Catarina's World

When the ferry Estonia unexpectedly sank, the then Swedish prime minister promised it would be raised. Turned out that was impossible, but the voters never forgave him for breaking his promise.

Handle the issue in a serious manner and don’t try to make it appear to be of minor importance. It is important, so important you have journalists hounding you. If you seem arrogant they will go for your throat.

Negative media coverage hits when you least expect it and you have to be quick, open and take responsibility. It’s actually more important how you handle the crisis than what actually happened.

Not as difficult as it seems

How should a crisis be managed? There are an abundance of strategies claiming to know how to succeed with crisis management. They all have one thing in common – sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. But the multitude of theories do give the impression it’s almost impossible to manage disaster when it hits you. And the fact that huge companies like BP fail contribute to making companies feel they are not up to the task. Of course they are.

You can’t anticipate everything that could go wrong

Things go wrong when we least expect it and to make it worse it’s usually something we wouldn’t in our wildest dreams imagine. It’s not the areas where you understand something could go wrong that turns out to be problematic but something completely unexpected. So no matter how prepared you are, you will usually be caught completely off guard when something really goes wrong.

Make a tentative plan of action

So it’s important to decide who handles what and how you will proceed when a crisis happens. Otherwise it will be total chaos with people trying to avoid dealing with it by claiming it’s not their responsibility. And several people have to be prepared to act, in case someone is off sick or on vacation. You also need to make sure the person handling the press gives a serious and honest impression.

Monitor your press coverage

It’s important to be aware of what’s written about you. Not least on social media because that’s often where a problems starts. Keep a close eye on comments being made since things can easily get out of hand if you don’t handle them swiftly.

Can you handle even a huge disaster?

You have to be prepared to do so even if it never happens. If not, you are doomed when disaster strikes.

Be available

Trying to avoid the media is tantamount to suicide. Some journalists will then try to nail you and find whatever information they can to do so. If necessary by analysing the crisis at hand in a way that makes you the culprit. If you don’t know what to say, you can always end a news conference by saying that the next one will be held, say, tomorrow afternoon at 15.00 hours.

Don’t try to hide anything

Be as open as possible to avoid speculation. Use your web site to make documents related to the issue at hand available, questions & answers and statements. Just be careful about not saying anything that could later turn out to be bending the truth. It’s better to say that you don’t know but will find out and get back to them.

Don’t simplify the problem

Handle the issue in a serious manner and don’t try to make it appear to be of minor importance. It is important, so important you have journalists hounding you. If you seem arrogant they will go for your throat. Make sure you convey the message that you completely understand and sympathize with the public outcry caused by the crisis. It’s essential to show that you genuinely care and that human beings are more important to you than money. However, don’t be as emphatic as the former Swedish prime minister by promising something that can’t be done. It would have been better that he said he would like to raise it, but didn’t know if it was possible.

Apologize

When you are at fault acknowledge it, take responsibility and apologize profoundly. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to explain why things went wrong. That usually goes down wrong and give the impression you are not sincere. And that’s fatal.

Be honest

Whatever you do, don’t lie and hope it will not be detected. Investigating journalists will find out and the repercussions against the company, and you personally, could be grim. Even white lies can be fatal. Heard about one minister that got caught with a white lie and was sacked after eight days in office.

Show the media what actions you are taking to sort out the mess and make sure it never happens again. Needless to say it has to be something that makes sense and enable them to show the public that you are taking your responsibilities seriously.

Maybe the most important thing is for the crisis to be handled by a person that gives an honest and caring impression. If not, media can easily get the impression something is wrong and start investigating. If worse comes to worse they will then dig up something else that can be editorialized into a story needing even more crisis management. Or even make it necessary for the CEO to resign.

(Photo: PhotoXpress Nathalie P)

The release of what Jackie Kennedy recorded on tape 47 years ago became headline news all over the world . Seems that people are always going to be fascinated about the Kennedys and the mystery surrounding the time in politics called Camelot and maybe above all the mystique surrounding the assassination of the young handsome president 48 years ago in Dallas.

Their daughter Caroline decided to release Jackie’s thoughts and memories earlier than her mother had wished to coincide with the 50 year anniversary of her father’s inauguration as president. An interesting thing is that it’s not just America that’s still captivated by JFK and Jackie but also the rest of the world. So devote two minutes to watching how AlJazeera in Qatar broadcast it to their audience, mainly in the Middle East.

Friends of mine who knew JFK always say that he was so charming women fell in love with him and men went out of their way to please him. The fascination with him as a person actually started long before he became president. He simply had what it takes to captivate people he came across which may account for some of the glamour attached to him and his family. And it didn’t hurt that he married a woman who knew how to keep the legend of Camelot , and her own mystique, alive and create headlines long after they were both gone.

