A Discussion of What Women Can and Cannot Control About Their Leadership Presence
From Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman: You may have a leadership title, or tremendous leadership potential, but that in itself doesn’t give you leadership presence. These are typical comments I hear when asked to coach an up-and-coming female whose career has stalled: “It isn’t that she couldn’t do the next job. It’s that no one on the […]
Why We Should All Avoid the Jussie Smollett-Style Rush To Judgment
From our good friend and colleague, Richard Levick: We still don’t know all the facts surrounding Jussie Smollett – so let’s not rush to condemnation with the same fury his supporters rushed to judgment about his “attackers.” As troubled as he may be, he is entitled to due process. The latest evidence presented by the Chicago police, however, points […]
The New Law of Litigation Communications: Your Case Will Now Be Heard – On Facebook
By Thom Fladung, Managing Partner, Hennes Communications The Court of Public Opinion is now in session. In fact, it’s always in session – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets. The practice of litigation communications or litigation public relations is young, as legal and communications matters go, emerging in the early 1980s, according to […]
Today’s Q&A: “No Comment”
How do you handle the situation where you’re dealing with a client whose attorney doesn’t want to issue a statement other than, “No Comment”? [By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications] As an attorney, I understand the knee-jerk instinct to say “We don’t comment on pending litigation.” When we are faced with attorneys who counsel their […]
How to Say ‘I’m Sorry,’ Whether You’ve Appeared in a Racist Photo, Harassed Women or Just Plain Screwed Up
Written by Lisa Leopold, Associate Professor of English Language Studies, The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Middlebury. “I’m sorry.” These two words may seem simple, but the ability to express them when you’re in the wrong is anything but – particularly for those in the public eye. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, to […]
School Shooting PR Consultant Apologizes After Calling Critics ‘Crazies’ and Reporter ‘Skanky’
From the Sun Sentinel: crisis public relations consultant created a crisis of her own for the Broward school district, after a video came to light in which she dismissed the district’s critics in the Parkland massacre as “crazies” and called a reporter a “skanky” “jerk” who “smells bad.” Sara Brady, who was paid nearly $75,000 to assist […]
Going to School on Crisis Management
[By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] David Wolowitz is a brilliant attorney who advises independent schools all over the world on every prickly nuance of crisis management and risk avoidance. He recently penned “A Crisis is Coming. Is Your Board on Board?” that offered seven steps independent schools should take to plan for, and deal with, […]
A Playbook for CEOs Attacked by Trump: Thrust, Parry, Ignore
From Kevin Miller, writing for Bloomberg: (Bloomberg) — Bosses of the world’s largest corporations are still learning to deal with one modern peril: when President Donald Trump shows he’s not afraid to call them out on Twitter. General Motors Corp. is the latest example. Even though Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra reached out to to […]
The Body Language of Collaboration
From Carol Kinsey Goman: Most leaders agree that effective collaboration is more important than ever in today’s turbulent business environment. But the collaboration so critical to organizations is being blocked by internal power struggles, by a lack of unified goals and rewards, by a self-preservation instinct that results in information hoarding — and, perhaps surprisingly, […]
Damage Control: Recovering Your Firm’s Reputation After a Breach
From Kathy O’Brien, writing in the National Law Review: You can regain trust after a cyber breach. Here’s how. In March 2016, the FBI warned that hackers were targeting large international law firms to steal confidential client information and use it for insider trading, corporate espionage and other criminal purposes. Are law firms any more secure now? […]