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Advice For Corporate Executives In the Frying Pan

Guest post by: Thomas J. Madden

Article Overview: It's become a reality TV show of corporate executives shooting themselves in the foot. Perhaps the most footworthy was the former BP CEO's famous remark that he wanted his life back. So here are some tips that corporate executives in the frying pan should keep in mind.

Advice For Corporate Executives In the Frying Pan



When the media are descending on you like a swarm of locusts, here are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Never go before Congress saying you've got nothing to hide, but refusing to answer questions on grounds it might incriminate you. You can't have it both ways.

2. Never tell a reporter you'd rather focus on your salad, like Martha Stewart once said dismissively in a TV interview, than answer probing questions. Your public will think you're a fruitcake.

3. Never go into hiding when the media is after you. It only makes you a juicier target.

4. Always tell the truth. It's more believable and much easier to remember.

5. Follow the example The Coco-Cola Co. and your 5th Grade arithmetic teacher by making sure your company's earnings reflect the value of stock options granted to executives.

6. Always avoid even the appearance of impropriety, even if it means selling stock at a loss, like everybody else.

7. Never be too proud to be human . . . to admit you made a mistake or even to say your sorry for the anguish your company may have caused wittingly or unwittingly to investors. In other words, listen to your publicist as much as to your attorney.

8. Be brave and volunteer to enter Bill O'Reilly's "no spin zone" and to appear on such other interview shows as Meet The Press, to show you've got nothing to hide.

9. Stop pointing fingers at others or the system or the "ridiculousness" of it all, when it was yourself who called the shots or knew what was happening.

10. Volunteer to do good deeds with any ill-begotten gains. It's good PR for later on as maybe, just maybe, God will forgive you, as right now we're having a tough time.

Oh, and one more. Never never say "I just want my life back."

~Tom Madden

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Article Tags: controversy, crisis management, infamy, negative press, negative publicity, political storm



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