Latest news with #crisiscommunications
New York Times
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Being Harvey Weinstein's P.R. Guy Has Its Perks
Juda Engelmayer, a former owner of Kossar's Bagels & Bialys on the Lower East Side, first met Harvey Weinstein in early 2018. A few months earlier, Mr. Weinstein had been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women. The list of his accusers ultimately ballooned to more than 80. As Mr. Engelmayer tells the story, Mr. Weinstein asked him to come on as his spokesman and made him a promise: 'He said, 'You know, Juda, I'm going to make you the most powerful P.R. person in Hollywood.'' This, to Mr. Engelmayer, sounded delusional. 'I said to him: 'You know what, Harvey, you have problems to deal with. We can worry about me when we get through yours.'' The five days a week Mr. Weinstein has spent in Manhattan Criminal Court for the past month serve as a pretty good indication the issues are still being worked through. When they started, Mr. Engelmayer did have experience in the field of crisis communications. In the 1990s, he worked for Democratic politicians. He later represented a range of Israeli and Jewish organizations such as the American Jewish Congress. But he knows that he got the job with Mr. Weinstein because no one higher on the call sheet said yes. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Remaining Nimble In Times Of Upheaval
The ground keeps shifting beneath our feet. In the span of 48 hours last week, I had a government contract for a program on crisis communications cancelled, reinstated, and cancelled again. I don't dare remove the program from my calendar in case it gets reinstated again. Fortunately, government contracts make up a small fraction of my work, so this isn't a crisis for me. But for all of us, the uncertainty in the business world can suck up precious time and mental energy, as well as cause us to hold off making decisions. Here are some suggestions for helping you steady the ship and move forward as you're buffeted by shifting headwinds and powerful waves of change. Reinforce for yourself and your team your core identity. We can't pivot if we don't have a starting point. A basketball player pivots effectively because she keeps one foot planted. She knows her starting point. If your team or your entire organization is threatened with external, arbitrary change, in your next meeting, remind everyone what you all stand for. Publicly articulating both your values and your mission will help you remember the underlying principles that will guide your decisions as you're caught up in the maelstrom. When Covenant House, a non-profit organization that houses young people experiencing homelessness, was instructed by various government agencies to limit the number of youth in its shelters during the Covid epidemic, the senior leadership could have frozen or panicked. Instead, they reminded themselves of the organization's mission to never turn away a kid in need. Knowing that remaining open is essential to their identity gave them the starting point for their decision-making. Since denying shelter to someone was not an option, the alternative was to turn offices, conference rooms, and other spaces into sleeping quarters. Knowing their mission also helped spur the creativity they needed when addressing how to feed, educate, and address medical needs of their residents. Remind yourself of the limits within which your organization operates. Although some groups are good at ignoring the rules of the game, most of us don't have that luxury, or that chutzpah. We're not only a nation of laws, but a business community bound by certain rules and regulations. Sometimes, those rules feel like restrictions. But sometimes, legal limits on our behavior make our decisions easier by taking certain actions off the table. When asked to take certain actions, being able to respond with, 'We're simply not allowed to do that,' can shift the conversation. When the pandemic struck, shuttering restaurants and cafeterias across the country, Dot Foods, Inc., the nation's largest food redistributor, found itself with massive amounts of food stuck in a supply chain that had ground to a halt. Some of their inventory is perishable and can't be sold beyond a particular date. Part of their corporate ethos is to minimize waste and support the communities in which they operate. The combination of knowing their limits and knowing themselves allowed them to pivot quickly and increase their donations to food pantries across the country. Gather ideas from outside the normal team. Your organization has a lot of talent. How well are you tapping into it? The demands some are faced with these days are not only novel, but they are also shockingly contrarian to the way we have always operated. Your immediate team is practiced at thinking and communicating a certain way. In times of upheaval, we need not only new ideas, but new ways of thinking. You may be well served by bringing different voices into the conversation. That doesn't mean opening up your Executive Committee to the entire firm. It means asking each person on your leadership team to reach out to people they may not normally interact with to understand the perspectives of those on the ground. If your leadership team communicates directly with voices and perspectives from which they are normally insulated, your team's ability to brainstorm new approaches expands dramatically. Many public-private partnerships exemplify the increased ability to tackle problems better by leveraging a variety of perspectives in the conversation. The Emerging Leaders Program – Bronx – is the classic example of this type of success. ELP-Bx works with six high schools in the South Bronx to expose young scholars to leadership skills and careers and help them see new paths for success in life. The organization is thriving because of the significant involvement of senior leaders in state and local government as well as at firms like JPM Asset Management and Brookfield Properties, among others. John Garibaldi, ELP Bx founder, says, 'Obviously, financial support from corporate sponsors and individual donors is essential to our success. But equally important are the ideas and perspectives that our partners in