Law And More

Kentucky - Branding Shift from Coal to Tourism

In a proactive move during this era focused on climate change, an organization in Kentucky is shifting branding from coal to tourism.

In Odwyerpr.com, Kevin McCauley reports that Eastern Kentucky Pride, formed in 1997, is searching for a public relations firm to promote The Kentucky Wildlands.

If the promotional campaign is successful, it could provide the platform for Kentucky to shake off its Appalachian image. Although that ethos may play in nostaglia about the old days, it doesn't resonate with The Professional Class seeking out cool locations to live which are still affordable. That demographic is experimental. They have been willing to exit the once-prestigious coasts to try out where land is cheap and the neighbors friendly.

Tourism is a good place to start the reimagining of Kentucky. In fact, pent-up demand is so strong that MarketWatch reports on a possible shortage of hotel rooms in certain parts of the U.S.

But Kentucky doesn't have to worry about not being able to provide enough lodging space. It can embed in its tourism message how welcome Recreational Vehicles are. RVs represent their own kind of boom in wanderlust. In addition, the American Dream is changing from owning a house to being able to tool around in the RV, usually used. Work can be picked up along the way. Children can be homeschooled. Animal companions can find happiness.

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Jeffrey Sonnenfeld - Is He Pushing CEOs Beyond Triple Bottom Line to Social-Justice Activism?

At one time, the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld brand was derived from his brilliant thought leadership on business. His signature publication is "The Hero's Farewell." It chronicles the difficulty leaders have after exiting a power position.

Now, as senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management Sonnenfeld seems to be rebranding as a kind of activist. The Daily Mail reports that in that role Sonnenfeld is encouraging CEOs to be proactive on social issues.

Some observing Sonnefeld's nudging CEOs to activism controversial. 

In a sense, the space Sonnefeld is focused on goes beyond the orientation of ESG. That business strategy frequently goes by the moniker "The Triple Bottom Line." Instead of a one-dimensional commitment to the bottom line there is embraced accountability for other kinds of stakeholders. They include employees, vendors, communities and planet earth.

Sonnenfeld's critics contend he is playing out "Woke" ideology. Their push-back is based on the contention that the CEO should be operating a business, not be on the front lines of a social-justice movement. 

Obviously, an activist stance in business is a risky one. It extends from the what goes down in the court of public opinion to the price of the stock. 

Much of what is taking place in political currents of current America mirrors the dynamics of the late 1960s counterculture. Leaders of that movement attempted to put pressure on institutional authority figures to join in the "revolution." The tension in organizations about whether to cave to the movement had been palpable. Members of the revolution took over academic deans' offices. Universities had to make major decisions how to respond. 

The risk of activism, of course, could pertain to Sonnenfeld's credibility. If this initiative blows up for corporations, his reputation could be tarnished. So could that of Yale. 

Law firms had created ESG practices to guide their clients in navigating the political, legal and economic issues associated with the triple bottom line. However, more recently the roles of law firms have broadened to this introduction of activism on social-justice matters for their corporate clients.

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Again, Loners Take It on the Chin in America - Derek Chauvin Is Labeled That

"Derek Chauvin: A bullying loner ..." Daniel Bates, Daily Mail, April 20, 2021.

Okay, the bullying part we can go with. That's actually becoming unacceptable even in businesses. Deloitte U.K., KPMG U.K. and CBS cut loose the executives accused of being bullies.

But, loner. Come on. That's not only unfair to us loners. It scares parents into struggling to socialize their children who love solitude or are introverted to interact more.

After all, networking has become a kind of religion. In America, in the upper middle classes it kicks in during nursery school - that is, the right nursery school. And, the ambtious go to Yale or Harvard law schools for the network. 

The perception that someone is a loner also is scaring society during this time of mass shootings. The assumption is that he or she is anti-social. So, watch out.

The reality, documents Maria Hakki in iheartintelligence.com, can be quite different. Often loners are loyal friends. That requires lots of social skills. Those range from the ability to listen to empathy.

In The Power of Silence, Riley Cooper points out traits that loners tend to have. They include:

Open-minded

Not seeking validation from others

Mental strength

Highly intuitive

Love of independence

Level-headed (as opposed to the emotional imbalance of many mass shooters).

