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Moments after the Supreme Court announced its landmark Dobbs v. Jackson decision, Ropes & Gray’s chairwoman Julie Jones released a heartfelt statement. In it, she shared her personal and professional reaction to the seismic shift the decision represents. 

Jones acknowledged the differences of opinion her internal stakeholders held on the decision while openly articulating her dismay regarding the reversal of Roe v. Wade. She also made her firm’s position clear, saying, “There will be many opportunities for those interested to contribute on a pro bono basis to the protection of health care rights for women, a cause which Ropes & Gray will continue to champion.”

Jones’ full statement is powerful and authoritative. But from a PR perspective, it’s not so much what she said that’s particularly noteworthy. It’s the fact that she was poised to respond in a meaningful way that sets her apart from the majority of her peers.

More than ever, the professional service firm’s executive committee is called upon to make decisions regarding issues that don’t directly impact their business, or participate in narratives that have not required their participation in the past. Many of these issues and narratives are fraught with emotional risk for certain stakeholder groups, requiring abundant empathy and a strong understanding of their audience. For these reasons, executive committees should consider engaging directly with a PR firm that can provide objective guidance in this new landscape. Here are five ways engaging a strong PR resource can help an executive committee navigate the special situations that are heading its way with greater frequency. 

1. Know When and How to Speak Out on Social Issues

We’ve said it before. In today’s world, social concerns are business concerns. And that means your firm can’t afford to sidestep the hot-button topics your audience cares about. 

That doesn’t mean you need to speak out about everything that’s happening in the world. But it does mean you should carefully examine your values and develop unique points of view on the issues that matter most to your firm and your stakeholders.

For Julie Jones, that meant crafting a statement about Dobbs even before the decision was final. For other firms, it might mean developing positions of authority about tax reform, ESG principles, or climate change. 

Whatever the case may be, a good PR firm can help your executive committee anticipate what’s approaching on the horizon. That way you won’t be left scrambling to respond after another firm has beat you to the punch.

2. Protect Your Firm’s Reputation in Times of Crisis

It can be difficult for any leader, no matter how experienced, to know the best way to handle a crisis. That’s especially true if the crisis in question poses a threat to the firm’s reputation. 

Some accept an unwarranted ding to their firm’s public image for fear of making the situation worse. Others try to curtail the damage by minimizing or downplaying their firm’s wrongdoing or missteps. Neither end of this spectrum demonstrates the authenticity and vulnerability that a difficult PR scenario requires.

That’s why PR counsel is so important in the heat of the moment. We advise clients on how to respond to difficult situations with empathy for their audience. Keeping your audience’s concerns, questions, and needs at the forefront of your crisis communication plan is the crucial first step toward moving beyond the eye of the storm.  

3. Communicate Effectively During Leadership Transitions

Executive transitions — particularly at the most senior level — are news events that are certain to attract the public’s attention. As such, it’s critically important to communicate clearly with clients, stakeholders, and the public before, during, and after key executive changes.

But many executive committees don’t take time to plan for transitions before they happen. And without clear succession plans in place and solid communication plans to back them up, executive committees can miss valuable opportunities to properly leverage the moment when the time comes to announce a transition.

Working with a PR firm before leadership transitions are even on the table enables your executive committee to:

  • Craft compelling institutional narratives about where the firm has been and where it’s headed in the future.
  • Define and articulate your firm’s unique value proposition, which can become the common thread that connects an outgoing leader to an incoming one.
  • Capture and preserve the institutional memory and knowledge of key leaders before they depart. 

Successful leadership changes are carefully planned and expertly communicated. And the best way to ensure your firm experiences a seamless transition is to consider how your audience will view the relationship between the past and the future well in advance.

4. Make Informed Decisions About Client Representation

Your executive committee should engage in healthy debate regarding which clients to represent and which to pass over. That’s particularly vital in the age of cancel culture. It’s become increasingly common for individuals and community advocacy groups to access client lists and pressure firms to reconsider their affiliation with controversial individuals or businesses. 

A PR partner can help executive committees consider questions like:

  • Will representing this client contradict — and therefore undermine — our stated values? 
  • Is this engagement likely to invite threats to our reputation? And if so, are the short-term gains worth the risk?