Jackie expert on branding

It’s probably no coincidence that Jackie was a photo journalist before she got married. She really knew what to do in order to create a high value brand. By not giving interviews when she was alive she kept the mystique about herself and consequently JFK alive. And by behaving that way she contributed to turning herself and her late husband into icons. She actually did such a good job the American people forgave her for marrying Onassis. How can you not forgive an icon?

Can’t help wondering what kind of president John F. Kennedy would have been remembered as if he hadn’t been assassinated? Seems for instance he was going to pull out of Vietnam. What would have been his legacy? Would he and Jackie still be icons today if the shooting in Dallas hadn’t taken place?

Does,not only America, but the world need icons to look up to that they believe embody success, beauty, fame and wealth? People who represent what they dream of? Young, healthy, happy – maybe personifying “the American dream”? Or is it just like tabloid news, the fact that rich and famous people have worse problems than they have make ordinary people happy? To think that at least their husband wasn’t assassinated can be a comfort to some. Would JFK have been the icon he is today if he hadn’t been assassinated? What’s your opinion? Will the Kennedys always fascinate people or will future generations forget and find new icons to fill their place?

(Video: AlJazeeraEnglish/You Tube)

The combination of the rapidly expanding global fashion and beauty industry and the internet is providing opportunities for developing countries.

Environmentally responsible fashions can become cultural ambassadors that change global value sets and lead to other economic changes that also foster greater respect for the environment.

It enables them to use their creative talents and cultural heritages to create jobs and sell products that are environmentally responsible. And even better, results can come swiftly thanks to the internet. Their ideas, designs, and products can be displayed online and sold rapidly around the world.

Small businesses leading the way

Experts at UNCTAD’s “Best of Nature” conference believe fashion, cosmetics and perfume can lead to significant increase of employment in developing countries. We are mainly talking about small businesses which there, as well as in the rest of the world, is an important component of progress. With the right marketing such creative work can be not only profitable but promote different cultures and biodiversity as well.

Scents of the developing world

Biodiversity is a source of creativity and new products for the perfume industry. It is vital for supply chains to be transparent so that natural ingredients are responsibly harvested to make sure that the supply of valuable plants is not exhausted, Michel Mane, President of Mane USA said. He added that “by establishing techniques for the growth of perfume ingredients in developing countries we are able to ensure the ecological viability of our ingredients. By using both cutting-edge, environmentally benign agricultural practices and providing local employment we are able to ensure the ecological viability of our ingredients”.

Sustainable use of water & soil

More than 40% of Unilever’s turnover is now in developing countries, said Giulia DiTommaso, Unilever’s Director of External Affairs for Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. They are one of the largest buyers in the world of ingredients such as palm oil and have noticed increased consumer interest in environmentally friendly products. Unilever is hence focusing on sustainable use of water, soils and, not to forget, respect for biodiversity.

A vital issue is how environmentally responsible products can be certified and traced. We want to be sure of what we are buying. According to Sean Ansett, Managing Partner of At Stake Advisors, “customers will want to be able to trace their purchases “from farm to fork and from mine to mobile phone”. Current technology is showing that such traceability is now possible, if difficult”.

“Environmentally transparent” supply chains

“There are “tool sets” to allow corporations to improve the transparency of their supply chains. Doing so generates brand trust and loyalty, especially as customers increasingly demand that products be environmentally responsible”, Tim Wilson of Historic Features said. They supply such tools to customers like Wal-Mart.

Definitions of “natural” and “organic” still have not been set by for instance the European Union, but are under development and definitions hence still vary from country to country.

Organic African fashion popular in the West

African fashion is increasingly popular in the developed world and is creating thousands of jobs in Africa. There is for instance a fashion school in Niger that’s helping 150 African designers develop their talents.

What Africa needs is the capacity to mass produce fashion, says Anggy Haif, a Cameroonian fashion designer. The continent lacks the infrastructure and industry needed for widespread production of natural-fibre clothes. But there is a huge market for that kind of clothes and many jobs depend on developing such facilities.

So now that concern over the environment is mounting, and words such as “green” and “sustainable” and “responsible” are heard widely, environmentally responsible fashion and beauty products have the opportunity to shift from niche products to being much more widely used. Environmentally responsible fashions can become cultural ambassadors that change global value sets and lead to other economic changes that also foster greater respect for the environment.

