In this episode Alice Claiborne and Katherine McLane sit down to discuss the professional journey that led to the founding of the Mach 1 Group and just what it takes to succeed in the Public Affairs business.
Learn more about the Mach 1 Group here: https://themach1group.com/
Show your support for the Pink Granite Podcast and join our Leaders Circle by visiting us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/pinkgranite or by visiting PinkGranite.org
Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram @PinkGraniteTX
Facebook @PinkGraniteTX
Twitter @PinkGraniteTX
LinkedIn: Pink Granite
Thank you for listening!
Executive Producer: Amy Whited
Music Composed by Jack Anderson
Editing: Amy Whited
Guest: Alice Claiborne and Katherine McLane
In this episode Alice Claiborne and Katherine McLane sit down to discuss the professional journey that led to the founding of the Mach 1 Group and just what it takes to succeed in the Public Affairs business.
Learn more about the Mach 1 Group here: https://themach1group.com/
Show your support for the Pink Granite Podcast and join our Leaders Circle by visiting us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/pinkgranite or by visiting PinkGranite.org
Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram @PinkGraniteTX
Facebook @PinkGraniteTX
Twitter @PinkGraniteTX
LinkedIn: Pink Granite
Thank you for listening!
Executive Producer: Amy Whited
Music Composed by Jack Anderson
Editing: Amy Whited
Guest: Alice Claiborne and Katherine McLane
Alice Claiborne 0:49 Hi, it's Alice Claiborne.
Katherine McLane 0:51 Hello, Katherine McLane here.
Alice Claiborne 0:55 Katherine, I'm so glad for you to join us on the Pink Granite Podcast. It's an honor to be here with you. You know today, and this week marks, not today, this week marks the hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment. So it's a big week for women here in the US. And what a better way to sit here and honor Pink Granite, who does such great advocacy for women in politics, to talk to you. You've had a 20 year history and career of working in politics and government and I'm excited to talk about that and talk about women in leadership with you.
Katherine McLane 1:28 Ah, thank you. Well, there's no one I'd rather talk to you about that, than you Alice and nowhere I'd rather do it than Pink Granite, which I've admired for so long, and which does such a fantastic an outstanding job of highlighting women who work in the capital, around the capital, policy, communications, all of it. So I'm super excited.
Alice Claiborne 1:49 Well, first, let's just talk about quickly who you are. You're the CEO and founder of the Mach 1 Group. So tell us a little about that.
Katherine McLane 1:57 Oh, so my lifelong dream was starting my own business. And it took more of a circuitous route to get there than I expected. But about seven years ago, a little over seven years ago, I started the Mach 1 Group to help nonprofits, for profits, associations, industry groups, with regulatory and legislative goals. Whether they're playing defense or offense. Our team, we've all served in government and communications, and our seasoned folks who understand both policy and public relations and communications. We have been doing that work for seven years now. And we've learned a lot of lessons along the way, we've had a lot of victories. Not a lot of defeats, luckily, and we've had, you know, the great privilege of working with some really outstanding clients. So the work is super engaging, it's important. And we have an awesome team, which you are part of Alice, which I'm very grateful for. So it's like my dream come true.
Alice Claiborne 3:02 That's awesome. Well, that's a good starting point, because I wanted to talk about how we first met. I actually knew you through when Frank Ward, one of your employees at the time, was running for Austin City Council. And I was working for Ellen Troxclair, who at the time was District 8 City Council Member. And since then I have known other people that have spoken so highly of you. And it's, a lot of it had to do with they've just randomly dropped things about you like, oh, you lived in Germany, or oh, you worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger or oh, you worked for the Bush administration. They would just drop little things and it just made me so intrigued about you. I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, this woman is so well rounded." And I really, really wanted to know more. And so when Mary reached out about maybe there's a job opportunity, I jumped on it. So that's kind of how we kind of got connected.
Katherine McLane 3:50 And I'm so glad you did. Because as it turned out, you were the perfect addition for our team. And you brought an element to our team that we didn't have before. Especially with your background in media. You know, that's, that's something we didn't have before was somebody who had been on sort of the other side of the blanket in press. And so what you've added for our clients is amazing perspective on "Okay, no a reporter's not going to care about that," or "Yes, this is gold. Let's get it out right away." So you've been with us since late last year now? Is that right?
Alice Claiborne 4:30 Yes. Almost. Almost a year.
Katherine McLane 4:33 Yeah. Katherine McLane 4:36 It's almost your anniversary.
Alice Claiborne 4:38 Oh, well, thank you. What better way than being on the Pink Granite Podcast? But yeah, so I was with Ellen Troxclair's office and I didn't, never worked in government until I worked for her. My husband got a job in Austin, and we moved. He moved before I got here. We were engaged. I moved once we got married, here. I came from Houston. I was working in the corporate world, or I was actually media as a new, you know, news producer. So I never worked in government. So I kind of got hooked up with Ellen's office because Casey was interviewing her. And she mentioned "Hey, do you know anybody? I have a position in my office. I'm really looking for someone that can work on the media angle, and getting my message out there." And my husband was like, Yeah, my wife would be great. So that's kind of how I got introduced to Ellen. And it's just skyrocketed from there. So, and I know Austin's a really small town, compared to me, I grew up in inner city Houston. So Austin, to me is a small town. You know, for my husband who grew up in a very small town, East Texas, it doesn't seem that way for him, but for me, it seems like a small town. So you know, being connected and getting to know people has been really fun part about living in Austin.
