Friday, February 17, 2012
Whistleblowers Rarely Win
This is a painful story. The man who blew the whistle on Olympus and its financial chicanery has to fear for his life. It is one more example of a hard truth. Whistleblowers rarely win. Doing the right thing, taking the proper action, standing against the system means one is targeted now and for a long time to come. We can talk about transparency in PR, but the fact is that acting in a transparent manner is not always best for one's career. No one argues that Michael Woodford acted improperly. He put himself and his career at risk. He lost his career and needs personal protection, but executives at Olympus have been arrested, the ugly story about overpayments has come out and auditors are searching for missing millions. Woodford is a model for integrity, but emulating him is risky at best.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
How Did This Happen?
How did this happen? An investor spends billions to build a digital network only to discover that his radio spectrum overpowers GPS and the Federal Communications Commission axes the network. The size of the failure is so stunning that one wonders who was talking to whom throughout the development. Predictably, LightSquared says it will slog on. It probably won't for long. A massive write-off and closed shop are imminent. From a PR perspective, it appears that LightSquared ignored or denied that a large part of the public would be inconvenienced by its proposed service. The company took a "not-my-problem" stance to the GPS issue until the FCC forced its hand. Call that arrogance or willful ignorance. Either way, it is a classic example of a company that wasn't listening to those with the real power.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Results Of A Bad Reputation
This is what a bad reputation reaps. Rupert Murdoch can do no right these days as the noose of the law pulls tighter about him and his son. News Corp is a battleground on which its executives are in retreat and trying to save themselves. It is almost quaint now to remember that not so long ago Murdoch had enormous power in the UK. Politicians feared him. He could make or break careers. Today he is the butt of everyone's anger and the Fleet Street journalism his editors and reporters practiced is falling by the wayside. Murdoch is apparently directing the defense of the company and of his son, but his efforts are comical. The missing e-mail is almost certainly a smoking gun and the authorities will not let him get away with its absence. The situation at the company has gone far beyond communications. There is no spin or publicity that can offset the damage. News Corp may survive but it will be a shadow of what it was in the UK. Perhaps that is all for the good.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Better Late Than Never
This is better late than never but it leaves open a question of why it wasn't done before. Apple should have had some inkling of how Chinese subcontractor factories are run and how employees were being treated. With that understanding, it should have been aware that it had a potentially explosive situation on its hands. But, when the news came out of working conditions, Apple appeared unprepared and defenseless. Chances are that the company won't let that happen again, but it shouldn't have happened the first time. Globally, companies can no longer take a position that whatever their subcontractors do is "not my problem." That might have worked 15 years or so ago, but not now. The internet is a force for social and cultural change. The third world is no longer isolated from the first and that is all for the good of oppressed workers.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Smart PR
General Electric is engaged in smart public relations with this announcement. It is investing in US plants and hiring 5,000 veterans, and thereby, addressing two issues with one stroke. GE is an international company that doesn't invest in any country unless it sees profitable opportunities for doing so. This announcement, then, is GE's vote of confidence in the US as a location for manufacturing of jet engines. Its intent to hire veterans is a recognition that these men and women have a depth of maturity that is valuable and dedication to getting things done that is both productive and profitable. GE is a tough competitor and doesn't act lightly. Its decisions have a solid basis for increased revenues and earnings, but it also knows how to wield good PR at the same time.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Waving The Warning Flag
The US Postal Service has been waving a warning flag for years. Congress hasn't listened. Now the service is running out of cash and is warning that it might need to shut its doors by October. Maybe this time politicians will let the service shrink to meet its reduced need. But, don't bet on it. The service is trapped in a culture of the 18th and 19th Centuries when a post office was an integral part of a town. In some cases, the post office was the town. The tiny place where I grew up in California had a post office in the general store. Other than a feed store and machine shop, there wasn't anything to distinguish the town from a wide spot in the road. There are still towns like that in the US, but that doesn't mean they should have a post office at a time when e-mail and the internet take care of the bulk of communication. The postal service needs a new relationship with the public, one that the service has yet to determine although it has tried hard. It can't afford to be a medium of last resort, or if Congress determines that it must be, it needs the latitude to shrink where it can. If nothing else happens in Washington DC this year, setting the US Postal Service free will recognize that we are in a new century.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Credibility Gap
Groupon, unlike Facebook, is a company with a credibility gap. Its report of a fourth quarter loss yesterday didn't help its case. Analysts have been skeptical for some time about its business premise, citing a number of potential competitors and low barrier to entry. Groupon has apparently decided to grow big quickly in order to outdistance the pack and that has pushed it into the red. Amazon.com did the same thing when it launched. Groupon's challenge is much the same as Amazon's. It must show a consistent profit to regain support from financial markets. The longer it remains in a deficit, the harder it will be for the company to build support for its business model. There isn't much that publicity can do for the company now. Its best PR is performance.
