ARTICULATED

I took a break from the blog for a whole month. It wasn’t by design, necessarily. But this past fall brought Kinkennon Communications three big new clients and big new projects, plus a host of volunteer obligations. Sometimes one has no choice but to put one’s head down and work.

And work I have. I’ve even “wErQed,” as the crazy kids say:

• On behalf of my great partners at The Herald Group, we drew every local TV station in Austin, TX, to the unveil event for a new eco-commerce center and airport in Central Texas. (See one of those local TV stories here.)

•  Literally last night for the Retail Industry Leaders Association on the topic of forthcoming regulations on credit- and debit-care swipe fees, we secured a one-hour segment on the nationally syndicated Jim Bohannon Show that ended up pushing on the fly to two hours. The producer said afterwards that in that time slot, the phones never light up like they did last night.  (You can listen to part of that here.)  This is with my regular business partner and drinking buddy Scott Warner of Warner Strategies on behalf of Public Strategies Washington.

• For my new client the Hope Street Group, Warner and I just convinced Reuters to do an exclusive feature story on the release of a big report this Friday calling for a national strategy to reinvent primary care, the health care that people receive on first contact with the medical system. I absolutely love this project.

• With my oftentimes boss / leader / mentor / friend Mike McCurry at Public Strategies Washington (where I serve as something of a regular), I’ve developed and presented a multiyear campaign plan to a category of some of America’s most beloved institutions for proactively telling their great story.

• I’ve just taken on a short-term project to help a major industry group in Washington whip up a plan for building relationships within the LGBT community.

• I’m having a phone conversation today about a potential project that would be one of the coolest things I’ve taken on in years.

And I’ve been on fire with my volunteer obligations, including finding some success in uncovering substantial corporate sponsorships for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund & Leadership Institute.  This volunteer fundraising stuff is a big learning experience.

All that said, I intend to get back to regular posts to the blog. Onward.

I’ve been very focused the past couple of years on the concept of “transformation.”   Looking out on a new decade, it’s sparked me to reflect on what have been the most “transformative” moments of my life thus far.  I thought I’d list them and see if the process illuminates anything for me.  I will report back to the blog if it does.

1. Coming out of the closet (1995). This was a biggie, no surprise. With it I gave myself permission to be real and be happy. From comfort in one’s own skin, just about everything else flows.

2. Joining the PR firm world (1998). “The Dittus Group,” as it was called at the time, was my fourth job out of college but the first one where I actually fit.  Gloria Dittus was the first person who gave me a little room to stretch my legs. Her timing for lending trust and latitude was in lock step with my needs as a young and cocky hard-charger.

3. North Carolina to Washington, DC, AIDS Ride (1996). This first whet my appetite for big physical challenges and the amazing self-discovery that comes from them.

4. Outward Bound expedition (1997). The description for #2 above could fit this as well. But this was even more poignant. I learned that we discover how to be good people when we go into the wilderness and strip it down.

5. Getting on the telecom bubble (1999). I left my secure job in the midst of the telecom bubble to get rich. I didn’t, of course. But I got exponentially smarter; I learned how business really works. I have to thank my friend Dave Bornmann for that.

6. Going to work for Mike McCurry (2001). This was a brief and chance encounter. But that relationship continues to net the coolest and most rewarding projects I’ve had the good fortune of being involved with.

7. Starting Kinkennon Communications (2006). Of the whopping eight full-time jobs I’ve held in my career, I really only liked a couple of them. But I’ve been doing my own thing for more than four years now.  It feels something like a calling.

8. Sneaking off to Colorado (2006). I did it in the dead of night, terrified that pursuing the dream might do harm to my company or career. It didn’t. Colorado is the greatest place on earth, and I’ve never been happier. Of course, I continue to spend lots of time in DC, which likely is where my career will always be centered.

9. Sparking the formation of the Denver Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League (2007). I didn’t do this alone. But through it I had affirmed an ability to make about anything happen that I set my mind to. And I discovered the kind of people I’ve craved being around for so many years.

10. Adopting a dog (2007). I’d wanted a sidekick ever since I left my parents’ dog-filled house for college, but I thought the life wasn’t right for me. Despite all the inconvenience and annoyance, it’s taught me selflessness.  It’s brought me a curious peace.

This is a guest post by former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, a partner at Public Strategies Washington. Shane Kinkennon spends about 50% of his time helping Mike serve his Fortune 500 and nonprofit clients.

If I learned anything in my White House days as Press Secretary, it is that truth matters, and that the public is forgiving to a point. They can understand and accept sin and the confession of misbehavior. But they hate spin. They hate people trying to explain away or rationalize something wrong or outside the boundaries.

I think this means spin should be dead. The idea that you dress up your “talking points” in flowery (and cloudy) language needs to yield to unvarnished truth telling.

Online and on the social web these days, those who are credible and authentic seem to succeed. Those who rely on traditional PR tactics don’t seem to do as well.

It is amazing how quickly communications strategies are changing. But the new vector is towards truth and not propaganda. I have to believe that is a good thing for us all.

Digging through my closet in my DC home office this morning, I was reminded of a horror story.

About this time last year, I headed down toward Pennsylvania Ave. for a meeting with my mentor / boss / client / leader  Mike McCurry. He was hosting the CEO of a new client and asked me to join to talk P.R.

About a block from his office, just before the meeting was scheduled to begin, the fixed-gear bicycle on which I was riding, a piece of equipment I love dearly, launched an unprovoked attack. It grabbed my Banana Republic wool slacks, ripped out the cuff (lengthening the pants by inches), and began a spiral tear up my leg.

With only seconds to spare, recognizing the absurdity of it all, I attempted to repair the carnage with packing tape. I hoped to God I would be able to hide my leg under a table. But alas, we sat casually, table-free and legs exposed. My tattered, shredded clothes became a topic of conversation with the CEO and the former White House press secretary.