Over the past six months I’ve summited four mountains, including Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It might surprise you to learn that reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet) was actually far easier than summiting three mountains in New Hampshire (<5,500 feet).

Why? It’s simple: When I climbed Kilimanjaro, I knew my goal and I could see it.

During my seven days climbing Kilimanjaro, I watched as the summit got closer with every labored step. Even above 18,000 feet, I knew that with enough determination and patience, I could make it to Uhuru Peak. In contrast, due to tree cover, the summits in New Hampshire were not within eyesight. Because of this, I never saw my goal, which ultimately lead to a very difficult day of climbing. I’m embarrassed to admit that I wanted to give up many times. The voice inside my head kept telling me it would be ok to quit. I truly had no incentive to keep going, other than pride.

It wasn’t until I stood on top of the first peak in New Hampshire that I realized why I almost quit. The answer: I couldn’t see my goal. I had set out on a path but had no idea what the goal looked like. This got me thinking, how many times in life do we give up on something because we can’t see the ultimate goal? Or, since we’re talking about mountains, how many times do we hike up a tree covered path and turn around because we can’t see the beautiful vista ahead?

Just as standing on the Roof of Africa was a personal goal for me, professional and business goals are critically important to success. However, they cannot be met without a clear vision of what it is we’re trying to achieve. At Reservoir, we’ve started using the OKR (Objectives & Key Results) method, a goal setting framework widely adopted by some of the most successful companies in the world for its ability to track progress in real-time, promote transparency and accountability, and incentivize team collaboration at every level.

As a growing company celebrating our five-year anniversary this year, we’re excited about the future of our burgeoning public affairs and strategic communications firm. By setting ambitious objectives and measurable key results, we’re able to identify areas of achievement and opportunities for growth. We’ve found this framework to be particularly helpful because—much like my views of Kilimanjaro—we’re able to see our goals, identify where we’re making progress, address barriers and keep pushing towards success.

While I recognize that most goals don’t involve walking around the office in ankle weights (yes, that happened), I’ll leave you with some key steps for success as you chart the course for your next big goal:

1. Know Your Goal – Make it clear, achievable and ambitious. Do your research, understand what the goal means and what it will ultimately look like for your success. My climb in New Hampshire might have been very different if only I’d taken the time to research the route and knew what I was working to achieve.
2. Be Accountable – Check-in regularly; recognize where progress has been made and identify areas where more work needs to be done. If you’re not tracking towards success, there’s always time to course correct.
3. Identify Cheerleaders – Make sure others know your goals. It’s a lot harder to quit when you know friends, family and colleagues believe in you.
4. Make It Personal – Identify your why. I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro because I dedicated my climb to someone I loved. It was because of that motivation that I kept pushing when my body wanted to quit.
5. Never Give Up – Success doesn’t happen overnight and sometimes we reach our goals on a very different timeframe than we first anticipated. It’s not about how long or how many tries it takes to get there, it’s about achieving what you set out to do. Success is success, no matter when you achieve it.

Reservoir Communications Group announced the addition of Eva Fowler Whaley to its senior team, bolstering a growing roster of public affairs and corporate communications experts, and deepening the firm’s bench of expertise across various facets of the health care sector.

Eva brings nearly 15 years of health care and corporate communications experience, having led communication teams and strategy for a regional health system and advised digital health companies, high-growth start-ups, non-profit foundations, university research programs and government agencies. She has experience with thought leadership positioning, executive communications, media relations, crisis communications and public affairs.

Immediately prior to joining Reservoir, Eva was vice president at a strategic communications and public affairs firm where she developed programs to elevate corporate profiles and advance business goals, promote compelling narratives and digital/media strategies, and establish health care technology companies for growth with biopharma, providers, payers and enterprise. Eva also previously led communications for HSC Health Care System, a non-profit health care organization in DC focused on serving children and youth with complex health needs.

“Eva brings a deep knowledge and experience in helping clients build a strong presence in the market and among their key stakeholders,” said Robert Schooling, President of Reservoir. “Her thoughtfulness and strategic approach are tremendous assets to our firm, and we are excited to have her join our team.”