Katherine McLane 5:52 So wait, how many years ago was that now?
Alice Claiborne 5:54 We moved in 2015.
Katherine McLane 5:56 Wow. Five years? Oh, wow. What an interesting five years to be in Austin, and to be in and around the Capitol, which you were - in Senator Campbell's office.
Alice Claiborne 6:08 Yeah. So I went from Ellen's office to Senator Campbell's office. And I maybe I have something about working with strong, awesome women I don't know? I do find myself attracted to, working with, and alongside strong, independent women. But that gets us started. You have such an interesting, as I mentioned before, interesting career. And I kind of want to walk through your process to where you ended up being a woman who owns her own business, in politics, and you work with women leaders. So let's talk about the journey here. So where did you, where did it all first begin?
Katherine McLane 6:44 Well, in a small town in Germany, actually, as you mentioned. So, this becomes relevant later on in the tale, but I happen to grow up in Germany. My parents were US citizens who loved living over there. Moved there with the intention of staying for like a year. And then, like, 12 years later, they realized, oh, our children are growing up German, which is fine, but you know, they are American and we kind of need to go home now. So we moved to a small town in East Texas called Palestine, small but mighty.
Alice Claiborne 7:20 I know it fondly.
Katherine McLane 7:21 Oh, yeah. Your husband's like just down the road.
Alice Claiborne 7:24 Yeah, he grew up in Jacksonville. Yep.
Katherine McLane 7:26 Yeah, that's right. We used to play y'all in football.
Alice Claiborne 7:30 Well him, not me.
Katherine McLane 7:32 No, that's true we didnt' play Houston, we were tiny.. But anyway, when I graduated from Texas A & M, with an English degree, I was one of those kids who had no idea what they wanted to do. Um, you know, my parents who were both public school teachers were like, hey, let's get you into the public schools. And I was like, oh, I so admire educators, I always have, but I was more interested in the policy level than I was in the front line.
Katherine McLane 8:02 So I had an opportunity, growing up to really absorb the importance of media, and paying attention to what's happening in government growing up overseas. My parents were very vigilant about following the news, making sure they were tuned in to what was going on back home, and you know, how US foreign policy could maybe affect us as we lived in Germany. So every night it was like, "Hey, you know, quiet down, the news is on." And then, you know, even as a little kid, I'd sit there and watch the news with my parents. So I always had this really strong appreciation for, you know, government, for news.
Katherine McLane 8:41 And I had an opportunity to work with folks at Public Strategies. And the truly interesting part was getting to work for Mark McKinnon, who was president but just finished the 2000 campaign, and had been President Bush's chief media adviser and, and campaign TV advisor. And it was, you know, the start of this new administration a Texas Governor going to Washington. It was an incredible time to be at a public affairs agency during those years, and I learned so much about public policy, about media about communications.
Katherine McLane 9:23 And I also learned if you're not one of the people who served in government, and you just you just lack of perspective, and the, you know, sort of the veterans at Public Strategies had and that I admired so much. So, you know, my goal after that was, you know, I have to serve somewhere.
Alice Claiborne 9:41 So how did you make it from Texas out to California?
Katherine McLane 9:45 So, in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on The Tonight Show, when Jay Leno was still host, that he was running for Governor. This was a time in California, actually that was kinda weird, after the Enron debacle, California had paid, you know, through the nose for energy as a result, and the people blamed then-Governor Gray Davis who had just been elected to a second term in office. So he was maybe a year into it, something like that. And voter dissatisfaction was so tremendous. That then Congressman Darrell Issa filed a bill that would allow Californians to recall their newly elected re-elected governor.
Katherine McLane 10:29 And I think he expected to run himself and win, but instead, there was this, you know, new contender on the field. It was Arnold. And he had to very quickly assemble a campaign team, because we went on The Tonight Show, he had you know, maybe a handful of advisors. And that was it.
Katherine McLane 10:46 And so he pulled together the previous Republican governor, Pete Wilson's team, just sort of like reassembled the entire staff. And one of those folks was our colleague, Marty Wilson, who was in Public Strategies' California office. And so I remember thinking, oh, there's no way I'll get a spot on that campaign. I mean, everybody and their brother wants to work on that. But it was another, it was another good lesson, you're not going to know and you're not going to succeed if you don't try. So phone calls were made to Marty Wilson, and I was allowed to come out and sort of pitch myself for the campaign.
Alice Claiborne 11:30 So how did that work? Pitching yourself. I mean, I know, I was nervous as a young person trying to like, throw yourself into something that you had no idea what you're getting into.
Katherine McLane 11:40 It was another, stick your neck out moment for me and fake it till you make it moment because I went in there thinking, well, at Public Strategies. I'm a principal in the media group, and I help write and produce advertising for clients with regulatory legislative issues.
Katherine McLane 11:58 I sit down in Arnold's office across from Marty Wilson. And he says, So what can you do? And I say, Well, I write and produce. And he said that we got that, what else can you do? So I ramble through another, you know, few items on my list of things I'm capable of doing in my, you know, brief career after college. And, you know, I'm starting to sweat a little bit, because everything I'm saying, he's like, we got that.
