Asa,
i was telling Noreen that I have a hope and expectation that print makes a comeback. Just as reporters and editors put their juicy stories online as "exclusives," they want eyeballs to see it. What if some publication were to serve up a good story as exclusive in a print edition as a test?
media
AskAsa
6/15/2011 9:36:28 AM
At one time reporters observed certain protocols with sources and during interviews.
Terms like "Off the Record" or "On Background" were carefully observed and practiced. If not the reporter could count on an editor handing his head to him later.
In recent years I've noticed many of the younger folks coming in from even well known schools have little knowledge of or respect for practices like "Off the record."
In the digital age where everything you say or write is recorded, the practices that helped reporters develop and bond with sources have now been thrown out and dismissed as Old Media.
I tell many people to just consider your life and all you say and do to be just a flip of a switch away from going viral.
The more I read about Groupon, the more I think I'll take another look at LinkedIn!
Hi Scott--
Thanks for your post. In all of the years I have worked with the C-suite, I still get a sense that they don't realize that every action--spoken or otherwise--means something to the company.
I joke with people here in Chicago that the media is so enamored with Groupon that we could easily see a headline, "Groupon CEO Sneezes; Kleenex Stock Rises 4 Percent." The point here is that sometimes it is not the executive who causes news, but the outside influencers who want to shape it.
I don't know if people who run companies truly think about what they say or do as much as what they do in a company's operations. Look at Andy Heyward at BP; clueless as he may be speaking in public, his ideas influenced the long-term direction of BP. We all have a good idea what he will be remembered for...
double standard
Scott
6/13/2011 8:59:21 PM
It's one thing when employees leak intentionally or let info slip. That's bad enough, and you can get canned for it. But when execs do this, they get away with it even though it's even more inexcusable. They of all people know that managing information in this day and age is as valuable as managing money.
The difference is that Whole Foods had already built an immensely profitable franchise. Groupon has yet to earn a dime of profit yet.
very good point you make about Whole Paycheck, errr., Whole Foods. They seem to be doing OK since Mackey's gaffe.
Lefkofsky reminds me the CEO of Whole Food Market, John Mackey. Does anyone still remeber the forum posting scandal? Between 1999-2006, John wrote anonymous online attacks against a smaller rival (Wild Oats Markets) and questioned why anyone would buy Wild Oats Markets' stock, before Whole Foods announced an offer to buy it in 2007.
The whole accident was a very disturbing news to the shareholders of WFMI, which caused a lot of trouble in the following two years. Stock price dropped from 40s to single digit during the recession. The price did not fully recovered until recent years.
There are two morals of the story:
1. CEO and high level executive shall behave themselves, otherwise big trouble can follow
2. Nobody is perfect, as long as the fundamentals of a company is still good, investors shall hang on
Re: Lefkofsky
yalanand
6/10/2011 12:41:05 AM
Scott,
I totally agree with you. Its better for the CEO's to keep quiet rather than misguiding the investors by giving wildly optimistic projection.
Scott, i think you are right on, saying that the quiet period is a good thing. I think a lot of CEOs would use the time to try and generate buzz if they were allowed to do so.
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