By engaging a PR firm to help you consider these and other questions, your executive committee can shape a smarter, more strategic process around client selection.

5. Communicate Transparently, Especially With Internal Stakeholders

Two decades ago, the Sarbanes Oxley Act was passed to increase transparency related to corporate governance practices. As a result, corporate boards sought out PR representation to help them manage accurate, transparent disclosures that their public shareholders and other stakeholders could understand and accept.  

Executive committees at professional services firms should take a page from this playbook as they develop internal communication strategies. 

Why? During the pandemic, your employees became accustomed to receiving frequent, transparent, and open communications. They felt they were kept in the loop about rapidly changing scenarios and circumstances. They saw a different side of executive leaders when children, pets, and spouses made unexpected cameo experiences during even the most important meetings and calls. And they continue to crave — and yes, expect — transparency about the decisions you make on behalf of the firm.

A good PR firm knows how to help leaders demonstrate transparency, openness, and authenticity when communicating to (and eliciting feedback from) their employees. 

Don’t Neglect Your Executive Committee’s Unique PR Needs

The executive committee is responsible for stewarding the firm’s wellbeing while simultaneously charting its course for the future. This important work shouldn’t be done in a vacuum, or an echo chamber. A strong PR resource can provide insight into the audience that is necessary to craft a  thoughtful and authentic response to any number of newly urgent and risky issues.  

Of course, the best time to engage a PR firm is before you need one. So even if the skies are currently clear at your firm, let’s talk.

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Executives are increasingly expected to speak up on a range of issues – but just because they have something to say doesn’t mean a news outlet will run it. Depending on the content and intended audience, an external publication might not even be the best medium for the message.

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Amidst the Great Resignation, companies increasingly face disruption from the mass exodus and acquisition of employees. The departure of public relations and marketing leadership can prove especially difficult, given their handle of your company’s communication strategy – involving both publicity and reputation management.

Though this period of staffing transitions is poised to persist, it doesn’t require the derailment of your company’s marketing and communications plans. Involving your external PR firm during the off/onboarding process is a great way to keep your communications momentum going.

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If your firm is facing a crisis that’s about to make headlines, your first instinct is probably to try to make the story go away. That’s understandable. No one wants bad press or to see her or his firm’s name dragged through the mud. 

But you can’t stop reporters from doing their jobs. They are going to tell your story regardless of your feelings about it. And if you try to kill the narrative, your efforts could cause more reputational harm for you and your firm than the bad news itself.

As a senior leader, it is up to you to calmly guide your firm through the crisis with honesty, transparency and humility. There may be no way out, but there is a way through. And in our experience, the way through is eased by mindful appreciation of certain things that aren’t commonly found in your typical crisis playbook.     

Here are the seven truths you should remember when the next crisis hits.

1. The Press Coverage Is Going to Be Bad. You Can Only Make It Less Bad. 

If a reporter asks you to provide a comment for a story about a crisis at your firm, you can’t make the story go away, turn it from negative to positive, or avoid the likely ding to your reputation. The coverage is going to be bad. But you may be able to exert control over how bad it is by: 

  • Giving the reporter an interview. As counterintuitive as it may feel, now is not the time to shy away from the spotlight. Instead, engage skillfully with valid arguments and counterpoints that provide context for your side of the story.
  • Helping reporters get it right. Credible journalists want to be fair and accurate. Give them context and information that will enable them to separate fact from fiction.
  • Communicating directly with your audience. No matter how many people hear the bad news that’s about to break, remember: The world is not your audience. Spend the lion’s share of your energy communicating directly with your employees and clients and other stakeholders who matter most.

2. You’re Going to Feel Differently About This Crisis in Three Months.

So the press coverage was bad. You’re embarrassed and morale at your organization is low.  When facing such a scenario, it may feel like the stigma will last forever. But Wells Fargo is still making loans. United Airlines is still flying planes. And you can still pick up a Whole30 Lifestyle Bowl, with double protein at Chipotle in your brand new Volkswagen. These companies worked through significant threats to their reputation and you will too. The way you respond to the crisis will influence how long it takes for you to rebound. You need an authentic mitigation strategy and effective communication plan to regroup and redirect. 

