#LikeAGirl Video Hits 18 Million Views

A Procter & Gamble Always video, with more than 18 million views in a few days, shows people asked to "act like a girl." Adults and a young boy dance and run with uncoordinated, sloppy moves, but young girls run like, well, normal people.

When asked, "What does it mean to you when I say, 'run like a girl'?" an (adorable) little girl says, "It means run fast as you can." Then the screen reads, "When did doing something 'like a girl' become an insult?"

The campaign encourages girls' confidence:

"Using #LikeAGirl as an insult is a hard knock against any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty's really no picnic either, it's easy to see what a huge impact it can have on a girl's self-confidence.

"We're kicking off an epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence throughout puberty and beyond, and making a start by showing them that doing it #LikeAGirl is an awesome thing."

AdAge reports that #LikeAGirl is the second most popular video this week, behind The Last Game, posted by Nike Football, with a remarkable 59 million views.

Discussion Starters:

• The campaign is clearly getting a lot of attention. Why do you think this video is so popular?
• How, if at all, do you think the viral video will translate into sales?

CEO Jamie Dimon Reveals Cancer

In a message to employees and shareholders, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon revealed his throat cancer, explained the treatment plan, and described his "business-as-usual" approach.

Dear Colleagues and Shareholders -

I wanted to let you know that I have just been diagnosed with throat cancer.
The good news is that the prognosis from my doctors is excellent, the cancer
was caught quickly, and my condition is curable. Following thorough tests that
included a CAT scan, PET scan and a biopsy, the cancer is confined to the
original site and the adjacent lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.
Importantly, there is no evidence of cancer elsewhere in my body.

My evaluation and treatment plan are still being finalized, but at this time
it appears I will begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment shortly at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, which should take approximately eight
weeks. While the treatment will curtail my travel during this period, I have
been advised that I will be able to continue to be actively involved in our
business, and we will continue to run the company as normal. Our Board has
been fully briefed and is totally supportive.

As you all know, we have outstanding leaders across our businesses and
functions – the best team I've ever had the privilege of working with – so our
company will move forward together with confidence as we continue to deliver
first-class results for our customers, communities and shareholders.

I feel very good now and will let all of you know if my health situation
changes.

I appreciate your support and want to thank our employees for the amazing work
they do day-in and day-out. I'm very proud to be part of this company and
honored to be working with such an exceptional group of people.

Jamie

Dimon has been at JPMorgan for 10 years. Critics thought he should have been ousted after the bank lost more than $2 billion and then paid $20 billion in fines because of bad trades. But he had the support of his board to stay. In fact, they gave him a raise.

It's interesting to contrast Dimon's approach with Steve Jobs's. Jobs had pancreatic cancer while CEO of Apple and was quite private about his condition. One difference may be the prognosis. Although Jobs lived with pancreatic cancer for seven years (2003 - 2011), the prognosis typically is far worse, with a survival rates a mere 3%.

Posted on Business Wire, the notice is called a press release, a memo, a letter, and a note in various news articles.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess Dimon's message and approach. How do you find his openness? Transparent, TMI, or something else?
• In Chapter 8, we discuss how to organize bad-news messages. Dimon's message clearly follows the direct organizational plan. Is this the best choice? Why or why not?
• What direction do you think Dimon got from the board in composing the message? In other words, how, if at all, do you think they influenced Dimon's communication?

Social Media's Small Influence

Sixty-two percent of respondents in a Gallup poll said that social media had no influence over purchasing decisions. This sounds like bad news for companies who have spent tremendous time and money seeking followers on Twitter and likes on Facebook.

But that doesn't mean social media isn't important. Rather, as a Wall Street Journal article says, companies are shifting their strategies to cultivate relationships online more than simply attract people to a page.

Gallup's report found that "consumers are much more likely to turn to friends, family members, and experts when seeking advice about companies, brands, products, or services. Company-sponsored Facebook pages and Twitter." The report advises companies to consider social media as just one touchpoint with consumers, who could have their first interaction in a physical store:

"Therefore, if companies want to acquire new customers, their best bet is to engage their existing customers and inspire them to advocate on their behalf. Customer engagement drives social engagement - the degree to which consumers will work for or against an organization within their social networks - not the other way around."

