My job has gotten me up close and personal to lots of CEOs….so I’ve observed and counseled leaders of all kinds. And while my job is technically to advise them on communications strategy, there is often great crossover between leadership and communications. I’ve had those tough moments when I’ve had to tell clients that they don’t have a communications problem – they have a policy problem, a culture problem or a leadership problem. I’ve been there when CEOs have halved their salaries to save jobs. And when they’ve “let them eat cake.”

In the past week I’ve come across a number of articles with a common theme – the power of what’s personal…and often free. This piece in Fast Company makes a case for saying Thank You, calling thanks the most neglected form of compensation. The Corner Office in Sunday’s NYT with the CEO of Henkels expands on the theme with an assertion that e-mail is disruptive to culture, and that people shouldn’t e-mail when they can interact…pointing out that people next door to each other are e-mailing rather than walking to the next office. Here are a two of Kasper Rorsted’s leadership rules to live by:

• Use e-mail like text messaging – good for short, informative information. Anything else should be done in person
• Don’t read anything where he is CC’d – because that is just someone trying to cover their you know what.

Finally, these video interviews with Vanguards’ CEO talked about how they weathered the financial crisis by providing security to their employees. Rather than laying off employees when their assets, and ultimately fees, declined, they issued a positive message to their employees that Vanguard would be fine, there would be no layoffs….and they should focus on customers. They felt that the distraction of worrying about their jobs would preclude great customer service…and their strategy for recovery. While it isn’t always possible to opt out of lay-offs….it is possible to provide clarity to employees about your strategy and their role. Information is free….and powerful.

What’s the net message here? Effective leaders treat their teams like colleagues and people….they interact with them face to face; they acknowledge a job well done; and make sure that they have the information they need to do their job well.

Thank you for reading.

cwinters General Corporate E-mail, Fast Company, Henkels, Vanguard

BP’s new CEO may be getting more than he bargained for. It seems that he doesn’t just need to clean up a spill in the Gulf….he needs to clean up a culture that accepts, or even encourages cutting safety corners, downplaying problems and only communicating when you get caught.

Apparently, lack of transparency may be a “corporate value” at BP, as is taking shortcuts that shortchange safety. BP’s most recent “gotcha” is happening in Texas, where local families are experiencing respiratory problems after the release of toxic fumes into the air, and a failure to notify residents. These families have filed a $10 billion class action lawsuit. And while BP is denying any wrongdoing – they aren’t exactly starting from a position of strength.

Sounds like something out of a Michael Moore documentary, doesn’t?

If a single event can damage a reputation, what does a pattern of deception, cover up and disregard for safety do? I am waiting for the pundits to start talking about BP’s “PR Problem.”

This is much bigger than a PR problem… I’ve said it before – good communications can’t compensate for bad decisions or bad policies. And believe me, that isn’t an easy thing to tell a client who wants to hire you for PR…

However, the new CEO has an opportunity…while he is responsible for the mistakes of the past and making them right – he isn’t “to blame” – at least not yet.

If BP wants to avoid being the next Enron or WorldCom, it needs to make some changes, and quickly:

• Leadership should immediately launch a review of safety standards and operating standards, and make changes quickly. While some of their operational decisions may be “by the book” – failure to take the most aggressive response to protect safety after these two events will only exacerbate the problem.
• Engage the environmental groups…make them part of the solution – an in the process make it more difficult for them to be critical.
• Engage your employees. They know where the problems are. And they know how to fix them. Use that dialogue as an opportunity to send a signal that BP is upping its game, and elevating its standards, and that there will be zero tolerance for failing to comply.
• Put people before profits. I know that this is difficult for a public company to do. But a few dollars spent on the front end will save millions in legal fees, fines and penalties on the back end.

Once they’ve done these things, then BP can start to think about communications. Otherwise, it is just talk.

cwinters Crisis Communications BP, Enron, Michael Moore, Worldcom

I’ve been intrigued by the labor issue between Mott’s and its workers in Rochester. Here you have a company posting healthy profits and asking for wage and benefit reductions at the bargaining table. To be fair, much of what I read comes from the Union, because Mott’s isn’t saying much. However, the turning point on this issue may be just around the corner. There is a perfect storm brewing…

Food safety is a hot topic…with the egg recall being the most recent example of “commodities gone wrong”…and the union is asking if the unskilled replacement workers can maintain safety and quality standards. If this issue takes flight with the informal group I call “the lunch-box packers,” Mott’s could have a problem.