Katherine McLane 12:22 I was really fortunate to have a colleague at PSI, who was on President Clinton's advanced team, and the stories he told were amazing. And so thank God, from the back of my you know, hindbrain came the suggestion of "say advance." And you know, if you don't know what advance is, it's one of the funnest jobs on a campaign. You get to go out scout locations for your candidate's next event, whether it's a school or a military base, or, you know, production floor of a factory. You basically set the stage for that campaign appearance, make sure that the shot looks great, and that there are people standing behind the candidate, you know, wearing the right hat or t shirt. You know, from the moment he arrives till the moment he or she departs - it's sort of your scene to set. And so I said, I can do advance. And he said, "Great, that's what we'll have you do." And I breathed, you know, an internal enormous sigh of relief. And I was sent out to, with the advanced team, to go all over California a state I visited but never spent, you know, a huge amount of time in.
Alice Claiborne 13:38 Do you have a favorite moment that you remember from that campaign that you set up?
Katherine McLane 13:43 Oh, my gosh. There are so many. The funny thing about serving, you know, on that campaign and in the administration was, you know, I, as I mentioned earlier, I grew up in Germany. So I'm fluent in German, and I was the only person on that campaign or appointed in that administration, who was a fluent German speaker. And, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger is, you know, a brilliant guy. Hilarious, very fun to work with. And he had this habit of, you know, and I was a kid in the press office and in the communications shop, you know, I was not one of the higher ups in that administration. But he enjoyed turning to me in a meeting, you know, with maybe the cabinet or even senior staff, and just cracking a joke, you know, towards me, as I sit on the back wall. Where you know, the junior staffers sat. And everybody would sort of wonder, like, what did he just say? Is he talking about me? And it was sort of an inside joke with him. And it was it was really funny and, and fun, and I always enjoyed working for him. It was a really amazing job. And I learned a tremendous amount.
Alice Claiborne 14:53 Were there any mentors that you had when you were working in California?
Katherine McLane 14:57 Oh, gosh, almost too many to mention. The women that I work with there. You know, I, as I think I mentioned, I was one of the only people who came from the outside world to work on this campaign. Everybody else were, you know, former Governor Wilson, folks. And I'm certainly the only Texan to work on that campaign. So I was kind of adopted by several ladies on that campaign who felt sorry for me that, you know, I can't go home for Christmas, we just got into office, we have to, you know, get things up and running. So, particularly Karen Hanretty, who was one of the most brilliant communicators and spokespeople I've ever worked with, was very kind to me. I remember doing Easter and different holidays at her home out in California.
Alice Claiborne 15:44 That's super nice. So how did, I know you end up in DC? So was it straight from California DC or what was the trek to get to DC?
Katherine McLane 15:52 You know, it was a heck of a move. I don't recommend it. It's not fun.
Alice Claiborne 15:59 Moving is not fun in general
Katherine McLane 16:00 It was as cross country as it gets, you know. But I had an opportunity. I heard through Mark McKinnon, as a matter of fact, that Margaret Spellings, who was then President Bush's Secretary of Education, had a press secretary spot open. And, you know, Washington's, cutting your teeth and getting those bonafides, I think that was tremendous lore for me. And the governor was heading into a reelection campaign, there was a lot of turnover on staff, a lot of the people that I had worked with for years are heading out and going back to their, you know, their consulting practices or law firms or, you know, just their their lives the way they were before that crazy campaign. So it was a good time to take on a new opportunity. And I had the great privilege of working with some amazing people at the US Department of Education and seeing policy from the federal level, you know, as it affects states throughout our union.
Alice Claiborne 17:02 So I know you're at the Bush administration you're in the education department, you got a lot of criticism, just for the policy of No Child Left Behind, and you're in the press office, that's, your whole job is to sell good things. How did you deal? I know, we feel really defeated at times, and women take it more personally than men. So how did you go in every day, day in and day out with your team and be positive about selling this message?
Katherine McLane 17:29 Oh, that's a great question. Um, because I arrived from California. But yeah, I was pumped up, I was super happy to be there. I joined a press office and was responsible for managing a press office of people who had been, I think, you know, toiling in this vineyard, trying to promote No Child Left Behind for years. And, you know, I think the education community in America had drawn their own conclusions about it. But the bottom line with this law was, it held states responsible for having their students at grade level for reading and math. Now, if I told you that, like states have to get kids to grade level on reading and math, you'd be like, Well, yeah, of course. Right?
Alice Claiborne 18:15 Yeah.
Katherine McLane 18:16 Yeah. I mean, of course, those are your tax dollars. Like, yes, schools need to make sure that children are equipped with the basics that they need to succeed in college or in the workplace. But it was a, at the time a mandate that came strings attached, you know, if there was a requirement to report data, and if you know, those requirements weren't met, federal funding could come into play or be in jeopardy. So states, and schools now had to kind of work a little harder to report more data, you know, do a little more testing, and it was not not popular. It was indeed, a hard slog, trying to get out there and promote great stories about this law and about the children who've benefited from it. But every now and then we would have an outstanding teacher, who saw the wisdom who embraced it, and who, you know, was a champion for this legislation. And those moments were my favorite because you're so much better off telling your story through someone else who can validate it. Than you are, you know, stumping for your own initiatives.
Alice Claiborne 19:27 So Margaret Spellings, obviously, is a phenomenal woman. She's inspiring. She's probably definitely, I would say, the only person that I know that's like an expert in education, as well known as she is. So tell me about how working with her, such a strong personality, how is that? Katherine
McLane 19:47 It was fabulous. I mean, it was a life lesson for me every time I got to travel with her or staff her for an interview, she's so confident she's so knowledgeable and so poised, and you know, especially having a connection from Austin with her, was just tremendous. And she is truly somebody that I think of as probably the greatest mind in domestic and education policy in our nation. And I don't think I'm, you know, overstating that very much. She's, she's just an amazing person. And also just really fun to be with. And she's smart. She's funny, and, you know, very driven, but, you know, would always take the time for staffers and, you know, had a great interest in the people around her, which I always admired about her.
