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.
Does Greenpeace use social media better than Shell?
Kidsleepy, Adland TV, June 14, 2012
Who won the Greenpeace-Shell social media face-off? This author argues Greenpeace’s “Let’s Go” spoof ad and open invitation for internet users to create their own anti-Shell memes may not have been quite so savvy after all. […read more]
Why women on boards isn’t enough: An argument for gender-balanced leadership style
Dana Theus, InPower Women, June 14, 2012
While many would agree that “women are good for business,” most global companies are far from achieving true gender parity in corporate executive leadership. Rather than add more women to boards, Dana Theus advocates for companies to implement “gender-balanced” leadership. […read more]
Database checklist: Key academic research resources–both free and restricted
John Wihbey, Journalist’s Resource, June 14, 2012
A comprehensive list of academic sources for research. […read more]
Queen Bees, Mentors, and the Female Boss Problem
Diane Brady, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 13, 2012
How prevalent are “queen bees” in the workplace today? Not very, according to a study by Catalyst. Research shows that women know how to “pay it forward” when it comes to helping their female colleagues and do so often, to their financial benefit. […read more]
Fairy Godmothers, Not Queen Bees
Ilene Lang, Catalyzing, June 12, 2012
“Pass it on, and pay it forward” is Catalyst President and CEO Ilene Lang’s core message, derived from the organization’s most recent study: High Potentials in the Pipeline: Leaders Pay it Forward. […read more]
Behind the Shell hoax
Brooke Jarvis, Salon.com, June 8, 2012
Journalist Brooke Jarvis reports on the elaborately orchestrated “Shell activist hoax” party, which she attended in person, posing as a proponent of Arctic drilling. […read more]
Novelist Jonathan Franzen ’81 on ‘How You Become the Person Who Can Write the Book You Need to Write
Alisa Giardinelli, Swarthmore College News and Events, June 6, 2012
From Swarthmore’s News and Events website, an excerpt of alumnus Jonathan Franzen’s autobiography The Path to Freedom. […read more]
Topol on 5 Devices Physicians Need to Know About
Eric J. Topol, MD, Medscape Today, June 5, 2012
5 new and innovative technologies we should all know about. […read more]
Again, thank you so, so much for all you have done
Again, thank you so, so much for all you have done not only to help us prepare for the possible forthcoming media storm, but for reaching into your amazing network to provide us with access. Not only is the business made better through your services, I picked up a year’s worth of unrivaled professional experience in the relatively short time we spend working on these matters – I learned that much from you in a matter of weeks. As I said last time, I would rather not be dealing with this crisis, but am happy to have the time working with you.”
—Crisis Client
What Boards Must Know About Social Media
Davia Temin, The Corporate Board, May/June 2012
Someone posts a harsh item about your company on Twitter. The comment is picked up and amplified through other online venues, and the company’s stock prices take a fall—all within hours. Today’s world of social media is one where the most obscure person, company or product can overnight become a global trend, or a global villain. Is your board aware of the company’s social media strategy? For that matter, are you as a director up to speed on the new social media world?
In this age of social media, companies of all kinds find themselves at the end of the “command and control” model of leadership. Top-down communications, including those from the C-suite and the boardroom, have lost their primacy.
Today, with blogs, v-logs, Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest and social media of all kinds, everyone has a voice. More to the point, anyone can move markets if his or her voice catches on with the public.
Employees have a voice—including the employee that management fired yesterday. Your “like’rs” have a voice; your dislikers have a voice too (including all of the “I hate xx company” websites, and Facebook-facilitated boycotts). Your competitors have a voice, your shareholders have a voice, and you, as board members, have a voice as well. However, amid the cacophony, it is now exponentially more difficult to make the messages you and your company wish to convey heard.
Especially for the board, knowing how to communicate in social media (and when it is or is not appropriate) is crucial. A board’s workings are historically private and confidential, and a board tends to be heard from only when announcing a new CEO or in a serious corporate crisis.
If you’d like to read the full article, please click here (pdf).»