General's Email About Reading

Marine General James Mattis's email response to a colleague who was "too busy to read" offers good lessons for business leaders-and writers. The 2004 email went viral and was recently published on a blog and picked up by Business Insider.

Here is the email:

The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men's experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others' experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.

Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead."

With [Task Force] 58, I had w/ me Slim's book, books about the Russian and British experiences in [Afghanistan], and a couple others. Going into Iraq, "The Siege" (about the Brits' defeat at Al Kut in WW I) was req'd reading for field grade officers. I also had Slim's book; reviewed T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"; a good book about the life of Gertrude Bell (the Brit archaeologist who virtually founded the modern Iraq state in the aftermath of WW I and the fall of the Ottoman empire); and "From Beirut to Jerusalem". I also went deeply into Liddell Hart's book on Sherman, and Fuller's book on Alexander the Great got a lot of my attention (although I never imagined that my HQ would end up only 500 meters from where he lay in state in Babylon). 

Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun.

For all the "4th Generation of War" intellectuals running around today saying that the nature of war has fundamentally changed, the tactics are wholly new, etc, I must respectfully say … "Not really": Alex the Great would not be in the least bit perplexed by the enemy that we face right now in Iraq, and our leaders going into this fight do their troops a disservice by not studying (studying, vice just reading) the men who have gone before us.

We have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience. "Winging it" and filling body bags as we sort out what works reminds us of the moral dictates and the cost of incompetence in our profession. As commanders and staff officers, we are coaches and sentries for our units: how can we coach anything if we don't know a hell of a lot more than just the [Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures]? What happens when you're on a dynamic battlefield and things are changing faster than higher [Headquarters] can stay abreast? Do you not adapt because you cannot conceptualize faster than the enemy's adaptation? (Darwin has a pretty good theory about the outcome for those who cannot adapt to changing circumstance - in the information age things can change rather abruptly and at warp speed, especially the moral high ground which our regimented thinkers cede far too quickly in our recent fights.) And how can you be a sentinel and not have your unit caught flat-footed if you don't know what the warning signs are - that your unit's preps are not sufficient for the specifics of a tasking that you have not anticipated?

Perhaps if you are in support functions waiting on the warfighters to spell out the specifics of what you are to do, you can avoid the consequences of not reading. Those who must adapt to overcoming an independent enemy's will are not allowed that luxury.

This is not new to the USMC approach to warfighting - Going into Kuwait 12 years ago, I read (and reread) Rommel's Papers (remember "Kampstaffel"?), Montgomery's book ("Eyes Officers"…), "Grant Takes Command" (need for commanders to get along, "commanders' relationships" being more important than "command relationships"), and some others.

As a result, the enemy has paid when I had the opportunity to go against them, and I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn't waste their lives because I didn't have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.

Hope this answers your question…. I will cc my ADC in the event he can add to this. He is the only officer I know who has read more than I.

We know that General Mattis is an avid reader because he writes well. Reading is essential for good writing.

Discussion Starters:

• What do you read? In what ways does it help you?
• Do you agree with my assertion that reading is essential to good writing? Why or why not?

JC Penney's Re- ReBranding Efforts

After rebranding and ousting its CEO, JC Penney is trying to lure customers back to the store. In a new commercial, the company says, "It's no secret that JC Penney changed" and admits that not everyone liked what they saw. The voiceover asks people to return, saying "We learned a very simple thing: to listen to you."

The CEO was in place for only 17 months, and by most accounts was a disastrous choice for the company. A former Apple executive, Ron Johnson implemented a strategy to target younger customers, and the company brought in hipper products and stopped running sales. But JC Penney's loyal customers were alientated in the process.

Will the new commercial and CEO (Mike Ullman, who preceded Johnson) turn the company around? Skeptics say it's a rough road: same-store sales were down 20% last year and are down 15% so far this year.

A writer for USA Today thinks the company is doomed:

"Either way, there is no reason that these customers will come back. J.C. Penney's share of the retail market is already permanently depressed.