To the list I would add that we are not usually pests with oversharing and nudging conversations on airplanes. 

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Gentrified Jersey City, NJ - Yeah, Sure, But Try to Get Your Birth Certificate

Jersey City, New Jersey has become Wall Street on the Hudson.

Also publishing businesses have settled in.

It's cool for professionals to commute to Manhattan from a studio apartment near iconic Journal Square. At 101 Newkirk Street, that 600 square feet will run them $1,850 a month, after putting down a $2,775 deposit.

Like so many urban areas such as Brooklyn, Jersey City has gentrified. 

But its ethos of corruption hasn't gone poof. It is causing those born in that once first-stop for immigrants so much inconvenience. 

Not that we don't understand why that is happening.

You bet, we vividly remember the absolute power of the Hague Machine. Frank Hague explicitly declared he was the law. He was. Violate that law and your cousin arriving from Italy may never land a job.

The underground economy likely generated more value than the one we learned about at Synder High School. Many residents patiently waited to buy X or Y until "the truck" came by with televisions and dresses.

Hustlers found "taking the number" a wonderful source of added income. That's how they could afford to send their children to Jersey City teachers' college, now a full-service university. 

It could be primarily because of that embedded value system of "going around the law" that those born in Jersey City can't just apply at City Hall for a copy of our birth certificates. No, as the internet hammers, we have to enter the red-tape maze of sending in our request to the State of New Jersey, Department of Health, Vital Statistics.

Because of high demand and COVID, the process could take up to 12 weeks if it's a mail-in. Also add on how slow the United States Postal Service is.

On January 20, 2021, I sent along a certified packet to that Department of Health, with all the required documents and a check of $25 for two copies of my birth certificate. 

Yesterday, the birth certificates arrived snail mail.

Meanwhile, the state of Arizona had only issued me the kind of driver's license which the federal government does not recognize for travel. No, I couldn't hop on a plane to attend a conference.

Unlike many other states and even the guards manning the border between the U.S. and Mexico, AZ wouldn't accept the birth certificate issued by the hospital. That was the Margaret Hague, which Frank had built to honor his mother Margaret and reinforce the power of his brand. It was post-World War II. Lots of babies were being born. That Baby Boomer generation would wind up sitting two to a desk at the Catholic grade schools. Catholicsm had been part of that power structure.

This birth-certificate ordeal reminded me that probably those born at the Margaret Hague will never be able to shake off that Jersey City was our hometown. And maybe we don't want to.

The socialization was unique. For instance, in 2005 - 2006, I covered a class action trial in Providence, Rhode Island. I was able to loop into the dynamics of the local and state politics. I understood.

Also, we were ahead of our time in having down cold that getting, holding and moving on to better work depended on whom you knew.

And higher education was sacred but don't get too big for your britchers. The sense of being less-than those in the NJ suburbs and Manhattan constituted the collective unconscious. I spotted that sense of deference in a former client's administrative assistant - Joan Avagliano. She had gotten her BA at the Jersey City-based St. Peter's College, now also a university.

Well, once I go through more red tape at the AZ DMV,  I can travel. I can do dental tourism in Mexico. I can take a fresh look at Barcelona, Spain, where I once worked, for my travel blog. 

But, what I can't do is go home again.

Jersey City's cost of living is beyond the reach of most of us beyond our peak earning years.

In addition, we would be a kind of public nuisance. The Professional Class in that city doesn't want to be annoyed with anecdotes of how it used to be. And that is my fascination: How it used to be. It really was that way.

Also, my "Jersey City accent" can label me as a throw-back to a period of time that the current power structure wants to forget. That's bad for property values.

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Reputation Restoration and Goldman Sachs - Now a Wrap for Image-Fixer Jake Siewert But New Branding Challenges Emerge

"Jake Siewert, who guided Goldman Sachs’ reputational recovery in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown, is joining Warburg Pincus." - Kevin McCauley, Odwyerpr.com, April 16, 2021.

In 2010, in Rolling Stone Matt Taibbi had positioned and packaged Goldman Sachs as "The Great American Bubble Machine." Taibbi contended:

"From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression ..."

Siewert took that on. His strategy was essentially to make Goldman Sachs transparent and to humanize its executives. Tools for that included podcasting and social media. Most of Wall Street shuns such openness. Siewert also healed relationships with much of media and with policymakers.

