Critical takeaways Litigation is a fact of life for businesses so it is often a matter of when, not if, you get sued. Businesses are still often unprepared for this, compounding the challenges of litigation. Although complex, litigation is still a process and one that communications teams can...
It’s not often that a brand can anger all sides of the political spectrum and take a financial hit but Bud Light managed to do that last week. And there has been a tremendous amount of analysis of the roots of the controversy as well as the response. Some have called it a failure of marketing....
The damage of a crisis is not always immediate and not always front-page news. A couple of months ago, CTV News/Bell Media fired Lisa Laflamme, a national icon and trusted news source in Canada, because she stopped coloring her hair. It was sexist or ageist or both according to basically everyone...
Critical takeaways Companies often accept litigation based on the behavior of others but are unaware that the behavior and actions of their associates can also affect their reputation. This reverse halo effect means that your clients, suppliers, staff, and associates can all have a negative effect...
If you’re ever looking for a way to kill a conversation, raise the specter of litigation. It’s more effective at ending a conversation than feigning death, belting out “Don’t Stop Believing” or pulling the fire alarm. Worries over litigation can stymie productive discussions over how to proceed...
I have danced ballet most of my life. It’s the one thing I keep coming back to but I now live somewhere where there are not many options for ballet. Barre is o.k. Pilates is great. I was once kicked out of a yoga class for tapping my fingers. Nothing is ballet. So besides naturally standing in...
My grandfather built his own house on a farm in Saskatchewan. The house is now 75 years old and is home to a new family. I am tremendously fortunate to have had him share this skill with me. I built a bookshelf, can hang doors, and build decks. As with most carpenters, the cardinal rule was to...
Justin Wilcox is used to winning and losing. For the head football coach of the University of California Golden Bears, wins and losses usually come on the football field, but his latest loss was handed to him by a bunch of college presidents and network executives far, far away from his practice...
“What does a crisis cost?” I’ve been asked that question a few times. Disappointingly, my answer invariably is, “It depends.” Part of the answer depends on the specific aspects of the crisis and the company going through it, but much more rests on the definition of “cost.” If we’re talking about...
Bud Light. Disney. Mars Wrigley. Dilbert. The Super Mario Bros movie. Victoria’s Secret. Utah’s proposed new state flag. BlackRock. The U.S. military. Legos. Jack Daniels. Even Chick-fil-A. Accusations of “wokeness” have been flung far and wide so far in 2023. Is your company next? Are you ready?...
The dust from the wreckage of FTX’s collapse doesn’t have time to settle before it’s stirred up again. The latest revelation – that one of the world’s most “admired” cryptocurrency exchanges was comically terrible at both IT security (the “crypto” part) and tracking funds (the “currency” part) –...
Many organizations seek efficiencies during times of economic uncertainty. For many executives, “efficiency” equates to reducing costs. Two of the most tried and true methods of reducing costs are eliminating headcount and cutting back on support services that do not generate revenue. Frequently,...
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