Google’s Defense of AI Search
A blog post by VP, Head of Google Search, Liz Reid illustrates persuasive strategies and data interpretation to deny the negative impact of AI search features on website traffic.
Although reports find that Google AI search summaries reduce clicks to news and other sites, the company argues that is not the case. In a blog post, Reid writes, “user trends are shifting traffic to different sites, resulting in decreased traffic to some sites and increased traffic to others.” A TechCrunch writer describes the rhetoric well:
That word “some” is doing heavy lifting here, as Google doesn’t share data about how many sites are gaining or losing. And while chatbots like ChatGPT have certainly seen traffic increase in recent months, that doesn’t mean online publishers aren’t suffering.
In business communication, we encourage students to find more precise words than “some” and “very.” Here we see Google hiding behind vague references and aggregate data to mask the impact on publishers. Reid also wrote, “overall traffic to sites is relatively stable.“
Reid claims, “AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicks.” Google argues that click “quality” is improving, meaning people are more purposeful, engaging longer on sites they choose for a reason instead of responding to clickbait. That may be, but organic searches (from unpaid sources) is still down for “some” news outlets already hurting because of declining print and digital subscriptions.
If users get their questions answered from the AI summary, why go to the original source? Students might discuss what, if any, responsibility Google bears for compensating content creators.
Advice for Taking Time Off
A Financial Times article offers advice for those hesitant about taking time away from work, particularly time away from email. The suggestions from company executives may be useful to new graduates and others starting a career.
Here’s my summary with character dimensions that may be illustrated by each action:
Set clear expectations with friends and family about work commitments. (accountability, courage)
Empower people to respond for you and have a plan for emergencies. (humility)
Model vacationing without email for coworkers. (accountability)
Respond only during set times during the day, for example, in the morning, if you must. (integrity/consistency)
Write an OOO message that discourages emails waiting for your return. (integrity/transparency)
Resist the temptation to check email! (courage, integrity)
Lessons from Delta Comm Failures
A passenger describes a “total communication breakdown” before, during, and after an emergency Delta flight landing. Following are lessons for students from both the incident and from how the reporter addressed the passenger’s complaint.
On a flight from Madrid to New York City, an engine failed, requiring the plane to land on the island of Azores, a stunning place to visit but perhaps not following an emergency landing. After researching the situation, a New York Times reporter confirmed that “Delta’s crisis communications strategy failed badly.”
Lesson 1: Customers have more credibility when they report what happened accurately and objectively.
The reporter called out a few inaccuracies and generalizations in the passenger’s telling. Here’s one example:
“It is also not exactly true that Delta had no ‘ground support or personnel.’”
The reporter found that the airline contracted with locals who were lauded by other passengers. Delta doesn’t fly to that airport, so they can’t be expected to have their own staff.
As another example, the reporter refines the passenger’s note about compensation:
Marc, you called Delta’s approach “shady and evasive.” I would go with “incomplete and maladroit.”
“Shady and evasive” are character judgments, yet we have no idea whether malintent existed. The reporter sticks with behaviors: a failure of good practice and a lack of skill.
Lesson 2: Overcommunicate (within reason) during a crisis and ensure that all customers get the same message at the same time.
The reporter confirms that the wait for information, particularly whether passengers would have hotel rooms, was long and caused stress. Some got messages, while others did not.
Passengers also saw flight staff “whisked off” to a hotel with no explanation or communication. Turns out, rest was mandatory so the crew could fly the next day. But as business communication faculty know, frequent communication is essential. Passengers felt “in the dark.”
Lesson 3: Crisis situations are not the time for humor.
This next bit sounds outrageous from a crisis communication perspective. Passengers heard “loud, scary noises from the left side of the plane” and estimate that it wasn’t until 10 minutes later—10 minutes!—when they heard an announcement recalled this way (commentary is from the reporter):
“The pilot just woke up from his nap and is going to look into what is happening.” If true, wrote Mr. Durrant [a Delta spokesperson], the nap reference was “likely referring to planned rest periods for flight crew.”
Even if the pilot was napping for legitimate reasons, why share it with passengers? If it was a joke, passengers did not seem to find it funny.
Lesson 4: Demonstrate integrity (consistency, accuracy, and transparency) in all communications.
The pilot announced that another plane would arrive in 6 hours. Any reasonable, hopeful passenger would assume this means they would be leaving in 6 hours, but that wasn’t the case because of rest requirements. Passengers had to spend the night.
