Mark Story, the SEC, and working through risk — Buzz2010 Social Media for Association Leaders

A few weeks ago, Mark Story did a really interesting analysis of the Nestle/Greenpeace debacle. Having served as a senior VP at Fleishman-Hillard, Mark has the PR experience to know how to handle sticky situations. He shares his knowledge regularly with his students at Georgetown and clients of his consulting firm.

But in my mind, what really sets Mark apart as an open leader is his ability to get stuff done as the director of new media at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last October, Mark helped the SEC launch Investor.gov, a micro-site devoted exclusively to investor protection and education. The SEC also has a series of Twitter accounts, and a YouTube channel. Considering the responsibilities of the SEC, and the nature of their work, I can only imagine the structure and processes that are in place to enable the kind of new media sharing that Mark is leading. Here’s what Mark had to say on his blog about Investor.gov when it first launched…

“This is such a passion of mine because last year, I traveled throughout the U.S. filming video of seniors who had fallen victim to fraud — and in the process, lost nearly all of their savings. One poor woman told me that “a young man” came to her door who was “dressed so nicely and was so polite” that, by the time she had left, her life’s savings were in someone else’s hands. That enraged me but made me more determined than ever to use my skill set to try to make a difference.

I was fortunate enough to even have SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro record a welcome message for the site.

So please — retweet this, bookmark it, do whatever you can to push it out. The more people who know how to avoid scams and fraud, the less sad headlines we’ll see.
Please.
Mark

P.S. – SEC Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are mine and mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the SEC Chairman, Commissioners, or my colleagues. So there.”

I’m really looking forward to hearing Mark discuss his approach to working through risk at the July 20 Buzz2010 meeting. Most of us are working in a far more forgiving environment, compared with the SEC–his experience will serve as an inspiration and a model for us to lead our own organizations forward.