Also joining Reservoir is Stephanie Yuan, a recent graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in health care management and policy. Stephanie was previously an intern with Reservoir, and the team is thrilled to have her full time.

About Reservoir Communications Group

Reservoir Communications Group is a leading communications firm focused on helping clients address their most important challenges and opportunities in reputation, advocacy and organizational brand. Learn more at reservoircg.

In television, psychological thrillers are often hit-or-miss. The genre can often focus too much on eliciting a sudden startle or using CGI to create a scary creature, rather than telling a well-crafted story that grips our deepest human emotions. When done right, a psychological thriller can tell a story that you won’t soon forget.

Netflix’s recent series, Mindhunter, does more than tell a psychologically captivating story; its entire plot is based on the inner-workings of human psychology – particularly the minds of criminals in the early days of behavioral science.

While binge-watching the new season of Mindhunter has prompted a pre-bedtime habit of triple-checking that my doors are locked, it has also made me realize that criminal psychology and strategic communications have some natural similarities:

1. Applied social science is at the heart of what we do.

The founder of modern strategic communications, Edward Bernays, called public relations an “applied” social science, in which psychology and media are combined to influence public opinion. Similarly, criminal psychology applies social and behavioral science to criminal investigations to help uncover facts and catch culprits.

Fun fact: Edward Bernays was actually the nephew of Sigmund Freud!

2. It’s not just what you know, but how you learned it.

Consumer or audience insights are only valuable if backed by a science-based method. Just as Mindhunter’s FBI agents compile criminal profiles based on cognitive and behavioral theories, effective communications agencies must produce consumer and audience insights through proven, universally-accepted research methods.

3. Empathy distinguishes the good from the great.

​​​​​​​The premise of Mindhunter, in a nutshell, is about understanding the person behind a crime – their thought processes, behaviors, and motivations. At its core, communications is about the same thing. Yes, Mindhunter is about understanding individuals like Charles Manson rather than consumers or thought leaders, but the best firms can leverage understanding of human psychology to craft strategies that effectively engage audiences.

The producers of Mindhunter have mastered something we do every day: making something stick with the audience. Sometimes that message sticks so strongly that it causes viewers, like me, to check the locks in my apartment long after the credits roll. If you’re a strategic communications professional and you haven’t watched Mindhunter, I’d strongly recommend it (just prepare to be thoroughly unsettled). The show not only entertains, it teaches us about the underpinnings of our work and can help us become better, more thoughtful communicators.

American companies make an incredible impact in the communities they serve that stretches far beyond economic development. In fact, Giving USA found that more than $20 billion was donated by corporations in 2018, in addition to an impressive amount of employee volunteerism and other community support. These social responsibility efforts – through foundations, strategic partnerships, philanthropic grants and employee hours – improve community relationships and support programs that would never be possible without financial backing and in-kind assistance.

Despite these benefits, many organizations are hesitant to promote the great work they are doing, as well as to invest in visibility efforts that highlight their philanthropy. We strongly believe that thoughtful visibility efforts create a virtuous cycle – enhancing your reputation and building support for the ideas and causes you embrace. Here are five tangible benefits of sharing your company’s great work with others:

1. Providing partners with much-needed visibility

Community partners and grant recipients rarely receive the attention they deserve for their community contributions. By highlighting collaborations and awards, you elevate their position in the community and direct attention to the positive work they are doing. This can lead to greater support from others who learn about the organization’s work and an outsized benefit to the targeted recipients.

2. Building relationships with stakeholders

Two-way relationships are important for corporations and their stakeholders. Sometimes those relationships are best achieved by finding areas of shared interest. Once established, these relationships can provide a mutually beneficial channel for dialogue that may otherwise be difficult to establish.

3. Demonstrating thought leadership through community investments

Awarding grants and developing partnerships to advance corporate responsibility should not happen at random. Instead, these investments should be made in areas where there is a strong societal need, alignment with your policy priorities and business objectives and a connection to your organization’s interests and/or expertise. Responsibility isn’t separate from your enterprise communication, it is integral to it.