In addition, passengers seemed to be compensated different amounts at different times, despite an EU law regulating the amount. Some garnered more after writing a “measured” complaint letter.
In the end, this situation reflected poorly on Delta. A few simple changes would not have made the situation less scary or frustrating but could have reduced the reputational hit.
McDonald's Quarterly Earnings Report and Comm Strategies
McDonald’s had a good second quarter, with global sales up 6%. Students could analyze the report formats and communication strategies executives used during the earnings call.
One lesson for students is the multiple communication channels and report formats McDonald’s published to communicate its quarterly earnings. The press release, quarterly report in four formats (PDF, Zip files, HTML, and Excel), and recorded Webcast earnings call (and transcript) are all open to the public and convey a consistent message, which is upfront in the press release:
Our 6% global Systemwide sales growth this quarter is a testament to the power of compelling value, standout marketing, and menu innovation—proving again that when we stay focused on executing what matters most to our customers, we grow. Our technology investments and ability to scale digital solutions at speed will continue to elevate the McDonald's experience for customers, crew, and our global System.
Any question and answer during the earnings call provides examples of communication strategies. For example, executives use what we might teach as hedging or tentative language (“I think”); however, students can see these responses employed strategically. They persuade the audience by demonstrating humility and credibility—qualifying responses to show a cautious approach and, in effect, saying, “I don’t know everything.” This language also protects an executive whose prediction turns out wrong, and it conveys a conversational tone to build trust.
Although the news is good, the first question challenged the company’s reliance on “value,” particularly in the United States, where families are under increasing financial pressure. Here are the first question and answer as an example from the transcript (my notes in green italics):
David Palmer, Analyst, Evercore: Thank you, and thanks for all of your, comments. Sounds like you’re still exploring ways to bolster value perception in The US. Ahead of anything there, you know, could you just speak to where you think McDonald’s value and affordability scores are today in The US? You know, perhaps before and after Snack Wrap and your recent McValue menu changes. You know, where is the consumer perception today versus McDonald’s in the past and versus near end competitors and maybe even fast casual competitors?
And and if there’s a difference between The US perception in terms of value versus other key IOM markets, would love to hear about that as well. Thanks so much.
Chris Kemczynski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Corporation: Hi, David. It’s Chris [builds trust with first names and a friendly tone]. Thanks for the question. I think [demonstrates conversational style and humility with hedging language] when we talk about value, it’s important that we we really break it down and and get very specific about the different consumer segments. And I’ll start with, our most loyal consumers, and these are the ones who are on our loyalty program [previews content].
Roughly a quarter of our business in The US is on our loyalty program [frames the response and emphasizes return business]. And what we see is if you [conversational style] are a loyalty member at McDonald’s, we have we have exceptional value and affordability scores amongst those consumers. And probably that’s most evidenced by what I shared in in the prepared remarks, which is the uptick that you see in terms of frequency when we have a loyal consumer in our loyalty program going from 10 roughly 10 visits to 26 visits. So I think [again] with our loyalty members, our most ardent McDonald’s customers, we’re in a really good position as it relates to value [reinforces “value” throughout] and affordability perception. If you move then to the McValue program, McValue is working.
And if you think about what we have with McValue, we have the $5 meal deal, which is the anchor for that. That continues to perform very well for us. And then we also have the buy one, add one for a dollar program. What’s interesting is [highlights what’s important] those two programs are very complementary. If you look at consumers who are using both, it’s only about 8% or so who are actually using both.
So they’re going after two very different occasions, two very different users, but compelling to both. So I feel good about the loyalty program. I feel good [uses anaphora to emphasize his confidence] about where we are with McValue. But the issue or the opportunity is if you add those two up, that’s, call it, roughly 50% of the business. And we know there’s the other 50% that today isn’t coming into our restaurant, isn’t using McValue, isn’t using the loyalty program [anaphora again], and that’s where we have the opportunity, which is around core menu pricing that we talked about in our prepared remarks [transitions to an “opportunity”—is more direct in the next section].
Today, too often, if you’re that consumer, you’re driving up to the restaurant and you’re seeing combo meals could be priced over $10 and that absolutely is shaping value perceptions and is shaping value perceptions in a negative way. So we’ve got to get that fixed [addresses concern directly]. As I mentioned in my remarks, we’re having, I think [again], very active and productive conversations with the franchisees. But the single biggest driver of what shapes a consumer’s overall perception of McDonald’s value is the menu board. And it’s when they drive up to the restaurant and they see the menu board, that’s what’s shaping the that’s the number one driver. [Could be clearer, but the gist is that the low-priced meals are good sellers, but pricier menu items negatively affect consumer perception.]
