Isn’t it Ironic?: February 2020 Newsletter

Last month, we commented about lessons in communications being at the root of most stories when you dig deep enough. This month it seems like those lessons were front and center. The Houston Astros botched the one chance they had to restore a modicum of integrity to their brand; it went worse than most PR pros could’ve imagined. Plus, there’s a survey for everything now, highlighting the value of data-driven storytelling and answering crucial quality-of-life questions like, “Just how rude is it to recline your airplane seat?”

Read on for more.

–      Delta’s CEO offers a simple solution to the raging debate over reclining seats on airplanes: Forget the divisiveness of the modern political system. Nothing polarizes the American people more than airplane etiquette. Fortunately, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has landed on the scene to provide some best practices.

–      Nearly half of employees rarely or never meet with managers. Three tips to build relationships with your team: We’ve known for a while now that productivity and employee engagement are directly correlated, so why do so many companies and managers struggle to build and maintain authentic relationships with employees?

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to save Earth’s environment: A month after his company threatened to fire employees for criticizing its role in worsening climate change, Jeff Bezos is out to fix it.

“A disgrace.”

“Arrogant.”

“Embarrassing.”

These are literally the last adjectives you want to describe a press conference whose sole objective was to express remorse for wrongdoing. The Houston Astros’ pre-Valentine’s Day presser was a home run for everyone but the Houston Astros, whose management of the fallout from several years of systemic cheating has somehow escalated from dumpster fire to irradiated smoldering landfill faster than a José Altuve “apology.”

Let’s not mince words here.

The Astros’ cheating scandal is about more than championships. Opposing players lost jobs. Opposing teams lost revenue. Whether the organization’s reputation can ever be rebuilt is very much in doubt, especially when its leader appears in front of media for the first time since the scandal broke and says something brilliant like, “Our opinion is this didn’t impact the game,” only to follow it less than a minute later with the even more brilliant, “I didn’t say it didn’t impact the game.” It’s even more doubtful when your brand is being compared to Enron, which is actually happening (and for good reason, the similarities are really uncanny, not to mention “Enron Field” used to be the name of Minute Maid Park, the home field of—you guessed it—the Houston Astros).

There are many PR lessons to be learned from this debacle.

Reputations, much like Rome, aren’t built in a day, but they can be destroyed with a single bang of the trash can. It also helps when you’re apologizing to actually appear and sound apologetic. It’s even better to actually be apologetic, but I think that might be asking a little too much from this particular owner and team, whose only regret simply seems to be that they were caught.

The scandal has also highlighted a real culture problem within Major League Baseball. The Astros’ cheating methods were apparently well known around the league as far back as 2016. About a third of MLB teams filed complaints, yet it took a blockbuster story from The Athletic late last year for commissioner Rob Manfred to finally investigate. The lack of action—both in the years preceding the investigation and in the decision to grant Astros players immunity from punishment—forced teams and players to essentially develop counterespionage tactics that are now well documented. The 2020 season is shaping up to be one of the more interesting in recent memory, and you can be sure that the Astros won’t need to cheat to know they’ll be getting more than a few fastballs in the ribs.

The CEO Tightrope: How to Master the Balancing Act of a Successful CEO

Whether you’re a seasoned CEO or just beginning to navigate the upper echelons of business, Joel Trammell has a bit of advice for everyone.

We’re still in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, but it’s already having a significant impact on global industries and supply chains. We reviewed its impact so far across various business sectors and have a few tips on how to best handle communications if or when your business is affected.