When Crisis Management is in the Dark: Front Seat at the Atlanta Airport Power Outage
[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] Atlanta’s sprawling Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) may boast awards for efficiency, but after electrical switching gear fried and fire took down power – and backup power – for 30,000 souls left stranded in the dark for 11 hours, ATL won’t be winning crisis communications awards any time soon. I was caught […]
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 […]
Got a Boss Who Denies Reality? A Behavioral Scientist’s Guide to Tactful Truth Telling
From The Conversation: ‘Tis the season for holiday parties at the office. While they’re great for building workplace camaraderie and team spirit, when was the last time a colleague – perhaps fueled by too much alcohol – said something so ridiculous that it made your jaw drop? Perhaps a desk mate went into something political, […]
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.” […]
How Social Media Fires People’s Passions – and Builds Extremist Divisions
From Robert Kozinets, at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, writing for The Conversation: The people of the United States continue to learn how polarized and divided the nation has become. In one study released in late October by the Pew Research Center, Americans were found to have become increasingly partisan in […]
10 Body Language Myths That Limit Success
From our industry colleague, Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D, writing in CommPro: Body language plays a key role in your career – from your first job interview to the ongoing process of building professional relationships to being perceived as having leadership presence. But not everything you’ve heard about body language is accurate. Don’t limit your success by buying into […]
Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Bad Apologies: Papa John’s
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications Papa John’s has delivered the latest example of a too-little, too-late, too-lame apology. As noted just about everywhere, including CNN, Papa John’s attempted to apologize on Twitter, in a series of tweets, after CEO John Schnatter said on an earnings call that sales of the official pizza of the NFL […]
Faith-Based Security Summit – Greater Cleveland
To make a reservation, click on Read More below. For reservations, click here.
The Future of Truth in the Post-Truth Era
By Howard Fencl/Hennes Communications Here’s a frightening quote from a founder of Wired magazine – perhaps the most frightening quote about the future of truth I’ve yet encountered: “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers.” The rise of “fake news” and the proliferation of misinformation – particularly in the social […]