Thought Leadership–Reputation Articles
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Airbnb Meets The Bates Motel: Crisis Lessons For The Overly Trusting Traveler
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, August 17, 2015
“Never get into a car with a stranger” my mom told me throughout my childhood. “Don’t trust your safety to someone you don’t know really well, and even then be vigilant, because they may not have your best interests at heart the way we do.”
But how does this old-school advice jibe with the Airbnb, Uber, “sharing economy” generation who are driven by unlicensed strangers and stay in people’s — who they don’t know — homes around the world? What happens when your Airbnb host turns into Norman Bates? (Or your guest turns out to be the Zodiac killer?)
It is indefensible how ill-prepared Airbnb, Uber, and a host of other high-flying, trust-based sharing companies are for crisis, and customer and provider protection when trust goes awry. It is equally shocking how unprepared their trusting customers and providers are when they realize their trust is misplaced.
“Trust is hard won but easily lost,” the saying goes. But in the new sharing economy, it actually might be the exact opposite: trust is too easily given, and too hard lost. And the lessons, to individuals as well as companies, are tough ones. So, what lessons should companies, and the consumers who patronize them, learn? […read more]
The Botched Interview: Sony’s Flawed Crisis Response
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, December 29, 2014
Indecisiveness is rarely a winning response in crisis. But in the case of Sony ’s handling of The Interview I fear that the leadership problem is more than that. It involves knowing — or not knowing — exactly what guidance to listen to, and what decisions to make before, during, and after a crisis occurs. No waffling is allowed.
In a series of moves that seem as if they were actually taken from the ill-fated movie itself, Sony has exhibited not only a lack of judgment, but a seeming propensity to cave, successively, to each strong opinion that has been thrust upon it. And there have been a lot this holiday season.
First the highly ill-advised movie advocating the murder of an actual living person was green-lighted – we assume due to pressure from powerful Hollywood players. (Hadn’t they heard of the fictionalized movie countries of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick in The Mouse That Roared or Sarkhan in The Ugly American?) Then when a devastating cyberhack, possibly from the country ruled by that actual living person, caused the entire studio – and its employees – to pay dearly for the decision, there was stunned silence. The hackers’ subsequent illegal release of mortifying emails showing off the industry’s underbelly prompted a tepid apology, and possibly a willingness to acquiesce to the hackers’ demands before more emails were released. And finally, when the hackers appeared to threaten violence to movie-goers, and major theater chains announced they would not show the film, Sony pulled it for good. So they said.
But now, in the face of the administration’s objection to a foreign government threatening our freedom of speech, and the willingness of some smaller theaters to show it, thereby bringing in some revenue, it’s baaaaaack. My head is spinning faster than that girl’s in The Exorcist. […read more]
Must We Vilify Satya Nadella?
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, October 11, 2014
I know that it makes a good meme. And I know that we all love it when a powerful leader puts his foot in it and states something that either is preposterous or impolitic. And I know we all love to pile on in outrage over social media when something like this happens. Heck, I do too sometimes. But I think we may be being a bit counterproductive here. And I think we are taking some cheap shots.
Because the conversation around women, promotions, raises, and getting and asking for your due, is nuanced, inconvenient, and sometimes based on what we want to be true rather than what is.
After all, the Microsoft CEO was addressing the highly prestigious women in technology conference, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, on Thursday as the first man to ever do so. That took some real commitment. And, he was being hosted by his board member, computer scientist Maria M. Klawe (Microsoft now has 3 women board members, thought to be the beginnings of best governance practice) who is also the first woman to lead Harvey Mudd College (of engineering). And she opened by saying she adores him. This is not the profile of a woman-hating Philistine, it seems to me. Perhaps – or most certainly – he has been a bit naïve, but we can help him with that. […read more]
Mary Barra’s Defining Moment: Can GM Become The Next Tylenol?
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, April 2, 2014
Leaders rarely get to choose their defining moments. The issues that will eventually define their reputations are most often thrust upon them…and usually those issues are far, far different from what the leaders would have chosen if it were up to them.
And so it is with Mary Barra. Only three months into her CEO stint at General Motors, her defining issue has found her; and it is a crisis that she most certainly did not choose.
