Must Reads
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
How boards and CEOs can prevent workplace sexual harassment
Jon Erlichman, BNN, January 24, 2018
Davia Temin, president and CEO of Temin and Company, joined BNN’s Business Day AM to discuss how companies can fix and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
To watch the interview on BNN, CLICK HERE.
A 15-Point Plan For Boards And CEOs To Eradicate Sexual Harassment In Their Organizations
Leadership, “Reputation Matters,” Forbes, January 17, 2018
As organizations wait for the next wave in the tsunami of sexual abuse charges that is rocking American business, board directors and C-suite executives are fixated not only on understanding their risk exposure, but on what they can do to get ahead of the issue.
The only solution – and the right solution of course – is for leaders of all stripes to seriously take up the challenge of quashing sexual harassment in their workplaces for good.
Davia Temin’s “15-Point Plan To Eradicate Sexual Harassment In Your Organization” is an actionable, and easy-to-execute game plan for serious boards and executives. […read more]
Don’t Be Weinstein Co. 2.0
Mary Lowengard, Institutional Investor, January 8, 2018
Davia Temin, president & CEO of Temin and Co., shares ten simple steps for corporate executives.
1. Sexual harassment is a C-suite and board-level issue. As an ounce of prevention, order an audit of every case currently under investigation and every case that’s been reported over the previous five to ten years.
2. Review previously disposed cases under the lens of today’s news. Hand over ongoing cases to a law firm for investigation, and secure crisis management counseling.
3. Any time it is determined that real offenses have taken place, fire the perpetrator immediately — or put him on leave, then fire him. Act swiftly and definitively. Actions speak louder than words. […read more]
Nightmare on Investor Relations Street
Mary Lowengard, Institutional Investor, January 5, 2018
A specter is haunting corporate America: sexual harassment. Forget being miffed over MiFID II, daunted by data security, or panicked over product liability. The next Big Crisis that will be keeping investor relations officers awake at night is sexual harassment, and it’s coming fast.
As sexual harassment has been prevalent in corporate life for decades, why would it surface now? It all started with Bill — Cosby, that is — says crisis management consultant Davia Temin, founder and head of Temin and Co. The Cosby affair demonstrated the powerful effect of victims breaking out of their “silos of silence and shame,: despite the risk of wrecking their careers. She describes what’s coming for corporate America as a “tsunami,” fortified by years of suffering and accelerated by social media. […read more]
Dying on the job: CEOs’ ages forces investors to reckon with succession
Jeff Green, The Financial Post, January 2, 2018
The same-day deaths of two aging chief executive officers show why some investors and governance experts want companies to disclose more about succession plans and the health of their executives.
CSX Corp.’s Hunter Harrison, 73, died Dec. 16, a day after news of his medical leave pushed the railroad’s shares down the most in six years. M&T Bank Corp. said Robert Wilmers passed away “suddenly and unexpectedly” at age 83 — just months after the death of his own heir apparent.
These earthly departures underscore the privacy, governance and legal issues entangled in one fact of shifting demographics: As the U.S. population ages, so too do corporate chieftains. The average age of a CEO has risen four per cent in the past decade and there has been at least one health-related change atop Standard & Poor’s 500 Index companies in each of the past three years, according to executive recruiter Spencer Stuart.
“What we’re facing is the new paradigm of work,” said Davia Temin, head of the New York-based crisis-management firm Temin & Co. “When people are in the zone of what they love to do, most of them are not going to voluntarily give that up. That means that people will work later, and maybe with a little bit more of an illusion that death won’t apply to them.” […read more]
Poisoned Apple Antidote: 11 Ways For Apple To Recover Trust After Its Battery Slowdown Crisis
Leadership, “Reputation Matters,” Forbes, December 31, 2017
The past several weeks have seen a string of mounting customer allegations against Apple, accusing the company of planning the obsolescence of its older 6 series iPhones through its last updates that limited those phones’ battery power and slowed them down significantly.
After radio silence, on Thursday December 28th, Apple finally posted a plausible explanation of why the last update indeed does hobble performance, and an apology, clearly trying to contain the reputational damage it has sustained.
While that explanation is a perfectly adequate one – it is too little, too late. […read more]
CEOs’ Advancing Age Forces Investors to Reckon With Succession
Jeff Green, Bloomberg, December 19, 2017
The same-day deaths of two aging chief executive officers — industry icons in railroading and banking — show why some investors and governance experts want companies to disclose more about succession plans and the health of their executives.
CSX Corp.’s Hunter Harrison, 73, died Saturday, one day after news of his medical leave pushed the railroad’s shares down the most in six years. M&T Bank Corp. said Robert Wilmers passed away “suddenly and unexpectedly” at age 83 — just months after the death of his own heir apparent.