"J.C. Penney is done for. The only party that has not admitted as much is management.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess the new commercial. How does the company use language, images, and music to convey its message?
• Which arguments in the commercial might convince customers to return to the store? Which may detract from the company's message?
  

Twitter CEO Gives Commencement Speech at Michigan

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, University of Michigan '85, rejoined to give a funny commencement speech.

Costolo used his share of self-deprecating humor, discussing his "crushing disappointment" after having ambitions of working for Second City TV and Saturday Night Live. Although he did improv for some time (and rubbed elbows with Steve Carell and others), he ended up working at Pier One Imports, as he joked, putting to work his Computer Science degree from the University of Michigan.

Costolo said Twitter was the best example of making "bold bets." The founder acknowledged that he never expected the site to become the success it is today: "You cannot draw any of your paths looking forward."

He also gave the predictable commencement advice: "You have to figure out what you love to do...and go do that." Yep, got it.

Discussion Starters:

• Evaluate Costolo's speech. What works well in his content, organization, and delivery, and what could be improved?
• Watch two or three other commencement speeches on YouTube. Which do you like best and why?

Confusing Column Chart

With the title, "Two Charts Which Show That April Was A Horrible Month For American Manufacturing," I would expect to see clear, easy-to-interpret charts. This one is not.

Here are Business Insider's introductory text and the chart:  

"If there is an American manufacturing renaissance, it certainly appears to  have stalled in April.

"From the just-released ADP report, a chart which shows that manufacturing actually lost jobs in the month!"

Granted, this chart is very colorful, and overall, the numbers generally decline since November 12. But how can the chart be improved? Consider the following:

• Including a message title
• Adding data labels
• Choosing a different (or supplemental) chart type
• Highlighting most relevant data graphically and numerically

The purpose of the chart is to show that manufacturing lost jobs in April. Do we know exactly how many-both as a percentage and raw number? This would seem to be an important part of the argument.

Offensive Ad of the Day: Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew pulled an ad that was deemed racist and sexist. This one seems to jump, rather than cross, the line. A badly bruised woman is asked to identify someone in a police line-up of African-American men-and a goat.

Felicia the Goat, with the voice of rapper Tyler The Creator, made his first appearance in Mountain Dew commercials in March. In an earlier episode, the goat beats up the waitress for failing to give him enough soda. As one might expect, the ad was criticized for being misogynistic. Because bad things come in threes, Mountain Dew has another commercial set to air on May 24.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, PepsiCo has taken responsibility for the ad:

"We apologize for this video and take full responsibility. We have removed it from all Mountain Dew channels and Tyler is removing it from his channels as well."

A representative for Tyler The Creator released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:

"It was never Tyler's intention to offend however, offense is personal and valid to anyone who is offended. Out of respect to those that were offended the ad was taken down," it said. "For those who know and respect Tyler he is known for pushing boundaries and challenging stereotypes through humor. This is someone who grew up on David Chappelle. This situation is layered with context and is a discussion that Tyler would love to address in the right forum as he does have a point of view."

"Contrary to what many may discern from this Tyler is the embodiment of not judging others, his delivery may not be for everyone (which is true for anyone who pushes boundaries) but his voice is nonetheless important to the conversation since his demographic understands what he ultimately stands for and sees the irony of it all," continued the statement.

"He absolutely never intended to spark a controversy about race," it read. "It was simply an again admittedly absurd story that was never meant to be taken seriously. Again we apologize if this was taken out of context and would never trivialize racism, especially now in America where voting and civil rights are being challenged at the highest level."

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of the first two commercials? Do you find them offensive, funny, or something else?
• PepsiCo's response differs from the recent McDonald's and Hyundai situations, where the companies said ads were created without their approval. Does PepsiCo's response work better?

Anti-Gay Marriage or Just Anti-Relationship?

Beer brewer Tui posted a billboard in response to New Zealand's legalization of same-sex marriage. It's meant to be funny but has caught a negative reaction. 

