Month: May 2018

This fellow is taking the fall for an error in contracting with Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer. He could have pointed to the former CEO who was a co-signatory on the agreement, but he didn’t. He took full responsibility. That is old-fashioned, stand-up obligation to the role he served in the company. He should be commended. PR would be easier if more executives admitted errors instead of ducking and/or covering. it is not often one sees a senior manager who publicly admits to being at fault and takes action to correct it. Novartis should do what it can to keep its general counsel involved with the company as a consultant or something else. He deserves it.

Kaspersky Lab has been dogged with the suspicion that it is in cahoots with the Russian government and helping implant malware throughout the internet. Denials have done no good. Now the company is taking steps to move some of its core processes to Switzerland, far away from Moscow. That, plus a new transparency institute funded by the Lab, are intended to lower fears that Kaspersky is compromised. While the move addresses the issue of proximity to Russia, it still doesn’t answer the question whether the company has secret alliances with Putin’s agents.  Only time can resolve that, and it may take years. There is little a company can do when it is cast in the position that Kaspersky finds itself.

Harley-Davidson is involved in a dumb tactic. It is about to rehash bad results at its annual meeting so it has barred the media from attending.  This is a change from its practice in previous years when it threw its function open to all. Predictably, governance commentators were not impressed. As one said, “They can run but they can’t hide.” Now the local media, especially, will make an effort to report what was said and questions shareholders asked. The company would have been far better off if it had just opened its doors. Chances are that its meeting would have been reported in a few paragraphs at most. One wonders if some companies ever learn transparency or whether it is a lesson that has to be repeated year after year.

Xerox, the once powerful and now forlorn, office equipment powerhouse is dangling with an uncertain future. It just called off its merger with Fujifilm under pressure from activist investors. It is replacing its CEO and making changes to the board of directors. Xerox’s customers and employees are facing fear of the future. There is little PR can do in a time like this. The CEO can hardly calm the waters because he isn’t going to be there for much longer. The investors are outsiders and might not know the morale of the company. Statements from HR might mean little if there are cuts in the future. Xerox will do well if it holds on to its key talent, but no one should be surprised if they are looking elsewhere for employment. It is a public and employee relations crisis.

Google is contending with a PR problem surrounding its artificial intelligence voice. It is so good critics are condemning it as a violation of ethics and trust. The company unveiled the “voice” at its annual I/O conference and the audience cheered. Those who fear AI immediately criticized the natural delivery as too good. There is no way people can tell they are talking to a machine and not a human. This for AI critics is the worst nightmare and a sign machines are taking the place of humans. Google needs to address the fear before it becomes a reason for regulation and prevention of further AI development. This is not the first nor last time new technologies have ignited opposition, but as in the past, there needs to be a clear presentation to the public that technologies are a benefit to mankind and not a harm. This might in the form of a “killer app” everyone wants to use or a winning demonstration of progress. For every step forward, there needs to be one backward to appease critics and educate the public.

What could be worse than to be on the receiving end of a customer Twitter stream in a faltering organization? That is the fate of customer relations representatives who serve the New York City subways and its decrepit system. They are in a no-win situation. The subways are decades past upgrading their signals. Stations are dirty. Ticket machines are on-again-off-again. Delays are constant. Riders feel and are helpless to make things better. So they spew, and representatives try to answer calmly and with empathy. They can’t promise a fix because most likely there isn’t one. They can reply, “We hear you,” but that is empty. Nothing can be done once a complaint is logged. This is the worst position for customer relations to be in — powerless. The transit authority would probably be better off if it didn’t respond at all to riders’ venting, but it is making the effort anyway. Now, if it would only fix the system.

One wonders whether government officials understand transparency. They try to hide intents only to have them discovered through the Freedom of Information Act. That is what happened to EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt. He tried to bamboozle the media by restricting public appearances and orchestrating events for the reason of security. Some 10,000 e-mails disgorged through FOIA show the real reason was to avoid exposure to unfriendly audiences. He has created a PR crisis for himself because he didn’t tell the truth in the first place. It would have been far easier if he had been up front. Yes, he would have had to deal with hostile questions, but his actions have been inimical to the environment. He deserved to get them. Now, he looks dumb and his enemies are using his lack of transparency against him.

With this kind of negative publicity for Bitcoin, how can it survive? Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have been negative about cryptocurrency for a long time. Calling it names is the latest in their barrage of blunt remarks. Despite enthusiasts who defend Bitcoin, the two men have a point. There is no intrinsic value to the computer coin. It is whatever people agree it to be at any given moment. It rises and falls with no apparent reason and no underlying guarantee of worth. Buying and selling rest on the greater fool theory. Speculation is faddish. People get excited and want to try it out. Some make money. Most don’t. Bitcoin might not go away but over time it should recede in public consciousness, especially if it proves to be as bad an investment as it is now. Negative publicity will not stop foolish investors, but it should cause most to pause.

This is an example of what public relations is all about. SpaceX pioneered reusable rocket boosters and cargo carriers, which have cut down the cost of spaceflights dramatically. Each time one returns to earth safely, it is another feather in the company’s cap. This was the “third round-trip flight with a reused Dragon capsule.” The company can confidently say that it is a world leader in multiple use of spacecraft. Since that is the future of the industry, SpaceX can claim legitimately that it is ahead of its competitors and even of NASA. It is not spin if one is doing it. It is public relations.at its best.

Elon Musk is wearing out his stature with investment analysts and the public. He insulted them on an earnings call and generated numerous stories about it. For example, here and here. He has been living a charmed life. Few entrepreneurs have been given the slack that he has to lose billions while pursuing an electric vehicle. There have been solo voices in recent months that questioned why the company’s stock remains so high and now, it appears they are being heard. Musk himself seems to want to remain a visionary. The investment community is understandably concerned that he will have to tap capital markets yet again for a billion or two. Musk is skating on thin ice. One hopes he understands that perception can and has changed, and it is time for him to focus on the car business rather than boring holes in the ground and populating Mars.