On New Year’s Eve, 2019, no one predicted the disputation and tragedy we would endure in 2020. It required colossal achievements just to cross the finish line and enter the new year 2021.

There was no sign of an invisible evil tumbling towards us. We looked to the new year as we always did, pledging resolutions about our waistline, achieving new business goals and promising more charitable giving or thoughtfulness, thankful for a good life in the year just past, as well as anticipating one in the next.

As New Year’s Eve 2020 approached, the year flashed through our mind as a blur. We remember many were driven to the brink and realized it took resilience, toughmindedness, prayer and a little bit of luck to survive; a small group had a successful windfall.

​Arriving at the annual milestone, it was not a celebration. It was quiet, unique with a singular hope thinking about health and loved ones. A very distinct and somber holiday season

Cyber-attacks compound data, financial and privacy issues. Pandemics linger, break supply chains and destroy economies. Competitors and disgruntled employees attack in unprecedented ways.

Proliferation of lawsuits drive culture change and broaden disclosure in diverse areas increasing costs. Political leaders have little understanding of business, meeting payroll, let alone cutting costs. A new federal administration is proposing increased regulations and taxes that will impact business in unpredictable ways.

Business is under attack.

​Unfortunately, in the years ahead, corporations will face multiple crises that disrupt or endanger operations and mission. And at the same time, sensationalistic media modify and magnify fundamental perceptions.

Listening is a problem of the ages.
October 25, 1854, in the Crimean War, British Light Brigade is ordered to attack from the flanks, but muddled orders result in a frontal attack, wiping out half the regiment. Someone was not listening.

Months into the Pandemic, Many Lawyers Have Not Mastered Skills Necessary for Virtual Meetings.

Before COVID-19, there were a few virtual law firms. Now all law firms are virtual.

​Virtual practices had not been attractive. Lawyers recognized it is difficult to be as effective on a computer or TV screen as they are face-to-face with important constituencies - clients, judges, juries, bankers, regulators and many more.

Under siege, chief executives and corporate legal counsels would do well to heed warnings of an 18th century philosopher, theologian and scientist who might have envisioned today’s digital world when he said: “The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.”
Joseph Priestly recognized a timeless maxim most business leaders appear to have forgotten: In times of complexity — less is more — and simplicity rules.

​Leaders risk neglecting one of the most basic and important tools that speaks in their voice: the perfect humble news release.

Has any company in living memory faced as many high-profile controversies and setbacks as Facebook? The company confronted hot-button issues – from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, to data breaches, to anti-trust actions – with a tone deafness unique among major corporations.

​And yet, there are signs that Facebook is beginning to get smart.

Could Do Better

It could do better, according to Richard Torrenzano, chief executive of The Torrenzano Group, which counsels corporations and executives on reputational strategy.

“The Federal Reserve does have a large megaphone and bully-pulpit platforms they have chosen not to use,’’ Torrenzano said. “They need to explain why and what they are doing in an active and thoughtful way,” including on social media, he said. “Until they do, they will continually get beat up.’’
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One example is the current Fed dependence on incoming data, which officials could do a better job of explaining. It’s not the first time they’ve had this problem. In 2006, the Fed’s then-Vice Chairman Donald Kohn urged his colleagues to spell out what that meant. “We have all said in our speeches, we are becoming more data-dependent,” he said. “It behooves us to explain to the public what data we’re looking at.”