Alice Claiborne 20:36 I have another question, since we're talking about you being in DC and working in the press corps kind of in a way, dealing press daily, do you think now, it's very different than it would have been when you were in DC?
Katherine McLane 20:47 Oh, my gosh, yeah. So I was in DC, in, you know, 2006, 2007. And I think the landscape has changed enormously.
Alice Claiborne 20:57 How so?
Katherine McLane 20:58 Consolidation has certainly affected the media there as it has, you know, outlets throughout the nation. You know, when I worked in California, and we would set up a TV interview, like four or five people would show up, there's the reporter, the producer, the camera guy, his sound guy, you know, it was, it was a whole crowd, a whole gang of people. Today, it's one person, right. And they're usually sweating and running between assignments that they have to get done for the evening news, they probably barely know what they're interviewing you or your client about. And it's just, it's really different. And I think Washington is no different. Um, but I have to say, they probably never had better material.
Alice Claiborne 21:44 I mean, yeah. When the President takes to Twitter. That's his press pool. Twitter. Now. You know.
Katherine McLane 21:53 Yeah, the old you know, Bush, White House Press Office playbook has been long discarded, that's for sure.
Alice Claiborne 22:02 I feel like when 15 year olds in our country know more about what the President's doing and like other people. I mean, I feel like there might be more attention too at the DC level than there would be in past.
Katherine McLane 22:13 Oh, yeah. My 11 year old, you know, has a basic grasp of the administration and and what it's done. And I mean, that's amazing. That's the power of social media and the power of, you know, modern communications. It's just, yeah, it's changed so drastically.
Alice Claiborne 22:28 So I know you've been in DC awhile. How did you make it back to Austin?
Katherine McLane: 22: 34 Well, I'm definitely a Texas girl at heart. You know, I have lived here since 1983, with a few exceptions, obviously, California and Washington. But I love to state, my family's here. This is where my heart lies. So I heard about an opportunity to work at what was at the time, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, they wanted to kind of elevate their communications and Governmental Affairs operation. And they were in the middle of an incredible campaign. And so I jumped at the chance to come back to Austin to work with what was then a cancer icon, somebody who was probably the most effective cancer advocate in the world. Here in Austin so it was fantastic.
Alice Claiborne 23:23 I mean, I totally agree. I mean, I remember being in school, and every person had a yellow wristband, and everyone knew what it was like, you know, it was super, I feel like it was a part of daily life.
Katherine McLane 23:34 Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, when I started there, it was amazing. For the first couple of years, you know, we had this super motivated, true believer, very knowledgeable advocate, who was willing to do just about anything to advocate for people who've been affected by cancer, we're recovering to increase funding for research, and also support people who are, you know, fighting cancer. And, you know, this is somebody who has built an organization and but looked at the landscape first, and said, well, what are the other organizations doing? Well, you know, Susan G. Komen, American Cancer Society, they do an amazing job raising funds for research, but there are very few organizations at the time focused on a patient's individual needs, and you know, help them solve everyday cancer problems that they have to tackle. So rather than you know, raising funds for research that you know, are going to bear fruit, probably in you know, 15 years Livestrong under Lance invested in services and programs and support that helped people you know, in here now.
Alice Claiborne 24:46 Okay, so I know you had the highest highs at the Foundation, but you also had the lowest lows. And amongst this you were just raising your children. You're starting your family at this time. So I know I can't imagine because at the time that was probably the biggest media scandal, sensationalized that I can think of at that time. If you want to touch on that.
Katherine McLane 25:08 Yeah, I gotta say like that. I mean, you know, I've worked in government, I've kind of been on the firing line in my career many times, but it was never anything like this sustained negative attention over the course of two years on an organization that I truly loved. And that, you know, the people that I shared my days with, at the office, also truly loved and admired. And, you know, that I mean, having been a reporter, you know, like, you'd want to connect the dots, you know, if there's something fishy over here, then there's got to be something fishy over here, too. And so, you know, as media dug deeper and deeper into the Lance story, and his cycling career, and, you know, they tried to tell a similar story about this, you know, Blue Ribbon organization that had a tremendous board of directors from, you know, some of the most prominent cancer physicians in America, business leaders who help with fundraising, to a staff that had nothing to do with cycling, you know, these were social workers, public health experts, you know, the furthest thing from, you know, hills in France, so, it was wrenching in a way that I hadn't experienced before, because it felt like our organization was under attack, you know, unfairly. And, you know, we had to muscle our way through it responding to, you know, the New York Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC on, you know, daily, even a weekly basis, with, you know, negative negative premised stories over and over and over again. And it was it was tough, especially having, you know, a small kid at the time. And I don't know what I would have done without the support my husband who, you know, picked up every bit of slack, I left and there was probably a lot of it over the course of, you know, a couple of years that I was in the middle of that.
