I love dogs. While I have owned mostly mutts, I have many friends who have golden retrievers. They make great family pets. They are gentle and friendly and just love to play. It seems they will play fetch until they drop from exhaustion … and they are unbelievably good at it. Some of my friends go to a lake in the dead of winter and the dogs will jump into freezing water to get the ball and do this over and over again all day long.
I don’t know anyone who has a bloodhound as a pet. When we think of the Bloodhound, the images that come to mind range from the baying “man trailers” in films such as Cool Hand Luke to a lazy hound sunning himself on the front porch of a home in a sleepy Southern town. The man trailer is the more accurate image, but it also presents a somewhat false picture of the breed. The Bloodhound is indeed single-minded on the trail, but what many people don’t realize is that once he’s found his quarry, he might lick the person to death.
The Bloodhound belongs to a group of dogs that hunt together by scent, known as Sagaces, from the Latin, which is the same root as the word “sagac
ious,” referring to the qualities of keen discernment and sound judgment. Those words are certainly descriptive of the Bloodhound’s powers of scent. These dogs were originally used in medieval Europe to trail boar and deer. Modern-day Bloodhounds have found careers as man trailers for police departments and search and rescue organizations. They are so skillful that their “testimony” is considered admissible in a court of law.
So, Joel, what does that have to do with the energy industry? Well. Simply put. The industry likes people who are golden retrievers. Kind, gentle, friendly, and tireless. What we need right now are somewhat less “attractive” looking people who will tirelessly follow the scent of the customer engagement opportunity. We need keen discernment and sound judgment. We also need them to follow the trail of customer engagement closely before it goes cold.
I am fearful that that trail is growing very cold indeed. Plus others seem to have picked up the scent and they are not friends of the energy utilities. Someone is going to get to the customer. I hope it is you.
Love the new format. Congratulations on moving to the next stage in your blog! I attended a great social media marketing conference last year and one huge takeaway was this quote: “The internet is owned by C-students willing to fail in order to discover greatness….” Marcus Sheridan. The many speakers emphasized just starting, not waiting until it’s all perfect – just get out there and do it, then perfect it. I’ve watched you do that with your blog. Really impressed. Keep up the great work. You’re a Utility Industry Prophet – a voice crying in the wilderness. Many of us hear you.