leadership

leadership • March 16, 2014

Whatever Happened To The Big Tech PR Launch?

Some former colleagues in tech PR and I were talking recently about the “good old days” when nearly every tech launch included a splashy press conference. Maybe it wasn’t as theatrical as Steve Jobs taking the stage at MacWorld, but it was entertainment, complete with a dramatic unveil, executive presentations, and striking models who would help […]

leadership • August 20, 2013

How To Be A Thought Leader (A PR Perspective)

Becoming a thought leader—everyone’s always talking about it, but who’s really doing it? It’s a cliché in PR and marketing circles. We tend to promise clients we can help make them a thought leader, pepper our proposals with the term, and invoke “thought capital” to differentiate corporations and their most marketable attributes. So, what is […]

leadership • May 21, 2012

Jamie Dimon’s Apology Tour: Is It Enough?

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s apology to shareholders last week managed to fulfill at least three prerequisites for a public mea culpa. It was swift, it was direct, and the CEO took responsibility for the bank’s $3 billion trading loss in a hedge gone wrong. Dimon used words like “egregious,” “sloppy,” “stupid,” and “self-inflicted.” […]

leadership • May 14, 2012

Crisis Management: When The Crisis Is The CEO

It’s hard out there for a CEO. Recently, we witnessed a week’s worth of drip-drip-drip coverage about Yahoo chief Scott Thompson’s resume. The gaffe culminated in Thompson’s resignation after only four months on the job. But the controversy, on the surface, wasn’t about whether he’d faked an advanced degree, or falsely claimed Ivy League credentials. […]

leadership • November 3, 2011

Does Matt Lauer Hate PR?

People in PR-agency-land are getting steamed this week about our industry’s reputation. Again. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz appeared on the NBC-TV’s “Today” to talk about his jobs creation fund, which will raise cash for micro-loans to small businesses, and host Matt Lauer was less than gracious. Lauer allowed Schultz to outline the program, but he seemed […]