4. Making a difference in the lives of people you serve every day

Corporate responsibility often means helping the people with whom you connect on a daily basis – your customers and neighbors. It’s not surprising, for example, that the Business Roundtable recently released a new Statement of Purpose of a Corporation that aims to work for the benefit of all stakeholders – including customers and communities. By partnering with this broad group of stakeholders, companies make clear that their business is directly connected to the well-being of something bigger than their individual organizations.

5. Engaging and attracting employees in meaningful work

In today’s job market, engaging and retaining employees has never been more important. 55% of employees say that social responsibility is more important than salary when it comes to choosing an employer. By promoting good work, companies are also advertising to potential hires and enhancing pride among existing employees.

Doing good work is important, but as any non-profit leader will tell you, making sure your work is well-known is just as important. As a leader in your community or your industry you can help attract attention to ideas, causes, challenges and inequities. Don’t hesitate to use your position for good.

One of the best parts of working in health care today is the constant state of fascinating reporting, podcasts and commentary that can keep your reading or podcast list full for weeks on end. Even if you’re a loyal Pulse / Vitals / Health202 / KHN Morning Briefing/ D.C. Diagnosis reader (and secretly guilty of waking up at 6am for the early versions – even on vacation), now is the time to check off some of the must-read and must-listen health care titles from your list. Whether you’re heading to the beach, taking a road trip or jet-setting out of the country, we’re bringing you some of the best health care reads for your August break.

Best Beach Reads: Crisis in the Red Zone and Born to Run

If you’re looking to tackle the New York Times’ best-seller list, Crisis in the Red Zone will have you locked in your beach chair from sunrise to sunset. The story highlights the international response to the Ebola epidemic across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea in 2014-16. The Wall Street Journalhad a great review of the book here. Unfortunately, the threat of Ebola is ever-present today, but we’ve learned valuable lessons on how to prevent and contain these epidemics moving forward. For those looking for a lighter read – and maybe a little motivation to exercise on vacation, Born to Run will have lacing up your running shoes in anticipation of your next half marathon. I loved this book for a number of reasons – one of the most interesting narratives throughout the book was the shared evolution between our environment, modern medicine and the physical boundaries we can aspire to and push every day. It’s a great reminder how important exercise is as part of building and strengthening our own immune systems – and how we can do more to make sure our communities are more active moving forward.

Best Book for Your International Flight: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Could Cure the World

When Mountains Beyond Mountains was released 2003, it coincided with the broad shift from fee-for-service to a population-based approach to care across the U.S. health system. Many of the experiences captured through the work of Dr. Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains represent the early foundation for addressing social determinants of health – the environmental and societal factors that play an outsize role in the health of patients and communities across the globe. For many, Mountains Beyond Mountains redefined the meaning of value-based care. Just as Dr. Farmer and the Partners in Health teams identified the importance of employment and transportation in how patients and their families view and access care, many health plans, providers and biopharmaceutical companies have embraced similar programs designed to meet patients of all background and socioeconomic statuses where they are.

Best Podcast for a Road Trip: The Dropout

Who hasn’t been mesmerized by the Theranos saga? I finished John Carreyou’s page-turning book, Bad Blood, which chronicles the epic rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes’ blood testing company in a weekend and couldn’t get enough. For those Bad Blood fans, check out ABC News’ The Dropout, a seven-part series that goes beyond Carreyou’s reporting and provides never-before-heard interviews with Holmes and other major players in the Theranos downfall. Here’s what I loved the most: Carreyou and ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis balance the policy wonkiness (hello CLIA regulations!) that the Reservoir team manages on a daily basis with in-depth interviews from folks on the inside and around the industry. If you’re like me, you will likely make circles around the block until you finish all the episodes.

Best Quick Reads (& Listens) for the News Junkies

If staying plugged in during vacation is part of your summer M.O., check out these “greatest hits” – the coverage and interviews driving today’s news cycle. With the surprise billing debate heating up as part of August recess, the full scope of Sarah Kliff’s coverage of the exorbitant charges facing patients in ERs is a must-read. Need to get caught up on what’s ahead for health care in 2020? Sync up your podcasts for the latest Pulse Check, where POLITCO’s Dan Diamond interviews all the newsmakers behind health care legislation moving on Capitol Hill and dives into the advances driving innovative care delivery across the health system.