Wouldn’t it hence be an idea for aid and donor organisations to devote more time and money to assisting developing countries with getting the infrastructure and know-how needed to develop more such companies? To do so would lead to sustainable development that would enable the nations to gradually work and trade themselves to a better standard of living. As opposed to most aid it would not just have a temporary effect but would assist the developing world long term starting now.

photo: Ethan Allen Flickr

Of course you would. You would actually want to read it immediately. And your customers are no different from you.

Women contemplating what different beauty products will do for them. What woman would buy a product that she believes would make her look ugly?

What’s the main interest of a customer? Or let me re-phrase the question. What’s your main interest? You know the answer. Yourself. Sounds terrible I know, but all human beings have an interest in what happens in their lives. Be honest, so do you. That doesn’t mean that you are selfish. What would your life be like today if you hadn’t taken an interest in it? No need to say more, is there.

Your customers are also interested in what happens in their lives and how you, your products and services could have a positive impact on them and their lives. Still it is sometimes overlooked.

Marketing is about what your customer wants

If you can show your customer what you can do for them you will not have to do any selling. They will buy. In fact they want to feel they made a purchase, not that you have sold them something. In other words, let the customer feel that they had the idea.

Keep that in mind when you produce you promotional material. Focusing on the customer is, and always has been, the key to successful marketing. It does not matter what you need or want to tell them since the customers priority is what they, not you, need or want. Usually there is no need to tell them bluntly what you can do, there are more subtle ways to get the message across. Ideally they will get the impression that you are sympathetic with their ideas and desires and care about them. It’s not for nothing cosmetics companies sign up beautiful celebrities to promote their products.

Customers want you to care about them

They don’t care that you are very proud about your new office or that you have launched an exciting new product. However, if you invite them to a party at the new office or give them a sample of the new product, they will be interested. Even better if you can show them how your new product will make them more attractive to the opposite sex.

Customers don’t care if your company has had the most successful year ever, unless it has a positive impact on them. You get the drift. Your customers thinks about themselves when they read your advertisement. No need to tell them all the positive aspects of your company, just focus on what impact you can have on their lives and they will be interested. Make them feel happy doing what you would like them to do i.e. lead instead of command.

If they don’t see the positive impact you can have on them and their lives, you are on the wrong track . It’s time to adjust your promotional material to make them see the advantages and purchase. Needless to say, their purchase will be a one off if your products/services don’t have the impact on them that they would like. Or to re-phrase it, if you didn’t like the article written about you, would you be happy with the newspaper that published it?

Evil became a fashionable word in the West after 9/11. Until then it was regarded as an old fashioned religious way of simplifying reasons behind events we disapproved of, instead of intellectually explain why and how they could happen.

If the majority of people stop turning a blind eye to evil, life would be much harder for people like Hitler. He may even have seemed pathetic.

Over simplifying and implying that you are either “with or against God” led to statements like “you are either with us or against us”, remember? It also enabled calling countries the Axis of Evil and the erroneous belief that Iraqis would cheer their “liberators”.

Yes, that’s right, wealthy donors from developing countries, notably China and India.They are increasingly giving, donating, caring and sympathizing. Not, as some of you may think, just sell and take. And it’s not only a new phenomena. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have actually been quiet donors for decades.

Jet Li, Chinese actor, philanthropist and founder of the Jet Li One Foundation. Should not he get the same kind of recognition as Western philanthropists?

“My wife loved George Clooney’s suggestion”, said Richard Branson and smiled.

Are you ready to follow in Richard Branson's footsteps?

Richard, as you know, is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. His Virgin Group today consist of 200 companies with 50,000 employees in more than 30 countries. Their combined revenue in 2008 was around 17 billion dollars. Not bad for a man who started out selling Six Pistols records at car boot sales in the 70s.

Richard’s advice to future entrepreneurs is, point one excluded, different from the usual advice about how to succeed as in building up a company:

1) Take calculated risks.”You have to really believe in what you are doing because if you start a project believing that it may fail, nine times out of ten it will”. “Cautious people don’t live life to the full”, Richard says and adds that he always tries to figure out what could go wrong and try to balance that out.

2) Challenge the big players “Make jokes at the big established companies expense and use humour and sex in your marketing. Launch yourself as a Robin Hood in ways that make the big players look silly”. How many of you would actually dare to do so? It’s not enough that the idea appeals to you, would you actually have the guts to go ahead with what he advices?

3) Failure doesn’t exist Act swiftly when something goes wrong. “Our capacity to promptly adapt to changes have enabled us to overcome most mistakes”, Richard says. “You have to quickly take responsibility for a venture that’s not working, change direction or wind it up”.

4) Be casual and easy going. Have fun and make sure your colleagues have as much fun as you do. Develop equanimity.

