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America’s Leadership Crisis: Davia Temin — How Do We Fix It? podcast with host Richard Davies
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Companies: Crisis and Common Ground — Let's Find Common Ground podcast with hosts Richard Davies and Ashley Milne-Tyte.
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Communicating with Authority and Compassion in Crisis or Opportunity — Voice America’s Out of the Comfort Zone with host Wanda Wallace.
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Leading Through Crisis & Chaos — Know the Rules of the Game® Podcast with host Desiree Patno & Special Guest Davia Temin.
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Temps at the Top — Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal.
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You Can Eradicate Sexual Harassment in Your Organization — Monday Morning Radio.
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Leading in a ‘Me Too’ Era
In the era of #MeToo, leaders need to know what to do to prevent the problem in the first place.
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Temin and Company is often quoted in print, broadcast and social media on topical issues as well as industry trends.
Following is a list of links to those articles, beginning with the most recent.
Ring’s Founder Knows You Hated That Super Bowl Ad
Jordyn Holman, The New York Times, February 19, 2026
Jamie Siminoff, the founder and chief inventor of Ring, the ubiquitous doorbell camera, was excited for the company’s first Super Bowl television commercial. The 30-second ad presented its product helping with a task as unassailable as apple pie: finding lost dogs.
But since the ad aired, instead of a victory lap, Mr. Siminoff has been on an apology tour.
Or maybe an explanation tour. Whatever you call it, he is responding to a genuine public relations crisis.
The commercial showed a new Ring feature called Search Party, which uses artificial intelligence and images from its cameras to trace a lost pet’s wanderings across a neighborhood. Critics said the feature felt dystopian, showing the potential for far-reaching invasive surveillance….
This week, Mr. Siminoff has made the rounds on TV news shows, trying to allay users’ concerns….
Davia Temin, a longtime corporate crisis strategist, said Mr. Siminoff was emphasizing the most important point in this particular maelstrom.
“A C.E.O. who acknowledges that his company wants to give as much control to the consumer as possible — that is as healthy as it gets,” Ms. Temin said. “Privacy will always be contested until we get to the next step.” […read more]
Agentic Age Demands New Oversight Framework
Frederic Lee, Agenda, February 2, 2026
As advancements in artificial intelligence technology progress at a rapid clip, business leaders fear being left behind technologically.
Companies are regularly rolling out new tools developed from AI technology, lately including agentic AI, which can autonomously perform tasks and make decisions with minimal human intervention. As a result, directors need to meet the new oversight demands that these new AI developments call for, which includes taking advantage of the new technology themselves, sources tell Agenda. That will allow them to understand the advantages — and the drawbacks.
Agentic AI refers to an AI system where the AI doesn’t just take orders but is programmed to generally run itself as an “agent,” Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc., told Agenda. Such a process raises workforce and workflow questions due to the lack of a human control, she explained. “This is a whole new area.”
Directors must stay educated in order to deal with technological advancements like agentic AI, said Temin, emphasizing “good board hygiene” practices such as bringing in educational speakers for board meetings. More and more, business leaders are also working with technological experts for help with strategic planning, said Temin. […read more]
How Boards Should Monitor Sexual Misconduct Claims
Nick Muscavage, Agenda, November 3, 2025
The shareholder lawsuit claiming that the board of one of the fastest-growing realty firms in the world failed to properly oversee rape allegations is a stark reminder to boards that they need to be monitoring and responding to sexual misconduct at their companies….
Once an independent investigation is started, the investigative body reports directly to the board, usually through the audit or risk committee, according to Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc.
It’s important that these investigations be conducted by an independent law firm or organization, she said. […read more]
Preventing a Crisis in Trust: How to Operate When Financial Stats Blur
Frederic Lee, Agenda, September 29, 2025
America’s corporate top brass sounded an alarm this month over President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, according to polling from the Yale School of Management Chief Executive Leadership Institute’s CEO summit.
Some 80% of the CEOs who attended the summit said Trump was not acting in the best interest of the country in doing so.
Some 71% said Fed independence had been eroded by the Trump administration’s actions….
Experts suggest these moves could degrade trust in official data, ultimately destabilizing business. Boards rely on accurate forecasts from the Fed, BLS and other agencies to plan investments and chart the businesses they oversee along the right paths.
However, there are numerous tactics that board directors can implement in order to stabilize their businesses in times of uncertainty — and avoid a crisis of trust, sources tell Agenda.
When the legitimacy of independent institutions such as the Federal Reserve and BLS come under attack, it can be disorienting, but one tool that directors can apply is to scenario plan, said Davia Temin, president and CEO of reputation and crisis management consultancy Temin and Company Inc.
Coming up with five to 10 different possible scenarios helps companies to mentally prepare for the unknown in wake of a potential lack of credible information, said Temin. When business leaders lack access to reliable insight and data, they can’t make informed decisions, and the role of the board is to make the most highly informed decisions possible, she added. […read more]
The True Cost of Firing a CEO
Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg, August 19, 2025
When Starbucks Corp. tapped Brian Niccol as chief executive officer in 2024, it cited the “critical need for a transformative leader” in justifying the hire. If performance significantly improves, stock payouts mean the corner-office switch could cost the company $130 million.
Finding the new CEO, negotiating his or her new contract and communicating the change in leadership to investors, the media, employees and other stakeholders are tasks typically delegated to outside experts.