So we’ve got more work to do on that in The US. I’d say on the IOM [international operational markets—insider abbreviations for the audience] side of the business, we’re in a better position on that. Part of it is, as I mentioned in in the remarks [Fourth time he refers to the remarks—could demonstrate consistency/integrity] as well, we have a really strong EDAP program in all of our markets. So these are essentially $1 $2.03 dollars $4 euro pound whatever the currency is. But that is proving to be a very strong addition to the value programs in the IOM market.
And then also, as I mentioned, our operators there have been very prudent and I think [again] are doing the right things to make sure that our core menu pricing continues to be at leadership levels in the market. I would just note [tentative language], also on our international side, it’s not as competitive a market as it is in The U. S. There’s a lot of different players in The U. S.
We don’t face the same breadth of those players or competitors in our international markets. And so I think it’s a little bit easier for us to stand out and represent good value in international.
Walmart Exec Criticizes “Debbie Downers”
A Walmart executive’s claim that “Nobody wants [to hire] a Debbie Downer” may be misleading and is worth a more nuanced discussion with our students.
Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer Donna Morris cautions against being “constantly negative.” She says, “You know they’re going to show up [and] they’re going to bring the problem, never the solution. I like people who bring the problem and a suggestion for how they might resolve [it.]” Fair enough: Age-old advice to any working professional is to offer a solution along with a problem. Morris also distinguishes between being a “downer” and “toxic optimism,” but students may demonstrate a wide range of personality traits and communication practices in between.
One question is whether people with more negative Big Five personality traits could be valuable to an organization. Could those of us who tend towards neuroticism (🙋🏻♀️) or disagreeableness offer a service to the organization? For example, the many dismissed economists and silenced financial industry employees who warned about the 2008 Great Recession were characterized as “Debbie Downers” and worse.
Perhaps Morris illustrates a management issue. Could leaders be more receptive to hearing bad news? Could they do a better job coaching employees to present bad news persuasively and with possible solutions? This is what business communication faculty teach and organizational leaders could learn.
In addition to their delivery, the lesson for students may be to get perspective on their thinking. They might talk with others to be sure their ideas merit review. Are they selective in presenting bad news, or are they nitpicking? Do they present good news, point out benefits, and support others with positive feedback to balance out their keen insight about problems?
I presented character dimensions and virtues along a continuum in the book Recovery at Work. For example, hope rests somewhere between despair and optimism, which may exist at the same time. A despairing person at work may also feel optimistic that the organization will accept new ideas and take action for a more positive future.
Let’s accept and guide rather than belittle our employees who may be struggling at work.
Summer Break
I am taking a break from the blog, working on the 12th edition of the textbook and enjoying the summer sun! See you back in August.
— Amy Newman
Columbia President's Resignation
Columbia University President Katrina Armstrong’s resignation statement serves as a worthy example for analysis. The political situation is extremely controversial, and she avoids direct references.
Her emphasis is on the “interim” nature of her position. In other words, she wasn’t planning to stay long, anyway. She mentions this early in her short statement and reinforces her “few months” of service at the end. She also emphasizes up front that she will return to her former role at the university.
Armstrong speaks well of Columbia and subtly refers to the controversy, using words like “healing” and “moving forward.” At the end, she hints at having a bigger voice: “The world needs Columbia University, and you can be assured that I will do everything I can to tell that story.”
It’s difficult to think of what else she could reasonably say, given the university’s precarious situation with the government and with all its many constituents. She may have said just enough.
This is one of those messages that could be classified as positive or negative news, depending on the receiver’s perspective. But appointing yet another interim president is not great, for sure.
Passive Investing in Charts
Simple charts illustrate passive and active investing. A new documentary, “Tune Out the Noise,” which The Wall Street Journal calls “a nerdy and genuinely engrossing documentary about investment strategy,” might interest finance and other business students.
These two charts show the total net assets and the net asset flows of active and passive investments over time. The area chart is a useful way to illustrate the percentage of total assets, while the line chart illustrates dollar value over time, clearly showing a shift beginning around 2005.
This might be an opportunity to explain the difference between active investing (trying to outperform the market, which may involve frequent moves and higher costs) and passive investing (buying and holding stocks for the long term, often in index funds with lower fees). A WSJ article raises questions of humility for active investing:
Picking stocks is at heart an arrogant act.