5) Don’t regret – move on. “People spend to much time thinking about what mistakes they have made instead of using their time and energy to start new projects. Failures are useful tools that enable success”.

6) Don’t employ yes sayers. “Find people who dare to stick out and have a mind of their own. They are much more value for money”.

7) Be a live advertisement for your company. Be a bit of a clown, have fun or you will not succeed. That’s the advise Richard Branson was given when he started Virgin Airlines with no money to spend on marketing. Someone added that he should make sure his name was on the front page of newspapers and not in the adverts.

Psychologists claim Richard Branson has the F factor – fame, fortune and fun. Many people want to identify with him, not least since he’s regarded as down to earth, honest and simple.

He is a person who does things his own way and not how “they teach you at Harvard business school”. Richard Branson is actually a high school drop out. His way of doing things goes against all the advice about how to become an entrepreneur you can find. So who’s right and who’s wrong? None of the people advising you how to succeed as an entrepreneur are as successful as Richard Branson is. Need I say more?

Have you got what it takes to go your own way as an entrepreneur, build up your company and succeed? Do you employ people you cannot control that have a mind of their own? Could you turn yourself into a live advertisement? What new and interesting fields have you found where you could become a new Richard Branson? Are you, after reading Richard Branson’s advice, ready to trade places with him? Or will you opt for a less challenging way of succeeding?

(Photo: nrkbeta – Flickr)

Emphatic leaders are in high demand in the US. In the Nordic countries however, where empathy is an aspect of leadership, the debate is instead if leaders have become too compassionate.

How empathic should a leader be? Will future leaders be compassionate or firm?

Is the grass always greener on the other side?

It seems you can’t win. Isn’t it interesting that when emphatic leadership is the norm, it’s benefits are being questioned while in countries with less considerate leadership styles it’s considered ideal? Some Americans even go as far as stating that the era of empathy is upon us.

Empathy a handicap?

In the Nordic countries empathy has long been part of management. Leaders have had to be considerate, weather they wanted to or not. Now however, some Scandinavians argue that being considerate is a weakness because it makes it hard to be firm and take tough decisions.

The ideal US boss is empathic

Harvard Business Review concluded that empathy is high currency for a leader as is softer and more compassionate leadership styles. When it comes to CEOs being considerate, understanding and sympathise with employees and their feelings is considered optimal.

If you google empathic leader and empathic leadership you get about 6,500 hits. And in general they are about leaders needing to be more emphatic. The author Daniel Pink in his book “A whole new mind” writes that in the future empathy will be crucial for success.

Scandinavia a step further?

So have Sweden and Norway with their generally speaking more empathic leaders taken the debate a step further by questioning if it’s a handicap? Or is it a step back to question if leadership have become to considerate?

Some claim that empathic leaders worry too much and can even be negatively affected by their environment as a result. If so, does that handicap them as leaders?

It’s common sense that leadership is facilitated by compassion. But taking the current debate in Scandinavia into account, maybe empathy combined with an ability to take tough decisions when necessary is ideal?

Most leaders either adopt a persona that’s excessively tough or overly empathetic, or feared or loved, if you like. Obviously neither leadership style is ideal. Maybe a leader focusing on helping other people to achieve their full potential would be best? A happy medium is obviously the ultimate but how many leaders are both compassionate and tough?

Do you believe empathy is an asset or a handicap for a leader? Will we see more emphatic leaders in the future? If so, will the emphatic trend then, like in Scandinavia, be questioned because such leaders worry to much which has a negative affect on their ability to manage? What lies ahead for leadership? Will it, like it always has and still is, be a mix of different kinds of leadership styles? Emphatic – to be or not to be – that’s the question leaders have to ask themselves. Or maybe the debate about the ideal leader has gone to far? The different debates going on in the US and Nordic countries certainly makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s time to accept that leaders are different and empathy works for some and not for others?

Photo: Flickr -The White House

The power of music is immense, to put it mildly. And it has been used and abused throughout history. Devote two minutes to watching the below video of Wagner’s music through the eyes and ears of Francis Coppola:

Francis Coppola won an Oscar for best film music for Apocalypse Now. And that’s where Richard Wagner and his The Ride of The Valkyries come in.

It’s amazing how the music contribute to enhancing our experience of the movie, isn’t it? Imagine the scene without Wagner’s music. It wouldn’t be as powerful would it? Can you actually imagine movies without music? The experience would be diminished, wouldn’t it?

Using or abusing music

Wagner and his music is perhaps the best example ever of how music can be used and abused.

Most people get married with The Wedding March from Lohengrin played when the bride enters church. The Nazis however used Wagner’s music for propaganda purposes because he was Hitler’s favourite composer.