education, government, and business share in our consultation discussions. We couldn't accomplish all we have if we limited our conversations to people from one discipline, regardless of how smart they are. The plurality of perspectives is essential.' Stay humble. Learning requires humility. Changing course requires acknowledging mistakes. That's not failure; that's bravery. Ask yourself two questions: On a scale of 0-10, how much of a perfectionist am I? On a scale of 0-10, how hard am I on myself when I make a mistake? In business decisions, accept that there is no perfect answer. There are a dozen great answers, any one if which will present its own set of challenges but will still work. As a leader, accept that you will make mistakes. The American writer and philosopher George Saunders once paraphrased Descartes by saying, 'I think, therefore I am wrong.' Accepting that we won't always get it right allows us to remain creative and open to new ideas. Summary In short, as we continue to need to adapt in an ever-changing business landscape, we'll be more successful if we remind ourselves of our mission, see our limits as guideposts rather than hurdles, gain insight from a variety of perspectives, and acknowledge that we won't get everything right the first time.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Who is Brandon Faber? Meet the man crisis-hit Bill Belichick has asked to save his reputation after CBS nightmare with Jordon Hudson
When Bill Belichick stepped out in New York City for a book event at New York University, it came after weeks of scrutiny about his romantic life and relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. Hudson was nowhere to be seen when Belichick spoke at NYU's Stern School of Business, prompting many to note her absence. But instead of Hudson joining him on this trip, Belichick was joined by a man with much more experience in the field of crisis communications. A crisis is what this is. Belichick's relationship with Hudson has been pilloried in the press since the former pageant queen's explosive bust-up with CBS producers - including denying the interviewer a question and storming off set, leading to stalled production. So, when Belichick arrived in New York, he brought out the big guns in the form of Brandon Faber: a man with decades of experience in public relations. takes a deeper look into who Faber is, what his experience is, and why Belichick might need someone like him in his stable. Early Life A native of northeast Indiana, Faber grew up obsessed with sports and cheering on teams in Chicago - despite living in a Cleveland Browns household. After graduating high school, he went on to attend Indiana University - an institution with a deep basketball heritage. He spent nearly two years as a student communications assistant within the athletic department at the school, setting him off on the path leading to where he is today. In addition, he spent two summers as an intern - first with minor league baseball's Toledo Mud Hens, then with USA Basketball - per his LinkedIn profile. Professional Career After graduating in 2002, Faber got his first job working as a public and media relations coordinator with the Chicago Bulls. Growing up in the Midwest in the 1990s, Faber experienced the Bulls' dynasty and watched as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen won six titles in eight years. So the Bulls were an amazing first opportunity for someone with his passion and experience. Shortly after winning the NBA Draft lottery in 2008 - giving the franchise the opportunity to draft a local kid named Derrick Rose - Faber took a new job in a different part of the United Center. He spent eight years with the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, watching as that franchise claimed three Stanley Cup titles. After joining as a Director of Media Relations, he moved up to Senior Director of Communications in 2012 and served there for six years. With two of Chicago's five major pro sports franchises under his belt, Faber decided to add a third by jumping to the Chicago Bears as their Vice President of Communications - a job he's held for the past eight years. Why might Belichick need to work with him? Having worked in professional sports for over two decades, Faber is experienced in not only the brighter sides of communications such as promotion and handling the media, but also in crisis management. Right now, Belichick does not have a media professional handling his public relations. Previously, he'd been working with Berj Najarian - a PR professional he brought with him from the New York Jets to the New England Patriots. Najarian had been by Belichick's side for 24 years before the coach was fired from the Patriots. After that sacking, Najarian made a move to Boston College to work for BC's football coach, Bill O'Brien. How Hudson's role has changed When Najarian departed for Chestnut Hill, Belichick was actively looking for a coaching job. After not finding one, he went to go work in the media as an on-air personality. He didn't require someone as experienced as Najarian or Faber and could always lean on the PR of the networks he worked with if needed. But when he left for the University of North Carolina, Hudson began to take on more and more of the workload managing Belichick. Despite having no experience in the world of crisis communications or general public communications management, Hudson began taking on a larger and larger role in Belichick's life. She almost single-handedly tanked the production of the HBO show 'Hard Knocks' when her 'demands' were not met. Then came the debacle with CBS. Now, according to reports from sports reporter Pablo Torre, Hudson has been barred from the UNC football practice facility. What's next for Belichick? Belichick's legacy is on the line in the coming months. Considered by many to be the greatest coach in the history of the game, his focus will be required to make the best impression possible in his first year in charge of UNC. In his first ever role as a college head coach, Belichick will hope to make a strong impression and put up some results against a relatively easy schedule. Meanwhile, he'll be continuing his tour promoting his book 'The Art of Winning' before summer practices get underway.