When departing CEO Dan Akerson announced why he had recommended Ms. Barra for CEO, he said that she had an uncanny ability to “make order out of chaos.” Today we surely wonder if he had any inkling of just how much chaos there would be in her first 100 days. Let’s hope he did not. […read more]
Should CEOs Tweet?
“Reputation Matters” Newsletter, Winter 2014
CEOs and other leaders are under increasing pressure to engage their customers and the public on social media. But should they?
Facing the reality that nearly 70% of CEOs have stayed away from social media so far, many marketing executives don’t want their companies to be left behind in the chase for digital mindshare, especially when they see the followings of CEOs like Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Marc Benioff or Marissa Mayer.
Social media in general, and Twitter in particular, are superb ways to establish a dominant thought leadership position, reinforce and reinvigorate a brand, and join the “global conversation” and marketplace of ideas.
If you’d like to read the newsletter, please click here (pdf).»
Target’s Worst PR Nightmare: 7 Lessons From Target’s Well-Meant But Flawed Crisis Response
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, December 30, 2013
Target is living up to its name in a way I am sure they never meant to do.
They have become the newest target case of how not to respond in a crisis. Although they have done many things right in their response to the second-largest retailer data breach on record, they have made some classic mistakes that have not only compromised their reputation, but the trust of their customers, employees, and the public.
In fact, by needing to retract on Friday earlier assurances to customers that their PIN numbers had not been stolen, Target effectively has morphed in the eyes of the public from a victim of crime to a co-conspirator. Not a good move brand-wise, trust-wise, reputation-wise, or business-wise. […read more]
Don’t Waste Money – Make Your Social Media Advertising Smarter, More Original, More Effective
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, December 3, 2013
“Advertising is the price companies pay for being un-original,” designer Yves Behar has said.
But on social media, originality in advertising actually has found a new canvas, a new playground to explore. And the profession itself is being redesigned in real time.
Just as television was a disruptive force for print advertising, so social media is shaking up the entire ad industry – providing us with some best and worse examples of how to leverage the medium. […read more]
Don’t Ignore Your Best Co-Branding Opportunity — Your Employees: #1 Of ’10 More Don’ts Of Corporate Social Media’
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, November 20, 2013
We all know employees can be both brand ambassadors and brand detractors. But what we haven’t wrapped our heads around is that they are also our most important co-branding opportunity. This is #1 in our series of “10 More Don’ts of Corporate Social Media,” introduced yesterday.
Corporate co-branding is a marketing staple: Companies co-brand with one another (Apple + Nike; Betty Crocker + Hershey’s; Dell + Intel); for-profits co-brand with non-profits (Nestle + The Girl Scouts; Pampers + UNICEF; American Express, Apple, Converse, etc. + The Global Fund – RED); and all of the above co-brand with movies, music, and sports (Aston Martin + James Bond; PINK + NFL; Apple + U2).
But in this ever-evolving world of social media – where almost everyone is thinking about how to “brand” himself or herself personally over social media – organizations can leverage the trend as their biggest co-branding opportunity of all. In other words, since there is no stopping the personal branding efforts of employees on social media, if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them. […read more]
Introducing ’10 More Don’ts Of Corporate Social Media’
Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, November 19, 2013
Every company, corporation, and organization is struggling to get its corporate social media right.
Boards are putting it on their agendas, as a reputational risk and opportunity. CEOs are puzzling over how to lead and evaluate their companies’ efforts, as well as debating what their own social media profile should be. Executive Committees are reviewing metrics and messaging, and still wondering which are meaningful. Human Resource Directors are competing for Chief Digital Officers from a small pool, without always knowing who will be good for their organizations – or what “good” really looks like. And Chief Marketing Officers are trying to be cutting edge and to add value, while juggling competing demands from all stakeholders – consumers, followers, shareholders, management, and an ever-fickle and sometimes malicious public.
And everyone is trying to figure out what the right “content” is, anyway. […read more]
Your Foundation in Crisis: Will You Be Ready?
Davia Temin, Philanthropy New York, June 18, 2013
Crisis is turning into the “new normal” for most organizations and corporations in this post-recession era. And foundations are as vulnerable and prone to crisis as public companies and universities, particularly in the age of social media. In this piece for Philanthropy New York’s Smart Assets blog, Davia Temin writes about the recent “crisis case” seminar she led for foundation executives. […read more]
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"Reputation Matters" White Papers seek to offer deeper insight on a wide range of topics we help clients address.