So we have the contradiction of some people associating Wagner with getting married and some with the Nazi party and Hitler. Couples getting married are hence using Wagner’s music in a, presumably, positive sense while the Nazis abused it to serve their own needs. They did the same to the swastika symbol which is now, thanks to the Third Reich, associated with murder and oppression. That’s far from the symbol of spiritual victory it has been for milleniums.

Associations die hard, unfortunately

Interesting how a movement can taint a symbol or music and make it suddenly stand for their ideology, isn’t it? Wagner was controversial but he was dead and gone long before Hitler and the Nazis came to power. And the swastika had been a positive symbol for thousands of years.

Truly wish the people that are still using Wagner’s music as a reminder of the holocaust would instead use Nazi songs like Horst Wessel’s Die Fahne Hoch. That would be truly appropriate. But as long as some people link Wagner to the Nazis we all have to take that into account.

Music enforce your message

Different music puts you in different moods and makes you feel different. That’s why music in commercials has such powerful affects. It makes you feel a certain way about what’s being offered. The music can even make people purchase something they wouldn’t otherwise have been interested in. For better or for worse.

Chose the wrong music at your peril

People can also be put off by the choice of music. Sometimes even by the fact that music has been added to a web site and starts playing the minute you click on it can make you leave a site.

So it’s essential to know when music will have a positive affect and make a choice that will benefit you by enhancing your message. Using Wagner’s wedding march to illustrate the scene from Apocalypse Now in the video would for instance have confused the audience. Everybody would have been looking for the bride.

Do you use music to get your message across? If so, where and in what ways? Have you noticed how different types of music makes people do different things? Does music in a commercial sometimes put you off? Music gave Francis Coppola an Oscar. What can it do for you?

video: nicky4m – You Tube

Would you buy a product you cannot see that hasn’t even got a name? Thought not. Still some people believe they can get a following on social media by branding themselves that way.

Would you do business with a ghost? Thought not, and the same applies to the rest of humanity. So leave covert branding behind and start reaping the benefits of social media.

How can you take people seriously when they hide their identity? Obviously you should not post your contact details on social media. But your name and picture are essential if you want to be taken seriously.

A statue cannot sign a contract

Hiding takes away fear and I can understand that to some extent. But what’s the point of using social media if you are afraid of it? And what’s there to be afraid of? Apart from people who, usually for dodgy reasons, are using a fake identity, social media is a wonderful thing that people should embrace and make the most of.

But when you hide behind a photograph of, say a rose, and an alias you give the impression you have something to hide. So if you haven’t, what’s the point in making people suspicious? Chances of getting new customers, a job offer or business proposals are next to none if you are not transparent.

Identity theft doesn’t only take place online

Some people hiding claim they are afraid of identity theft. Seriously that can unfortunately happen even if you have no presence whatsoever online. All it takes is for a letter with your essential details to fall into the wrong hands. And,deplorable as it is, it happens all the time. Both in the real world and online.

Fearful leaders and entrepreneurs

Is it really feasible that so many people priding themselves to be leaders and entrepreneurs are afraid of online identity theft and posting a photograph or name? Seriously they wouldn’t be leaders and entrepreneurs if that was the case. So why are they hiding? Far from all of them are con-men, so why don’t they post their names and photographs?

Linkedin is not Facebook

If you use Facebook to communicate with your friends only, anything goes. But on business networks, such as Linkedin, you have to come across as a serious person. Posting a picture of yourself half naked doesn’t do the trick. Or a picture that makes you look dishonest. Chose a photograph that makes you look business like. It’s not a question of being ugly or beautiful but looking like a person businesspeople would like to be associated with.

Like products without logos

Imagine walking into a supermarket with your shopping list and all the logos and descriptions had disappeared from all the products displayed. How would you know what they were? Even a simple thing like buying a can of Coca Cola would be difficult because you wouldn’t know what was in the different cans. And how would you know if you were picking up a bottle of shampoo or body lotion?

Learn from 007

There are covert agents on social media aiming to influence public opinion pro whatever country they are working for. They don’t want to draw negative attention to themselves and I can guarantee you that they all post a name, appropriate photograph and a credible profile. If not, how would they be able to do their job?

Would you do business with a ghost? Exactly, and you are not the only one. The same applies to the rest of humanity. So do yourself a favour by refraining from covert branding and instead display your photograph and name on social media. When people take you seriously, things can happen out of the blue and the positive aspects of social media will be available to you. Invisible branding works against you so unless you are in a witness protection program, or something similar, be transparent and start reaping the benefits of social media.