In the News–Crisis Management
Companies Caught Up in Trump’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Immigration Policy See Big Risks
Samuel Rubenfeld, The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2018
There is tremendous reputational risk for companies linked in any way to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy that separated infants and children from their parents as they crossed the southern U.S. border, according to crisis-communications experts.
It is hard for a company to defend itself if it is an identified participant in a global firestorm, said Davia Temin, president and chief executive of Temin & Co., a crisis-management firm. Actions matter rather than words in an issue fraught with such emotion, she said. “Anyone associated with this government action is at risk of reputational damage, serious reputational damage.” […read more]
Melania Trump Jacket, Brian Krzanich Intel, Instagram Grandmas: Broadsheet June 22
Kristen Bellstrom, Fortune The Broadsheet, June 22, 2018
Yesterday, we learned that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich had resigned for having what is being carefully described as a past “consensual relationship” with an Intel employee, a violation of company policy. While Krzanich is far from the first chief to lose his job over an office romance, his departure is instructive about the ways in which corporate America is attempting to digest the #MeToo movement.
While some companies might have once been willing to overlook such transgressions—even when the rules were clear—those days are over, Davia Temin, chief executive of reputation management firm Temin & Co., told the WSJ. “There’s a new level of rigor that says if something is on the books, it needs to be upheld and not ignored,” she said, noting that boards have become increasingly vigilant about companies’ reputations when it comes to issues of sexual misconduct. […read more]
Intel CEO Krzanich Resigns Over Relationship With Employee
Jay Greene and Vanessa Fuhrmans, The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2018
Intel Corp. said Chief Executive Brian Krzanich resigned for violating company policy by having a relationship with a co-worker, one of the most prominent CEOs to lose a job in an era of greater scrutiny over workplace behavior.
The rise of the #MeToo movement has companies hewing closely to policies on both sexual harassment and consensual relationships, especially for business leaders, said Davia Temin. “There’s a new level of rigor that says if something is on the books, it needs to be upheld and not ignored.” […read more]
Scrutiny of CEOs’ Personal Lives Rises in #MeToo Era
Vanessa Fuhrmans and Rachel Feintzeig, The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2018
Chief executives used to be able to operate with little scrutiny beyond their quarterly results. That’s no longer the case.
Decades ago, board members were more likely to look the other way on office romances and other matters considered personal, according to executive recruiters and corporate governance experts, but the role of CEO is more high profile than ever before, limiting the room for transgressions.
“There’s a new level of rigor that says if something is on the books, it needs to be upheld and not ignored,” said Davia Temin, adding that boards of directors are increasingly concerned about anything that might affect a company’s reputation.
Corporate missteps can go viral fast, thanks to cellphone cameras, social media and apps and websites like Glassdoor and Blind—popular with tech workers—where employees can anonymously share feedback. “It’s much less easy to have secrets,” said Davia Temin. “Organizations are more porous.” […read more]
You Can Eradicate Sexual Harassment in Your Organization
Dean Rotbart, Monday Morning Radio, June 10, 2018
To kick of his 7th year of hosting Monday Morning Radio, award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart invited back one of his most popular all-time guests, Davia Temin, founder & CEO of crisis management firm Temin and Company, to talk about a very hot button issue in America at the moment: sexual harassment.
To listen to the interview, CLICK HERE.
Crisis of the Week: Gynecologist’s Actions Bring Down USC’s President
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, June 4, 2018
University of Southern California President C.L. Max Nikias agreed to step down late last month, just over a week after allegations were made public that a longtime gynecologist at the school’s student-health center had sexually abused patients.
Mr. Nikias’ decision came after a letter signed by 200 tenured USC professors called on him to resign. It followed a Los Angeles Times report detailing accusations that university gynecologist George Tyndall for decades conducted improper pelvic exams on female students and made inappropriate comments.
A May 25 statement from the university’s executive committee of the Board of Trustees said the committee and Mr. Nikias “agreed to begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president.”