3. Your Default Corporate Statement Will Cause Eyes to Roll. This Is the Time to Be Authentic and Vulnerable. 

In response to bad press, your lawyers and advisors will want you to release a statement that shields your firm from liability. Chances are it will sound overly formal and stilted, not address the underlying issue, and sound nothing like anything a human being would actually say. If you want to repair the reputational damage a PR crisis can cause, resist the urge to hide behind the pat holding statement. 

Moments of crisis require executive leaders to respond with transparency and accountability. Your employees, clients, and other stakeholders want to know you genuinely care about addressing the underlying problems that brought your firm to this situation. 

If you need to dispute certain details in the press coverage or the degree to which the organization is responsible, you can do that. (See no. 6, below.) But do so while expressing sincere regret for any missteps that occurred on your watch. Above all, communicate empathy and concern for anyone who was harmed or affected by the events in question.

4. Set Your Ego Aside. You May Be Embarrassed, but This Is Not About You.

Sharing statements that dodge accountability is not the only way to undermine effective communication. Your own ego and the desire to avoid personal embarrassment can also get in your way. A reporter’s questions are rarely ad hominem attacks. Even if they are, taking them personally risks clouding your judgment. To address the issues at hand, your vulnerability and willingness to listen are more effective because they are disarming. 

5. If Something Is Broken in Your Firm, Fix It.

Good things can come out of even the worst situations — but only if you’re willing to do the hard work of repairing what’s broken. To that end, don’t waste the opportunity this crisis affords. As an executive, you have the power and responsibility to get to the bottom of what’s wrong. 

Some problems are easier to fix than others. But even if you discover systemic issues, don’t give up until you unravel them. Ask your employees, stakeholders, and investors to help you identify and name your organizational shortcomings. And empower these same people to help you solve them.

Once you’ve done everything you can to address and repair the situation, communicate the steps you’ve taken with the press and with your internal and external stakeholders.

6. You’re Allowed to Punch Back if It’s Warranted.

You should do everything in your power to remedy situations for which your firm is responsible. But if a reporter assigns blame to you for things out of your control — or treats you with blatant unfairness — you should absolutely address it.

Do your due diligence first. Make sure you fully understand the situation and that you have your own facts straight. But then feel free to go on the record and dismantle the opposition’s arguments using clear, to-the-point communication. Don’t accept an unmerited hit to your reputation. And enjoy the warm feeling of satisfaction that this will deliver! 

7. You Need to Take Care of Yourself.

Leading an organization through a reputational crisis is not easy. The potential for overwhelming stress and exhaustion can’t be overstated. You need to take care of yourself in order to handle the situation in the best way possible. 

Think about the fundamentals that you need in order to stay focused and productive on a normal day. Do you typically run a few miles every morning? Write in your journal to keep yourself accountable to your goals? Eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and veggies? 

It’s tempting to forgo selfcare and other wellness routines during stressful situations. The “all hands on deck” mentality can even make you feel guilty for spending time on yourself. But all the added pressure and stress make it more important than ever to double down on the fundamentals so you can continue to function at peak performance. 

Your organization needs you to be at your sharpest to see it through to the other side of the crisis. So give yourself opportunities to take a break from the unrelenting news cycle and focus on the people, places, and pursuits that bring you joy. Doing so will help you carry the heavy burden of leading a firm through a high-stress season.

The good news is you don’t have to navigate this crisis alone. Greentarget has developed effective PR strategies for clients facing a variety of special situations. We’d be happy to help you, too — just reach out.

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Reaching your audience is simultaneously easier and harder than ever. On one hand, you have a host of digital channels and communication platforms on which to share your messages. On the other hand, it can feel impossible to cut through the digital noise long enough to compel your audience toward action. 

Every piece of communication you create needs to count. You must be crisp, clear, and persuasive in order to stand out. 

But how can you be sure your communications deliver the impact you intend? Research shows that humans lead with emotion first, then rationalize their positions using facts.

This is equally true in B2B and professional services settings where decisions are made in groups. Do you know how to tap into the emotions that drive your audience? 