It requires in the stock picker a confidence that most others are dunces, and that riches await those with better information and sharper instincts.
A class activity or assignment could ask students to research and create visuals for active and passive investments over time. Results seem to vary by asset class. For example, a recent Morningstar analysis found higher long-term success rates of active investing in real estate, bonds, and small-cap equities, and the lowest rates in U.S. large-cap equities.
Claude Wins a Writing Contest
A Washington Post reporter compared five AI tools and found Claude the clear winner. The prompts and analysis are interesting for a class discussion and activity.
The five prompts covered a range of communication topics: an apology to a friend, a CEO layoff message, a request to a spouse, a weird work proposal, and a breakup text. Five judges, “who have all written books and teach courses on communication,” rated the tools in this order:
Anthropic’s Claude
DeepSeek
Google’s Gemini
OpenAI’s ChatGPT
Microsoft Copilot
Judges found Copilot particularly “stilted” and “robotic,” generating the dreaded “hope you’re well.” That’s too bad because Copilot is built into all Microsoft 365 products, a popular choice for work.
I wish we could see all the writing samples and judges’ feedback, but the article includes only a couple of examples. But students could use the same prompts for a class activity and compare results.
We could ask students to put more effort into the prompt, with detailed context and a more thorough audience analysis. We also could give students more specific guidance for evaluating the results. Or, students could create their own prompts. With more instructions—both to AI and to students—students might rank the tools differently.
Comparing Stock Charts for Perspective
This was a bad week for the U.S. stock market, but graphics make the news look worse than it is. Students can compare charts to see how truncated axes affect perception.
Yahoo!’s monthly chart has a short range: 41,000 to 44,000 for this monthly line chart. With the red line and shading, the results look awful. Noting the 6.87% drop is helpful—it’s not great but not devastating either. For the 62% of Americans (varying largely by demographic group) who own stock in some way, their portfolios are unlikely to be invested 100% in DJIA stock, so their personal losses are probably smaller.
This one year chart, also Yahoo!’s, shows a more complete view of the market. Over a year, stocks were still in positive territory—green(!)—and the recent dip is in clearer perspective. Not that short-term investors and perhaps retirees shouldn’t be concerned, and we might be headed into a recession, but this chart recognizes the extraordinary gains in the past year as well as the recent losses.
Students can find longer-term charts to see an even fuller picture of U.S. stock market returns. They might also find, or need to create, charts with a Y-axis starting at 0.
As always, the data visualization depends on the audience and purpose. If your audience is television viewers, and your purpose is to engender fear, then short time frames and truncated axes do the trick. If you’re a financial advisor, and your audience is a client who is a long-term investor with a balanced portfolio, you would probably not show these charts at all and instead focus on their portfolio returns over time.
Musk Email Lands in Italy
Elon Musk’s five-bullet-points email didn’t go over well in the U.S., but the reaction is worse in Italy, raising questions about intercultural communication for students to discuss. The email asks government workers to list five accomplishments in the past week.
With the subject, “What did you do last week?,” these emails were met with mixed reactions in the U.S., with some agencies instructing their employees not to respond. But when Italian workers at Aviano Air Base received the email, the negative reaction was stronger.
Students can explore cultural differences. One framework to explain the different reactions is Hofstede’s model, particularly the dimension of individualist / collectivist society. As one Italian union representative said, Italy “is not the Wild West like the U.S.” This country comparison tool website describes individualism as follows:
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people's self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “W.” In Individualist societies, people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to “in groups” that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.
The differences, shown here according to the comparison tool, aren’t as great as we might think, but Italian unions represent a higher percentage of the population, are more highly centralized, and provide broader protections than U.S. unions do.
Students may find other differences driving these reactions. For example, this past week, Italian President Sergio Mattarella declined a meeting with Musk about a potential $1.5 billion deal for Starlink, the satellite internet service. The request raised concerns about a public institution negotiating with a private entity. All this might be intensified by Europe’s reaction to the U.S. political situation at the moment.
Southwest's Failed Attempt at Humor
When affecting people’s pocketbooks, use humor cautiously. This is a lesson Southwest learned this week after announcing bag fees for this first time in the airline’s history.
The message communicating the bad news is vague. This Instagram post describes what the company will do—offer free bags for certain customers—but omits the obvious change, a significant one for the company that always touted “bags fly free.”