And let’s not forget that September and October is apple season in NY…and apples are big business in the NY economy…this dispute doesn’t just affect the factory workers and the Company, it also has the potential to impact the apple growers, who have already said that they will cross the picket lines to deliver their crops for processing.

And last but not least, it is campaign season. Members of Congress are already getting involved, and not just in the NY delegation. Candidates for everything from Governor to dog catcher will be lining up to take photos with these workers.

On the flip side, the fact that the union, despite political support and pro-union news coverage, has not been able to engage a consumer boycott, or otherwise capture our attention with what should be the perfect case to advance a corporate greed campaign is equally interesting, and may signal a fundamental shift in the power and relevance of unions overall. Maybe the economy has made us less sensitive to the union’s argument? Are decreasing benefits, frozen wages and high unemployment such a fact of life, that the Union’s corporate greed arguments no longer incite our emotions?

Either way, it seems to me that this has the potential to be a game changer for labor relations in America… Mott’s is a market leader. They are like the “Q-Tip” of apple juice and apple sauce…evoking happy memories of childhood and despite the backlash against juice – a good healthy brand association. An ugly labor dispute could have a long term impact on the brand. Or not…which could spell even bigger trouble for organized labor.

cwinters Employee Engagement Egg Recall, Food Safety, Mott's

Can you remember life before Twitter? What began as a forum for 20-somethings to share the most mundane aspects of their lives has morphed into a 140 character Jack of all trades.

People win things on Twitter. We have the Twitter Diet. Twitter Dating (Flitter), Twitter Job Hunting and networking. It’s changed customer service. Social media has started movements for positive change..and pulled off great hoaxes. It’s fundamentally altered Crisis Management (anyone remember little things like Dominoes? Miracle on the Hudson?). It’s even changed the dictionary.

Is there anything Twitter can’t do?

By its very nature, Twitter has captured the hearts and minds of those of us with very short attention spans that are bound to move on to something else. The very appeal of Twitter is the authentic, brief snapshots that a Tweet can give you. Who didn’t love knowing what Ashton & Demi were having for dinner? Or the ability to get their seat changed away from a smelly neighbor on an airplane by simply Tweeting. Or being the first to touch Shaq?

But now that the Twitter-verse is so massive, much of that authentic, spontaneous fun has been replaced by “stuff” that varies in from super interesting and compelling to super-boring. Really, does anyone care that you checked in at Starbucks? Or that you Tweeted about similar things 40 or 50 times over the course of the day?

This is not to say that Twitter, or social media for that matter, are going away. Quite to the contrary. Like Pashminas and Uggs, which enjoyed a massive popularity for a season or two when you just couldn’t get them, then settled in to “wardrobe staple” status, Twitter is here to stay. But as a communications tool, interest in Twitter is already changing from the frenzied client requests to one on a list of “to do’s” – A Twitter strategy is like having a website, issuing a news release or getting to your beat reporters….a must do. But not something that gives you “extra credit” on the communications scorecard.

cwinters Social Media Dominoes, Miracle on the Hudson, Pashminas, Twitter, Uggs

How long does it take for a professional athlete to lose his good name in the wake of a bad decision? If you apologize immediately, you take your hits but ultimately lose nothing. If your ego gets in the way, there is no turning back.

As Roger Clemens’ indictment came down yesterday for perjury before Congress about his steroid use, I can only think how far he has fallen. Throughout his career, Clemens was beloved in four cities for doing all the right things. However, ever since his name has been linked to steroids, he has continued to admit his wrongdoings which have led to his downfall as an individual. He even Tweeted after the indictment yesterday that he “never took HGH or Steroids” and he “did not lie to Congress.”

He, like other baseball players linked to steroids that refuse to admit they are wrong, have lost the reputation they gained while playing. Others, like Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi, have admitted their steroid use and still have developed new ground to stand on.