These earthly departures underscore the privacy, governance and legal issues entangled in one fact of shifting demographics: As the U.S. population ages, so too do the chieftains of Corporate America.
“What we’re facing is the new paradigm of work,” said Davia Temin, head of the New York-based crisis-management firm Temin & Co. “When people are in the zone of what they love to do, most of them are not going to voluntarily give that up. That means that people will work later, and maybe with a little bit more of an illusion that death won’t apply to them.” […read more]
Liberty Tax Sex Scandal Draws Investor Suit Targeting Hewitt
Jef Feeley and Anders Melin, Bloomberg, December 13, 2017
Some Liberty Tax Inc. investors have lost patience with founder John Hewitt. A pension fund is asking a judge to order Hewitt to relinquish his controlling stake in the national tax-preparation service after an internal review found that while running the company, he had sex in his office and hired relatives of female employees with whom he’d had romantic relationships.
The Liberty case is just the latest in a string of firings of prominent men as sexual harassment accusations shake public figures in fields as diverse as the media, the U.S. Congress and restaurant chains. Even company founders such as Uber’s Travis Kalanick and the Weinstein Co.’s Harvey Weinstein have lost their jobs following harassment allegations.
Company boards are increasingly being drawn into the fray. “This is opening up a whole new area of liability for corporations,” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of Temin & Co., a New York-based crisis management company. “They have to seriously look at the risks this behavior poses to the company.” […read more]
Crisis of the Week: NBC News Faces Questions After Lauer Firing
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, December 12, 2017
NBC News is in crisis after it fired longtime “Today” show anchor Matt Lauer after he was accused of sexual misconduct. The move came hours before the magazine Variety published a story detailing some of Mr. Lauer’s alleged actions with female staffers. The day after the firing, two more women came forward to accuse Mr. Lauer, who apologized and said: “Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”
NBC News President Andy Lack issued a statement on Nov. 29, saying the “detailed complaint” against Mr. Lauer was a “clear violation of our company’s standards.” He said the priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe, adding “any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender.” At the time of the firing, the network said it didn’t know of any complaints against Mr. Lauer during his time at NBC, only to later say no complaints had been made to “current management.” Mr. Lack sent a memo to staff on Dec. 1, saying the company is reviewing Mr. Lauer’s prior behavior and that it needs to “build a culture of greater transparency, openness and respect.”
The experts break down how well NBC News handled this crisis from a communications standpoint.
“NBC’s handling of the Matt Lauer affair is a fascinating example of the almost-triumph of alt-fact and spin,” said Davia Temin. “In the end, though, it turned out to be a serious breach of public trust.” […read more]
Crisis of the Week: NBC News Faces Questions After Lauer Firing
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, December 12, 2017
NBC News is in crisis after it fired longtime “Today” show anchor Matt Lauer after he was accused of sexual misconduct. The move came hours before the magazine Variety published a story detailing some of Mr. Lauer’s alleged actions with female staffers. The day after the firing, two more women came forward to accuse Mr. Lauer, who apologized and said: “Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”
NBC News President Andy Lack issued a statement on Nov. 29, saying the “detailed complaint” against Mr. Lauer was a “clear violation of our company’s standards.” He said the priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe, adding “any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender.” At the time of the firing, the network said it didn’t know of any complaints against Mr. Lauer during his time at NBC, only to later say no complaints had been made to “current management.” Mr. Lack sent a memo to staff on Dec. 1, saying the company is reviewing Mr. Lauer’s prior behavior and that it needs to “build a culture of greater transparency, openness and respect.”
The experts break down how well NBC News handled this crisis from a communications standpoint.
Davia Temin, chief executive, Temin and Co.: “NBC’s handling of the Matt Lauer affair is a fascinating example of the almost-triumph of alt-fact and spin. In the end, though, it turned out to be a serious breach of public trust. At first blush, when Andy Lack announced the firing, from his comments it appeared NBC was really doing the right thing: getting ahead of the issue, showing moral courage to jettison a money-maker the minute they had evidence he sexually harassed one or more women. The statement was noble and perfectly done.
“The only slightly disingenuous note was struck when he proclaimed this was ‘the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News…’ as there have been persistent rumors about Mr. Lauer’s conduct. It seemed improbable this was the first time allegations had been made known to NBC management, despite their spokesperson’s later assertion this was true, at least to current management.
“However, Mr. Lack’s words and actions needed to be completely re-evaluated in light of the revelation Variety was about to publish that same Wednesday a damning report of Mr. Lauer’s being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. The Variety piece was the result of a two-month investigation NBC had known about—yet it only took action on the morning of the article’s publication. In this light, all of the statements Mr. Lack made needed to be re-evaluated, and came out wanting. Then it was NBC that suffered reputational harm, not just Mr. Lauer. If NBC News can’t face the truth about its own shop without fear or favor, how can we trust what it reports?”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.