Investors responded well, lifting the stock price in a show of support for potentially greater profits. But customers, as expected, are unhappy.
Although Southwest is known for its folksy way (the stock symbol is LUV), maybe now was not the best time for jokes. The post downplaying the news by comparing it to the NBA trade that outraged fans didn’t go well.
We might see this as a failing of character in two ways. First, a lack of compassion minimizes the impact on customers and, in a way, takes advantage of their loyalty. Second, although consistent with the brand, humor detracts from the bad news and seems like a lack of integrity—inconsistency with the message.
We’ll see how the change affects flying decisions, particularly whether loyalty extends beyond this perk.
Pew Study Shows Workers Worried About AI
A new Pew Research Center Study presents an opportunity to talk with students about their hopes and fears about AI. The report title, “U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace,” puts the main point squarely up front.
Of the American workers surveyed in October 2024, 81% were considered “non-AI users.” Seventeen percent hadn’t heard of AI use in the workplace.
In addition, “about one-in-ten workers say they use AI chatbots—such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot—at work every day or a few times a week; 7% use them a few times a month.” Chatbot is a limited term; more accurately, this and other questions seem to be about generative and other AI, with functionality beyond simple chatbots. What do people—particularly those who don’t use or haven’t heard of how to use AI—think AI means? Also, a lot could change in a few months, so it will be interesting to see similar surveys as they emerge.
Given these low usage rates, it tracks that people are worried about AI. Without experience, people may be more fearful—and perhaps fear keeps them away. When we use AI more, we can understand the possibilities as well as the limitations and see how we need to maintain authority over our work.
Scott Galloway (Prof. G) answered a wealth manager’s question about whether AI could take his job. His recommendation was for the young professional to learn how to use AI—that the differentiator is how well he can use AI tools to improve his work in ways that the competition hasn’t yet learned. We might teach the same to our business communication students: use AI to your advantage, but don’t let it replace you, or your writing.
Words Removed From Government Sites and Other Comms
The list of words forbidden on U.S. government websites and other communications would make an interesting, although difficult, class conversation. The New York Times review of agency messages providing advice for updating government documentation (including school curricula) invites questions about word choice.
The Times points out that this list includes guidance from any agency and might not apply to all agencies. Still, I’m curious in which context some of these words and phrases should not be used, for example, pollution and mental health.
I won’t comment further, but I thought business communication faculty—and our students—might want to see the list, which is behind a NYT firewall. The reporters also say this list may be incomplete.
accessible
activism
activists
advocacy
advocate
advocates
affirming care
all-inclusive
allyship
anti-racism
antiracist
assigned at birth
assigned female at birth
assigned male at birth
at risk
barrier
barriers
belong
bias
biased
biased toward
biases
biases towards
biologically female
biologically male
BIPOC
Black
breastfeed + people
breastfeed + person
chestfeed + people
chestfeed + person
clean energy
climate crisis
climate science
commercial sex worker
community diversity
community equity
confirmation bias
cultural competence
cultural differences
cultural heritage
cultural sensitivity
culturally appropriate
culturally responsive
DEI
DEIA
DEIAB
DEIJ
disabilities
disability
discriminated
discrimination
discriminatory
disparity
diverse
diverse backgrounds
diverse communities
diverse community
diverse group
diverse groups
diversified
diversify
diversifying
diversity
enhance the diversity
enhancing diversity
environmental quality
equal opportunity
equality
equitable
equitableness
equity
ethnicity
excluded
exclusion
expression
female
females
feminism
fostering inclusivity
GBV
gender
gender based
gender based violence
gender diversity
gender identity
gender ideology
gender-affirming care
genders
Gulf of Mexico
hate speech
health disparity
health equity
hispanic minority
historically
identity
immigrants
implicit bias
implicit biases
inclusion
inclusive
inclusive leadership
inclusiveness
inclusivity
increase diversity
increase the diversity
indigenous community
inequalities
inequality
inequitable
inequities
inequity
injustice
institutional
intersectional
intersectionality
key groups
key people
key populations
Latinx
LGBT
LGBTQ
marginalize
marginalized
men who have sex with men
mental health
minorities
minority
most risk
MSM
multicultural
Mx
Native American
non-binary
nonbinary
oppression
oppressive
orientation
people + uterus
people-centered care
person-centered
person-centered care
polarization
political
pollution
pregnant people
pregnant person
pregnant persons
prejudice
privilege
privileges
promote diversity
promoting diversity
pronoun
pronouns
prostitute
race
race and ethnicity
racial
racial diversity
racial identity
racial inequality
racial justice
racially
racism
segregation
sense of belonging
sex
sexual preferences
sexuality
social justice
sociocultural
socioeconomic
status
stereotype
stereotypes
systemic
systemically
they/them
trans
transgender
transsexual
trauma
traumatic
tribal
unconscious bias
underappreciated
underprivileged
underrepresentation
underrepresented
underserved
undervalued
victim
victims
vulnerable populations
women
women and underrepresented
Kroger Is Vague About CEO Departure
Kroger’s CEO is leaving the company, but the reason is unclear. The official statement—and no word from the outgoing CEO—leaves us wondering what happened, which could conjure even worse stories.