Now Siewert is moving on.

But new kinds of reputational trouble have arisen for Goldman Sachs. The media and internally its employees are focused on its culture. The rot is within.

In a recent edition of Vanity Fair, William Cohan turned over Goldman Sachs' ugly underbelly.

Within the organization, the beefs range from overwork to frat-boy values. In regard to the latter a former intern Patrick Blumenthal filed a lawsuit in 2020. In that lawsuit "Blumenthal v. Goldman Sachs, et al.," the plaintiff claims harm from hazing.

This could bite the leadership in the butt, just as it had in Deloitte UK and KPMG UK. Because of the contentions about a toxic culture, one executive stepped down from that particular position, another resigned from the company.

In western economies there is a movement against all forms of workplace bullying. 

Obviously, the Goldman Sachs' brand is in play, yet again. Heads could roll.

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Austin, TX Massacre Could Wind Up as "Law & Order SVU" Episode - Unfortunately

A [former] sheriff's detective [Stephen Nicholas Broderick] has [allegedly] turned active shooter and killed three adults in Austin after being put on unpaid leave over child sex claims, as SWAT teams and FBI agents issued a shelter at home order amid fears the gunman could take a hostage." - Roy Tingle, Daily Mail, April 18, 2021.  

Broderick had a key position in the Austin Police Department. That had been before he had been arrested in June 6, 2020. The charge had been first-degree child sexual assault. He had been up on unpaid administrative leave. Then he resigned. 

Of course, nothing has been proved yet. And, as yet he has not been convicted of anything.

But, nevertheless, let's speculate.

This kind of tragedy involving a former member of law enforcement is what could wind up as an episode on "Law & Order SVU." Produced by Dick Wolf, the plots are known to be "ripped from the headlines."

Not too long ago there had been a plot about a detecitve in the Bronx who turned out to be a serial rapist. Several of his colleagues, unable to absorb the possibility of such as bad apple, tried to protect him. 

Meanwhile, the crisis continues in the Austin area. It is joining the list of other American cities which have recently experienced a mass shooting. Until this, Austin had been the new cool location for both techies and members of the Creative Class.

UPDATE:

Broderick had been arrested when walking along US 290. Daily Mail provides more details.

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Next Career Collapse: Scott Rudin

The emerging ethos - even in the highly competitive entertainment world - is: No one should have to take "this" to earn a living. The "this" is putting up with allegedly abusive behavior by the higher-ups or the powerful who loop in.

The latest career to collapse beccause of contentions about unacceptable conduct is that of Broadway and film producer Scott Rudin. 

As The Washington Post reports, Rudin is stepping down from his roles in the entertainment business. He has been accused of bullying and rages. Those have been said to include throwing objects at subordinates. 

Unlike others sidelined by the new demands for respectful treatment of employees, Rudin has done a mea culpa. Yes, he indicates he is going to work on himself.

On Broadway he produced the hit "To Kill a Mockingbird." In film, he gave us the provocative "No Country for Old Men."

The tipping point in the unraveling of Rudin's career probably had been Karen Olivio's refusing to continue with the musical "Moulin Rouge!" because of Rudin's behavior. 

In the UK, both at Deloitte and KPMG, executives have stepped down because of accusations of creating a "toxic" workplace. 

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Peloton Tread+ - Consumer Product Safety Commission Issues Urgent Warning about Danger to Children

Crisis management experts might have questions about how Peloton is responding to the danger warning issued today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the Peloton Tread+.

As CNN Business reports, Peloton has not taken the Peloton Tread+ off the market. In addition it has not indicated that it is taking corrective action in how that fitness equipment which retails for about $4,295 operates.

The press release CPCS issued today starts off this way:

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about the danger of popular Peloton Tread+ exercise machine after multiple incidents of small children and a pet being injured beneath the machines. The Commission has found that the public health and safety requires this notice to warn the public quickly of the hazard.

"The urgent warning comes less than a month after Peloton itself released news of a child’s death by a Peloton Tread+ and CPSC’s announcement of an investigation into that incident."

The CPSC is aware of 39 incidents. Essentially, when the Tread+ is activated children can be sucked in by the rear rollers. In addition to the death there have been fractures and abrasions. As the press release says, pets are can also be in harm's way.

