Jim Olson, the former global corporate communications lead for Starbucks and US Airways and CCO at African Leadership University, graciously shared his insight and observations on a number of topics including:
1) How did Starbucks find a new, ethical option about how to deal with the presence of guns in their stores?
2) How we can help heal the fracturing of humanity by moving from impact to consequence?
3) The ethical imperative of purpose
Ethical issues continued to be at the forefront this week and the various articles I saw reinforced one point – being ethical is not just about saying the right thing, it is about taking action. This was driven home by Mike Paul, the PRISA, and brands that are doing and not just saying.
John Walker, the founder and managing partner of Chirp PR, discusses a number of important topics, including:
1) Keeping your values when others compromise theirs (a.k.a. How to survive a dot-com boom)
2) How to build trust in a time of uncertainty
3) The ethical pitfalls of “guaranteed” media coverage that isn’t earned
I can’t think of a week packed with more significant, societal and communication ethics issues. Systemic injustice, free speech, racism and more. If my ethics class was in session now, I would throw out the lesson plan and we would just discuss the events of the past week. It is good to see so much constructive discussion, but like others I want to see talk move into action.
In this personal interview, Tami Nealy, the vice president of communications and talent relations for Find Your Influence shares some great advice and insight, including:
1) What do you do when you have an abusive boss and he may have broken the law?
2) The importance of mentors
3) Ethics and influencer relations
4) The growing ethics problem of ghosting
One of the most common areas of ethical failure (in my opinion) revolves around data. The four articles I share this week highlight different elements of this – from cutting corners and misrepresenting data, to data privacy, disclosure and the misrepresentation of old data. Data has the power to shape opinions and actions, and we all need to uphold the highest standards when gathering, using and sharing it.
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. A day where we remember and honor those that have died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
I plan to continue the tradition I started last year. Rather than have a regular post, I’m asking people to take a moment and reflect and think about what we complain about regularly and how that right to complain was bought by the people that served and came before us. Then spend the time with your loved ones and be thankful. This is more important now than ever.
This past week in PR ethics was filled with some very important news and examples, and a few that are less important and make me smile. A discussion on ethics and pizza arbitrage blew up my social media feeds. While it is interesting, the research on tobacco co-opting #stayathome hashtags was chilling. There was also the important news of the PRCA launching a Global Ethics Council, and the much less important news of me being interviewed on the great Look Left @ Marketing podcast.
While last week the most interesting PR ethics stories dealt with leadership. This week it was a true potpourri. There are some great articles and discussion topics on art, yoghurt, aiding your enemies and right vs right.
On this week’s EthicalVoices, BJ Whitman, a PR professional with more than 30 years of public relations expertise in the education, maritime, and hospitality management fields joins me to discuss a number of ethics issues, including:
1) Life, death, ethics and a photograph
2) Why silence is a killer to resolving ethical issues
3) Ethical issues in the maritime industry