Controversy is brewing (sorry) on the Tui's Facebook page, but the company is defending the ad.

Tui's marketing manager said that "Yeah right" ads have been around since 1994:

"There have been a fair few 'Yeah Right' lines which have made it to the billboards over this time, all of which have been generated with the intention of delivering a smile to New Zealanders.

"Given the duration of this campaign and the quantity of 'Yeah Right' lines, occasionally there is the odd... line, which doesn't hit the mark in generating a smile for all.

"Our intention with the current Tui Yeah Right billboard 'Dad's new husband seems nice' was to highlight the common situation or uncertainty experienced when someone's parent remarries.

"Given the recent passing of the Same Sex Marriage Bill in Parliament, this 'Yeah Right' line is a topical spin at the age-old situation of a parent's new partner."

It's true: Tui has a long history of edgy "Yeah Right" ads. Here are 16 others.

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of Tui's ad: tasteless, insensitive, funny, or something else?
• Look at Tui's other "Yeah Right" ads.  Do you find them funny? Does this context change your perception of the gay-marriage ad?

Nike Pulls "Boston Massacre" T-Shirts

A "Boston Massacre" T-shirt showing splattered blood stains will mean only one thing to people now: the bombing tragedy at the Boston Marathon. But this Nike T-shirt is a reference to the Red Sox/Yankees baseball games in 1978 and 2006. 

Still, some people feel the T-shirts should have been removed from the outlet store before being spied (and photographed) by a producer for the "David Letterman Show."

A Nike spokesperson emailed a response to the Huffington Post:

"The shirts being referenced are older baseball shirts that were predominantly being sold through our Factory Stores Outlets. In light of the tragedy in Boston we took immediate action last week to remove this product from distribution. We conducted this process as quickly as possible and are confident the product has been removed from distribution."

The situation is reminiscent of Nike T-shirts in a Boston store window sporting slogans such as "Dope" and "Get High." In this situation, the mayor of Boston wrote a complaint letter, but the company denied that it promoted drug use. 

Discussion Starters:

• In what ways does the "Boston Massacre" T-shirt differ from the "Dope" and "Get High" T-shirts? How are they similar?
• How do you assess Nike's response? Should the company have done anything differently, or is this an understandable mistake?

President Obama Cracks up Correspondents

After making an entrance to rap music, President Obama started the 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner with the usual banter: "I look in the mirror and say, 'I'm not the strapping young Muslim Socialist that I used to be.'"   

Here are a few more highlights from the president's speech:

• Joking about his diminishing basketball skills: "I took 22 shots, made two of them. Two hits, 20 misses. The  executives at NBC asked, 'What's your secret?'"
• Considering ways to increase his popularity, the president showed a series of photos sporting Michelle-like bangs.
• Poking fun at CNN: "I know CNN has taken some knocks lately, but the fact is, I admire their commitment to covering all sides of the story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate."
• Commenting on ads by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO: "Did you know that Sheldon Adelson spent $100 million of his own money last year  on negative ads? You've got to really dislike me to spend that kind of money. I  mean, that's Oprah money. … Sheldon would have been better off offering me $100  million to drop out of the race. I probably wouldn't have taken it, but I'd have thought about it. Michelle would have taken it."
• Reacting to his relationship with the Republicans: "Some folks still don't think I spend enough time with Congress. ‘Why don't you  get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask. Really? Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?"

Discussion Starters:

• How does the president's delivery support the tone of his speech? What, specifically, do you notice him doing during some of his jokes?
• When the president switches to a serious tone, how does his delivery change? Again, what do you notice in his voice tone, gestures, facial expressions, and so on?

Hyundai's Ad Mocking Suicide: Not Funny

Hyundai is apologizing for an ad that pokes fun at a failed suicide attempt. Proud of its new ix35 model that uses water rather than carbon monoxide emissions, the company played on a way that some people end their lives. But the ad didn't go over well, particularly for one woman, who lost her dad to this method of suicide.

