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Could It Happen Here? Talking about Somebody Else’s Accident.

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 […]


The Recent Tide of Apologies by Famous Men Has Been ‘Awful.’ Here’s What the Men Should Have Said.

From The Washington Post: The near-daily tide of sexual misconduct allegations against famous men has spawned a head-turning stream of apologies, acknowledgments that experts say have been generally self-serving and aimed at the public more than the victims. The apologies have often seemed obligatory, as the men offer excuses for their behavior or cast doubt […]


Lawyers Who Do Their Own Media Strategy Have a Fool for a Client

From our good friend, Gene Grabowski: A disturbing sidebar to the story about accusations that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein engaged in decades of alleged sexual misconduct features the performance of his former lawyer, Lisa Bloom. Bloom, who resigned after clashing with the Weinstein Company’s board of directors, was recently exposed for presenting to the board […]


A Lawyer, C.I.A. Analyst and a Crisis Management Specialist Walk Into a Bar

By Bruce Hennes, Managing Partner, Hennes Communications, written for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Bar Journal: Before James Comey headed up the F.B.I., he served as general counsel of Lockheed Martin Corporation. While at Lockheed, he spoke at the National Security Agency about how studying law is similar to the education intelligence analysts receive. “You […]


Celebrity ‘Fauxpologies’ Can Backfire

From Arizona State University: “Today” show host Matt Lauer expressed “sorrow and regret for the pain he caused to others” when sexual misconduct allegations were leveled at him last week, but added that some of the characterizations and stories about him were untrue. When humorist Garrison Keillor was recently accused of improper behavior by a colleague, […]


How to Stop Spinning and Apologize Like You Mean It

[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] Today Show fixture Matt Lauer was fired by NBC after three women mustered the courage to make public their allegations of his “pattern of inappropriate sexual behavior.” While Lauer said in his statement that he was “truly sorry” for the pain he caused, he characterized his behavior as “troubling flaws.” […]


The Future of Fake News: Don’t Believe Everything You Read, See or Hear

From The Guardian: The University of Washington’s Synthesizing Obama project took audio from one of Obama’s speeches and used it to animate his face in an entirely different video In an age of Photoshop, filters and social media, many of us are used to seeing manipulated pictures – subjects become slimmer and smoother or, in the case […]


Equifax Apologizes

We have never read such a complete and abject apology by a corporation. Not only does the interim CEO of Equifax apologize profusely, he clearly states what they have done and will do to address the problem, and he sets clear deadlines. It’s textbook crisis management. He also announces new products that may put the […]


Corporate Attorneys & The Court of Public Opinion

[By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications] “The house could be burned down before you even smell smoke.”   In 2009, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics set out to study how the court of public opinion can shape legal controversies. The sources were the people on the front lines – responses gathered from a questionnaire sent […]


Body Language: Telling Your Team How You Really Feel

From one of our favorite columnists, Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D: Do you know that your team is constantly evaluating your emotions through cues in your body language – and that they can do so in a fraction of a second? At the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at the University of Glasgow, researchers found that it […]


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