Gallup suggests that companies spend less time posting content and more time engaging their current constituencies to advocate for the brand. This requires companies to be authentic, responsive, and compelling.

PR Daily also questions the poll's methodology:

"This Gallup Poll was conducted using telephone and mail surveys and gathered responses from 18,525 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, all of whom speak English."

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• In what ways does this report surprise you-or not?
• Look at your favorite company's Facebook page and Twitter feed. How well is the company using Gallup's suggested strategy? What changes would you recommend in its online interactions?
• Consider PR Daily's criticism of the survey. What's wrong with the approach?

Walmart Edits New York Times Article

Walmart couldn't let a critical piece in The New York Times go unanswered. In an op-ed article, "The Corporate Daddy," Timothy Egan contrasts Walmart and Starbucks:

"As long as the Supreme Court says that corporations are citizens, they may as well act like them. Starbucks is trying to be dutiful - in its own prickly, often self-righteous, spin-heavy way - while Walmart is a net drain on taxpayers, forcing employees into public assistance with its poverty-wage structure."

The impetus for the commentary seems to be Starbucks' recent announcement of tuition reimbursement for employees. Although Egan says, "It's a sad day when we have to look to corporations for education, health care, and basic ways to boost the middle class," he sees an opportunity for large employers-and criticizes Walmart for contributing in the wrong direction.

With tongue-in-cheek humor, Walmart posted an edited version of the article. The edits point to different sources and additional considerations for the value Walmart brings. 

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of Walmart's approach? Why do you think management took this approach? What alternatives would they have considered to refute the article?
• Assess evidence provided in the article and in Walmart's responses. In each case that Walmart disputes evidence, which argument do you find more believable?

Claim Against KFC Was a Hoax

Kelly Mullins wrote a sad story on Facebook about how her granddaughter, Victoria, was shunned at a Jackson, Mississippi KFC. The little girl was attacked by three pit bulls, which left her with scarring and a bandage on her face. The grandmother claimed that Victoria was asked to leave the KFC while eating: "We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers."

As you can imagine, the response on Facebook and other social media sites was enormous, and news outlets were all over the story. KFC gave the family $30,000 for medical bills and issued this statement:

"KFC launched an investigation as soon as we were made aware of this report. We take this very seriously, as we have zero tolerance for any kind of hurtful or disrespectful actions toward our guests. Our investigation is ongoing, but we have been in touch with the family and are committed to doing something appropriate for this beautiful little girl and her family. We will also work with the franchisee to take appropriate action at the restaurant once the specifics of the incident are determined."

But the story didn't stack up. The family said they ordered mashed potatoes and iced tea, but there were no such orders that day, and the restaurant video showed no record of Victoria and her grandmother entering the building.

Discussion Starters:

• Let's put the grandparenting question aside because I don't want to judge(!). What about the responsibility of reporters? Huffington Post, CNN, and others reported the story with only the grandmother's evidence.
• Should KFC ask for the $30,000 back? Should the company press criminal charges?
• The family raised an additional $135,000 for the girl as a result of this publicity. Should they be forced to return the donations?

GM CEO Faces More Tough Questions

Appearing at the House committee hearing, GM CEO Mary Barra was prepared to answer questions following an internal investigation. Barra announced 15 terminations and additional disciplinary action based on the report findings and promised "no stone unturned." She also discussed creating a "new standard," a "new norm." 

But Barra was challenged on how she'll change the culture considering her own 30-year tenure and the small number of people terminated. Emphasizing "the right environment," Barra said these terminations "send a message." Watch video.

Lawmakers also pulled emails from 2005 to prove the depth of the internal problem. One email was from an employee who owned an Impala:

"I think this is a serious safety problem, especially if this switch is on multiple programs. I'm thinking big recall."

It wasn't until just this past week that the Impala was recalled.

Although Barra was hopeful that the report would be a turning point in lawmakers' concern, committee members, such as Colorado ongresswoman Diana DeGette, were still skeptical:

"The report does not answer all the key questions. . . .The report singles out many individuals at G.M. who made poor decisions or failed to act, but it doesn't identify one individual in positions of high leadership who was responsible for these systemic failures."

In an interview, Barra sounded proud of the new culture they were creating at GM.

 Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of Barra's approach at this point? Should she or can she do something differently?
• How well are the lawmaker's handling the line of questioning? What should be their approach at this point?

