In the News–The Media
Sexual Harassment Reports in Steep Decline After #MeToo Peak
Jeff Green, Bloomberg, June 17, 2019
Public accusations of corporate misbehavior and harassment have fallen to their lowest level since October 2017, when allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement.
Twelve complaints generated media coverage in May compared with a peak of 143 last October, according to data compiled by crisis consultant Temin and Co.
There are lots of reasons the pace of allegations has slowed, said Davia Temin. The initial outpouring included decades worth of historical revelations, clearing a kind of backlog. The news cycle has also moved on, and companies have gotten more sophisticated in the way they manage both bad behavior and negative PR. […read more]
Is Wells Fargo stuck in the denial stage of recovery?
Kate Berry, American Banker, April 7, 2019
Since Wells Fargo’s phony-accounts scandal broke in 2016, the bank’s public and private reactions have diverged significantly.
After an initial bout of blame directed at the thousands of employees who opened the fake accounts in an effort to meet aggressive sales goals, the bank pivoted to a public position of contrition, saying it was dedicated to fixing its corporate culture to ensure nothing like that could happen again. That line was offered by then-CEO Tim Sloan last month when he testified to Congress, in which he said the bank had made significant progress in atoning for its mistakes.
Yet in private, bank executives and many rank-and-file employees have taken the view that the bank’s problems are largely not of its own making and have been overblown by overbearing regulators, scoop-hungry reporters, hostile members of Congress, and a system that has put its actions under an (unfair) microscope.
In short, the bank has appeared to be in denial that it has a problem at all, some argue.
“Denial is one of the hardest issues for a company to address after a crisis,” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consulting firm Temin and Company. “It’s not over just because Wells is ready for it to be over.” […read more]
Jeff Bezos: Extortion and Embarrassing Photos Won’t Distract Me
Spencer Soper and Jeff Green, Bloomberg, February 8, 2019
Jeff Bezos pre-empting the National Enquirer by laying bare embarrassing personal details may have been the easier task. Now the world’s wealthiest man needs to convince investors that locking horns with a powerful American media organization won’t end up hurting Amazon.com Inc. itself.
Bezos, Amazon’s single largest shareholder, stunned the industry Thursday night when he accused the Enquirer of trying to blackmail him, publishing tense exchanges with the magazine that included prurient details of his relationship with former TV anchor Lauren Sanchez. The saga now threatens to snowball, exerting even more pressure on a billionaire who already oversees the biggest online retailer, a space exploration company and a leading national news outlet.
For now, investors have shrugged off news of his personal life as unimportant to the value of the company, which posted revenue of $233 billion last year and a record-breaking holiday season. Now that Bezos has twice jumped in front of embarrassing news, the challenge is in maintaining the perception he can focus on his company’s growth.
“Bezos is that extraordinary, and Amazon is that extraordinary, that he can bring down a bully,” said Davia Temin, founder of the New York based crisis-consultant Temin and Co. “He’s got the courage, and the position as the richest man in the United States, and I think his courage in standing up to the extortion is going to outweigh the details behind the extortion.” […read more]
Les Moonves, The Most Powerful CEO To Face #MeToo, Is Winning. So Far.
Emily Peck, Huffington Post, August 19, 2018
It’s been more than three weeks since The New Yorker published Ronan Farrow’s damning article on Les Moonves, the longtime chief executive of CBS. The allegations were horrifying.
For all the hype about how the Me Too movement is taking down powerful men, nearly a third of the most high-profile executives and celebrities accused of misconduct since 2015 haven’t lost their jobs, according to data compiled by New York crisis consulting firm Temin & Co.
Temin started tracking this back when women were coming forward with accusations against comedian Bill Cosby, but the movement really gained speed in the fall of 2017, after the Weinstein allegations came to light. In all, the firm says, 483 executives and celebrities have been accused publicly, which it measures by being mentioned in at least seven major publications. Of that number, 144 have not experienced any professional fallout ― yet. That includes Trump, Moonves and Jeff Fager, the “60 Minutes” executive producer. Some may be under investigation.
At least four have already made comebacks, according to Temin. […read more]
The big picture: #MeToo has exposed hundreds of high-profile people
Haley Britzky, Axios, July 7, 2018
More than 400 high-profile executives and employees from across the professional spectrum have been brought down by the #MeToo movement in the last 18 months, Bloomberg reports.
The big picture: While #MeToo isn’t dominating headlines the way it was last year, the movement has still been at work behind the scenes. Davia Temin, whose firm Temin & Co. conducted the study cited by Bloomberg, said that while the accusation rate “has been slowing … the percentage of people being fired has increased.” […read more]
Hundreds of Business Leaders Face Accusations in #MeToo Movement
NACD Weekend Reader, June 30, 2018
A new reports finds the #MeToo movement over the last 18 months has opened the door to allegations against 417 high-profile employees and corporate executives, Bloomberg reports. The majority of those individuals are business leaders and executives—410 of them are men—from a wide array of industries, according to the report by crisis consulting firm Temin & Co.
Many of the allegations stem from incidents that happened years ago, but have only recently come to light. And while the rate of accusations has slowed recently, the percentage of individuals fired has increased.
“It started to become a tsunami, certainly after [Harvey] Weinstein, and it sparked other stories in the same industry and then across all industries,” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of Temin & Co. “I think it’s settled into a new plateau, but it is certainly higher than we’ve ever had before.”
Of the 417 high-profile individuals who were accused of issues related to sexual harassment, racial insensitivity, or other misconduct, 193 were fired, and 122 were either suspended, put on leave, or are having their actions investigated. […read more]
#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]
Hawaii’s Investment Chief Got Fired. Then the Gossip Started.
Leanna Orr, Institutional Investor, April 23, 2018
Firing the chief investment officer was the final order of business at the Hawaii pension board’s regular meeting on February 12. CIO Vijoy Chattergy was blindsided, insiders say. After seven years with the organization, Chattergy was told by his bosses that Monday that he was done, effective immediately.
When the news broke, people were just asking, ‘What happened? What did he do?'” By the time Chattergy’s ouster was hot industry gossip coast to coast — that is, within days — it was no longer a mystery. The narrative took hold that Chattergy had blown up Hawaii’s pension fund with a risky bet turned bad, then lost his job over it.
ERS executive director Thomas Williams initially refused to discuss the situation, though ultimately he notified the staff by email. Williams said what an organization’s leader should after executive upheaval, according to crisis PR consultant Davia Temin. He just did it a month too late.
“People are let go all the time,” says Temin, who reviewed the timeline and the documents associated with Chattergy’s ouster. “Whether the reasons are pretty benign or more egregious, the best practice is to act with the most elegance possible. And that means you allow someone their dignity as they leave,” she notes. “You don’t malign them or allow them to be maligned by doing and saying nothing, by keeping it a mystery. People will fill in that huge void with something far worse than reality — it’s human nature.” […read more]
America’s Leadership Crisis: Davia Temin
Richard Davies, How Do We Fix It?, March 30, 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]
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