform, Neil talked about the other two major areas of government reforms coming our way – energy and financial services.  For Neil, a financial services overhaul is the most important thing this administration will do for the country and our economy. However, out of these three key areas of focus, he believes healthcare may be the first to pass.

Companies who play in these areas will undoubtedly see new regulations that impact how they do business and, by extension, we all will be impacted as we do business with those firms or are served by them.

Neil’s advice:  Get involved in national policy and start by listening. Use every resource at your disposal to keep an ear to the ground on all of these potential new reforms so that you can be ready to react appropriately when change comes. Even better, influence change before legislation is past. Yesterday, my colleague Sheri Johnson posted on Neil’s suggested ways to get involved. We’ll be talking more about these topics next week, so keep coming back to Luminary blog for more great insights from our Illumination session.

Neil Dhillon, managing director of our MS&L Washington D.C. office brought up an interesting perspective when he convened with executives here in Kansas City. Every company has legislative issues, they just may not know it yet.

This fall promises to be a very busy one on Capital Hill, with several key priorities making their way through Congress. From health care and financial services reform to distributing stimulus funds before the upcoming deadline, virtually every industry will feel the impact and many will find new opportunities.

If your organization seeks to influence change, there are many ways to do it. From meeting with local representatives to lobbying on the hill, to simply issuing media statements on policy to share your view, there are many ways to make your voice heard. We’ll go into more on these topics in our upcoming posts, so stay tuned. And, we hope you’ll share your stories about how you’ve been able to make change happen.
 

With President Obama well into his first year in office, executives in Kansas City and around the Midwest are contemplating how his policies will affect the way they do business. This morning, Morningstar Communications held its last Illumination session of 2009, featuring our Public Affairs Practice Director Neil Dhillon. Neil traveled to Kansas City from our Washington, D.C. office to help forecast the answers.

 
Neil has 25 years of experience providing strategic communications and public affairs counsel in Washington, D.C. As managing director of our MS&L D.C. office, Neil plays an essential role as a senior crisis communications counselor on legislative and regulatory issues. He also works closely with Congress and The White House to assist on policy issues affecting our clients’ businesses and industries. He has previously served as national director of public affairs for several other major public relations firms; served as deputy assistant secretary of government affairs for President William Jefferson Clinton at the U.S. Department of Transportation; and was chief of staff to Congressman Bob Matsui (D-California), where he managed his tax, trade, and health care agenda in the powerful House Ways & Means Committee. 

In the upcoming days, be sure to check back here at the Luminary Blog to gain Neil’s valuable insights into the business implications of the political landscape during the next few years.