Alice Claiborne 27:47 So that's a good thing to ask about. What I know, okay, we joke all the time in our office, but like, because we're an all female team, about we always we always are talking about work, family lifestyle, work balance, do men ever really have to talk about that? Like, I feel like it's just maybe us women that are, there is like a whole industry about work life balance, and women just eat it up. But talk about how you've managed to deal that. Like, I mean, I'm just starting I'm 5 months in, and I have a five month old. But like, you know, you have two kids. So I'm curious to how you handle that stress and how you handle owning your own business, work life balance. I'm curious,
Katherine McLane 28:27 You know, I kind of look at work life balance as one more thing that somebody made up for us to worry about. Right?
Alice Claiborne 28:35 It's a good point. Katherine McLane 28:35 And I did when I was younger, I'd be like, God, my balance, is it? Am I balanced? You know, am I working too much? Am I not working enough? Are my kids getting enough attention, all of that. And, you know, I as I've gotten older, my perspective has changed a little bit. And it's now things fluctuate, and there will be times when you can spend more time with your kids. And so do it. And don't feel guilty during those times about I'm not working as hard. Enjoy it, because you don't know what's gonna, you know, come next month. I mean, 2020 is certainly been a year to prove that right. But there are also times when you're going to be working harder and have less time for your kids. But you know, during those times, what they'll see is a woman leader, rolling up her sleeves, doing important work, and they'll absorb that work ethic. So there's never, life doesn't give you a consistent kind of playing field all the time. You have to roll with the punches and worrying about one more thing like work life balance is something that I have excused myself from.
Alice Claiborne 29:40 I think that's fabulous advice because you know, as a as a new mom, I think that's important, I think understanding that like for I've been really blessed in this last five months, especially that we're working from home and our clients are still steady, which and we're adding more clients daily and it hasn't really affected how I spend time with my kid. I know that I worried about that a whole lot before I gave birth. So I think that's important to let young women know that when you do start a career, and when you take the position that you want to take in life, that not to worry so much about it. Oh, yeah. So it's a lot of it is self imposed.
Katherine McLane 30:17 Oh, my gosh, you couldn't be more, right. I, when I think about, like, all the hours, I spent worrying about things that as I've gotten older, I realized, you know, you're the only person aware of that, right. And you're the only person still hanging on to something that happened, you know, five years ago. So, yeah, if there's one thing I could go back and tell myself, you know, 20 years ago, it'd be like, hey, relax, and just don't worry about it. Right?
Alice Claiborne 30:46 As I won't, I won't reveal ages. But since you said, your 20 year old self, what would you tell your 30 year old self?
Katherine McLane 30:53 Oh, my gosh, you know, sometimes when you know how you lie awake at night, and you think through, like, what if I had done that instead of this? Um, I, you know, I think that's exactly what I would have said, like you're doing everything, right, just relax. And trust yourself, and, you know, have faith in the path that life is putting in front of you. Um, when I think about, like, jobs that I agonized over, or opportunities that I really wanted, that I didn't get, which, you know, we all do. And I wish I could go back and tell myself like, hey, don't worry about it. Because the better thing, it happens in two weeks. So you know, whatever happens, just roll with it, and you'll be fine. And don't worry.
Alice Claiborne 31:35 And talking about the better thing. And you left Livestrong to start your own company, as a mom, and as a woman, I mean, I think it'd be really stressed out start my own company. How did that come to fruition? How did you do that? tips?
Katherine McLane 31:52 Well, you know, during those years, at Livestrong, especially the latter years that were just constant crisis communication. We work with some very well known reputable firms. And there were times with one of them in particular, where you, yeah, you've got the New York Times calling you and so you call your you know, your highly paid consultant in Washington, DC, and you say, hey, you know, what do we do here? I have a pretty good idea of how to play this. But you know, what do you think and you know, you get a call the next day. And my, my partner with whom I started the business, Ray Holiday, and I would look at each other, like, is this really happening? This is crazy. And so we always kind of over the years, looked at each other and said, you know, if we were in business, you know, this wouldn't happen, we would, you know, get back to people at Mach 1 speed, and help them navigate something that can't wait. Right? Particularly when an organization or you know, person is in crisis. So, together, we held hands after, you know, some tough years at Livestrong. And we kind of jumped off the cliff, and I gotta say, I'm so grateful to Ray, because I don't know that I would have had the courage to do it by myself. But together with someone else, it you know, it was a lot easier to embrace the idea, like, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it together. And you know, if the business fails in the first six months, well, you know, I've got a husband that has an income, and, you know, I can go get a job, and that's fine. But we're gonna try this. And so we did. And it was terrifying. But really exhilarating too.
Alice Claiborne 33:38 That's awesome. I don't know if I would have had the courage. But what goes into starting a business like that? That I mean, there's a lot of young women that listen to Pink Granite, that eventually maybe have big dreams, starting their own company, maybe it's a lobby firm, maybe it's media, maybe it's like us and public affairs, but what is your advice to them?
Katherine McLane 33:57 It's not rocket science, right. And the biggest hurdle there was for me was the fear of failure. And that's another thing if I could dial back in time, and just say, hey, don't worry about it, you know, it's always going to be okay. And, you know, if it's, if it's not that, you know, you're not finished yet. There are a few things that we did early on, that really helped us, you know, we left our employer Livestrong. And after having, you know, giving a lot of blood, sweat and tears, which the organization really appreciated. You know, our, our defense of that organization and our, you know, continued proactive media reach to tell good stories, you know, it paid off. And I don't know that any other organization that went through what Livestrong lived through would have survived much less still be doing amazing work and helping people with everyday cancer problems. So they were our very first client. And, you know, I remember very nervously going to my CEO at the time and my chief of staff and saying, well, you know, I'm starting my own business. And you know, I'd love to, you know, continue serving. And they said, oh, of course, there was like, there's no question and, and, you know, I told them what I thought a good retainer would be. And they said, well add, you know, several thousand to that, and that's what we'll pay you. And so I had the, you know, the great good fortune of continuing to support that organization as a consultant. And that was my cornerstone client, you know, it helped pay the mortgage. Especially because right before we started the business, my husband got laid off from his job.