The statement says Rodney McMullen, who started his career as a stock clerk while in college in 1978, left because of “his personal conduct that, while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger's Policy on Business Ethics.” We’re told that an investigation happened, and we’re told what the conduct was not: “not related to the Company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.”
Naturally, I’m curious. This sounds like a sad ending for a distinguished career. Unlike other leader-departure statements, we see no acknowledgement of McMullen’s long tenure at the company. Other issues might contribute to the traditional missing quotes about a leader’s contribution: McMullen led an attempted acquisition of Albertsons, which failed because of regulatory issues, and now Albertsons is suing the company for failing to do enough.
My imagination is going wild. I wonder whether it’s worse to keep the “conduct” a secret, although I’m guessing the decision protects McMullen’s privacy and dignity. The company’s objective is to assure investors that the behavior hasn’t affected business—although of course it does. Shares fell after the news, compounded by sales falling below expectations.
As usual in these situations, what’s called a “resignation” probably isn’t—at least not in the way you or I would resign from a job. This, too, preserves McMullen’s dignity.
Delta CEO Interview After Crash Focuses on PR and Safety
After a Delta flight flipped with 76 passengers and 4 crew members, CEO Ed Bastian interviewed with CBS News and focused on defending the company and the safety of air travel. The situation was particularly dramatic because it was on video, in flames at first, and then upside down with people exiting. It is miraculous that everyone survived the ordeal.
The interview began by asking Bastian what went wrong, and he responded, “Before I get to your question, Chris, I want to express my deep…” I thought he would first express compassion for those affected which is typically how crisis communication statements start. Instead, he complimented the crew, immediately protecting the company by defending their actions as well as emphasizing the Endeavor operator to distance the Delta brand. He then talked about “the safety embedded in the systems,” including extensive training. At least he didn’t say, “Safety is our top priority.”
At 2:33 into the 5:49-minute video, Gayle King finally asks about the video showing the flipped plane. To add drama, she asks about Bastian seeing the plane with the Delta logo. This is his chance to talk about his feelings. Again, he says, “Safety is embedded in our system,” and talks about the training and preparation. Then she asks about the Trump Administration cuts, and Bastian says the cuts are minimal and don’t affect them.
Bastian says, twice, that flying is the safest way to travel. Students could count the number of times he says versions of “safe.”
In the video, he says not a peep about the trauma people endured, which might be nice for the CEO to acknowledge regardless of the cause.
Southwest Layoff Memo Analysis
Fifteen percent of Southwest Airlines, or 1,750 employees, will be laid off, and CEO Bob Jordan's message to staff (below) serves as a bad-news example for students to analyze.
Budget airlines, including JetBlue, have been struggling, so the news shouldn’t be surprising to employees. During the December 2022 holiday storm when Southwest cancelled thousands of flights, a message asked employees to volunteer to help with scheduling; the company had been criticized for “outdated systems.” Increasing costs, competition, and activist pressure also led to a COO video message warning staff in September 2024:
[W]e try everything before we can make difficult decisions. We have a couple of difficult decisions heading our way. It’s not station closures. But we need to keep moving the network to help us drive back to profitability. And so I apologize in advance if you as an individual are affected by it. But I hope you understand that as we make these things, it’s not, you know, without lots of efforts otherwise.
He doesn’t use the “L-word,” but employees should see, as the saying goes, “the writing on the wall.” This context is important as students assess whether the message meets communication objectives and is appropriate for the audience. Here are a few points, comparing the memo to principles of bad-news messages:
The memo is on the Southwest website under Newsroom, a smart move because leaders can claim transparency—and the message likely would have been leaked, anyway, like the two I found mentioned above.