Holly Brockwell wrote a touching blog post about her father's suicide and how the ad affected her. As a creative advertising director, Brockwell has good credibility for her reaction:

"I understand better than most people the need to do something newsworthy, something talkable, even something outrageous to get those all-important viewing figures. What I don't understand is why a group of strangers have just brought me to tears in order to sell me a car. Why I had to be reminded of the awful moment I knew I'd never see my dad again, and the moments since that he hasn't been there. That birthday party. Results day. Graduation."

Brockwell also posted her father's suicide note, which has gone viral.

A week before Brockwell's blog post, AdWeek had criticized the ad. Apparently, a reporter contacted Hyundai but received no response. That was a warning the company should have heeded.

Now, after more bad press, Hyundai has pulled the ad from YouTube and issued these statements:

Hyundai Motor America Statement:

"We at Hyundai Motor America are shocked and saddened by the depiction of a suicide attempt in an inappropriate European video featuring a Hyundai. Suicide merits thoughtful discussion, not this type of treatment."

Hyundai Motor Company Statement:

"Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologizes for the offensive viral ad.

"The ad was created by an affiliate advertising agency, Innocean Europe, without Hyundai's request or approval. It runs counter to our values as a company and as members of the community. We are very sorry for any offense or distress the video caused. More to the point, Hyundai apologizes to those who have been personally impacted by tragedy."

Discussion Starters:

• Hyundai's defense is similar to McDonald's, which was criticized for the subway ad mocking mental illness: the ads were created "without Hyundai's request or approval." Do you buy it?
• We haven't seen a response from Innocean, the ad agency. What, if anything, should they do?

E-Board Member Embarrasses Her Sorority

An executive board member of the Delta Gamma sorority at the University of Maryland let the entire sorority know how she felt in a scathing, obscenity-filled email. In her rant, she accuses her sisters of being boring, awkward, weird, stupid-and worse.

Apparently, the last straw was an event with Sigma Nu fraternity, during which some sisters weren't at their best. Still, one wonders whether their behavior was so egregious as to deserve being threatened: "I will...assault you."

One of the great ironies of the email is her concern about the sorority's image:

"Seriously, if you have done ANYTHING I've mentioned in this email and have some rare disease where you're unable to NOT do these things, then you are HORRIBLE, I repeat, HORRIBLE PR FOR THIS CHAPTER."

The president of the University of Maryland chapter responded:

 

Discussion Starters:

• Assess the chapter president's response? What works well, and what could be improved?
• Should the email author also respond? If so, what should she say?
• How, if at all, do you think this incident reflects on Sigma Nu? Should the fraternity do anything in response?

Ethical Social Media Marketing After the Boston Bombings

An article by Augie Ray, director of social media for a Fortune 100 company, describes the ethics of social media marketing, and gives us several interesting examples from the Boston Marathon tragedy. In contrast to these companies that perhaps crossed an ethical line, recall El Pelon Taqueria, the restaurant that offered help and asked for nothing in return.

Calling it a "desperate attempt to trade on people's feelings," Ray described an NBC Facebook picture of a boy in a hospital bed. The post asks people to "'LIKE' this to wish him a continued speedy recovery." Ray points out that "liking" a post does nothing to help the boy recover.

In another example, Ray criticizes Ford for muddying a message with its products. According to Ray, "Ford's use of brand imagery not only reduced the sincerity of the message but demonstrated questionable ethics." For comparison, Ray presents Ford's actual post, at right, next to one without branding, at left. The difference is fairly obvious.

 

Individuals made mistakes as the tragedy was unfolding, too. Author Guy Kawasaki was criticized for continuing to post promotional tweets, as others were suspending theirs. Clearly, he didn't agree with the criticism. He responded, "Loving how people with less [sic] than 1,500 followers are telling me how to tweet."

Discussion Starters:

• How do you assess these three situations? Do you agree with the criticism of each?
• Augie Ray offers a sound suggestion for modifying the Ford post. Can you think of something similar for the NBC post? What might make this one more acceptable (read: more compassionate)?