In the “Summer of LeBron,” we need to be reminded that our own egos can destroy us, especially when we are wrong.

gbarone General Corporate Andy Pettitte, Baseball, Jason Giambi, LeBron James, Roger Clemens, Steroids

This morning I heard an interesting survey on the radio about people who don’t take their vacation time….apparently almost 50% of Americans aren’t taking their vacation time due to fears about job security. Sounded ridiculous to me…at first. And then I remembered a client telling me that their employees were not utilizing their summer Fridays because the leadership team doesn’t leave early. Employees think using those Fridays when their boss is in the office somehow reflects poorly on them.

Leaders lead by example, even when they aren’t trying to. So every time you cancel your vacation (something I’ve been known to do, especially when my plan is to hang by the pool rather than head to the airport) you are setting an example. When you sneak out to a soccer game, and give people the impression you are at a meeting, you are sending a signal. And it isn’t a good one. I haven’t been able to find the specific study I heard about today, but Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation survey suggests that this is not a recent trend…apparently Americans have been vacation deprived for a long time. Maybe the economy is just a convenient excuse…a habit we learn from an early age.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been worrying about my 15-year-old daughter who is showing early signs of being a work-a-holic at her first job as a lifeguard. She says yes to any request to sub for a fellow guard. She took on lifeguard hours as soon as she got certified, but didn’t give up her “box” hours taking cards at the gate. She is working 6 and 7 days every week, plus her basketball workouts and volleyball practices. I wonder where she learned that? (What is the equivalent for sarcasm?) Maybe from her mother who routinely cancels vacation days? Or her father who is on his BB day and night?

The data for the benefits of vacation exists. People who take their vacation avoid burnout, are more productive and happier in their jobs, and their lives. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, some companies believe so strongly in the importance of vacation, they offer unlimited PTO. They don’t limit time off because they trust their employees to get the job done, to manage their time, and to be responsible.

Maybe it’s time to lead by example…and take some vacation.

cwinters General Corporate Expedia, PTO, Summer Fridays, Vacations

Apologies in advance for this long post…but you’ve got to hear it all to believe it.

Air travel has become positively uncivilized….and really, when you pack hundreds of people into a flying tin can, there are bound to be issues. Add a lengthy security process, crowded cabins (I know airlines are all touting leg room, but I’d really like some elbow room, please),crowded skies which lead to all kinds of delays and lost luggage, it is no wonder that any time there is an issue in the air, it makes big news.

From what I remember about Economics 101 (which isn’t much), deregulation is supposed to drive prices lower, and increase competitiveness of an industry. We got the lower fares, no doubt. But somehow, the kind of service you’d expect from competitiveness just isn’t happening.

I’ve worked with airlines as clients for most of my career, and I am generally sympathetic to their plight. But sometimes, an airline earns its bad reputation. Take American Airlines….big, aloof, arrogant. And the experience I had with them last month is so outrageous, you couldn’t make it up. Like millions on the Internet, I now believe that American/American Eagle is the worst airline on the planet.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in July, I (over)packed my wheelie bag and headed to the airport for a trip to Springfield, Missouri via Chicago O’Hare. My general rule of thumb is this, “If you need to make a connection to get there, I don’t need to go.” And connections via O’Hare usually spell trouble. But sometimes, clients pick locations that don’t have non-stop options. The ticket agent asked if I would check my bag, as the flight was very full…and I reluctantly agreed – I didn’t want to be difficult, and since I was arriving on Sunday night, I wouldn’t be in a rush.

Despite the blue skies, thunderstorms in the Midwest were causing havoc all over the system. Weather delay number 1. Stuff happens. Not their fault. When we arrive in Chicago, the flight attendant announces connecting gates – and while we are very late, I figure this means that the flight to Springfield is also very delayed. After a fellow passenger dropped the luggage that they didn’t ask him to check on my flip-flopped foot, I de-plane and hobble my way to the gate, which is in an entirely different concourse….only to learn that this flight left long ago. The gate agent advised that he could not help me rebook, and that I needed to go to the rebooking center, where they will rebook me and provide me with a hotel voucher. By now, my big toe is swollen and black…so I gimp it back to the rebooking center (which is back where I started, and if you’ve ever been to O’Hare you know that I’ve covered a lot of distance at this point).

