Business Communication and Character, Current Examples in the News
How well do leaders demonstrate character in their communications? Blog by Amy Newman, senior lecturer emerita, Cornell University; author of Business Communication and Character (11e) and Building Leadership Character
The tragic shooting at an Orlando, FL, gay club has brought communications from local politicians, global mourners, and of course, presidential candidates. The killer's motive could be homophobia, terrorism, or both, depending on your perspective. With 50 people dead and another 53 wounded, this is the largest attack since 9/11 and has left people wondering how and why.
Here's a summary of communications about the event:
President Obama's statement. Sadly, this isn't his first speech following a shooting tragedy in this country, and his message is consistent about needing more gun control.
Messages offer condolences and counseling, thank police and others who responded, and focus on healing. Trying to get back to some sense of normality, the university will resume classes except in the engineering building where a professor was killed. Provost Scott Waugh explains: "Obviously there's a lot of very distressed students, faculty and staff. And our goal within the school is to heal those wounds and make sure that they feel comfortable with the situation before resuming normal activities."
Discussion Starters:
Who are the primary and secondary audiences for the university's messages?
Assess the chancellor's press statement. What principles of delivering bad news and delivering oral presentations does he use?
A Harvard Business Reviewarticle reminds us to focus on our message when visualizing data. Author Scott Berinato suggests asking ourselves two questions to start:
Is the information conceptual or data-driven?
Am I declaring something or exploring something?
Berinato then identifies four types of visual communication: idea illustration, idea generation, visual discovery, and everyday dataviz. For idea illustration, he offers a weak and an improved example. You'll notice that the first includes elements of "chart junk" that detract from the message.
Discussion Starters:
How does Berinato's second example illustrate principles from Chapter 9 in the text book?
Consider a message you need to communicate. How does this article help you decide what visuals would support your points?
After the Indiana primary, presidential candidate Ted Cruz announced the end of his campaign. He told a crowd of supporters that he doesn't see a "viable path" to the office:
"And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. But hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty. I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution, to defend the Judeo-Christian values that built America. Our movement will continue. And I give you my word that I will continue this fight with all of my strength and all of my ability."
His message is positive, but he was not so just hours before the polls opened when he said, "If Indiana does not act, this country could well plunge into the abyss."
Cruz tried to defeat Donald Trump in the past couple of weeks by announcing former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate. But a Morning Consult Survey reported that this decision would have no impact on voters, and the results have played out. This tweet refers to the downsizing at Hewlett Packard when Fiorina was CEO:
Discussion Starters:
Analyze the primary and secondary audiences for Cruz's speech. How well does he meet their needs?
Also analyze his tone and delivery style. In what ways does this match what you would expect of a presidential candidate ending his campaign, and how does it differ?
The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner is the one night the president and others can make fun at themselves and each other publicly. The dinner is an annual roast of politicians, celebrities, and journalists.
Here are a few highlights from President Obama's speech from NPR:
"I was running on CPT, which stands for jokes that white people should not make." [a reference to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's bad reference]
"As you know, Spotlight is a film about investigative journalists with the resources, the autonomy, to chase down the truth and hold the powerful accountable. Best fantasy film since Star Wars."
"Savannah Guthrie left the White House press corps to host The Today Show. Nora O'Donnell left the briefing room to host CBS This Morning. Jake Tapper left journalism to join CNN."
Of course, the current presidential candidates were fair game. He poked fun at Hillary Clinton's lack of Facebook skills, Donald Trump's history of "running waterfront properties into the ground," and Bernie Sanders' reputation as a democratic socialist.
Discussion Starters:
Which of President Obama's jokes worked best, and which fell short? How many references did you miss? (You have to keep up with news to get the jokes.)
Watch Cecily Strong's speech. How does it compare to President Obama's?
The Governor of Maine walked out in the middle of a dedication speech at the University of Maine at Farmington. Paul R. LePage was thrown by seeing students holding protest signs. The Governor's speech begins at 5:27 on this video.
Mr. LePage reportedly saw the signs 15 seconds into his speech, and then began to pause and struggle with his text. After 30 seconds more, he said he was done, apologized, and left the stage.
"Thank you, you idiots out back there with the signs," the newspaper quoted Mr. LePage as saying as he left. One sign said: "LePage: Maine's Shame." The other was an environmental report card that gave Mr. LePage an F.