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In March 2022, Elon Musk tweeted: “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” 

Musk answered his own question a few weeks later when he made a formal offer to purchase the publicly held social media platform and take it private. A self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” Musk’s goal is to remove many (if not all) of the Twitter Rules the platform uses to moderate user content. He might even restore the banned accounts of controversial figures like Donald Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Some fear changes like these could unleash unprecedented levels of hate speech, harassment, and misinformation.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Musk will follow through on his offer or walk away from the deal. And sure, there’s a chance he could change Twitter for the better. But regardless, his arguments about free speech and public spaces merit close consideration.

Here’s why Elon Musk is wrong about Twitter — and a few thoughts about how authorities can and should respond.

Historic Town Squares Were Carefully Regulated

Let’s assume that Elon Musk is right — that Twitter functions as a digital town square. Even if that’s true, he’s missing a critical detail. While town squares are public spaces, they are not — and never were —  free from government oversight.

Modern town squares evolved out of the British concept of the village green or town common. In the Middle Ages, villagers who didn’t own land were permitted to raise crops, care for their livestock, and buy and sell goods in these public spaces. Many common areas also featured bogs where commoners could cut peat, an important heating source equivalent to modern-day public utilities.  

But did villagers have unfettered access to do whatever they wanted? Could they consume public resources without limits? Of course not. Use of the village green was carefully regulated by overseers in charge of distributing this precious shared resource. 

That’s because without rules, common spaces risk succumbing to “the tragedy of the commons.” This 19th century economic theory argues that individuals who consume a shared resource by acting wholly in their own interest — and at the expense of every other consumer — will ultimately degrade and endanger that resource. This is especially true when there are no guardrails in place to prevent anyone and everyone from consuming the resource.

Put simply, town commons exist to support commoners collectively. Any single individual’s rights — or that of one group — cannot supersede the common good. As such, community standards must be applied. So if Twitter really is a town square, rules and regulations are a justifiable and even essential part of the equation.

The Right to Free Speech Isn’t Absolute

The second part of Elon Musk’s tweet argues that the limits Twitter imposes on free speech undermine democracy. Again, his thinking is flawed. 

As most of us can recall, the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” The First Amendment is solely concerned with protecting Americans from government overreach. As such, the right to free speech guarantees us the freedom to speak truth to power and hold the government accountable for its actions. It does not give us the right to say anything we want whenever we want to say it. 

We can’t yell fire in a crowded building. We can’t spew hatred toward members of protected groups without consequence. And no one has the right to stand on someone else’s front porch and scream profanities. 

The First Amendment simply does not extend into the private sector. Plenty of institutions, corporations, and entities can choose to limit speech within their spheres of influence. Universities, private businesses, civic organizations, and religious institutions may all impose limits on what their members and constituents say.  

To that end, all social media platforms, including Twitter, are well within their rights to place limits on speech as they see fit. If Musk is concerned with upholding democracy, he should take his quest elsewhere. The government doesn’t own Twitter, and therefore Twitter’s stance on speech has no bearing on the health of our democracy. Elon Musk cannot make Twitter any more free from government interference than it already is. 

Why Should Authorities Care — And How Should They Respond?

Elon Musk is right about this much: Important conversations take place on Twitter. And because of that, it’s crucial for authorities to step into this arena and shape smarter conversations. 

The challenge here is that true authority is getting lost in the noise, and the public’s respect for bona fide expertise keeps diminishing. Thanks to the rampant spread of misinformation and disinformation in a highly polarized environment, it’s becoming harder and harder to break through the digital clutter and capture attention.

But authorities must try. 

Directing a smarter conversation involves putting several elements of our Authority Manifesto into practice, including:

Without the influence of authoritative, fact-based points of view, the public could very well experience the tragedy of the commons in a whole new way. 

Elevate Smart Conversation on Twitter and Beyond

Time will tell whether Elon Musk will actually buy Twitter and implement a no-holds-barred approach to speech on the platform. Whether he does or not, your professional services firm has a role to play in demonstrating true authority and elevating the conversation for your audience and society at large.

But to direct a smarter conversation, you need to first create and hone your unique positions of authority. We’d love to help. 

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