Alice Claiborne 35:41 Oh, my goodness, I didn't know that Katherine, that would have that would have been super stressful.
Katherine McLane 35:48 It was a little yeah, the stakes were already high. But I, you know, my fallback was like, yeah, well, we got another income if we really need it. And then that went away. And I was like,oh, well, this really has to work. So I was 100%. committed that helped too.
Alice Claiborne 36:01 Yes. I mean, I can't imagine that'd be very stressful. So I know what we talked about Mach 1. But let's go into detail about what we do. Because I think a lot of people know, like, oh, setting up interviews and helping right craft a statement. But we do a lot more than that. So let's talk about that.
Katherine McLane 36:21 Well, it comes down to what is the client's goal? Is it getting a piece of legislation passed? And, you know, our team works very closely with lobbyists. In fact, they are our biggest source of referrals. And mainly because we understand policy, we understand the legislative process, you know, as you work in a very prominent senator's office, you know, you you know exactly what happens in the big building. And that's an advantage, but you're, you're a consummate communications professional, as everyone on our team. So we design our campaigns or direct, you know, ongoing efforts to influence whether it's, you know, a committee or a specific group of legislators, or, you know, shift public opinion about a regulatory issue in favor of our clients. And you do that with every tool in the toolbox, social media, and paid media and digital advertising, appearances and opinion, editorials, TV interviews, like all of those things are weapons in the arsenal to send your message and to also so often, you know, what we hear is, we've heard this, you know, at the federal level, lawmakers need cover to embrace your issue. They can't, you know, so often just simply manufacture an interest in this issue out of the blue, there has to be maybe a groundswell of material in the press or grassroots. And that gives them you know, a great stage to seize that issue, make it their own, champion it and you know, do something great, and people, their district who are now aware of that issue as well.
Alice Claiborne 38:14 One of my favorite part of the job is that we get to work with a lot of leadership, and we actually help them build their confidence. And we offer a lot of thought leadership guidance, talk about how you love to work with women in leadership positions, maybe I know, we're not getting paid on this, but what about giving some free advice to women about how they can step up to be leaders, maybe some free advice here, guys.
Katherine McLane 38:38 Ah, here comes the free advice. Um, you know, find your passion, it's a bit of a cliche, but, if you're passionate about it, then it's not work, right. It's your kind of heart and soul. And, you know, we're working with somebody right now, who is a, you know, prominent member of academia, who realizes that she can use her voice to champion issues in a way that she never has before. So we've started an op ed campaign with her, you know, they are her ideas, it's in her voice, and we help her get attention to the issues that she really cares about, whether it's in, you know, national publications or, you know, state focused publications. And to me, it's the most fulfilling part Alice is helping women sort of find that voice and find the platform where they can really push progress on issues that they care so much about.
Alice Claiborne 39:40 I mean, I couldn't agree more. I think that's the funnest part of the job. And I love that part. I also want to go into you know, you do help women and leadership. What is your favorite? I know we're an all female team, but you once mentioned that you actually love to work with females, and you love to hire them. Can you tell me a little more why you mentioned that one time and I think it's a Interesting. So I want everyone else to know.
Katherine McLane 40:02 Oh, thank you. Um, I, you know, I've had the great privilege of working with amazing people throughout my career men and women. And I feel like, especially with the team, that you and I are a part of, like, you me, Mary Love, Molly Young, we have kind of a mind meld on. There's no like, explanation needed a lot of the time. We're just we're women, we understand each other. And we support each other in a way that is rare, I think in the workplace, and the flexibility that we all provide for each other, the collaboration, especially, I think, you know, what I've seen in my career so often is that women convene and collaborate in a way that is so supportive of achieving the goal, right. And it's, there's less, and I don't want to throw shade at the fellows, because I've worked with some of the most amazing guys in the world. And I definitely would not have had the courage to be where I am today were it not for some of the men who mentored me. But there's something about working with other women who, with whom you have that mind meld with whom you have kind of that secret language, with whom you share the same values when it comes to working, and getting things done and dedication to you know, achieving exactly what we promised clients that I just absolutely love.
Alice Claiborne 41:34 That's why you like to hire women, right?
Katherine McLane 41:35 I like to hire women, because we share a secret language almost, we share the same values. There's a commitment to collaboration, and consensus building, that I feel is the most productive way to work, and to work as a team. And that's something that I've enjoyed over the last few years, more than anything I have in my career.
Alice Claiborne 42:04 You work, I mean, I work as well, but we work and over your career you've worked with a lot of powerful people, really influential. So what makes a good leader? What advice do you have for other young women or other men who are listening to the podcast that they can obtain to step up to the plate?
