INPOWERD Four Principles for Compliance Program Success

By

Earl Shockley

There has been a lot angst, discussion, and Scuttlebutt (Navy term) since NERC levied the largest and most significant CIP regulatory fine. 10M dollars sure got the attention of the energy industry. Since the announcement, I received many calls from the media, regulators, clients and curious industry people seeking my input on the issue.

In response, I have written a short article that summarizes my thoughts and provides four-key principles that will help your organization avoid the same pitfalls outlined in NERC findings and strengthen your Compliance Programs capability for success. I captured these principles during my days as a regulator when I had the golden opportunity to look closely at the success factors of organizations and the dysfunctions that contributed to those who fell short. I have helped clients implement these principles to successfully strengthen and bring value to the Compliance Program.

I hope you find the article of value. You can find the article @ https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6501204399854014465

About the Author

Earl Shockley

President and CEO of INPOWERD

earl.shockley@INPOWERD.com

Short Bio

Earl W. Shockley is the President and CEO of INPOWERD LLC and a nationally respected authority on NERC reliability, compliance strategy, and grid-risk governance. With more than 40 years of experience in real-time system operations, regulatory oversight, and enterprise risk management, he brings rare operational and regulatory depth to the challenges facing today’s electric grid. A former NERC executive and certified auditor, Earl has led or supported over 100 compliance and enforcement engagements, including audits, investigations, and major blackout reviews. He now serves as a trusted executive advisor and leadership coach to utility boards, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior executives, and frontline leaders helping them strengthen decision-making, clarify accountability, and align governance, culture, and internal controls with reliable outcomes. Through INPOWERD, Earl helps organizations move beyond check-the-box compliance to build resilient, accountable cultures. His leadership approach blends real-world regulatory experience with trust-based leadership, adaptive leadership skills, and emotional intelligence empowering leaders to manage risk, navigate uncertainty, and protect reliability while strengthening public trust.

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