The kids at Rancho Tehama Elementary School in Rancho Tehama, CA are safe. Why? Because their school had a crisis plan, they had conducted safety drills, and they knew what to do when a gunman approached the doors and started firing.
CommCore Blog and News
CommCore in The New York Times: A Crisis Simulation that Makes Reporters Sweat
At the risk of tooting our own horn, we are sharing the recent New York Times in-depth article on CommCore’s PressureTest crisis communication simulation. (Some Observer readers may have already seen it.)
Equifax’s Response After Massive Data Breach Criticized
Equifax stock fell 19.5% the day the credit reporting agency revealed its massive data breach from six weeks earlier, affecting 143 million customers.
Six days later, it was down 31%. 
Equifax’s bumbling response has come under withering criticism from the public,media, lawmakers, regulators, analysts, and crisis experts. Read more
Think Twice Before You Send That Email: Top 10 Email Rules & And How They Differ for Business Leaders vs. Politicians
A recent article in the Washington Post pointed out what is known in the communications consulting world as “The New York Times Rule” or “The Front-Page Test,” which states that anything you write in email can turn up in a major national newspaper and become a liability to your reputation. Read more
What Hard-Charging Organizations Can Learn From Uber
The sexual harassment and workplace abuse scandal at Uber is a dramatic case study of a hard-charging corporate culture gone astray in the hyper-competitive Silicon Valley environment.
The independent report by former U.S.
What Can We Learn From Steve Harvey?
Can a CEO, government official or celebrity engage in private, written communications? It’s harder and harder when everyone has multiple social media accounts and organization rules for respecting information are either non-existent or loosely enforced.
Not All Passenger Removals Damage Your Reputation
The CEO’s role as Communicator-in Chief is sharply contrasted when we compare Oscar Munoz of United Airlines with Ed Bastian of Delta. Both responded to passenger ejections and viral videos. The first got slammed, the second praised.
Impact of Hyping a Storm – Creating a Public Safety Issue?
TV and news weather forecasters, like politicians, tend to take center stage and issue passionate warnings before a weather event. Increasingly, the public is growing tired of the hyperbole: Every snow storm has the potential to be a blizzard.
Read more Countering Cyber-Insecurity
Cybersecurity Hall of Fame member Gene “Spaf” Spafford has said, “The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards.” Read more
How A Tweet Knocked New Balance Off Balance
New Balance shoes is the latest unfortunate victim of the “be careful what you say getting taken out of context” syndrome, aka what happens when your mainstream media interview collides with social media. Read more