Reputation Management

Insights into crisis leadership, reputation and readiness

Reputation Management

Far from a Textbook Year for Higher Ed Leaders

Far from a Textbook Year for Higher Ed Leaders

Thousands of colleges and universities around the nation are back in full swing for a new academic year, my daughter among them (Sko Buffs!). The beginning of a new college semester heralds many things on college campuses. The sight of students burning the midnight oil in the library. The sound of...

read more
Don’t Lie

Don’t Lie

We are all professionals. As professionals there is one cardinal rule of talking to the media (or if you ask my grandma, anyone): never lie. Don’t outright lie. Don’t tell a half truth. Don’t try to be cute. Don’t parse the truth.  Don’t lie.  All that does is make your audience mad and make them...

read more
The Perils of a Shallow Apology

The Perils of a Shallow Apology

It can be incredibly difficult as a business to publicly admit that you made a misstep.  Savvy executives and communicators know the importance of making a timely mea culpa statement that demonstrates ownership and empathy, and clearly outlines steps being taken to support impacted consumers and...

read more
Owning a Mistake that’s Not Yours

Owning a Mistake that’s Not Yours

Do you remember Chi-Chi’s? If you do, you are probably wondering what happened to them. If you don’t, then take this as a cautionary tale. Chi-Chi’s was a Mexican casual restaurant chain that was all the rage in the 80s and 90s. With more than 200 locations in five countries as well as a...

read more
Scaling Your CEO for Better Crisis Response

Scaling Your CEO for Better Crisis Response

At Kith, we have seen CEOs rise during a crisis and we have seen others stumble. The difference often comes down to what they focus on during the crisis at hand.  As your most senior leader, a CEO can be one of the most important assets your organization can deploy when responding to a crisis....

read more
How to Dig Out of a Mess of Your Own Creation

How to Dig Out of a Mess of Your Own Creation

The headlines were unsettling, not shocking at first. But when UnitedHealth, the healthcare behemoth responsible for processing 50 percent of all US patient medical claims annually, revealed it was the victim of a ransomware attack described as “the most serious incident leveled against a US...

read more
When a Publicity Stunt Backfires

When a Publicity Stunt Backfires

There are times (April Fool’s Day, I’m looking at you) when a company decides to pull a publicity stunt to see how big a splash they can make. They engage in intentional misrepresentation – of their business’ product, service, or brand – pushed out as a cheeky, hardy-har-har prank. Sometimes the...

read more
Don’t Stumble over Something behind You

Don’t Stumble over Something behind You

These words are frequently attributed to the Ancient Roman stoic Seneca the Younger. They still ring true 2,000 years later. When it comes to managing a crisis, they are both a warning and a reason for leadership to move forward. Speed is the single most important difference between good and great...

read more
Pump up the Volume

Pump up the Volume

Every time I open up LinkedIn, PR Week, or the Wall Street Journal, I see someone writing about AI and the immense change that it is having on the communications industry -- everything from how we create to how we spot fake news to how we staff. One issue that I haven’t seen discussed much is how...

read more
The Value of Saying I’m Sorry … from a Canadian

The Value of Saying I’m Sorry … from a Canadian

If you’ve spoken to me for more than five minutes, you know I’m Canadian – also American – but I was Canadian first and very proud of it. Every stereotype of Canadians includes that we like to say sorry: to each other, visitors, inanimate objects, and so on. Move away for a while and you’ll...

read more
Winning An Argument with Crazy

Winning An Argument with Crazy

Let’s be clear. You can’t win an argument against Crazy.  Once rightfully relegated to the lunatic fringe, Crazy abounds today – it is everywhere. Crazy is encouraged, fanned, inflamed, and carried to new converts by the magnifying lens that is social media. Sadly, organizations that value their...

read more

Are you ready for a crisis?

Is your organization prepared to respond to a crisis and protect its hard-earned reputation? Take our quiz and find out!