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.
Women-Only Poker Tournament a Bet on Career Advancement
Louise Dewast, ABC News, July 11, 2016
Davia Temin was one of 55 CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists and businesswomen from various industries invited to play at a women-only poker tournament in London last month. The event was organized by Heidi Messer, a New York entrepreneur and investor who first launched the tournament in her Manhattan apartment a couple of years ago.
Messer saw the power in the unspoken connection between powerful men in business — created through golf, fraternities or sporting events — and decided it was time for women to have the same. […read more]
Being a Good Boss in Dark Times
Jennifer Porter, Harvard Business Review, July 5, 2016
Senseless acts of violence affect all of us. Mass shootings, suicide bombers, assassinations — the emotions such events bring up are strong, even if our personal connection to the events is not. Feelings of sadness, pain, confusion, and anger don’t get checked at the office door. If you’re leading a team or an organization, how can you help manage the emotional culture of the people you’re responsible for? This article’s author shares some valuable lessons for leaders in communities facing exceptionally difficult events. […read more]
Identity Theft Jumps 57% as Fraudsters Target Social Media
Michael Hill, Infosecurity Magazine, July 5, 2016
The number of victims hit by identity theft jumped a hefty 57% last year, according to figures from fraud prevention service Cifas. The firm’s research found that fraudsters are particularly targeting younger internet users with around 24,000 people aged 30 and under suffering identity fraud in 2015, up from 15,766 in 2014 and more than double the 11,000 victims in this age bracket in 2010. […read more]
Study: Publicizing female CEO appointments comes with a cost
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribune, June 14, 2016
Given the push for more women in the C-suite, companies might wish to shout from the rooftops when they appoint a female CEO. But the more they shout, the more their share price might suffer, a new study finds — not necessarily because investors are biased, but because they think others are. […read more]
Should Boards Foster Customer-Centricity?
Tony Chapelle, Agenda, June 13, 2016
Many corporate executives and board directors advocate the benefits of the corporate organizational structure known as customer centricity. Rather than organizing a business into product or regional units, about 30% of Fortune 500 companies have set themselves up according to customer segments.
Recently, panelists at the global conference for the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation discussed the concepts of centricity, customer satisfaction, marketing, loyalty and retention.
Davia Temin, a strategy and reputation consultant and CEO of Temin and Company in New York, says there aren’t many alternatives to being customer-centric in the long run. “It used to be that whether you [just] paid lip service to customer service was between you and the customer,” she says. “But today, when someone walks out of your store and has a bad experience, they can go to Twitter, Facebook or Yik Yak. So the board’s governance muscles have to get strengthened around the customer service experience because it’s a reputational opportunity, but also risk.” […read more]
Crisis of the Week: Signet Confronts Diamond Debacle
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, June 13, 2016
The crisis this week involves Signet Jewelers, which is battling allegations employees substituted premium diamonds with cheaper, man-made substitutes. Using only the statement issued by the company, the experts break down the effectiveness of its communications, highlighting what’s good about its messaging and tone and delivery, and what’s not so good.
“Disparagement of a company’s reputation these days can come from all sides, including Wall Street and social media. It is very difficult to respond publicly to such a situation, as it is changing rapidly, and one can never make assertions that might need to be taken back later, as more information comes to light. Signet has done what it can, so far, although a more fulsome statement will have to be forthcoming at some point,” says Davia Temin. […read more]
Crisis of the Week: Signet Confronts Diamond Debacle
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, June 13, 2016
The crisis this week involves Signet Jewelers, which is battling allegations employees substituted premium diamonds with cheaper, man-made substitutes. The company’s stock price declined following the reports.
Signet—which owns national jewelry-store brands Jared, Kay Jewelers and Zales—issued a statement strongly refuting the allegations. “Signet Jewelers’ entire team culture is directed toward ensuring that we earn and maintain customer trust,” the company said. “Incidents of misconduct, which are exceedingly rare, are dealt with swiftly and appropriately.”
Using only the statement issued by the company, the experts break down the effectiveness of its communications, highlighting what’s good about its messaging and tone and delivery, and what’s not so good. How should the company proceed?
Davia Temin, chief executive, Temin and Co.: “Disparagement of a company’s reputation these days can come from all sides, including Wall Street and social media. Signet has just experienced incoming on both fronts, with Wall Street’s questioning of its credit business far more worrisome, as it appears to have some validity and can affect share price valuation immediately, necessitating real business-model changes. It is very difficult to respond publicly to such a situation, as it is changing rapidly, and one can never make assertions that might need to be taken back later, as more information comes to light. Signet has done what it can, so far, although a more fulsome statement will have to be forthcoming at some point.
“As to attacks on social media regarding gem swapping, Signet has done many things quite right in its response, but it just did not go far enough and was not quite as earnest as it could have been in my opinion. The statement it issued was comprehensive, specific and acknowledged what consumers are looking for when buying a diamond. Wisely, it did not mention the specific allegations against it until the second paragraph. I might not have mentioned them at all. Moreover, I would not have relied on trite phrases that, when used, serve to fuel disbelief because they are so trite, such as ‘take seriously,’ ‘earn trust,’ etc.
“Trust is a hard thing to claim you have earned: You earn it or you don’t. Signet says rightly it ‘seeks’ to earn trust, which speaks to its intent, and that is good. But what it does not do is speak to the specifics of whether there is any merit in the reports of its detractors, and what it has done about it. It needs that one element added to its proclamations of good intent to be really believable, and not to be viewed as press release double-speak.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style
Dan Bilefsky, The New York Times, June 9, 2016
One of the oldest forms of punctuation may be dying
The period — the full-stop signal we all learn as children, whose use stretches back at least to the Middle Ages — is gradually being felled in the barrage of instant messaging that has become synonymous with the digital age
So says David Crystal, who has written more than 100 books on language and is a former master of original pronunciation at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London — a man who understands the power of tradition in language […read more]
FOMO: This Is The Best Way To Overcome Fear Of Missing Out
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree, June 5, 2016
You hear about FOMO a lot these days. In fact, the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. What does it really mean? A recent study on the subject defined it as: …”the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that you’re missing out – that your peers are doing, in the know about, or in possession of more or something better than you”. Under this framing of FoMO, nearly three quarters of young adults reported they experienced the phenomenon. It’s certainly not a good thing. […read more]
Unless You’re Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice.
Adam Grant, The New York Times, June 4, 2016
We are in the Age of Authenticity, where “be yourself” is the defining advice in life, love and career. Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world. But for most people, “be yourself” is actually terrible advice. […read more]