The rebooking center is a BANK OF PHONES…no humans in sight. And no hotel vouchers in sight. So I hobble out to the ticket counter. After a minor scuffle with a duty manager, they agree to get my bag for me (originally they wanted to hold it and send through to Springfield – but I explained that I could not arrive at my meeting tomorrow in a juicy sweat-suit.) I get rebooked – they tell me the first flight of the day is sold out (but I later learned it left with 4 empty seats)…and book me on the next one. I’ll be a little late for my meeting, but it will have to do.

Monday morning comes, and my flight to Springfield is cancelled, Mechanical Number 1. Rebooked on the next flight. That flight gets delayed due to a Mechanical. Mechanical Number 2.

I finally arrive in Springfield, several hours late for my all day meeting, and wearing flip flops because I can’t get a shoe on. 26 plus hours after I left home. Not a great showing, but stuff happens.

Tuesday comes, we wrap up our meetings and head back to the airport. I’ve re-booked my ticket to go through Dallas, because I am thinking that O’Hare has bad karma for me. That flight gets cancelled. Mechanical number 3. Rebook back to the original flight through O’Hare. We board, get ready to push back, and they can’t close the door. Mechanical Number 4….we get deplaned, sit in the gate, and they announce re-boarding. Here is where the wheels really fell off.

This is my 4th mechanical in 24 hours. I am starting to worry about the maintenance competency of AA. And I am getting worried about being stranded overnight for the 2nd time in as many days. As we board, I asked the ramp agent in a weary voice if we were really leaving this time…because a Delta flight is leaving shortly and I don’t want to get stuck in Springfield. She responded very sarcastically, “Well, we are boarding you aren’t we?” (As if I hadn’t already boarded and de-planed 30 minutes earlier.). Silly me, I thought I might get an “I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience, I hope you have a good flight home.”

So in a calm but annoyed voice I said, “Well, I’ve had 4 mechanicals in 24 hours, which seems statistically impossible. Since you seem to be running the worst airline on the planet, I thought I’d ask before I miss the last flight of the day out of Springfield.” In hindsight, perhaps the calmness of my reaction was a problem…but more on that. She gives me a very snide “gee, thanks for sharing” response, and I head onto the aircraft, settle into my seat, turn off my BB and put on my iPod.

I see Julie the flight attendant approaching me, and she indicates that she’s heard I had “a problem with the gate representative”….silly me, I think she is there to apologize. Like Julie McCoy of Love Boat fame, I think she wants to have a perky chat with me and smooth things over. Anticipating this desire to be helpful, I decide to be gracious. I smile and tell her, “You can’t even imagine how many bad things have happened to me on your airline in the past 2 days…but there is no point in talking about it, I really just want to get home and put this trip behind me.”

It was then I realize that she wasn’t there to apologize….she proceeds to tell me that she is going to get the captain, and that I am in the exit row and she doesn’t think I am capable of serving those duties due to my “mental state.” (You know, if you curse and scream at a flight attendant they pop the chute and quit…but if you calmly tell them you’ve had a bad experience, you are the crazy one.)

“Really, you think I would refuse to open the door and let this entire airplane full of people die because I think you run a crappy airline? By all means, if you feel you need to get the captain, go ahead….but I think these people would really like to go home.”

She comes back….alone….and advises me (and the entire aircraft) that she thinks I am mentally unstable and that I need to move to a seat alone in the first row near the captain.

Now I am upset, angry and humiliated, but I know better than to argue with her….because I want to get home today. So I tell her, calmly, that I would be happy to move so that I can be the first one off her airplane. Once I am in my new seat, and she is “guarding me” in the galley, she advises me that she is filling out a report to the FAA because I’VE CAUSED A DELAY!!!!!!!!!!

So I am still speaking in a low voice, but I told her I’d be sending a report of my own to the DOT and that I’d like her name….because she may not like it, but I am certainly entitled to tell them that I am dissatisfied with the experience I’ve had on their airline, and that doesn’t make me unstable or the cause of her delay, and considering that I’ve been booked on 5 flights in 48 hours and not one of them has been on time, I didn’t think her argument would wash. She declines to give me her full name (“against company policy”) and the captain tells her to sit down and stop arguing with me so we can leave.

I arrive in Chicago, take another delay and finally get home to Newark.

