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When I was growing up, my Dad was a serial entrepreneur….some of his ideas succeeded, others were failures. But he was always thinking about his next big thing. This piece in the NYT makes the case that entrepreneurs are just a little bit crazy…or as they say, just crazy enough. There was many a day, especially in the teen years, where we said, “Our Dad is Crazy.”

But once you get past this premise of manic entrepreneurialism, this piece talks a lot about the entrepreneur’s need for storytelling. For bringing his vision to life. It even says that reading this story is like judging a song only by its lyrics – because to hear this entrepreneur speak is to believe.

This founder of scvngr believes he is going to build a “game layer” over the world. And he’s made venture capitalists believe, too. He must be a heck of a storyteller. (He’s also passionate, hard working and singularly committed to his idea.)

Will scvngr succeed? Who knows, but it makes for a great story.

cwinters General Corporate, Uncategorized scvngr

Corporations across the country are closed today to celebrate Labor Day, the unofficial close of summer. Last Friday likely marked the last Summer Friday of the year for those companies that still, in these tough times, offer such perks benefits to their employees. But, after this difficult year, as we celebrate with friends and families, it’s wise to realize just how far we’ve come from that first Labor Day “parade” in 1882…and how far we still need to go.

128 years ago, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers took to the street to demand better working wages, more reasonable work days and safer work conditions. More strike than parade, this uprising put the conditions facing workers out in front of the public in a manner that demanded change and attention. And it worked. Shorter work days, safer workplaces, better pay all came to be. Legislation that resulted in OSHA took just short of a century to follow but for most, the workplace became a better place.

In recent years, focus on corporate reputation and a desire to win the talent wars — a byproduct of a robust economy — had led companies to vie for “best place to work” status. From a greater sensitivity to diversity and inclusion to on-site masseuses and lactation stations, Corporate America had put “keeping talent” high on the list of items necessary for a sustainable business and strong corporate reputation.

Today, in a tougher economy, where keeping staff seems less of a concern, it is tempting to forgo the niceties that were adopted to keep employees happy. It is tempting for a business to demand longer work hours when operating “lean and mean” to save costs. Forgoing the company summer outing is an obvious way to save dollars when things are tight.
But, to maintain talent and a reputation as a place that the best want to work, as the economy turns around, it will be critical for businesses to remember why Peter McGuire and others marched in that first Labor Day parade.

Exploding oil rigs that put workers lives at risk, collapsing mines and trapped miners, and scientific studies that show that those with jobs today are more likely to die young than the unemployed, remind us that at the heart of any business are its people.

Protecting and nurturing them is the best way to sustain a strong business and a healthy reputation amongst workers, customers and communities.

awadler General Corporate, Uncategorized Corporate Reputation, Labor Day, Labor Relations

Interesting news, companies like Goldman Sachs are citing negative publicity as a risk factor for the business in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Even more interesting, that several big banks think the solution to the public’s negative perception of the financial industry is to join forces to support a public relations campaign to change perceptions.  We are all for companies taking  charge of their reputations, talking about the things they do well and owning where they need to improve.  We believe that this type of communications is critical to helping good companies stay strong, deliver shareholder value, and continue to be sustainable businesses for their employees and their communities.  But, sometimes, the actions need to be apparent before the words.  The public’s perception of the banking industry is that the big banks have made big money on the backs of the public and are doing little to nothing to help Main Street get back on its feet.  True or not almost doesn’t matter, that’s perception.  Many community banks have weathered this storm by making themselves even more part of Main Street than they were before.  However, public opinion is that the big banks are just collecting bonuses and arguing their position in Washington D.C. Perhaps as these banks come together, they should think of how their actions can overcome the perceptions.  Do something critical for Main Street.  Make your commitment to growth clear and transparent.  Act, and then, by all means, tell.

cwinters Uncategorized

What can you do with an old brand?

Even new media companies face that dilemma in Twenty Ten – AOL and MySpace, for example. Struggling to stay relevant, both companies are searching for a leg up in the brand wars.

AOL and MySpace both have a similar challenge – recovering from being the eclipsed top dog in their sectors. It’s too easy for many critics to say their time has passed, but with some smart acquisitions, sharpened brand management and a serious socially-responsible corporate outreach program, they could each recapture market share and relevancy.

Generally this involves buying or merging with an up-and-coming company first, and then setting out to freshen the brand with a high-visibility communications/PR project, preferably of the CSR persuasion. Both of those companies could take acquisition lessons from Xerox, which just merged on February 5th with the IT giant ACS. ACS is a terrific growth story, a global company with a 21st-Century business model and reputation for being well-managed and fast-moving. With one fell swoop Xerox made itself newly relevant and cutting-edge, and I’m sure their branding and CSR programs will follow.

Xerox is a known and trusted brand that defines the duplication and printing business – but their name and their image needed a new infusion of immediacy and impact, and ACS gave that to them. AOL and MySpace could do the same with one smart acquisition — and they’re probably looking as we speak.

David Langness can be reached at dlangness@mww.com.

dlangness CSR, General Corporate, Sustainability, Uncategorized AOL, CSR, MySpace, reputation

I have resisted and will continue resisting joining the Greek chorus of PR pros who have seized this moment to condemn Tiger Woods not just for his current, uh, troubles, but for the way in which he has dealt with the media and public. Lots of bromides about “controlling the story” and other such pieces of doctrinaire advice that, while certainly applicable in some situations, have little bearing on this specific situation.

I have my thoughts on how Woods should handle this going forward and try to repair his reputation, but I’m more interested in the corporate angle – his sponsors. Fortune, also interested, asks the question: “Will his sponsors stick around?” In the days following his, uh, accident, there has been a real dearth of Tiger Woods as pitchman. His commercials have been yanked from the airwaves.

And though some sponsors, like Nike and Accenture, have offered public support and seem willing to stick with him, Fortune suggests that “observers on deathwatch” are just waiting to see how much the sponsors can endure – with revelation after revelation – before cutting ties.

What does a brand have to gain reputation-wise from sticking by a now, if not reviled, then at least tarnished, athlete? Particularly one that attracted such sponsorships in part because of his good guy image? Well, part of it has to be a bet – a bet that after some time, Woods can begin to repair his image and return to some shade of former glory (and marketability). It might be cynical, but being awesome at sports helps overcome a lot.

The article points out two other considerations for sponsors: If they let Woods go now, competitors might want him, and; they might try to renegotiate his contracts, getting him for cheaper now in light of his, uh, situation.

All are reasonably sound rationale for not dumping him overboard just yet. But like most things reputation, there is a risk. Stick by him too long, and offer too much support if things continue to unravel, and it begins to look like you just haven’t noticed. Or worse, it begins to look to your stakeholders like you care little about their values.

Mike Sacks can be reached at msacks@mww.com.

msacks Executive Visibility, Social Media, Uncategorized Crisis Communications, Reputation Management