New Doctor's Commencement Speech

I've seen enough "had them in stitches" jokes about this speech, but it is quite funny. Bailey Sanders was chosen by her classmates at Penn State's College of Medicine to deliver this year's student commencement speech.

The success of Sanders' speech, in my opinion, rests on one factor: the writing. Poignant, colloquial at times, yet sprinkled with dramatic flourishes, the speech reads like a clever short story. The delivery and timing are nothing special, but Sanders is who she is-that's clear.

Penn State College of Medicine's

Penn State College of Medicine's

Regret is the theme of Sanders' speech, and she starts with her one regret, studying French: 

"My last day of Spanish class was in the second grade. Everyone was speaking Spanish but the cool kids, the dreamers, the middle schoolers who looked conjugation in the face and laughed. They took French. I wish I could go back to that seven-year-old me and push me off the swings. Tell me what a colossal idiot I was and what a horrible mistake I was making. I really only have one regret in this life and that is that after years of translating and conjugating, I'm pretty darn good at French. A language spoken by one country, the colonies that remain from their attempts of global domination, and half a dozen folks in Canada, the middle child of North America. And by absolutely no one in an American hospital. It may be the language of art and the language of love, but it is not the language of practicality in the American healthcare system. . . ."

Discussion Starters:

• What makes Sanders' speech funny to you-or not? Describe your reaction.
• In Chapter 11, we talk about humor in presentations as a risk. What risks should Sanders have considered in preparing her speech? On balance, the risks seem worth it. Why do you think this is the case, and how could it have turned out differently?

JetBlue Apologizes to Mother

Three-year-olds aren't very good at "holding it." That's what JetBlue found out after refusing to allow a young girl to use the restroom, even though the plane was delayed on the turmac. After about a half-hour, the girl urinated in her seat.

When the mother, Jennifer Devereaux, was trying to clean the seat, the flight attendant told her curtly to sit down. Eventually, the pilot turned around the plan and said they were going back to the gate because of a "non-compliant" passenger.

A JetBlue representative called Devereaux to apologize. She told CNN, "She said, 'I am a mom, too. I understand what you [are/were] going through, and I am so sorry this happened to you.'"

The airline also offered Devereaux a $500 voucher for a future fight and $5,000 to a charity of her choice. But she said, "I didn't care about a voucher. That kind of stuff doesn't matter to me. But I did want an apology for my family because we really felt we were mistreated and felt awful."

JetBlue replied to at least one comment on Twitter:

However, some question whether the FAA regulations speak directly about bathroom use.

On the other side, we have comments criticizing the mother for bringing a three-year-old on a plane without pull-ups.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

•  The simple apology seemed to work for Devereaux, even more than the voucher and, particularly, THE charity donation, which she didn't mention at all. Did JetBlue waste its money? Should the company have offered something else?
• What, if any, responsibility did Devereaux have in this situation?

"Tee-Ups" and "Performatives"

An NPR episode described "tee-ups" and "performatives," phrases that sound polite but signal bad news. "With all due respect," "To be honest," "No offense, but," "I don't mean to be rude, but,"and "Let me be perfectly clear" may sound nice, but they are deceptive, according to experts.

A professor of psychology gave the example of "I just want you to know that," which could mean that what comes next is true or not. "We set up this lie, but in a weird way," he said.

The interviewer asked if these phrases could have a purpose, which is to couch difficult messages. Without them, she wondered if we would be left with just blunt phrases.

"I can't tell you how much I love you," for example, could be interpreted as "I don't even know whether I like you." You can't really evaluate what the person feels.

Asked whether cultural or geographic differences exist, one guest theorized that people in the corporate world use them quite often. Another thought that they are used across groups, but the phrases may differ (although the guests weren't aware of research to support their views).

When a caller asked whether we should just find a better way to express what we mean rather than use these phrases, which he considers passive-aggressive. But should we just say, "You need to lose weight" or "Your talk was lousy"?

Discussion Starters:

• Have you used these phrases? If so, for what purpose and in what circumstances?
• We could argue that these phrases just soften a bad-news message. What do you think?