There’s a misperception that scientists are bad communicators. People say we’re too in the weeds—too “wonky”—or that we present information and data in ways that are not easily digestible or accessible to the general public. And with science literacy capabilities in the U.S. being drastically low, it’s not surprising that people perpetuate this stereotype. However, as a Biology major now working in the field of strategic communications, I would argue that there’s quite a lot that communicators can learn from scientists. Here at Reservoir, we’re putting scientific methods into practice every day.

1. Put the Facts First

The best argument has a strong evidence base, and you won’t get very far if you don’t have the proof points to back it up. Communicators need to take a page out of the scientific playbook: gather citations, build on the findings of existing research and collect the key data points that will resonate with your audience.

2. Sell the Problem You’re Trying to Solve

We don’t always think about the significant amount of time and energy that scientists expend applying for research grants. It may not be obvious, but in many ways, those applications are pitches. Scientists must identify a gap in the existing research about a particular subject and make the case to funders that it’s worth filling in. We see this all the time in strategic communications—from press outreach to new business ventures.

3. Sail in Uncharted Waters

It’s not always enough for scientists to identify the information gaps. They need to come up with creative approaches to solve for what they’re looking for and be comfortable with not knowing what lies on the other side. At Reservoir, we think differently about communications and help our clients solve previously intractable problems. That work always begins with a strategic, creative approach.

4. Leverage External Validators

In the world of scientific research, there are peer-review processes in place, statistical methods to utilize and other objective measures available to validate results and findings. Likewise, in strategic communications, it’s often not enough to carry your own message. It’s important to identify and engage third-party voices that can provide additional context and credibility to strengthen your own argument. It’s not just about honing in on the right message—it’s about identifying the right person to deliver that message.

Here at Reservoir, we’ve got a team full of science majors. In fact, nearly half of our staff has an academic background in biology, public health or healthcare policy analysis. You could say we’ve got strategic communications down to a science.

Bryan Dumont, who previously led enterprise-wide reputation strategy and insights for Exelon Corporation, has joined Reservoir Communications Group to lead its research and analytics practice.

Bryan is a leader in the field of reputation management and corporate branding. He has helped the world’s leading companies apply research and measurement tools to develop and execute multi-stakeholder campaigns and has pioneered new methodologies to enhance the insights & analytics used by corporate affairs executives. He is a frequent speaker on the latest trends in corporate communications, strategic analytics and how reputation and corporate brands provide measurable impact on tangible business outcomes.

At Exelon, Bryan developed one of the most robust insights & analytics functions of any Fortune 100 company, creating a best-in-class analytics platform that provides a window into the conversations and activity of stakeholders. The platform integrates stakeholder research, media monitoring, digital analytics, stakeholder maps, and corporate data to measure and predict reputation risks and opportunities, provide data-driven, real-time crisis management response systems and inform proactive engagement strategies.

“In an information-overload environment, Bryan brings world-class insight to companies and organizations that are looking to break through the noise and differentiate themselves in Washington and within their community,” Robert Schooling, Reservoir President, said. “We’re excited to be able to bring state-of-the art thinking in research and analytics to help our clients gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace of both products and ideas.”

“The future of communications is data-driven and interdisciplinary,” said Dumont. “I’m looking forward to supporting Reservoir clients with insights that can improve their brand, reputation and advocacy outcomes and to support that with integrated communications strategies.”

Before joining Exelon in 2017, he was a partner at the Brunswick Group in its London office where he helped clients convert research insights and strategy into corporate campaigns and programs.

About Reservoir Communications Group

Reservoir Communications Group is a leading communications firm focused on helping clients address their most important challenges and opportunities in reputation, advocacy and organizational brand. Learn more at reservoircg.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about to how to celebrate and honor the mothers in our lives. While the day should be a momentous occasion filled with gratitude and appreciation, for some families, Mother’s Day serves as a painful reminder of moms we’ve loved and lost, including those who never got a chance to experience the joy of motherhood.

Raising awareness about maternal health is one of the many issues we here at Reservoir Communications Group are proud to work closely with our clients on. As many of us get ready to celebrate Mother’s Day, we also want to take the opportunity to shine a light on some of the most challenging issues that unfortunately face so many women across the United States.