CNN Business notes:

"Peloton (PTON) blasted the CPSC in a release Saturday, calling its warning 'inaccurate and misleading.' Peloton said there's 'no reason' to stop using the machine if safety instructions, such as correctly using its safety key, are followed. It also said that the Tread+ should be kept away from children under 16 years old and pets 'at all times."

The future of the Peloton brand and the revenues for the business could depend on how this crisis is managed. So far, Peloton seems to not be following best practices in crisis communications. As the old adage hammers: It isn't what happens, it's how you handle it.

Those in the loop of both public relations and personal-injury law will be following this closely. 

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Prestigious NYC Prep-School Niche Disrupted - Push-back on Idelology, Tuition, Behavior by Leadership

"Head of elite NYC school Dalton [Jim Best] resigns after parents complain about 'obsessive' and 'wildly inappropriate' antiracism agenda that included reenactments of 'racist cops' in SCIENCE classes." - Jennifer Smith, Daily Mail, April 17, 2021.

Dalton in not alone among the prestigous private schools in New York City in which parents perceive liberalism has gone too far. There has also been push-back at Grace Church and Brearley. At Grace a math teacher went public in objecting to the ideology. At Brearley a father yanked his child out of the prep school because of that same thing.

But the issue of ideology may only be the tip of the iceberg. Parents are also enraged that the sticker price for tuition - over $50,000 - hasn't been reduced even though there haven't been in-person classes since March 2020. At universities there have been class-action lawsuits filed by students requesting discounts. They allege that remote instruction has been subpar.

In addition, in the prep-school niche there has also been turmoil because of alleged sexual misconduct. The head of Regis high school Rev. Daniel Lahart has stepped down. This had inflicted another blow on the branding of Roman Catholicism. Since the Boston Globe broke the story of clergy sexual abuse of boys in 2002, the Church has struggled with reputation restoration.

Why this disruption in the prep-school niche matters is because those prep schools are feeder pools for the next generation of leadership in capitalism. The graduates will stop off at elite universities for undergraduate degrees, then elite professional schools and eventually assume the power positions in American institutions. 

Now, there could be the beginning of a reconfiguration of where the current ruling class seeks socialization and an edge for their offspring. Other launching pads could replace the prep schools. 

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The Ranking Game Has Come to This: Temple Online B School's Former Dean Moshe Porat Indicted

"The indictment unsealed Friday charges Moshe Porat, 74, the former dean of Temple’s Fox School of Business and Management, in Philadelphia, with conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly providing phony information to U.S. News & World Report between 2014 and 2018." - Patrick Thomas, The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2021.

Two of Porat's subordinates at the time were also indicted. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy related to committing wire fraud.

Porat denies that allegations.

The cooked-up data about the online M.B.A. program focused on:

Number of students who had taken the Graduate Management Admission Test exam

Average work experience of students

Percentage of students enrolled part-time.

In 2018, the school notified U.S. News & World Report that the data had been manipulated. Soon after that, Porat was forced to leave. There were then federal and state investigations.

However, as the sayings go in law: The bell had been rung. The egg had been broken. Before this disclosure by the school, for four consecutive years that online program ranked number-one in the U.S. News & World Report ranking system. 

Students who enrolled in that particular program because of that ranking then had to deal with the reality that their alma mater was involved in a front-page media scandal. That could reduce the brand value of their degree. 

Anything to do  with rankings in higher education is big news, That's because higher education is in essence BigBusiness.

When rankings slip for any professional school, be it business or law, those in leadership could lose their jobs. When rankings increase that usually results in higher quality students applying, brandname professors accepting positions, more research funding and larger donations from alumni.

The pressure is intense. Therefore, if it is proved that Porat and his team fudged the numbers or if they take a plea deal, that would be no surprise. Rankings represent a high-stakes game.

Ironically, the ranking game itself had gotten into a pickle this year. That happened with how U.S. News & World Report ranked law schools. As Law.com reports, three times it had t0 change the rankings of law schools. That threw shade on its own branding. It also opened the door wider on a discussion of the ranking game itself. Should it be allowed to continue?

Earlier several elite business schools refused to submit data to a ranking organization. They claimed that COVID had disrupted too much for the numbers to reflect any reality.

Reflection: Is the ranking process itself in play?

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