GM Terminates 15 People

GM is cleaning house, hoping to rid itself of criticism about delaying recalls, which caused 13 deaths. CEO Mary Barra announced the decision after an internal investigation revealed that several executives knew about an ignition switch problem for years and avoided a fix that would have cost 57 cents.

In a message to employees, captured on video, Barra says she is guided by two principles: "doing the right thing for those who were harmed" and taking responsibility "to make sure this never happens again." She also blames the actions of "a few people," a strategic move to separate the company from a few bad apples who have since left.

Fifteen people were terminated and another five were disciplined, some for misconduct and others for not taking enough action. One email showed that several people were aware of the problem, which persisted for another nine years. A GM parts manufacturer wrote, Chevy "Cobalt is blowing up in their face in regards to turning the car off."

Discussion Starters:

• How do you assess GM's decision to terminate 15 people and discipline another five? Is this enough?
• What other persuasive strategies is Barra using in her presentation to employees? What key messages do you take from the video?

Walmart Apologizes for Truck's Role in Crash

Actor Tracy Morgan is in critical condition after a limo accident involving a Walmart truck. Morgan is most famous for his TV roles in 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live.

The crash caused one death (Morgan's mentor, James "Jimmy Mack" McNair) and two other critical injuries. The Walmart driver is facing criminal charges and is accused of driving after not sleeping for 24 hours. In a statement, Walmart President Bill Simon extended the company's concern:

 
Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• It's still unclear what role the Walmart driver played in the crash. Is Walmart's apology premature?
• Assess the statement. Is it appropriate coming from the CEO? What changes, if any, would you suggest the company make?

Apologies for Racist Jokes, Homophobic Slur

Justin Bieber and Jonah Hill have more than their celebrity in common this week. Both have apologized for making offensive comments.

Two six-year-old videos of Bieber telling racist jokes surfaced, and he has apologized. TMZ published his statement:

Justin tells TMZ, "As a kid, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance."

Justin goes on, "Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all those I have offended."

Justin continues, "I'm very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake. I was a kid then and I am a man now who knows my responsibility to the world and to not make that mistake again."

 

And Justin says, "Ignorance has no place in our society and I hope the sharing of my faults can prevent others from making the same mistake in the future. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say but telling the truth is always what's right."

Justin ends with this: "Five years ago I made a reckless and immature mistake and I'm grateful to those close to me who helped me learn those lessons as a young man. Once again....I'm sorry."

But an LA Times article called this apology and another that quoted scripture "unacceptable." The videos are disturbing: in one he asks, "Why are black people afraid of chainsaws?" and then imitates the sound of a chainsaw and repeats "n..." several times. 

Another apology this week came from Jonah Hill. In this (albeit very different) situation, Hill yelled a homophobic slur to a paparazzo. We see his apology here on the Jimmy Fallon show:

Discussion Starters:

• What's your assessment of Beiber's comments and apology? Do you agree with the LA Times article that his apology was insufficient? Should he have done something different?
• How do you interpret Hill's remark, given his vocal support of LGBTQ equality? What's your assessment of his apology? 

American Girl Discontinues Only Asian Doll and One of Two Black Dolls

As the United States becomes more diverse, American Girl dolls become less so. The company has updated its line to exclude Ivy, its only Asian doll, and Cecile, one of its two Black dolls.

Customer backlash was intense. On the American Girl Facebook page, one critic wrote, "Seriously AG… You are getting rid of the ONLY Asian girl in your historical line-up. It was disappointing enough that she was only a 'side-kick' doll to Julie, but she was better than nothing….. which is what we have now. How can the historical line represent American if there are no Asians?"

The company says it is moving away from dolls sold in pairs to focus on dolls sold individually. The four shown here are part of the historical line.

American Girl issued a statement, which ABC News posted, in part:

"At nearly one million strong, we're proud of the relationships we've built with our dedicated Facebook community. Our fans are very passionate and many of our posts generate a high level of engagement, including comments, likes and shares. Certainly we know that whenever we announce that a character is archiving, it will cause some level of disappointment, especially among our most ardent fans… While demand for characters certainly plays a part in our overall decision making, the main reason for this year's approach is based on the decision to move away from our friend-character strategy within the historical line. This decision affected Marie-Grace, Ruthie, as well as Ivy and Cecile-the first two racially diverse characters to be archived by American Girl. In comparison, American Girl will be archiving a total of nine Caucasian characters since 2008."