The Governor later apologized at a Town Hall meeting:
"First and foremost, I apologize to President Foster and especially to Theodora Kalikow for the sequence of events on Tuesday. I was humbled to be invited to speak at a ceremony to honor Theodora Kalikow and recognize the great legacy she has left the University of Maine at Farmington, as well as its faculty, staff and students.
"I am accustomed to daily attacks and ridicule from protestors, but most people are not. Neither Theo, nor the people who were gathered to honor her, deserved for this heartfelt occasion to be disrespected by smug and self-serving protestors. If they wish to protest me, that's fine: we all have the right to express our freedom of speech. But this event was not about me. I was sickened by the lack of respect displayed by two protestors holding up demeaning signs-including one with Theo's name on it-during an event that was supposed to celebrate and honor a remarkable woman who has contributed so many years to improving education in Maine.
"For more than five years, the media has flocked to events where I have been asked to speak, not to cover any good news about the events, but to disparage me over issues totally unrelated to the events. Since I am such a distraction to the media, I will no longer attend some of these public events. I sincerely hope the media will continue to attend these events and report on the good people of Maine and the many positive things they are doing for our state."
The Governor may have a short fuse. In another incident this week, he prevented the media and legislators from accessing a meeting about education. He said, "The press take seven seconds of what I say, and they make a s*** show out of it. I'm tired of it."
Maybe he just needs a vacation.
Discussion Starters:
Assess the Governor's apology. How does this meet and fall short of business communication principles?
How can presenters avoid being affected by protesters and other interruptions?
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough tweeted a suggestion to Hillary Clinton, and the backlash was fierce.
A Washington Postheadline called it "tired advice," but Scarborough hasn't been inspired to apologize:
In a series of tweets Wednesday, Scarborough responded on Twitter, saying "we've called @BernieSanders grumpy for a year. @HillaryClinton is tough as hell. She doesn't need this fake outrage." In yet another tweet, he wrote, "we've hammered all candidates on their style and substance. We try to hold all candidates to the same standard." In reply to a woman who said he crossed a line, Scarborough wrote that "I don't look at HRC as a woman anymore than I did Thatcher. I look at her as a tough candidate who can handle it."
An NPR article gives us some history about women and smiling:
Back in 1970, the feminist writer Shulamith Firestone proposed her "dream action" for the women's liberation movement: she called for "a smile boycott" in which, she wrote, "all women would instantly abandon their 'pleasing' smiles - henceforth smiling only when something pleased THEM."
In these situations, it's helpful to consider whether Scarborough would have made the same comment to a man-and what others are saying about the presidential candidate, which Vogue reports:
Fox News's Brit Hume wrote: "Hillary having a big night in the primaries. So she's shouting angrily in her victory speech," while commentator Howard Kurtz suggested Clinton should speak in a more relatable tone. "Hillary shouting her speech," Kurtz Tweeted. "She has the floor; a more conversational tone might be better for connecting with folks at home."
Discussion Starters:
Do you consider Scarborough's and other comments to be sexist or gender biased? Why or why not?
Most articles confirm that Clinton does, in fact, smile. How, if at all, does this factor into this discussion?
How does your own propensity to smile affect interactions and presentations? Have you received useful feedback about this?
Russian Tennis star Maria Sharapova is in a tough spot. She admitted that she failed a drug test and has taken "full responsibility" for it.
Sharapova said she was taking Meldonium, a medication for heart disease, which was added to the list of banned substances this year. She also said that the medication goes by another name, which she didn't know: "It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list, and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed." She also said, "I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down and I let the sport down."
But did she have to call the hotel's carpet "ugly"?
Although her admission and apology are clear, her sponsors don't want to wait for more news. Nike issued this statement: "We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova. We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues. We will continue to monitor the situation." Tag Heuer and Porsche also cancelled contracts, with the former explaining, "We had been in talks to extend our collaboration. In view of the current situation, the brand has decided not to renew the contract with Sharapova."
As of today, Nike's website page, "Maria Sharapova News" shows positive stories about the star and no mention of the decision.
Discussion Starters:
How well is Sharapova handling the situation? Assess the news conference.
Did Nike, Tag Heuer, and Porsche do the right thing? What pressures are on the sponsoring companies?
Insults flew during what theSkimm called the "1,000,000th GOP debate." Hosted by Fox News, the debate included the last four standing candidates: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich. Here's part 1:
After Trump's boycott of the previous debate, he and moderator Megyn Kelly started out on a better note:
"Mr. Trump. Hi. How are you doing?" Kelly said.
"Hi Megyn. You're looking well," Trump said.