Katherine McLane 42:24 You know, I learned a lesson, I'm listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger throughout, you know, the dozens, if not hundreds of interviews I staffed while I was an appointee in that administration, and people would ask him all the time, you know, well, you didn't get that proposition, you know, passed or you didn't, you know, your bill failed? And how do you feel about that failure, and he would always say something like, it's not failing, you know, if you set out to lift 500 pounds, and you lift 495, that's success, because you would have never gotten to 495, had you not pushed yourself to, you know, hit 500. And the fear of failure is such, you know, as we were saying earlier, you worry so much, you know, you're so afraid of failure, that if you can have the ability to serve, and be conscious of it, and put it aside and let the positive sort of shaped your outlook, and it's better for your health. And it supports your success. So, so often, we weren't worried about not succeeding. And that is exactly what's holding us back. Right? Because instead of devoting ourselves to, you know, the positive progress that we want to make, and we're worried, you know, we're lying awake at night and stressing ourselves out. So I think, you know, my first piece of advice would be just don't stress and don't look at it, attempts you make, as failure. They're learning experiences, right? And they lead exactly where, you know, you need to go in your life. Alice Claiborne 44:02 I think that's fabulous advice, because I do I think we always read those little cliches, it's like, failure is success. But it's hard to like, rationalize that. It's hard to like, you know, I think that's what most people say, you know. Fear of failure is real for a lot of people. And it's hard to get out of your head from that.
Katherine McLane 44:23 Yeah, absolutely. I, you know, I still battle it today. But I recognize it for what it is now. It's not just like, hey, the unexamined life is not worth living. And I need to think about my failure. It's, no, that's negative reflection and you're building out a negative feedback loop for yourself, that tears you down. And I think women especially tend to do that more than our male colleagues. And I wish we didn't. And I'm trying not to and I want to, I want to inspire you and encourage you not to either.
Alice Claiborne 44:59 As a business owner and a manager, what is some advice to tell other people that are looking to be a manager? What are some things that you've learned to be in that position is it different perspective than just being an employee?
Katherine McLane 45:13 Yeah. Um, it's hard to get rid of the employee or the appointee mindset. When you start a business, you know, that is ingrained in us over, you know, decades in my case. And so I still find myself every now and then even after seven years of running a business and thinking like an employee, which isn't a bad thing. It's just you need to shift towards what, where else can you grow? Where else can we lead? You know, are there areas that we can expand to where clients might have a, you know, legislative or regulatory challenge that you know, can be a solid communication strategy can help them overcome. Um, so that was, that's one thing that took me a while to get under my belt.
Alice Claiborne 46:03 Okay, this week is awesome. It's the 19th amendment, you know, celebration. So I want to ask, did you have a female role model throughout your career, your lifetime that you find that's valuable?
Katherine McLane 46:16 You know, I met my role model while when I was 12 years old, and Palestine Middle School, and her name is Sarah Hartley, and she has devoted her career to the city of Austin, she's been at public works. She's at watershed protection at the moment. And she's an executive who has devoted her career not just to public service, and you know, the city that we love, but also to reshaping the way women work in the city, and creating equity of work, perhaps there was room for improvement. And she's so devoted, she's so smart. And she yet she all and she's so probably has way too much on her plate. But she always finds time, to, you know, sit down with people she works with, and, you know, if they have an issue, or if they need guidance, or a little bit of counsel, and you know, she gives them her full attention. And I just, I admire her so, so much.
Alice Claiborne 47:19 That's amazing. I feel like mine's a little cliche in the fact that I would like to say, my mom, but my mom, you know, she went to college, then she worked as a teacher. And then my brother, she had some complications when she had my brother, so she didn't have been a stay at home mom until I was like, in middle school, but she felt she needed more, she didn't feel satisfied being a stay at home mom. So she started taking night classes, and then she got a Master's, and then she went back to work. And then I do think my mom working was really influential in my life. Not that I don't think that being you know, whatever choice is important to you. But I think her work ethic was really powerful, powerful, she was home, then she did school as still being a mom, and then went to work. And then she's never ever turned anyone down. And then she also went back in her 40s or late 40s. To get a doctorate, my mom has a doctorate still works working on writing a book. So she just kind of to me is the mold of like, your dream is enough, you can still reinvent yourself and do whatever you want at any age, which I always find like, super powerful.
Katherine McLane 48:21 Your mom is amazing.
Alice Claiborne 48:26 I think so.
Katherine McLane 48:30 I mean, like, you know, we're kind of stuck in the roles that we think were assigned to and we we stopped dreaming at a certain age like we've, we've had the kids now we raised them, we've got our job, we've got the career that we chose now we have to you know, sort of just continue on that path. But she didn't right, she kind of got out there and reinvented herself over and over again. That's so cool.
Alice Claiborne 48:55 Your career and politics and government has spanned 20 years. How have you seen firsthand women involved? And where do you see us going?
Katherine McLane 49:06 Well, you know, just the fact that we see more of our female colleagues running for office is amazing to me, and they're doing it in ways that are very different from the way womens campaigns looked. You know, 20 years ago, when you tried to be a carbon copy of your male colleagues, like I don't see that happening anymore. The campaigns I see that you know, featured female candidates. They are more open and down to earth and realistic about the challenges that especially their female constituents face, and than I think I've ever seen, and I admire that like women like Jennifer Sarver, they're sort of pushing the envelope on how to communicate in campaigns and using every tool at their disposal, which I admire very much and you know, as a result, we're seeing more and more of them in office which is absolutely thrilled about.
Alice Claiborne 50:02 We're not there yet. We need more.
Katherine McLane 50:04 We need more. And you know, you mentioned the 19th amendment. You know, I know you and I were talking the other day, and I was like, I wonder if they could see into the future and see where we are now. And if they would feel proud of us, like, yes, that's why we did this, or would they feel like, hey, how come there aren't more women? You know, I wonder.