False Tweet Rocks the Stock Market

A fake tweet on Associated Press's Twitter feed sent the blue-chip Dow down about 145 points in two minutes. The market quickly recovered, but the incident reminds us how reactive we are to potentially false information.

Associated Press confirmed that its feed had been hacked, although no individual or group has yet taken responsibility. The false tweet is below.

This is certainly not the first case of hacking. Facebook and Twitter both admitted security breaches over the past few months. In a February blog post, Twitter outlined plans to improve security.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What are the ethics of this situation? Analyze the behavior of those who acted and those affected.
• Are the hackers responsible for the effect of the tweet, or should investors be smarter about using information to make trades?

More Data on Social Recruiting

The Society for Human Resource Management published a new study confirming much of what we know about social recruiting and offering some surprising data, too.

It's no surprise that most of the 651 respondents, whose job includes staffing, use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter-in that order-to find "passive" job candidates. This is consistent with other survey data in the past couple of years. Eighty percent of respondents use these sites; those who don't cite legal concerns, such as finding out someone's age.

A surprising 57% of companies don't have policies in place for using social networking sites to screen candidates, and 72% have no intention of establishing a formal policy within the next 12 months.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Why don't companies have a policy for screening candidates online? What are the potential drawbacks of creating a policy?
• What are the potential ethical considerations of screening candidates on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter? How do these three sites differ as screening tools?

Carnival Updates Guests with "Improvement" Plans

In a letter from CEO Gerry Cahill, Carnival tries to restore guests' confidence in the brand after several technical and other issues on ships during the past few months. In addition to this letter, Carnival has posted a video on YouTube and created a News and Updates page on Facebook.

In some respects, the letter is a confusing mess. Although the $300 million is more clearly explained in the video, this letter makes it sound as though Carnival is buying hotels: "$300 million to expand the availability of hotel services." Cudos to having some of the main point upfront ("Our goal is to drive continual improvement across all aspects of our customer experience"), but isn't much of the main point at the end, where Cahill thanks guests for their loyalty?

Also, the letter seems overly jargony for typical Carnival guests. The company just wants them to book another cruise, right? The encouragement could be clearer and more direct.

Discussion and Assignment Ideas:

• Compare Carnival's guest letter, video, and Facebook page. What differences do you see, and how do you account for them; for example, what are the audiences for each?
• Rewrite the Carnival letter. How can you improve the content, organization, and tone?

Student's Letter Stirs Up Controversy

Like many high school seniors, Suzy Lee Weiss is receiving her share of college rejection letters. Disappointed-and clearly more than a little peeved-Weiss published a letter in The Wall Street Journal, "To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me."

Weiss claims that her 4.5 GPA, 2120 SAT score, and experience as a U.S. Senate page weren't good enough. Partly, she blames her lack of diversity:

"For starters, had I known two years ago what I know now, I would have gladly worn a headdress to school. Show me to any closet, and I would've happily come out of it. 'Diversity!' I offer about as much diversity as a saltine cracker. If it were up to me, I would've been any of the diversities: Navajo, Pacific Islander, anything. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, I salute you and your 1/32 Cherokee heritage."

Jokingly, Weiss also blames her parents and uninflated job titles.

A student who claims "I took your spot at Harvard," wrote a snarky response to Weiss, including,

"But when my parents got divorced and my mom came out of the closet and hooked up with the ¼ Navajo lady neighbor, I closed my textbooks and put down my pen. I figured-why bother? I'm a black female from the inner city with divorced parents, a gay mother, and a part-Native American stepmother. Every college was going to recruit me like I had a great jump shot. . . .

"As for me-I'm set for life. Obama is president, racism has ended, and law schools have already come a-callin." 

Discussion Starters:

• Although Weiss says it's just satire, some people read the piece as cynical and bitter. Are you with the 53% of Today Show viewers who said the letter was whiny? What's your view?
• Watch Weiss on the Today Show. How, if at all, does this change your opinion of her?

