In the News–Leadership & Strategy
The need for sleep: Elon Musk and the perils of working around the clock
Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani, BNN Bloomberg, August 24, 2018
Burning the midnight oil at work? Many of us are guilty of it. But Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk’s admission in a New York Times interview that he works 120 hours a week on little sleep has sparked a debate about workplace culture and how productive senior executives can be under grueling work schedules.
Everyone from Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington to workplace experts have weighed in on Musk’s need to slow down and recharge. But will taking a break make an impact on the fast-paced and pressurized work culture in the corporate world?
While founder-driven companies typically have a sense of urgency to succeed, there is a fine line between achieving those goals and fostering an “over-stressed mania,” said Davia Temin, CEO of New York-based management consultancy Temin and Company.
Musk’s work ethic is not unusual when you look at other tech leaders like Apple Inc.’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. But Temin adds that Musk’s “acting out” could be stressing out Tesla’s employees.
“If Musk were a moderate man he would never have accomplished what he has,” Temin said. […read more]
Uber’s Founder/CEO Got Too Much Deference From the Board, Says Former A.G.
Dan Bigman, Chief Executive, June 25, 2018
When boards are in awe of founder CEOs, bad things can happen. Just ask former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
If Holder was to sum up the board’s role in the cultural meltdown at Uber that almost derailed the company, it is that directors gave too much deference to founder/CEO Travis Kalanick. This is something, he says, that boards need to pay particular attention to in an era of superstar founder/CEOs and unicorn valuations.
“It used to be that the board might either tolerate bad behavior, or publicly support a CEO while privately chastising him relentlessly. Regardless, he or she would stay,” said Davia Temin. “More recently, however, given the outsized attention to serious CEO misbehavior, boards really have little choice—they must react, and act, quickly and decisively.” […read more]
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]
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.
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.
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.
“USC’s formal responses…ring curiously hollow,” said Davia Temin. “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.” […read more]
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]
Why You Should Serve on a Board Now
Jan Alexander, Robb Report’s Muse, May 29, 2018
If you follow the news of workplace sexual misconduct—and who doesn’t these days?—you’ve no doubt heard that investors in any number of companies are clamoring for more women on the board of directors. There are two great reasons for highly accomplished women to serve on the boards of corporations both large and small. One reason is that they need you—and not just because of Me Too. The other reason to serve on a board is that the experience will do a lot for your professional savvy, even when you’re at the top of your game, which you pretty much have to be.
Charges of sexual harassment or any kind of discrimination are a risk to a company’s reputation and therefore its shareholder value—and women board members and executives are the best assurance against a “wink-wink, nod-nod” culture, as Davia Temin puts it. Temin has been advising corporations about how to avoid becoming “Weinstein Co. 2.0“, but she says boards also need women because “some of the smartest and most thoughtful governance is being done by companies that have more women on their boards.” […read more]
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