Clients “usually want you 25 hours a day and eight days a week,” said Davia Temin, founder and CEO of crisis-communications firm Temin & Co. A CEO ouster and replacement “will take even more time,” she added. How much more? Temin shrugged: “I can’t even begin to estimate.” […read more]
In Changing Times, Boards Are Looking for These Key CEO Traits
Frederic Lee, Agenda, August 18, 2025
CEOs who can reach across ideological differences are becoming more attractive.
Whether it be shifting trade practices, the onset and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in the workforce or ideological tensions, the current business environment is leading boards to home in on certain select leadership traits when thinking about CEO succession.
Namely, digital fluency — and being able to capitalize on the emerging digital landscape — has skyrocketed in terms of importance, even within the last few years….
Knowing how to triumph through disruption is the key to success today, Davia Temin, president and CEO of reputation and crisis management consultancy Temin and Company Inc., told Agenda. “Whether it’s tariffs, AI, chat bots, regulatory reversals or even civil unrest, a leader earns his or her stripes by navigating profitably through the chop,” she wrote in an email.
Yet many corporate leaders claim they’re reaching a “line of demarcation,” wrote Temin, explaining that, while these folks are happy to lead through the storm, the current state of affairs is getting “too wild and crazy.” […read more]
Kiss-Cam Incident a Stark Reminder for Boards — and CEOs — That ‘Wink-Wink’ Days Are Over
Lindsay Frost, Agenda, August 11, 2025
Social media erupted last month when footage at a Coldplay concert revealed that tech company Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was having an intimate moment with Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot. But such an incident is not isolated.
Between Jan. 1, 2017, and July 20, 2025, there were 44 CEOs at Russell 3000 companies who left related to misconduct allegations, seven of which were linked to employee relationships, according to an Exechange analysis of CEO departures. Both Byron and Cabot stepped down shortly after the video made waves.
Social media and heightened employee scrutiny have made these incidents more public and thus created a bigger impact on company reputation, sources told Agenda. For boards, it’s increasingly important not only to ensure the CEO is aware of and signs policies related to employee relationships and codes of conduct broadly, but also to have strong communications, succession and other mitigation plans in place to take charge of and restore stakeholder faith in the company if such an event occurs.
“We are in a transition from the ‘wink-wink, nod-nod, just don’t let us catch you’ period to now saying, ‘If we ask our people to abide by these rules, we have to abide by them, too,'” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc. And it’s up to the board to lead this effort, she added. […read more]
Is the Great Remote Work Experiment Over?
Frederic Lee, Agenda, July 21, 2025
Starbucks is the latest big company to ramp up in-office requirements for corporate staff, as chief executive Brian Niccol issued a directive to workers last week raising the time required on-site to four days per week, rather than three.
A number of different work philosophies have emerged in recent years, said Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc. Temin said that when she first started working, she had one answer for every request from bosses: Yes.
But now, work-life balance concerns are shifting some workers’ approach. One such example is when workers reject certain job tasks because of personal responsibility, such as having to pick up their children from school.
Meanwhile, the debate over the benefits and drawbacks of remote and hybrid work has roiled the corporate world since companies moved large swaths of their workforces off-site during pandemic-induced social distancing measures in 2020 and 2021. When and how often to bring them back has been a matter of intense debate ever since.
Many employees at traditional industrial companies and those that produce a physical product don’t have the option of not being present, said Temin. CEOs may want white-collar workers at those companies to also come in out of a sense of fairness.
Meanwhile, CEOs of more white-collar sectors initially seemed inclined toward a flexible work setup for employees that could involve remote work, said Temin. […read more]
Performance Failures and Misconduct Drive Latest CEO Firings
Lindsay Frost, Agenda, April 21, 2025
A record number of CEOs were likely pushed out of their roles in the past year, according to a new analysis from CEO-exit research firm Exechange. This is largely due to performance issues, policy violations and misconduct, sources said.
These decisions don’t come lightly for boards and often simmer behind the scenes before the decision is made. It’s important for boards to try to avoid these situations by setting clear expectations for the chief exec. Still, if they must show their CEO the door, they should be careful about communication and be prepared for legal and other consequences, sources said. They should also have an emergency succession plan to fall back on.
“There’s nothing worse than feeling that you need to let go of your CEO,” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc. “But none of it should be a surprise because expectations from the board should be made clear. We’re not all born knowing how to be a CEO.” […read more]
CEO Bravado Risks ‘Trivializing’ Geopolitical Crisis
Frederic Lee, Agenda, August 9, 2024
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has found a new potential opponent in the ring in Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who challenged Musk to a matchup after the billionaire questioned Maduro’s proclaimed victory in his country’s recent presidential election.
The back-and-forth amounts to theatrical gamesmanship and telegraphed testosterone — similar to last year’s much-hyped showdown between Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc., told Agenda. Yet Musk has now gone “way beyond that” in his new situation involving the Venezuelan election.
Business leaders need to take great care in terms of the weight of their words, said Temin. In the intense current geopolitical environment, it’s a time for deliberation, moderation and “trying to cool things down — not heat them up.” Boards need to think through their positions before going public with them, she said. […read more]
Podcasts »
Leading Through Crisis & Chaos
Know the Rules of the Game® Podcast: with host Desiree Patno & Special Guest Davia Temin.
To listen, Click Here.
Temps at the Top — Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal
To listen, Click Here.
You Can Eradicate Sexual Harassment in Your Organization — Monday Morning Radio
To listen, Click Here.
...more »