Restaurant Offers Help During Boston Marathon Explosions

Where companies failed during Hurricane Sandy, at least one business got "goodwill" right during the Boston Marathon explosions. El Pelon Taqueria offered runners and others affected a place to relax, eat, and charge a phone-whether or not they can pay.

The message was retweeted 1244 times.

The owner's Twitter feed compliments the restaurant staff, working hard to serve people in need-and perhaps others who just want a good meal and to support a business that offers genuine help.

 
Discussion Starters:

• Compare El Pelon's approach to that of American Apparel's during Hurricane Sandy. If you were a consultant for companies, what guidelines would you suggest they follow during similar tragedies?
• Overall, how do you think El Pelon's sales will be affected this week? Make a prediction, and let's see whether we fnd articles written about the business in the next few days.

McDonald's Apologizes for Ad

McDonald's says it didn't approve an ad that makes light of a mental health issue. In a Boston subway ad, the company pokes fun at someone with an addiction to a Big Mac.

Nicole DiNoia, a spokesperson for McDonald's, issued this statement:

"A local print ad displayed on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was recently brought to our attention. We can confirm this ad was not approved by McDonald's. And, as soon as we learned about it, we asked that it be taken down immediately. We have an approval process in place, with our marketing and advertising agencies, to ensure that all advertising content is consistent with our brand values. Regrettably, in this incident, that process was not followed. We sincerely apologize for this error."

With no one taking responsibility, who's to blame? The response is reminiscent of the Ford ad that the company said it didn't approve. In that case, the ad agency did take responsibility for the offensive ads and terminated those involved.  In this case, Arnold agency president Pam Hamlin apologized and blamed the process rather than the design:

"Arnold apologizes for its mistake to McDonald's and to anyone who was offended by the ad. McDonald's did not approve the ad, and its release was our unintended error. We've addressed the issue and have improved our approval process to ensure this does not happen in the future."

In the Ford situation, it was somewhat believable that the ad agency created the ads just to show its creativity. But this situation is different: the agency is hired by McDonald's but didn't get approval during any stage of ad development: concept development, composition, printing, or distribution?

Discussion Starters:

• What's your reaction to the ad? Do you find it offensive, funny, or something else?
• How do you respond to the apologies from McDonald's and the ad agency? What, if anything, could they do differently?

NYU Prof to Student: "Get Your Sh** Together"

An NYU professor's email response to a student is going viral. The dispute started when a student walked into Scott Galloway's brand strategy class an hour late, and the professor dismissed him based on a policy of not allowing students who arrive more than 15 minutes late to stay in the class.

The student wrote an email to Prof. Galloway, explaining his position:

Prof. Galloway,

I would like to discuss a matter with you that bothered me. Yesterday evening I entered your 6pm Brand Strategy class approximately 1 hour late. As I entered the room, you quickly dismissed me, saying that I would need to leave and come back to the next class. After speaking with several students who are taking your class, they explained that you have a policy stating that students who arrive more than 15 minutes late will not be admitted to class.

As of yesterday evening, I was interested in three different Monday night classes that all occurred simultaneously. In order to decide which class to select, my plan for the evening was to sample all three and see which one I like most. Since I had never taken your class, I was unaware of your class policy. I was disappointed that you dismissed me from class considering (1) there is no way I could have been aware of your policy and (2) considering that it was the first day of evening classes and I arrived 1 hour late (not a few minutes), it was more probable that my tardiness was due to my desire to sample different classes rather than sheer complacency.

I have already registered for another class but I just wanted to be open and provide my opinion on the matter.

Regards,
xxxx

-
xxxx
MBA 2010 Candidate
NYU Stern School of Business
xxxx.nyu.edu
xxx-xxx-xxxx

In response, Prof. Galloway took the opportunity to teach what some may call a life lesson:

From: scott@stern.nyu.edu
To: "xxxx"
Subject: Re: Brand Strategy Feedback

         xxxx:

Thanks for the feedback. I, too, would like to offer some feedback.

