“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word “crisis.” One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the opportunity.” – President John F. Kennedy. Even though toy-manufacturing giant Hasbro hadn’t been forced to issue a single recall related to 2007’s lead-paint scare, the company heeded this sage advice to make the most of what could have been a disastrous situation. Hasbro knew that when a crisis ... Read More

The story of how a clever new advertising campaign for the Motrin pain reliever turned into a nightmare for Johnson & Johnson is really a case of how something old can suddenly be new again. Despite all the furor they generated in the blogosphere and beyond, the ads themselves are really rather benign. It’s a clever take on the popular practice of mothers carrying infants in a sling on their chest – something that might give ... Read More

In case you were still waiting for concrete evidence that social media buzz really matters to the business world, it’s here. What started as a single weekend Twitter post on Motrin’s latest ad campaign for the over-the-counter pain reliever evolved into a full-blown crisis for Motrin manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. By Monday morning, the campaign was abandoned and J&J was forced to issue an apology. It started on a Friday night, when blogger Jessica Gottlieb got ... Read More

Last month, the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski published the fifth edition of its annual litigation trends survey. It is the largest survey of its kind – providing valuable insights from 358 in-house counselors in the U.S. and UK on what are likely to be the most significant sources of corporate litigation in the coming year. The survey results confirm the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. For ... Read More

As more companies and organizations confront the prospect of downsizing, careful planning is essential to controlling short and long-term reputational impact. As with any high-stakes situation, it is usually best to deal with bad news as early and thoroughly as possible. Everybody knows that their lives could change as a result of the current financial crisis. As such, senior executives need to keep employees informed – or risk the panic that will inevitably come as ... Read More

In a high-anxiety environment – such as the one created by the current financial crisis – wild rumors all too often carry the weight of fact. When a company’s stakeholders hear troublesome news, they don’t have the luxury of waiting around for confirmation. They’ll opt for the knee-jerk reaction almost every time. Just ask Apple investors whose stock lost ten percent of its value in ten minutes after false reports that CEO Steve Jobs had ... Read More