Bayer will pay $10 billion+ to settle liability lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller, but its practices assessing business risk will forever suppress its stock price and impede its ability to innovate and grow. That’s because its reputation was never based on PR, so PR can’t fix it. Don’t believe anything Read more…
It turns out that plastic recycling is a ruse invented by the oil and gas industry to stave off consumer backlash and more restrictive regulation. The majority of plastic waste we throw into recycling bins either can’t or won’t be recycled, according to an investigative report that aired on NPR Read more…
All of the PR people I know are running around like I am, making sure they’re getting the job done for their companies or clients. But one thing is making things a lot easier: Now we get to tell them the truth, and they’re telling the truth to their stakeholders. Read more…
It’s not a slogan, vision, mission, or message either. Sustainability is what companies do, so operating in a way that ensures that they stay in business isn’t a new idea, it’s what they’ve been doing since forever. To stay in business, companies must always strive to meet the requirements of Read more…
The evils of socialism threaten the economic freedoms that are synonymous with freedom of speech, free exercise of liberty, and America’s other fundamental rights, according to a speech Nikki Haley made to the Hudson Institute late last month (as reported by George Will, and here’s the full transcript of her Read more…
Microsoft and IBM have signed the “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” pledging to the Vatican that their AI will protect the planet and its people. History is filled with secular leaders cutting such deals in exchange for the Church’s sanction for fighting a war newly deemed “holy,” or sometimes simply Read more…
It’s official: Facebook has doubled down on its goal of imposing its radical ideology on the world. CEO Mark Zuckerberg couldn’t have been more clear in his comments at a tech conference last week: “We’re going to stand up for free expression. It’s unfortunate that this is such a controversial Read more…
Clay Christensen has died. Debate about his theories should live on. His concept of disruptive innovation is a brilliant encapsulation of the role of unexpected effects on markets and businesses, often driven by technology innovation. Applied within narrow constraints, it effectively describes instances in which businesses that dominate markets don’t Read more…
We don’t need stakeholder capitalism, nor do we need to reject shareholder value. Skip the buzz worthy phrases and easy PR campaigns. Companies shouldn’t tell us they’ll do good (however defined), they should tell us what they’re doing, really and fully, and let us decide if we like it or Read more…
Boeing’s widening woes are a warning to every communicator tasked with creating or sharing company purpose. The headline in today’s New York Times says it all: Cascading Crisis Reveals ‘Sick’ Culture at Boeing. Recently revealed internal documents show employees regularly cutting corners, dissing one another and insulting customers, feeling remorse Read more…