Temin and Company

#MeToo Snares More Than 400 High-Profile People

Jeff Green, Bloomberg, June 25, 2018

At least 414 high-profile executives and employees across fields and industries have been outed by the #MeToo Movement in 18 months, according to data collected by a New York-based crisis consulting firm.

The study looked at national news articles that singled out people for sexual harassment or other similar misdeeds, said Davia Temin, whose firm Temin & Co. did the research. Individuals with at least seven separate, national mentions were included. That includes celebrities like Bill Cosby and Louis CK, but the vast majority are corporate executives and business leaders like Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, who resigned late last week after revelations of an affair with an employee. […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]

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]

Leadership at the Crossroads Part 3: Courage to Speak Boldly When it Counts.

Gloria Feldt, The Sum – The Meaning of This Week, April 2, 2018

This article’s author asks readers whether they plan to delete their Facebook accounts in the wake of the controversy that threatened to unseat the social media giant. She also looks to Davia Temin’s Forbes post about what Mark Zuckerberg should have done and said.

“Facebook has been larger than life in our worlds for over a decade,” said Davia Temin. “We have trusted it enough to bring it into our homes and bedrooms, our commutes and workplaces, our friendships and our families until it has almost reached ubiquity. So Facebook’s responses to such a larger-than-life issue as this — the possible dissolution of our sovereign decision-making process — must be bigger than life, too. And far, far better.” […read more]

America’s Leadership Crisis: Davia Temin

Richard Davies, How Do We Fix It?, March 29, 2018

With turmoil and never-ending drama in the White House, and record numbers of departures from top levels of the Trump Administration, it is safe to say that America is facing a leadership crisis.

This episode’s guest, Davia Temin, looks at how leaders can avoid the mistakes and embarrassment that could ruin their reputation, lead to their downfall and cause their employees and associates great harm.

She speaks from a place of deep experience and passion about the crucial importance of ethics, honesty and diversity, as well as the need for leaders to communicate quickly and clearly, especially in times of crisis. We learn about the do’s and don’ts of crisis communications as well as the benefits of coaching and training. […read more]

Zuckerberg built an instant gratification machine — but took his time addressing the trouble it’s caused

Jena McGregor, The Washington Post, March 22, 2018

After Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence Wednesday about the mushrooming Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s hard to argue the Facebook founder and CEO has said too little.

Zuckerberg wrote a 935-word Facebook post Wednesday where he said “we have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you,” outlining steps the company was taking following blockbuster reports about user data being scraped without their consent. He sat for interviews with the New York Times, Wired, tech publication Recode and a rare on-camera interview with CNN.

But despite the Facebook post and parade of media interviews, crisis experts argue Zuckerberg’s personal response came much too late.

“The higher the stakes, the quicker you want to plant your flag,” said Davia Temin. “And these stakes are arguably the highest of any crisis we’ve seen in a long time for a corporation.” […read more]

3 Important Lessons From Facebook’s Deepening PR Crisis

Ari Zoldan, Inc., March 22, 2018

Facebook hasn’t exactly been sitting pretty in the court of public opinion, even if many who were holding its feet to the fire over unscrupulous “fake news” stories and Russian-bought political advertisements were still using the social media platform. But the storm was perhaps breaking, and brighter skies — or at least neutral ground — seemed on the horizon.

Then Cambridge Analytica happened.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a statement that amounted to an acceptance of responsibility, and promised that the company would be making changes to its data security policies.

However, the response came four days after news broke of the scandal.

“In today’s world, I believe you have 15 minutes to address some kind of crisis when it emerges over social media,” Davia Temin told MarketWatch. Customers don’t like to be left in the dark. A quick repsonse is key to rebounding. […read more]

Opinion: Facebook’s Zuckerberg had 15 minutes to respond to privacy crisis — he took four days

Howard Gold, MarketWatch, March 22, 2018

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg finally broke his silence late Wednesday afternoon.

In a long and technical statement posted on his Facebook page, the CEO addressed the massive misuse of personal information in which a researcher was able to release data on 50 million Facebook users without their consent to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that worked closely with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

Davia Temin said Facebook missed its chance to shape the narrative in its favor, and Zuckerberg’s statement did nothing to change that. “This is a totally insufficient response, both operationally and emotionally,” she said. “Yes, it is prescriptive, yet strangely hollow, limited, unemotional, and lacking any form of apology.” She added that it made Facebook look like it was “fiddling while the world is burning.” […read more]

Navigating the United PR crisis

Amara Walker, CNNi, April 11, 2017

Amara Walker talks with public relations expert Davia Temin about United Airline’s handling of their latest crisis that sparked worldwide outrage, in which a passenger was dragged off the airline when he wouldn’t give up his seat on an overbooked flight, and how they can recover from the blow to their reputation.

To watch the interview on CNN, CLICK HERE.

In the News–Social Media