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 […]
John Skipper, the former network chief, goes public in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the real reason behind his abrupt departure from Disney after 27 years, a confession to Bob Iger and his hope to work in sports media again. As we always tell our clients: Tell the truth, tell it all and […]
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] It is a sad commentary on our times, but more and more of our work now involves helping clients who are dealing with the aftermath of misbehavior among their leadership ranks. Accusations of sexual misconduct, charges of criminal behavior, questionable ethical behavior and significant violations of organizational policies can all […]
[By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications] Once again, United Airlines is tone-deaf when it comes to saying it’s sorry. Here’s the story, from the Washington Post: United Airlines said it will “assume full responsibility” for the death of a 10-month-old puppy that appeared to have suffocated after it was placed inside an overhead compartment on a three-hour flight […]
[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] Don’t give me your phony grief. Don’t pawn off insincere, off-the-shelf template language just because you feel your organization must say something – anything – after a tragedy. Another school shooting? “Thoughts and prayers.” Environmental catastrophe? “Thoughts and prayers.” Industrial fatality? Well, you get it. And you’ve seen it recited […]
By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications NOTE: While this article is aimed at school-related allegations of sexual misconduct, the lessons here are applicable to all market sectors. As we have seen on the national stage recently, there appears to be no statute of limitations when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct. Thanks especially to the […]
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 […]
The Penn State – Joe Paterno situation immediately grabbed public attention. But it took way too long for the Michigan State University gymnastics scandal to capture the country’s attention. Here’s why. From Alex Putterman, writing for The Atlantic: It was an arresting moment, even on a day full of them. The Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman […]
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 […]
This is the way airplane delays should be handled. And, just what we counsel. From writer Jeff Haden: I was sitting in a gate area at the Atlanta airport, waiting to board flight Delta flight 2074 to Norfolk, Virginia, when a gate agent announced, “We’re sorry, but boarding will be delayed while the mechanics take […]