Alice Claiborne 50:27 We still have room to go. But I do think and important tool us knowing thyself and just stepping up to the plate. In the words of my former boss, Ellen Troxclair, you just got to step up. And that could mean your community that could be advocacy, you know, that could mean a grassroots movement that could be running for office at any level school board to Congress and even president?
Katherine McLane 50:49 Absolutely. Yeah. I, I will gladly adopt that that quote from the great Ellen Troxclair. She's absolutely right. Alice Claiborne 50:59 I mean, I agree. Katherine, do you have anything else you'd love to mention or ask or chat about that? You want everyone on Pink Granite now?
Katherine McLane 51:08 Well, Alice, since we have another minute or two, what was it like in Senator Campbell's office?
Alice Claiborne 51:14 Well, first, I guess I should talk about when I worked at the city, because when I went to the city, I had like no governmental experience. I did work on one campaign in college. I worked, but I did a lot of the door knocking and signed the petition. So I did a lot of the grunt work. So yeah, so to be like a key, you know, key policy person and media person and, you know, at city level was really interesting. I learned quickly that got, you know, politics was more emotional than I anticipated. In the corporate world. It was definitely, it's all safety and, you know, numbers driven versus government. I feel like is policy and emotion, which is interesting that they should go together. Yeah. But it was a sharp learning curve. But I had a lot of lessons learned. It was really quick. It was really fun. And amazing. Ellen put together an amazing team, we had great coworkers. And despite the fact that we were in a unique position where she was a different different party than everyone else on council brought different viewpoints, we're always usually the ones being like attacked. So it ended up being a really unique situation. And because of that, it was more like a crisis situation. But also, we got to develop our own brand and our own voice and kind of showcase Ellen's abilities to be a leader. And so that was really fun. And so moving on up to the Pink Granite building, when inside working for Senator Campbell, she is a force to be reckoned with. She's a doctor, she's an emergency room doctor, she started off as a nurse. But then after a few years of working there, she realized she wanted to be the doctor everyone what to do. So then she went on to medical school. So she's a very determined person. And I feel like that is something that I'm attracted to in bosses and friends, this the drive to be to do something. And I think that's very valuable for anyone. So working in Senator Campbell's office was fun. It was unique. I thought we had a great 2019 session. I think 2020 is gonna be I mean, 2018, not 2019, 2021 will be really interesting. So I'm kind of curious about how it's all going to evolve, and what's going to happen, I do kind of have some ideas of what session would be like, do you have any ideas predictions?
Katherine McLane 53:28 Well, I mean, stating the obvious, it's going to be unlike anything, you know, you or I or most people in the Capital have ever seen. I think, you know, we joke sometimes that like lobbyists, you know, come in the schmoozer or worker variety. And I feel yeah, a pretty bad session for the schmoozers. You know, data is going to be more important than ever existing relationships will be very important. But you know, with the probably narrowed focus that this coming legislative session will have, you know, I think from our perspective, side of the building, it's going to be harder, potentially, to push the peripheral topics, peripheral causes, and I think the causes that don't have voices loudly championing them and, you know, stand to stand to lose, and there's a real risk for them. So what you know, we're preparing our clients to do is focus more on data and begin outreach on issues that you know, that you want prominently attended to and the session, you know, start now, if not, two months ago, right. So it's yeah, it's going to be a weird one. What do you think?
Alice Claiborne 54:46 I think this scope of work is going to be a lot less, I don't think they're going to get to be able to have the capacity to get as much stuff done as they usually do. So I definitely think what's going to get done, it's gonna be a lot less and so because of that, it will be be very valuable for people that need work passed or laws passed or anything they need done. It's going to be a kind of chopping block. Yeah. So as you said, relationships are key. I think that's an any job at any level. But as we wrap up, um, any final thoughts you'd like to leave our young or interesting in our male colleagues or friends that are listening to the Pink Granite Podcast?
Katherine McLane 55:26 Um, well, I think it's that, you know, when I was younger, in, you know, when President Bush was president, even before that, there was a sense of collegiality that we sometimes don't see anymore. You know, regardless of what party you are, regardless of, you know, your your beliefs about a certain policy issue. We're all Texans. And, you know, we are we're all in this together, and it's our state. And, you know, all of us care about it. And we may not agree on, you know, every single policy issue, but there's room for kindness, and there's room for supporting each other regardless. And so, you know, let love rule Alice.
Alice Claiborne 56:12 I want to thank Amy and the Pink Granite Podcast for having us on today. It was great to talk. And I just want to leave us with one final thought. In the last hundred years, women have gone from winning the right to vote to holding extremely valuable offices in government. I know it's been slow progress and sometimes uneven. But I know that our voices continue to be heard. So I look forward to a next hundred years to see where us amazing women can go. And I look forward to all the young women that are listening to this podcast and men, that y'all do some amazing things with your life. So in the words of my former boss, we all need to just step up. I love it.
Katherine McLane 56:53 Well said Alice. Thank you.
Alice Claiborne 56:56 You're welcome. Thanks, Amy. And thanks for having us on Pink Granite.
Amy Whited 57:06 Thank you for listening. Please visit PinkGraniteTexas.com to become part of our community. And follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, @pinkgraniteTX. And if you enjoyed this interview, please also take a moment to leave a positive review for a new podcast.