The news takes a while, but there’s no need to hold back when employees know what’s coming. The title, “Transforming The Way We Work,” means nothing (although is better than “Fork in the Road,” the most recent archived at opm.gov/fork). Employees will likely skim the first two paragraphs until they read the main point in the third: cutting 15%, or 1,750 mostly Corporate and Leadership positions (students will see random capitalization throughout).
Mentioning the types of positions is critical and too often omitted from layoff memos. Isolating the group is a good strategy to provide (some) relief to those not affected.
Offering pay through April without work is generous (although it might further enrage investors who have been pushing for reductions—how can such a large group be immediately laid off without consequence?). Jordan mentions severance, which could be spelled out here, as other leaders do, if it’s a generous package.
Jordan uses “I” when referring to the decision (“I arrived at this decision after careful and thorough reflection”), taking responsibility, and he demonstrates compassion in the next two paragraphs. He sounds sincere; few CEOs want to lay off staff.
I felt hopeful when I read the heading, “What to Expect,” but this is fluffy and doesn’t tell employees what they need to hear: Am I affected? When will I know? Instead, that paragraph is a company-pat-on-the-back—what they’re doing well. Other leaders are precise in layoff memos, for example, “Employees who are affected will receive an email by 5pm today and will meet [in-person if possible] with . . . “).
Endings are always tricky, balancing how those leaving might feel with a positive statement about the company’s future, but this one feels harsh: “As we focus on delivering on our plan, our future will be built upon the actions we take today to ensure an even brighter future.” A departing employee might read this as, “You were dragging us down, so thanks for going. Your future is completely unknown, but we’ll be better off without you.”
The message could be signed by Jordan for a more personal touch.
As posted on the site, it ends oddly with the boilerplate statement about the company’s history and number of employees, which probably didn’t appear in the original message. The weird footnotes are unnecessary, and the “2” needs to be superscript here: “By empowering its more than 72,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality.” Minor points—but this detracts from the message, which should feel heart-felt, particularly for a company that refers to its employees as “Cohearts.”
Overall, I have certainly seen worse. It’s a terrible time for Southwest and has been for a while. The hope is that those laid off will find better jobs, although the job market is difficult. The best we can do is wish people the best, including those staying, who could be part of an airline that will last.
Southwest Team:
We are at a pivotal moment as we carry out our three-year business plan to transform Southwest Airlines. Our transformational plan is the largest and most comprehensive in our 53-year history, and it focuses on three simple but powerful objectives. First, boost revenues and loyalty by offering our Customers the experience they want; second, maximize efficiencies and minimize costs; and third, make the most of our investments.
As we continue to work together to transform our Company, an area of intense focus will be maximizing efficiencies and minimizing costs. We must ensure we fund the right work, reduce duplicative efforts, and have a lean organizational structure that drives clarity, pace, and urgency. Improving how we work together and how we get work done has a tremendous impact on our efficiency as a Company and how we deliver against our plan.
We have made the very tough decision to move forward with a reduction in our workforce, focused almost entirely on Corporate and Leadership positions. This reduction affects approximately 1,750 Employee roles, or 15% of Corporate positions. Separations do not begin until late April. Until then, most Employees who are notified of their displacement will not work but will continue to receive their salary, benefits, and bonus, if eligible.
This is a very difficult and monumental shift, and I arrived at this decision after careful and thorough reflection, knowing how hard it will be to say goodbye to Cohearts who have been a significant part of our Culture and our accomplishments.
We are dedicated to operating safely and reliably for our Customers every single day. The fundamental objective of Leadership and Noncontract roles is to support our Frontline Employees as efficiently and effectively as possible. With the best intentions, the growth of our Leadership and Noncontract functions have outpaced our operation's growth for many years. Now, this group must become more lean, efficient, and agile to better serve our Frontline Employees in our shared mission of serving our Customers.
What to Expect
This will be hard, and we will treat our People with the care and respect they have earned and they deserve. Impacted Employees will receive severance and will be offered resources to provide an opportunity to ask questions and prepare for the future, like sessions with Human Resource Business Partners, a dedicated Offboarding Support Team, and outplacement services.
Moving Forward Together
This was an extremely difficult decision to make because of its impact on our People—both those who will be directly impacted and those who will remain.
Changing how we work is an essential part of becoming a more agile Company, and it will be a journey. We are building a leaner organization with increased clarity regarding what is most important, quicker decision making, and a focus on getting the right things done with urgency—not unlike our entrepreneurial founding spirit of the 1970s. As we focus on delivering on our plan, our future will be built upon the actions we take today to ensure an even brighter future.