Just so I've got this straight...you started in one class, left 15-20 minutes into it (stood up, walked out mid-lecture), went to another class (walked in 20 minutes late), left that class (again, presumably, in the middle of the lecture), and then came to my class. At that point (walking in an hour late) I asked you to come to the next class which "bothered" you.

Correct?

You state that, having not taken my class, it would be impossible to know our policy of not allowing people to walk in an hour late. Most risk analysis offers that in the face of substantial uncertainty, you opt for the more conservative path or hedge your bet (e.g., do not show up an hour late until you know the professor has an explicit policy for tolerating disrespectful behavior, check with the TA before class, etc.). I hope the lottery winner that is your recently crowned Monday evening Professor is teaching Judgement and Decision Making or Critical Thinking.

In addition, your logic effectively means you cannot be held accountable for any code of conduct before taking a class. For the record, we also have no stated policy against bursting into show tunes in the middle of class, urinating on desks or taking that revolutionary hair removal system for a spin. However, xxxx, there is a baseline level of decorum (i.e., manners) that we expect of grown men and women who the admissions department have deemed tomorrow's business leaders.

xxxx, let me be more serious for a moment. I do not know you, will not know you and have no real affinity or animosity for you. You are an anonymous student who is now regretting the send button on his laptop. It's with this context I hope you register pause...REAL pause xxxx and take to heart what I am about to tell you:

xxxx, get your shit together.

Getting a good job, working long hours, keeping your skills relevant, navigating the politics of an organization, finding a live/work balance...these are all really hard, xxxx. In contrast, respecting institutions, having manners, demonstrating a level of humility...these are all (relatively) easy. Get the easy stuff right xxxx. In and of themselves they will not make you successful. However, not possessing them will hold you back and you will not achieve your potential which, by virtue of you being admitted to Stern, you must have in spades. It's not too late xxxx...

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Professor Galloway

The professor told Business Insider that he's "getting an email about every three minutes from people (all over the world) voicing support/anger (about an 8:1 ratio)."

Discussion Starters:

• This email exchange is three years old. What took so long for it to go viral?
• What's your reaction to each email? How could both the student and the professor possibly have changed their behavior, language, or perspective?

Tweet for Jobs

We know that "social recruiting" is increasingly common, with 73% of employers responding to a Jobvite survey reporting that they have hired someone online. But how does this work on Twitter, through which 15% of the 73% had hired someone? The Wall Street Journal published an article that explains some of the recruiter's and job seeker's perspective.

As funny as it seems to tweet your qualifications within 140 characters, more employers are encouraging people to respond to job postings on Twitter.  Boston network-infrastructure firm Enterasys tried this approach and found success. The company's chief marketing officer said, "I am fairly certain I am going to abandon the resume process. The Web is your CV and social networks are your references."

Other employers report following prospective candidates to evaluate their interactions. And in many situations, although the initial contact happens via tweets, candidates include links to more substantive resumes and social media profiles.

One optimist, Kathryn Minshew, founder of career website TheMuse.com, said that the tweet is "the new elevator pitch."

Discussion Starters:

• How optimistic are you about companies' recruiting via Twitter?
• How could you see publicizing your qualifications and career interests on Twitter? What are the potential downsides for you personally and professionally? 

What Do Social Media Teams Look Like?

A Ragan/NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions survey of 2,714 communicators uncovered how organizations' social media teams are structured. This infographic, created by Go-Gulf.com, highlights a few interesting facts about those who completed the questionnaire:

• Only 27% have a dedicated social media team. (It would be interesting to know the size of the companies and industries.) 
• 42% have only one person working on social media.
• Only 22% plan to hire more people to manage social media next year.
• 25% use interns for social media work.

 

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What, if anything, surprises you about this data?
• How do you think these numbers might vary for hospitality, retail, technology, and other industries?
• If you could project out five years, how do you think this data might change? What are your predictions?