Now, throughout the trip I tweeted and used my FB status….and the only thing I got was e-mail from friends at other airlines asking if they could sAAve me. Nothing from American. I got auto-emails from AA telling me that the flight had been delayed to a time that had already passed (so a message that we were delayed until 6 p.m., for example, arrived at 6:15)

I wait a week. Then I send a letter to American Airlines. Not because I want anything from them – heck, lifetime Gold Elite status wouldn’t make up for the bad experience I’ve had. But I would like to know that the flight attendant in question has been advised that she didn’t handle the situation well.
Nothing. Literally. In fact, I haven’t even been able to get the miles posted to my account for that hellacious trip.

72 hours of hell in the air – or in this case, mostly on the ground. 4 mechanicals. 2 other delays. 1 nasty flight attendant. A host of rude, incompetent people. Sorry American Airlines…you have a bad reputation, and as far as I’m concerned, you’ve earned it.

cwinters General Corporate American Airlines, American Eagle, O'Hare Airport, reputation

I am working with a client on a program to help celebrate their code of commitment, and bring it to life as a vibrant part of their culture. This is serious, important work….and I commend them for their desire to not just talk the talk, but to really walk the walk, and celebrate their colleagues who are living by their code, every day. Together, we are taking this project very seriously. Because living up to your Code of Commitment is serious business.

Lately, the discussion around CSR — which in its best embodiments begins with a code of commitment — has been very scholarly, serious and perhaps even a tad preachy. I’ve read pieces by smart people who admonish HP for not “living their code” and as a result, ousting their CEO who didn’t live up to the standards. I wrote recently about CSR being part of the 5 Commandments for brands. I’ve advocated that CSR should report to the CEO. And with 20 years in this business of reputation management, I suppose I’ve even been a tad preachy from time to time.

Last week, I visited a camp for children with cancer. Talk about finding perspective.

I went there with a client that is developing some new philanthropic programs as part of its commitment to CSR. They are not overly interested in how to get credit, generate publicity or engage their stakeholders. They want to help. It isn’t about being responsible…it is about being real.

As I entered the camp, I read a sign that said “Some people care too much; I think they call it LOVE.” I watched these kids “Sing You In” to camp, get a lanyard and race off to swim lessons. I forgot all about criteria for CSR, reputation management and employee engagement. And I remembered the many moments in these two decades when my company, and my clients, have provided me the opportunity to simply do something good…just because we can.

Responsibility. Trust. Transparency. All big concepts today….but not bigger or more important than REAL.

cwinters CSR Code of Commitment, corporate responsibility, CSR, HP, trust

And now, for a break from our usual commentary about CEO resignations….

They say that things happen in three’s – and the resignation of GM’s CEO makes the third this week – HP, Sara Lee and now GM. And in the words of Forest Gump, that’s all I am going to say about that – because I feel like I’ve written enough about the role of CEO’s in building trust this week.

Instead, I thought I’d share this really interesting item on the MSNBC video “Top Tens.”

• 4 out of our last 5 President’s have this in common…
• It is what ties Bill Gates to Michaelangelo; Oprah Winfrey to Fidel Castro….
• It is more likely to happen if your mother is over 40 when you are born…
• And more likely to come with an IQ of 140 or higher…
• And it only occurs in 10% of the population.

Left handedness.

According to this piece, lefties are also more likely to use counterintuitive solutions to problems – making them trailblazers, leaders and game changers.

I’ve also heard that lefties were often twins at conception – which means I would have two of my 10-year son, Jack…..which is too mind boggling to even consider.

They say that people in PR make great dinner party guests because they are always full of interesting or unusual factoids. And they have something to say about just about everything.

Call me the queen of useless information…but I think I just lived up to that reputation.

cwinters General Corporate Bill Gates, GM, HP, Lefties, Oprah, Sara Lee

In the past few days there have been lots of pundits providing their 2 cents or soliciting opinions about how JetBlue responded to the Flight Attendant who dramatically exited an aircraft at JFK.

And while I’ve been known to opine form time to time on issues (when they aren’t my client)…I’d like to point out that some others would say that sometimes, staying silent (until the time is right) is indeed, a strategy.

And as you would expect, JetBlue responded in its own voice, in its own time, in a manner that is authentic and true…and demonstrated once again, that they can take a joke…even if the joke is on them.

cwinters Crisis Communications Crisis Communications, JetBlue, Steve Slater