BusinessInsider listed a few highlights of the debate, which I appreciate because I don't have the stomach for barbs about hair styles and body parts. Some clips relevant to communication follow:
9:18 p.m. EST - Trump dodged a question from Wallace about why some of his clothing line was made in Mexico instead of the US. Instead, Trump went after Rubio's assertion that the former reality-television star inherited $200 million from his father.
"This little guy has lied so much about my record," Trump said.
9:21 p.m. EST - Rubio slammed Trump for resorting to ad hominem attacks instead of addressing questions about policy.
"You see what happens again when you challenge him on a policy issue?" Rubio said. "You ask him about economic issues, and he the first thing he does is launch into this thing about 'little Marco.'"
"He doesn't have answers and he's asking to be president of the United States."
10:23 p.m. EST -Rubio criticized Democrats for "politicizing" the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
"The politicizing of it is unfair," Rubio said of the water crisis. "Because I don't think someone woke up some morning and said 'Let's poison people.'"
Discussion Starters:
Assess the three examples above. How well did the candidates respond to the question or handle the issue?
What do you consider to be the high points-and low points-of the debate?
Who do you think "won" the debate?
What, if any, influence will this debate have on the rest of the primary elections?
A protester didn't help Volkswagen's image during a press conference at the Geneva Motor Show. Dressed in a VW uniform, comedian Simon Brodkin got on stage to place a fake "cheat box" under the car while board member Jürgen Stackmann was speaking.
Stackmann was in a tough spot and said "Thank you" repeated and awkwardly tried to escort Brodkin away from the car.
This isn't the first time Brodkin pulled a prank. During a FIFA press conference, he threw $600 in bills at President Sepp Blatter. After that stunt, Swiss authorities charged Brodkin with trespassing.
Discussion Starters:
What's your view of Brodkin's antics? Is his approach more productive, disruptive, or destructive?
How well did Stackmann handle the incident? What could he have done differently?
Chris Rock didn't disappoint as the host of this year's Academy Awards. His monologue focused on the question of racism, as expected for the second-year-in-row, all-white slate of nominees.
Early on, Rock welcomed the crowd to the ceremony, "otherwise known as the White People's Choice awards." He also addressed his own critics directly by explaining why he didn't boycott. He concluded that the issue is about fairness: "We want opportunity. We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. That's it."
In addition to the ten-minute monologue, jokes and parodies about #OscarsSoWhite continued throughout the night from Rock and other actors.
As the cameras panned the audience, we saw some awkward reactions. People seemed uncomfortable with some of the jokes, not quite sure whether they were funny or whether they should laugh.
One joke, about Asians, didn't go over well at all. Rock introduced "accountants" to the stage: three Asian children (one with a Jewish surname), dressed in suits. Mee Moua, of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, explained,
"Last night's ceremony, and particularly the 'joke' involving Asian children, which played off more than one damaging stereotype of Asians and Asian Americans, exposed one of the failings of how we talk about race in America: race relations are not a black-white binary," she said.
"It is to all of our detriment to look at race narrowly. We need to work together to dismantle the systems that devalue the experiences of minority groups so we can see the tales of the diversity that have shaped our nation reflected accurately."
The Chronicle of Higher Education interviewed Alex Purdy, a student at Syracuse University who posted a video, "Why I Left My Sorority." Purdy explains her decision without calling out her particular sorority, but gives some damning examples, such as sisters "body shaming" other sisters. She says the biggest problem is "the overwhelming lack of compassion for one another." Purdy is also careful to say that this reflects only her experience and may not represent all sororities.
In the interview, Purdy says she worked on the video for more than six months and had been worried about how people would react. Since then, the video, with the hashtag #sororityrevamp, has received more than 100,000 views, and Purdy has appeared on the Today show.
Most Twitter comments are positive, complimenting Purdy for raising the conversation. Some expressed gratitude for their own sorority, which they say is a kind, compassionate place.
Dani Weatherford, executive director of the National Panhellenic Conference, provided this statement for The Washington Post:
We share in Alex's call for a thoughtful dialogue regarding how to best shape the modern sorority experience. Our member organizations set high standards, and a conversation about living up to them is one that we always welcome.
We also know that for millions of women, sorority membership has been and continues to be transformational and life-changing. We know from research that sorority women are not only more likely to graduate, but to graduate on time and to report a positive sense of engagement in their personal and professional lives.
For us, Alex's story is a reminder that our work must continue as we seek to enhance a sorority experience more than 100 years strong that's rooted in creating opportunities for service, leadership and scholarship.
