This is one of my favorite tools for discussing serious problems with management.  It is simply a side-by-side comparison of the assumptions we make about a given situation, and the realities of that situation in the words of victims, employees, those indirectly affected, and critics.

In today’s Ragan PR Daily, Gill Rudawsky talks about videotaping news interviews, which he calls a “useful tactic for PR.” His discussion is interesting and focuses on the impact and negative reaction of journalists and the potential pitfalls.

Businesses don’t learn because the typical response to a crisis is focused more on forgetting than learning. The first inclination is to punish the innocent, next, to cover up the misdeeds of the powerful; and then purge the organization of anyone remotely associated with the problems, including the chief executive, sometimes the CFO and even the general counsel.

Wherever there is conflict, confrontation and crisis, there is contention. In today’s Twitter, blogger and bloviator dominated world, working to resolve important issues, questions and decisions often begins very contentiously and ends only after one side is beaten and leaves the field; there is a mutual withdrawal, or mostly commonly, one side wins and the other side stays angry.

If you are a CEO today the news can be pretty dismal for many. The ranks of CEOs seem to be churning faster than ever. The average tenure of new U.S. and European CEOs is shrinking, now down to an average of 41 months.

I am 1,000,000 mile flyer on Delta Airlines and soon will be one on United once they complete their mergers. But last night, December 7, 2011, I saw something happen in an airport that is absolutely new and amazing.

Am I the only one who has noticed that it takes catastrophe to force democracy forward: Black Friday; Pearl Harbor; 9/11; Hurricane Katrina? The incompetence, ignorance, and political paralysis of government, combined with the implacable gall of America’s Greed Team has created a fragile  moment when change in America’s economic structure and destiny is possible.

Cybercrime has come a long way since it was mostly a digital form of vandalism. It has developed into a criminal business operated for financial gain and is now worth billions.

President Obama may have the most negative leadership style since Jimmy Carter.

When you hear companies mindlessly bloviate about their customer service, you really sense the fix is in and you’re interests, needs, concerns and problems are out…way out.