Jobs Report and Graphics
A Wall Street Journal article illustrates simple graphics for the latest jobs report and serves as a good discussion starter for students about their own prospects.
The classic bar chart shows non-farm jobs added over the past couple of years. Student might compare the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ presentation and the Wall Street Journal’s. Of course, the WSJ adds some color, including red to highlight the latest data point. But the axis ranges show the biggest differences. The WSJ pulled data back from 2022, forcing a larger x-axis range and including the uptick in 2022, which may imply more volatility and a lower number in 2025.
The BLS includes -100 on its x-axis—a good idea to illustrate potential losses, which of course, we see in longer-range job charts. For perspective on the current employment economy, these would be interesting for students to explore.
Students might create a different chart from the BLS data and tell their own story. Their story might involve a tougher time finding full-time employment, which is an obvious problem with these domestic averages.
A useful discussion is why the BLS and WSJ chose a bar chart for jobs added and a line chart for the unemployment rate. The bar compares discrete values each month, while the line chart shows the trend of a continuous data point over time. A line chart could work for jobs, too, and we’ll see this display as well. Students could search for “jobs added” and compare the graphics.
Mattel Communicates Tariff Response
Mattel communicated its plans as tariffs go into effect. Companies are in a tough spot. As a Financial Times writer explains, “Public companies have been reluctant to make concrete predictions over the effects of tariffs, as they struggle to keep up with rapid policy changes or seek to avoid antagonising Washington.”
Mattel depends on 40% of its production from China and 10% from Mexico. In the company’s fourth quarter financial report, guidance for 2025 includes the following:
Guidance includes the anticipated impact of new U.S. tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada imports announced on February 1st, and mitigating actions we plan to take, including leveraging the strength of our supply chain, and potential pricing.
Reading between the lines, students might understand that Mattel plans to reduce sourcing outside the United States (a CNBC article confirms plans to reduce the amount from 50% to 25% by 2027) and will try to absorb increased costs. In other words, Mattel is saying, we’ll be fine, but we might raise prices. In the end, as CNBC reports, Mattel, like Chipotle and many others, may have “consumers pay the rest.”
A New York Post headline is more blunt: “Mattel shares spike 15% after toy giant says it will raise Barbie prices because of China tariffs.” The article explains how toy companies, although vulnerable because 80% of their products are made in China, produce 80% new toys each year and have a captive audience: kids who want the latest toys and parents who will pay for them.
Price increases are one of those situations that is good or bad news depending on the audience. Either way, we could see it as an issue of integrity: Mattel’s language isn’t quite transparent (clear and accurate), although it’s appropriate for the primary audience of investors.
Grammy CEO Models Crisis Recovery
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. delivered a surprising speech during the 2025 Grammy Awards, directly addressing criticism of the awards and explaining actions taken.
He described the situation when he became CEO in 2020. He said some artists were “pretty vocal in their complaints” and described reading about the Weeknd’s boycott in the newspaper. This approach gives us a window into the personal impact and might engender compassion:
I remember waking up to the headlines that the Weeknd called out the Academy for lack of transparency in our awards. He went so far as to announce he was boycotting the Grammys. That made for some interesting reading over breakfast. But you know what? Criticism is, okay. I heard him. I felt his conviction.
Next, Mason described the Recording Academy’s “transformation,” including new initiatives and a more diverse voting body. As he ends this segment, he promises, “I firmly believe we’re on the right path,” but he says there’s still work to do.
Finally, he transitions to introduce the Weeknd!
As we've seen tonight, music is a powerful force for good. It heals us, it unites us, and we need that in this city right now. With that in mind, on a truly special night, what better way to bring us together than this next artist? Someone who has seen the work the Academy has put in. I'm so honored to leave you with a sentence that I wasn't sure would ever be said on the Grammy stage again. My friends, my fellow music makers, please join me in welcoming back none other than four-time Grammy-winning artist and global superstar, The Weeknd.
This is a preventable (not victim or accidental) crisis situation, so the Academy had to take responsibility and do better. In their book, Communicating in Extreme Crises: Lessons From the Edge, Elina R. Tachkova and W. Timothy Coombs might call this an “extreme crisis,” which requires more significant actions in response. Mason described them well, and his delivery is appropriate for the awards ceremony: scripted but conversational. This is a good example for students to analyze.