edit30 ...insight for business communicators: Obama hammers Citigroup's Falcon

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Obama hammers Citigroup's Falcon

Bulletin Web headline from ABC News:

"Citigroup to Refuse Delivery of New Jet Under Pressure from White House [8:43 a.m. ET]"

To have put themselves in the position to be admonished by the President's office is a serious lapse of business acumen, and further undermines the public's opinion of "big business" and bankers in particular. Good that Citigroup was responsive, belatedly, though. Sounds like a job Rahm may have been given.

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Edit30 brings more than 30 years

of corporate, marketing and investor

communications experience to the

blog arena. Our goals are to...

...provide objective perspective and opinion;

...evaluate communications challenges; and

...undermine needless self-importance.

In achieving these objectives, our comments

may sometimes seem a bit "edgy," as some

have told us. While that may be — we don't

intend to be rude or partisan — the mission

remains the same: Provide an new or different

perspective that we believe senior management

needs, but may not get from

insiders or retainers.

What CEOs worldwide think

In its 12th annual global executive survey, PriceWaterhouseCoopers polled 1,124 CEOs. Here are the headline results.

Current economic impact
70% — affected by the credit crisis
80% — face higher financing costs
70% — delaying planned investments

Industries most likely affected
Banking
Utilities
Construction
Entertainment
Automotive

CEO confidence about growth in 12 months
15% — North America
15% — Western Europe
21% — Central and Eastern Europe
31% — Asia Pacific,
21% — Latin America.

Recovery prospects
Most CEOs around the world are planning for a slow recovery

What does edit30 mean?

The name edit30 combines the commonplace, "edit," with journalistic jardon, "30."

"Edit" is pretty obvious: prepare material for distribution by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. That's what editors do.

"3o" is the writers designation for the end of his "copy," his written work. Traditionally, it was expressed at the bottom of the text by three hash marks, ###.

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As Walter Cronkite said:

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2009: Crisis Communications 101

A recent situation reminds us that when businesses are engulfed in crises, they often fail to reflect on — and may not be aware of — the fundamentals of Crisis Communications. Since crises seem to be the order of the day in 2009, we thought it worthwhile to post our five basics of Crisis Communications. Call it a brief refresher course for executives.

CLARITY — All crisis communications should be clear, concise and simply stated so that they can be easily understood by all stakeholders.

TIMELINESS — When a crisis occurs, full and timely disclosure is essential. The drip method only prolongs the agony and undermines your credibility.

CONSISTENCY — All stakeholders should be informed simultaneously. Bad, and usually inaccurate, news moves much faster than you can. Either an audio or video conference call is a good choice.

DISCLOSURE — Don’t be lulled into the false sense of security that the media, your competitors or local gossip hounds won’t get the story. They will, and they’ll surely get it wrong. The cliché is accurate: the best defense is a good offense [see one through three above].

THE MESSAGE — Draft a clear written statement that says what has happened, what your company’s role in it was, what you plan to do about it, and what you believe it means for your various stakeholders. Make this statement clear, concise and simple [see rule one], and short. Memorize it and use it consistently. When the press calls, talk them through it and email them a copy.

THE PRESS — The press is not your friend, regardless of how chummy they may present themselves. Their job is to get a story; their ego is to get on page one. The operative definition is: Reporters, puppy dogs and little boys must be watched very closely.

Don’t let these six seemingly simple fundamentals lull into a sense of false security. Effective crisis communications management is difficult and critical; it can mean the survival of your business. While the process is much more detailed than these six fundamentals, they will steer you the right direction.

If you want to discuss in-depth Crisis Communications planning and execution visit AcumenStrategies.com, then give them a call. Their phone number’s on the site.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Obama hammers Citigroup's Falcon

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