Discussion Starters:
What examples do you hear of logical argument, emotional appeal, and credibility?
How does she organize the video? Do you find this structure helpful to her argument, or does it detract from her points?
How do you assess Purdy's own credibility? What makes her credible, and what might diminish her credibility?
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debated last night in an elevated argument about policies and finances. In January, for the first time, the Sanders campaign raised more than Clinton's, which her finance director said was, "a very loud wake-up call." Clinton also won the Iowa caucus, but by a small margin. As a result, the tone of the debate changed.
In this clip, the reporter asks about Clinton's record, and Sanders avoids the question to discuss his view on "big banks."
As Sanders campaigns for equity, he shuns contributions from financial services companies: "I am very proud to be the only candidate up here who does not have super PAC, who's not raising huge sums from Wall Street and special interests." He questioned Clinton's contributions from companies, such as Goldman Sachs, which paid her $675,000 for three speeches, and gave examples of inequity:
He said that when a "kid gets caught with marijuana, that kid has a police record." But when "a Wall Street executive destroys the economy" and pays a $5 billion settlement, he has no criminal record.
Wall Street has been a popular topic on both the Republican and Democratic campaigns. Ted Cruz was recently criticized for accepting money from Goldman Sachs without disclosing it.
Discussion Starters:
Assess the candidates' arguments about Wall Street. What's your opinion on the power of Wall Street?
Who do you think won the debate? What were the highlights?
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson told Bloomberg TV at Davos that he's optimistic about the hotel outlook for 2016.
Sorenson uses logical arguments to explain his perspective on rates and bookings despite weak performance in the stock market. Referring to industry data, he makes a convincing case that Marriott will see similar revenue in 2016.
In discussing the Starwood acquisition, Sorenson explains the purchase of equity (and a lower price today than what was announced) and describes plans for the integration mid-2016. He also talks about more potential M&A activity for other hotel companies.
Discussion Starters:
What examples of logical arguments do you identify in Sorenson's interview?
What data does he use to support his points?
Sorenson is realistic. Identify at least three examples of reservations and qualifiers you hear him use. How do these help or hurt his position?
President Obama's presidency came full circle in his last State of the Union (SOTU) address. The speech was not without humor. The president began by promising to keep it short, so people could get back to Iowa for more campaigning. (Transcript)
As expected, the president highlighted accomplishments from his administration and laid out plans for the future. The speech sounded optimistic, which of course, was the theme of his first presidential campaign. He ended this way:
That's the America I know. That's the country we love. Clear- eyed, big-hearted, undaunted by challenge, optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That's what makes me so hopeful about our future.
I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people. And that's why I stand here, as confident as I have ever been, that the state of our Union is strong.
The audience reaction is typical and always baffles me: Republicans don't support anything a Democratic president says, and the opposite happens when we have a Republican president. It's strange to me when the President makes some points that, surely, everyone agrees with. Early on, he says, "First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?" The camera is on Marco Rubio, who sits stoically in non-response. Doesn't he support opportunity for everyone?
As usual, major newspapers showed their political bent in reporting on the SOTU. The Wall Street Journal ran a secondary headline on the front page with the title, "GOP Candidates Contrast Obama's Speech With Their Own Aims." The Journal showed additional stories under the "Politics" heading further down on the site, shown here.
In contrast, The New York Times ran the story as the main headline of the day with the title, "Obama Offers Hopeful Vision While Noting Nation's Fears," and ran more stories, including opinions, with positive titles about the speech.
Discussion Starters:
What do you consider to be the highlights of President Obama's speech?
Look at the audience's reactions. What's your view of the convention I mention above: how does the non-response serve each side?
I cut the cable cord three years ago, so I missed all of the cursing during the Golden Globes, but the language is making headlines. Comedian Amy Schumer set the stage with the first cuss word of the night (beginning with a C), according to Daily Mail, "just minutes after the show got underway."
Host Ricky Gervais continued the evening with his usual vitriol, despite saying several times,"I'm going to be nice tonight," which of course, no one expected or wanted. He started his opening monologue, drinking a glass of beer, by telling the crowd to "Shut up." In about seven minutes, Gervais insulted Caitlyn Jenner, Jeffrey Tambor, Roman Polanski, Jennifer Lawrence, and the film companies in general. The worst insults flew to Mel Gibson later on.
The F-bombs continued throughout show, leading an LA Times writer to conclude , "The hardest-working person at Sunday night's Golden Globes ceremony may have been whoever was in charge of the bleep button."
