Analysis on risk, pressure, and decision-making across systems.
The CORE Series brings together analyses on risk, pressure, and decision-making across sectors. Each piece focuses on how issues emerge, how signals are missed or misread, and why outcomes are often shaped well before they’re publicly visible.
The goal is simple: surface patterns early, clarify what matters, and create space for better judgment before decisions are forced.
Confessions of a CEO
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Unfortunately, as governments (and connected organizations they support to advance their causes) have grown, the pressure they can bring to bear on individuals and organizations can be too much. Suddenly they have their turf to protect, their job to hold onto and their sense of importance to preserve. When a company as large and influential as Twitter, Google, Facebook or others relent, we all lose.
Read our perspective on why business is quiet in the face of government pressure - and what you can do to be prepared for it.
Tone Deaf: When brands lose sight of mission
Businesses exist for a variety of purposes. Some offer products to meet needs in the market. Others provide essential services. Some may focus on social change. But there’s an old saying I learned in politics: you can’t fight for a cause if you can’t feed your family. The same translates to business: you can’t support causes if you don’t make a profit.
Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, it’s critical organizations do their homework first. Does it align with your current customer profile? Does it signal a departure from what you’ve done in the past? How will employees or suppliers respond? How will it impact you.
Breakdown: How the Secret Service’s communications fell short
Not only did the attempted assassination of former President Trump shock the senses, it also appeared to overwhelm the communications capabilities of the U.S. Secret Service. Because of how they’re portrayed in popular entertainment and public relations, we’d expect the Secret Service to handle every aspect of a crisis event like this with relative ease, jumping into action without hesitation and being able to communicate with confidence. But that’s not what we’ve seen play out publicly so far, and it’s not a big leap to significant changes could be in store for this vaunted agency once all the investigations are completed.
Keep reading our tips for how crisis communications should unfold.
Sinking another Canadian industry
The goal of CORE is not to be partisan, but we do have ideas. We support many different industries because of the impact they make. They allow small communities to grow, becoming vibrant hubsof activity and places for people to live and work. They provide quality jobs close to where people want to live. Industry pushes innovations and technologies forward so we realize greater benefits. And yes, they contribute significant investments and opportunities for people to benefit – companies, suppliers, investors, rights holders, stakeholders, employees and governments alike.
We interviewed the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance to learn more about this issue - and the devastating impact this activist-driven policy will have on communities in Canada.
Can you get your credibility back?
Planes. Trains. Automobiles. We rely on all of them for many things in our lives. And at times, the companies we rely on in those industries fall far short. On safety, quality, transparency and accurate information.
Not only does it shake public and consumer confidence, it leads to long-term damage for those companies. Sometimes they can make their way back - but the reputation damage is still there. Enjoy reading our look at some of the major reputation crises for brands we all know.
Wrecking your reputation
Seems like kind of a strange thing to do, don’t you think? We agree. But we recognize things can happen that damage an organization’s credibility and how it is perceived. And once the stench of uncertainty in your honesty takes hold, or stakeholders begin to lose trust in your ability to manage a challenge, it’s so hard to come back from that.
When more than 1 million people in Calgary and surrounding communities were left without reliable water supplies and weeks of restrictions, the anger and resentment grew. So read our take on the water main break in Calgary - and how the initial communications fell far short of what the public needed.