Discussion Starters:

• Should American Girl have anticipated the backlash? Should that have changed the company's decision to "archive" these characters? 
• How do you assess the American Girl statement? What works well, and what could be improved?

NRA's Statement Asks Gun Activists to Consider Consequences of Their Behavior

In a statement that surprised some, the National Rifle Association asked gun owners "to consider the effect their behavior has on others, whether fellow gun owners or not." The statement, "Good Citizens and Good Neighbors: The Gun Owners' Role," implies that some gun advocates have gone too far:

"In summary, NRA certainly does not support bans on personalized guns or on carrying firearms in public, including in restaurants.  We think people are intelligent enough to resolve these issues in a reasonable way for themselves. But when people act without thinking, or without consideration for others – especially when it comes to firearms – they set the stage for further restrictions on our rights. Firearm owners face enough challenges these days; we don't need to be victims of friendly fire."

The NRA statement gave two examples of when "poor judgement" may run counter to NRA goals. The first is supporting "smart" guns that can be fired only by an authorized user, a technology the NRA says has "darker implications."

The second example is openly carrying long guns in public places, particularly in Texas. Although the statement applauds the state's "robust gun culture" and acknowledges that carrying is legal, the NRA criticizes the "attention-hungry few"-"a small number have recently crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness."

In a Facebook response, Open Carry Texas explained its position:

"Open Carry Texas members have always sought permission to enter an establishment prior to going in with our firearms. This has been part of our philosophy since day one and it has worked, with hundreds of businesses across the state 100% in support of what we do and how we do it."

Read the full Open Carry Texas statement.

Read the full NRA statement.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess persuasive strategies used in the NRA statement. How does the NRA use logical argument, emotional appeal, and credibility to make its case?
• What are the strongest and weakest arguments in the statement?
• Is the apostrophe in the NRA statement title correct: "Good Citizens and Good Neighbors: The Gun Owners' Role"?

Maya Angelou Quotations

PR Daily published this list of memorable quotations by the recently deceased writer Maya Angelou:

1. "There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you."

2. "When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we're capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go on from darkness into darkness. I'm trying for that. But I'm also trying for the language. I'm trying to see how it can really sound."

3. "Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness."

4. "The main thing in one's own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry."

5. "All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike."

6. "The best candy shop a child can be left alone in is the library."

7. "I make writing as much a part of my life as I do eating or listening to music."

8. "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."

9. "If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love."

10. "The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart."

In articles about her death, CNN called her a "legendary author" and Fox referred to her as a "renowned poet."

For a laugh, here's Tracy Morgan impersonating Maya Angelou on Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What can we learn from Maya Angelou for business writing?
• Which of her quotations-here or others-do you find most relevant to business writing?

U.S. Languages and Immigrants

Microsoft announced that Skype will now offer translation for people using the video-chat tool. This is good news for people who want to connect in different languages.

The map, below, shows languages spoken within the United States after English and Spanish. You may find some surprises here.

 

In related news, a recent Business Insider article includes a 2010 U.S. map compared to a 1910 map, showing where immigrants come from, mostly commonly Mexico today. The map, based on Pew research, gives us an interesting perspective on cultural diversity within the United States. 

Discussion Starters:

• What, if anything, surprises you about the data? 
• How does this information affect business communication? What effect does it have on your own thinking about how you communicate with people?

NY Times' Leaked Report About Innovation

Lucky us! Someone leaked an internal report from The New York Times about the company's digital strategy. With logical organization, wonderful supporting visuals, and a precise writing style, the authors outline where the company is missing readership and how to get their "journalism to readers."

The report was written by the newroom's innovation team, which spent six months analyzing the company's position and identifying new strategies.

The Full New York Times Innovation Report

The executive summary begins with the good news as well as a clear goal:

"The New York Times is winning at journalism. Of all the challenges facing a media company in the digital age, producing great journalism is the hardest. Our daily report is deep, broad, smart and engaging - and we've got a huge lead over the competition.

"At the same time, we are falling behind in a second critical area: the art and science of getting our  journalism to readers. We have always cared about the reach and impact of our work, but we haven't done enough to crack that code in the digital era."