Gervais also advised the actors who would receive awards, "Don't get emotional. It's embarrassing. Okay? That award is, no offense, worthless." Some of the more emotional speeches of the night were from Lady Gaga, Denzel Washington, and Sylvester Stallone.
Discussion Starters:
What's your view of the profanity in the Golden Globes? Did it add to or detract from the night?
How does Gervais's opening monologue differ from roast speeches? Consider a few examples and compare the purpose, audience, and setting.
Do you share Gervais's opinion that people shouldn't "get emotional"? What would you advise people who accept awards?
Bloomberg Businessselected its favorite graphics from 2015. My favorites are still the bubble charts, if only because they are easy for students to create. Microsoft explains how to create bubble charts in Excel here.
As is typical, this example shows different colors as variables and different sizes for, in this case, how many millions Swiss banks paid in penalties. (If you're wondering, BSI SA paid the most: $211 million.)
The New York Times also published its list of best graphics from 2015, including this interactive visual showing the impact of the recession on 255 industries.
Discussion Starters:
Create a bubble chart with Microsoft's instructions. You'll also find YouTube videos to help. How does it turn out? For what type of information or presentation would you choose this chart option?
Look at the detail behind the recession visual: so much information in one graphic! Do you find it useful, overwhelming, or something in between? What's the best way to navigate a visual like this?
Once again, Donald Trump was front and center during the Republican presidential debate. The fifth of many debates to come, the CNN debate in Las Vegas focused on the two recent terrorist attacks in Paris and California.
CNN identified Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump as the winners, while The Washington Post highlighted Bush, Rubio, and Trump (but only for the first hour). Here are highlights from The Post.
Analysts credit Jeb Bush for pushing back on Trump. Calling him a "chaos candidate," Bush attacked Trump's leadership ability, according to Newsweek:
Blitzer asked Bush about his comments that Trump was "unhinged" after Trump proposed banning all Muslims from the United States after the San Bernardino attacks. "Donald is great at the one-liners, but he's a chaos candidate," Bush said, "and he'd be a chaos president, he would not be the Commander-in-Chief we need to keep our country safe."
Discussion Starters:
No mention this time of Carly Fiorina. What happened?
Watch more segments from the debate. What are some of the "standout" moments?
Donald Trump spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, DC. He started by saying that his daughter is Jewish (she is married to a Jew and converted). He then talked about how his campaign is self funded but he hasn't spent a lot of money on ads and is still in "first place by a lot" in all polls.
Trump made some questionable comments to this audience. An MSNBCarticle summarizes them well: "at times [Trump] flirted with stereotypes about Jews as wealthy deal-makers":
"I'm a negotiator, like you folks. Is there anybody that doesn't renegotiate deals in this room?. . . . This room negotiates them perhaps more than any other room I've ever spoken in."
"You're not going to support me because I don't want your money because, stupidly, you want to give money."
Trump focused much of his speech on Hillary Clinton, how she's unqualified to be president and why she shouldn't be allowed to run.
He was characteristically confident: "I'm gonna win." "My life has been about winning." He also said that now he's dealing in trillions for the first time; he is used to dealing in billions. Trump promised to repeal "Obamacare" and criticized Jeb Bush's low energy.
Discussion Starters:
Do you find Trump's comments offensive? Why or why not?
What else do you find notable in Trump's speech and in the Q&A?
How, if at all, does this speech affect your vote?
A shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, CA, left 14 people dead and 17 injured. Two suspects have been killed, and their motivation for the attack at the facility for people with developmental disabilities is unclear. A holiday party was taking place in the conference room where the shooting took place.
County police have been holding press conferences, providing as much information as possible. The police chief gave an initial statement:
In this video, so many questions are unanswered that I wonder whether the conference was held too early:
As he has after other recent shootings, President Obama gave a statement:
Discussion Starters:
Do you agree with my assessment of the police news conference? Is it too soon to offer a Q&A session if so little is known and so few answers are given?
So far, the National Rifle Association is quiet on social media, although others blame the organization. Should the NRA respond or make a statement at this time?
Compare President Obama's statement with his news conference following the recent school shooting in Oregon. What differences and similarities do you see?
Business Communication and Character
Leadership Character and Communication, Amy Newman, Cornell University
The tragic shooting at an Orlando, FL, gay club has brought communications from local politicians, global mourners, and of course, presidential candidates. The killer's motive could be homophobia, terrorism, or both, depending on your perspective. With 50 people dead and another 53 wounded, this is the largest attack since 9/11 and has left people wondering how and why.
