From Cheryl Connor, writing for Forbes: Does anybody remember Lori Cheek? Those who follow my columns may remember my story about the intrepid entrepreneur who was famously turned down in front of eight million viewers by all five investors on Shark Tank and used the experience to propel her mobile dating site, Cheekd, on her own. TheObserver.com “That […]
From New York Times staff writer Michael Grynbaum: The toppling of Roseanne Barr — from her racist late-night tweet to the early-morning backlash and ABC’s axing of her highly rated show — took less than 12 hours. That is the equivalent of hyperspeed for businesses and brands that are accustomed to taking their time when […]
From Michelle Weldon, writing in Take the Lead: Gender may or not play a role in how a leader handles a crisis, but as a women leader, you can decide how you will behave. And it is likely you will have a crisis on your hands eventually. “A disaster is a moment of truth for […]
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] That’s the key question contained in this poster, from an organization called Civic Plus. It’s a good reminder to all organizations that communicating to stakeholders when an emergency strikes often needs to happen in seconds. That means communicators need to have systems and techniques in place in advance that can […]
[By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications] “What were they thinking?” That’s what we all ask when a big scandal unfolds, such as Penn State, Enron, Watergate and most recently, the Michigan State sex abuse scandal. Those on the outside are left scratching their heads, wondering how those huge institutions got so deep and so far […]
From our good friend and colleague, James Haggerty: In a crisis, it’s not the event itself that counts. It’s the response. Unfortunately for Facebook’s shareholders, it appears Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and the company’s other leaders did not understand this basic rule of crisis management when handling the Cambridge Analytica scandal. For my 2017 book, Chief […]
From Poynter: Within minutes of the school shooting at Parkland High School in Broward County, Florida, video of the shooting, including shots and screams flowed online. Graphic video of a bloody body gave a hint of the horrors that would unfold. Another student snapped photos while crouched in a classroom while another recorded SWAT officers herding children […]
From Ashraf Rushdy: Just prior to his sentencing, former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar formally apologized to the more than 160 women whom he’d sexually abused. He joins a growing list. Over the past few months, many public personalities accused of sexual assault have apologized in public. Many of us at this point are wondering what these apologies mean. Indeed, like […]
As has been said many times by those in our business, you can’t communicate your way out of bad behavior. It’s also true that silence doesn’t fix things, either. From Meg Fry, writing for ROI: Sexual harassment. It is common, career-altering and currently celebrity-driven. And it is a serious workplace issue that three New Jersey […]
Last summer’s deadly Grenfell Tower fire gave risk management expert Peter Sandman cause to consider whether a tragedy in one place should give encouragement to owners and managers of similar facilities reason to proactively talk to their stakeholders about similar risks. Conventional wisdom usually leads most to avoid drawing comparisons – or any attention whatsoever […]