A Reputation Management Lesson: Even the Legends Must Be On Guard – Constantly
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications In 1982, Johnson & Johnson wrote the book on effective crisis response – literally. Chicago was in a state of panic. Within just a few days, seven people had dropped dead from cyanide poisoning. There was no explanation until investigators discovered the link: Tylenol. Someone had laced Chicago’s Tylenol supply with […]
Crisis Management FAIL: Michigan State Paying the Price for Their Systemic Failure to Address the Nassar Sex Abuse Accusations
By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications On September 5, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was fining Michigan State University $4.5 million for “a systemic failure to protect students from sexual abuse.” The fine is the latest fallout from the Larry Nassar scandal, which has embroiled MSU in lawsuits, a succession of high-profile firings, resignations […]
What’s the Difference Between a Public Relations Firm and a Crisis Communications Firm?
From Stephanie York, JD and VP of Hennes Communications: From Wikipedia: Public relations (PR) is the practice of deliberately managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their […]
Take a Breath: Legal Considerations for Your Communications
From Madelaine C. Lane, writing for the Grand Rapids Business Journal: It’s a story we see play out all too often on the evening news: An organization or one of its employees is hit with a search warrant, subpoena or a civil lawsuit. Before the receptionist, communications director or CEO can turn around, a microphone […]
Presentation Tips: When Your Speech Stands Between Your Audience and Happy Hour
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications So you finally snagged a speaking slot at an important industry conference and you’re jazzed. You’ve tightened your script, added cool multimedia to your PowerPoint deck and you’re ready to rock an audience you know will be hanging on your every word. One problem. The slot you got is on […]
How Best to Convey “Executive Presence” Non-Verbally
From Dan Hill, writing for CommPro: From U.S. presidents to NFL quarterbacks, I’ve studied their signature facial expressions—looking for the patterns that indicate success. Maybe you weren’t the first choice for the C-suite corner office you now have, but surely you weren’t the 199th overall pick for the job (like the New England Patriot’s Tom […]
Cleveland Indians Pitcher Throws Fit, Hits Apology Out of the Park
There were strong rumors he was going to get traded anyhow, but the deal was probably sealed the moment Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer threw a ball over the center field wall in an act of frustration. As we’ve often counseled those who’ve committed sins both venal and mortal, apologies must be authentic, honest, heartfelt […]
When to Respond on Social Media: Some Rules for the (Frequently Rough) Road
Q. How do I know whether I should respond to a negative social media comment about our organization? A. We’ve worked with several clients recently that faced the challenge of negative social media posts going viral, attracting thousands of comments and shares and threatening the reputation of the organization involved. Before it reaches that crisis […]
Body Language and Leadership Effectiveness – How to Achieve ‘Executive Presence’
From CommPro, written by Dr. Nick Morgan, Author: Most of us think of charisma, or executive presence, as something mysterious and elusive that certain executives are born with or are trained to achieve in some executive school we haven’t been invited to. We all know we need that mysterious quality when we’re in front of […]
The Audience in the Mind’s Eye: How Journalists Imagine Their Readers
By James G. Robinson, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review: A central irony of the newsroom is that while many journalists’ decisions are made with readers in mind, the audiences for their work often remain unfocused, imagined abstractions, built on long-held assumptions, newsroom folklore, and imperfect inference. This is not particular to journalism. Writing, like […]