A recent surge in media coverage about pregnancy-related complications and deaths has helped to bring the issue of preventable maternal mortality to the forefront of national consciousness, and underscore the need to improve treatments and outcomes for moms and babies. Stories like CNN’s piece about maternal health inequities, analysis of new CDC pregnancy-related death data in the New York Times and CBS’s report on recent maternal health legislation have helped to pull back the curtain on maternal and infant health, and reveal the reality of our country’s current crisis.

The United States struggles significantly more than other developed nations to prevent pregnancy-related deaths. We spend more than any other country on hospital-based maternal care, yet our maternal mortality rate (MMR) has steadily increased since the 1990s, from 17 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 26 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.

Pregnancy-related health conditions such as preeclampsia – high blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy or after giving birth – contribute to the increasing MMR. As one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, preeclampsia results in poor birth outcomes. Annually, 140,000 pregnant women are affected by preeclampsia in the United States. Under-treated health conditions like preeclampsia are among the key challenges to addressing our maternal health crisis.

Racial inequalities in maternal care also significantly contribute to the rising MMR in this country. There are significant disparities in maternal mortality rates as minority women are more likely to experience a pregnancy-related health condition or death. In fact, black mothers die 3 to 4 times more than their white counterparts during pregnancy. Also, black women are 60% more likely to experience preeclampsia and 49% more likely to delivery prematurely than their white counterparts.

Raising awareness about the maternal health crisis is necessary to generate social momentum and drive substantial policy change. Giving voices to organizations who advocate on behalf of mothers and babies, particularly moms of color, is crucial to eliminate biases and improve access to quality maternal health care for every family.

We at Reservoir work to raise awareness of these issues with our clients every day and are committed to helping them advance solutions to address maternal health including sponsoring the upcoming Boston March for Babies walk on May 11. Advocates such as the March of Dimes are partnering with the community and with a wide array of corporate sponsors—from hospitals, to health plans and biopharmaceutical companies—to help draw attention to health inequities and work toward improving maternal health outcomes for all moms. But there are many other actors who are helping sound the alarm in maternal health care.

Policymakers who address maternal health issues in their election platforms or through legislation help to normalize the topic and bring much needed attention to the issue. Media outlets who report stories of mother’s struggle and successes with child delivery raise awareness about maternal-health and the gaps in care. The private sector also plays a vital role, with biopharmaceutical companies developing new treatments where there is unmet need and health plans helping women, particularly those facing high risk pregnancies, actively manage their health. Every part of our society and our health care system must work together to address this challenge.

So, this Mother’s Day, we’ll be celebrating the moms in our lives with a special nod to the all the advocates from across our communities who are working to ensure that every new mother can live a long and healthy life.

We’re in the golden age of biomedical progress, and yet women’s health still presents many mysteries to the scientific community. The challenge often begins at the level of basic research where, in the name of reducing variables such as hormone cycles, most labs only study male animals.

Although women are more than half the population, women’s health is considered a niche area by investors. In 2018, funding for women’s health startups hit a record $500 million—a great milestone, but still just about 2% of the $26 billion that health care startups raised overall.

A seminal report in 2001 by the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine) found that the research community had historically assumed that beyond the reproductive system, cellular and molecular differences between the sexes “do not exist or are not relevant.” Despite this historical trend, the study found that every cell in the body has a sex–and also found overwhelming evidence of differences between the sexes throughout their lifespans.

The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) has been a critical voice on these issues, pointing out how women and men differ in Alzheimer’s disease, migraine, and even sleep. Women and men differ in small and large ways, for example:

• Women tend to wake up from anesthesia more quickly than men–an average of 7 minutes for women and 11 minutes for men.
• Women are more likely than men to suffer a second heart attack within one year of their first heart attack.
• Just as women have stronger immune systems to protect them from disease, women are more likely to get autoimmune diseases (diseases where the body attacks its own tissues) such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis.
• Depression is 2-3 times more common in women than in men, in part because women’s brains make less of the hormone serotonin.

Tonight, SWHR will celebrate progress in understanding and treating women at their Annual Awards Dinner. I will be there as a proud member of their board, cheering on the leaders who are working to deliver on the promise of this golden age of biomedical innovation for everyone.