A May 21 statement from university Provost Michael Quick denied university leadership knew of the doctor’s improper behavior, stating: “It is true that our system failed, but it is important that you know that this claim of a cover-up if patently false.” Prior to that, the university issued statements about the matter from Mr. Nikias on May 18 and May 15, and statements from other university officials on May 15 and May 16. University administrators also are contacting students.
Three crisis-management experts evaluate the university’s publicly released statements.
Davia Temin, president and chief executive, Temin and Co.: “USC’s formal responses…ring curiously hollow. One of the worst aspects of some crisis responses being edited by lawyers is they can have a pulled-back, wordsmithed, bloodless quality, borne from fear of being quoted in future lawsuits. They appear to defend when they should apologize and make common cause with victims. So at the very moment USC needed to show itself to be trustworthy, honest and authentic and devastated, its statements made them appear otherwise.
“No crisis response needs to be more emotionally resonant, believable, and true than from a college or university. After all, the crisis almost always has something to do with young people, whose welfare the school is entrusted with protecting. I’ve written hundreds of such responses. The effort needed to show real humanity, corrective action, and trustworthiness, even when the facts are sketchy or ambiguous. USC’s statements do not universally exhibit such effort.
“The only statement that really fit the bill is of USC’s new board chairman, Rick Caruso, in his [May 25] announcement. That quote speaks compellingly of his personal outrage and commitment.”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
5/31/18: Ambien, Roseanne and company reputation
Eve Tahmincioglu, Directors & Boards, May 31, 2018
This week the news has been dominated by a racist tweet shared by TV sitcom star Roseanne Barr. And in an attempt to shift blame, Barr blamed the drug she claimed she was taking, Ambien. In a rare move, the Ambien’s manufacturer, Sanofi, took to social media with its own tweet:
Should companies weigh in on things like this? Should such decisions be a board issue?
“I think the statement by Sanofi ranks as the all-time best corporate quote/tweet of the century,” says Davia Temin. “They distinguished their brand and their company in the mind of the public for all eternity, and did the right thing to boot. A master stroke.” […read more]
The ‘Roseanne’ reaction: What protections does the First Amendment actually afford?
John Enger, MPR News, May 30, 2018
In the small hours of Tuesday morning, comedian and TV star Roseanne Barr crafted a tweet that was widely seen as hateful and racist. Barr has since apologized for her tweet, and claimed she was using the sleeping drug Ambien when she wrote it.
Davia Temin says Barr is beyond hope. “I believe in the comeback,” she said. “This is America. We all do. Roseanne is not coming back. This tweet was egregious enough, there’s no coming back from that.” […read more]
Paying for Trump Access Backfires Against Boards
Tony Chapelle, Agenda, May 18, 2018
Details continue to emerge about consulting deals that Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen sought after the 2016 election in return for perspective on the incoming president’s viewpoints. As the plot twists get more labyrinthine, some governance observers say companies that paid Cohen could suffer more reputational damage in the weeks ahead.
Still, even with the payments out in the open, the companies — and boards, by extension — have faced questions about flat-footed responses to the payments’ disclosures, and why the companies made internal changes only after the payments were made public.
“These companies tended to get their responses correct the second time, not the first,” explains Davia Temin, who heads a public relations and crisis management firm, Temin and Company. “By now, you’d think they’d get it right the first time. Own it, apologize, put in fixes and then move forward quickly.” […read more]
Elon Musk got bored — and shareholders took the hit
Jena McGregor, The Washington Post, May 4, 2018
Elon Musk may have said what many frustrated chief executives — eager to talk about big visions or new strategies rather than answer questions about capital expenditures — dream of saying in response to financial analysts’ wordy questions: You’re boring. Your questions are dull. Next.
But that doesn’t mean they say it — or would ever be advised to. Yet in Tesla’s epic quarterly earnings call Wednesday, Musk did just that.
Even if Musk is known for his unconventional approach, that doesn’t mean he has to be that way in every circumstance, said Davia Temin, a communications and management coach on leadership issues.
“If your personal brand is as an iconoclast, there’s a tendency to want to be seen as an iconoclast on everything, but that’s not what really works,” she said. “You want your product to be the thing that stands out. Not your demeanor on an earnings call.” […read more]
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