Discussion Starters:

• Who is the intended audience for the report? Now that it's been leaked, how might this group react? What might concern them-and make them proud?
• Analyze the report against guidelines in Chapter 10. What do you notice about the executive summary, organization, writing style, graphics, evidence, and so on?

Snapchat's FTC Settlement and Admission

Snapchat has entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, which accused the app of violating its own privacy policies, but critics say that agreement will have little impact. The FTC found Snapchat guilty of claiming that "snaps" would disappear when they are actually quite easy to store forever and of transmitting users' locations when its policy claims that user information is not tracked.

Although the settlement does put restrictions on Snapchat, ZDNet, for example, questions the effectiveness:

"With this settlement agreement, the FTC is sending a message - just not one that makes us feel any better about Snapchat, and all the other Snapchats out there.

"And that message is: Party on with your bad self, Snapchat.

"It's not like anyone's going to stop you."

On its blog, Snapchat interpreted the agreement: 

Our Agreement with the FTC

When we started building Snapchat, we were focused on developing a unique, fast, and fun way to communicate with photos. We learned a lot during those early days. One of the ways we learned was by making mistakes, acknowledging them, and fixing them.

While we were focused on building, some things didn't get the attention they could have. One of those was being more precise with how we communicated with the Snapchat community. This morning we entered into a consent decree with the FTC that addresses concerns raised by the commission. Even before today's consent decree was announced, we had resolved most of those concerns over the past year by improving the wording of our privacy policy, app description, and in-app just-in-time notifications. And we continue to invest heavily in security and countermeasures to prevent abuse.

We are devoted to promoting user privacy and giving Snapchatters control over how and with whom they communicate. That's something we've always taken seriously, and always will.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What's your experience with Snapchat? Does this news change your opinion of the company, or will you stop using the service?
• Assess Snapchat's response. On Twitter, @PatrickVitalone called it a "non-apology." What do you think?

What We Learn from 300 Commencement Speeches Since 1774

NPR has compiled more than 300 commencement speeches, all searchable by "name, school, date, or theme."

 

In an article about the speeches, NPR identified 12 themes:

1. Change the world
2. Tips
3. Inner voice
4. Don't give up
5. Work hard
6. Embrace failure
7. Remember history
8. Dream
9. Balance
10. Make Art
11. YOLO
12. Be kind

NPR also tells us about the changing face of commencement speakers:

"Since the colonial era, young graduates in stiff gowns and itchy mortarboards have been forced to sit through this one last lecture. On rare occasions, politicians have used commencements to say important things, like John F. Kennedy announcing a nuclear test ban. Other lucky graduates have been treated to profound musings by literary geniuses like Joseph Brodsky and Kurt Vonnegut or calls to action by activists like Gloria Steinem.

"Today, like so much else, the format has become dominated by celebs - the Conan O'Briens, Meryl Streeps, and Amy Poehlers. But commencement speeches still make news, and like those by the late David Foster Wallace and the great George Saunders, they can still be poetry."

Discussion Starters:

• If you were to watch just two speeches, which would you watch? Would you search by name, school, or something else?
• Watch and assess one of the speeches: What observations do you make about the organization, tone, delivery, messages, and so on?

Chipotle Bags and Cups Go Literary

Chipotle Founder and CEO Steve Ells liked a customer's idea to change its white, boring cups and bags to something more interesting. Frustrated at Chipotle without reading materials (or a smartphone?), Jonathan Safran Foer pitched the idea for getting writers to submit text. In a Vanity Fair article, Foer described his email to Ells:

"I said, ‘I bet a s***load of people go into your restaurants every day, and I bet some of them have very similar experiences, and even if they didn't have that negative experience, they could have a positive experience if they had access to some kind of interesting text,'" Foer recalled. "And unlike McDonald's, it's not like they're selling their surfaces to the highest bidder. They had nothing on their bags. So I said, ‘Wouldn't it be cool to just put some interesting stuff on it? Get really high-quality writers of different kinds, creating texts of different kinds that you just give to your customers as a service.'"

The project, called Cultivating Thought, has already garnered quite the list of celebrity authors, including Foer, who bills himself as curator. Foer authored Everything Is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Eating Animals.

Discussion Starters:

• What do you think of the idea? As you can imagine, not everyone loves it.
• Why would Steve Ells be interested in this project? What does Chipotle-and possibly Ells personally-have to gain?