Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

JPMorgan Chase Remind You of Enron? - It should and here's why

Enron was a tragic saga put in play by what were called "the smartest guys in the room." Shareholders lost everything.  Employees lost jobs and no one in Texas wanted to hire them because of the taint of corruption.  Communities lost their stability.

The one big difference between the Enron disaster and what's happening at JPMorgan Chase is that the latter is not going to fold.  In fact, we believe its head Jamie Dimon when he predicts it will go on to make plenty of money.  But there are also striking parallels.

I analyse those similarities between Enron and JP Morgan Chase for the financial information company Motley Fool. Here you can read about it. Then you might rethink if you recommend that the speaker you're writing for or coaching project charisma.

"An Atheist in the Foxhole" - But, gossip is a tricky business

Does Boy Rogue Producer Joe Muto know how to play the volatile gossip game?  If it turns out he doesn't then he has cooked his goose in taking on the High Order of the Imperial Players at Fox Broadcasting.

The latest move Muto is making in exposing the alleged flaws at Fox is shopping a book tentatively titled "An Atheist in the Foxhole," reports the NEW YORK OBSERVER.  In it he will disclose what he saw during his eight years producing programming at Fox.  He might be prematurely assuming that he will get the kind of million-dollar-plus advance Goldman Sachs rogue derivative trader Greg Smith did.

But the gossip business is not an easy business.  To play it successfully requires genius instincts, the kind that Fox head Roger Ailes and News Corp head Rupert Murdoch have.  Right now, even the sophisticated crew at VANITY FAIR are seeing a decline in circulation of the flagstaff publication on what celebrities are up to.  In this article for financial information company Motley Fool I take a look at how News Corp has managed to remain a leader in the gossip industry.  It is a perilous space in which other major players such as Bonnie Fuller have come and have gone. One wonders if Muto is already gone.

No Fall of the House of Murdoch

Enemies, critics, and competitors of News Corp are gleefully enjoying the head Rupert Murdoch squirm and blame in the ethics hearing in the UK.  A leader of deep insights about human nature and the way of the world, Rupert no doubt understands how humiliating his current positioning is.  But, simultaneously he also understands that this crisis, like every crisis since civilization began, will recede into the past. 

Murdoch's present continues to be glorious.  Despite the grilling, the stock went up.  If he sells the newspaper segment, the stock will surge.  Fox managed the Gawker Mole situation quickly and has brought in the long arm of the law. Wannabe rogues will think twice before taking on any part of News Corp.  At home Rupert has a young smart wife who stood between him and a pie aimed at him.  To this day, no one can figure out Rupert's game.

Powerful smart men like Murdoch don't fall.  Others' delight in their discomfort is temporary. 

PRSA: Is this an organization in search of a new mission?

In this age of austerity, even K Street lobbyists, reports POLITICO, are feeling the pushback from clients who are unwilling to pay for services they might be able to do themselves through social media.  Is the PRSA also fighting for survival?  Will it have to find a fresh mission to attract financial support from those in public relations?

In his blog today - which you can read here- Jack O'Dwyer takes a look at where PRSA is now and where he envisions it should be.  Singlehandedly over the years O'Dwyer has helped thousands of public relations firms obtain recognition for their accomplishments such as nailing down new accounts, solo flyers develop their brandnames, and undergraduates decide if public relations was the field for them.  To me, that's the way to define effective lobbying.

Many I speak with are still undone by the reality that the PRSA barred O'Dwyer from covering its annual meeting. 

Not Doing the Right Thing: You bet we need more of that

Those who have made it big didn't fret over doing the right thing, at least as that right thing was defined and mandated by others.   The late author Christopher Hitchens was excessive in just about every way.  When he sensed he had cancer his attitude was more or less: time to pay the piper.

Being tethered to doing the right thing can box in our potential, never mind our ability to emotionally absorb the disruptions of an economy which keeps changing. 

It took decoupling myself from the necessity of considering the right thing to always do to figure out the next steps in my career.   Free to think out of the boring box, I landed three interviews for all  sorts of exciting, well-paid work.  It drained my energy to track a complete diet of healthy eating.

Whistleblowers, from Sherron Watkins to Joe Muto: Trying to make investment sense of all that

Why do some unhappy employees blow the whistle and some don't and what are the implications for the value of the company?  Years ago there was Sherron Watkins.  Yesterday and today there is Joe Muto.

I take a look at whistleblowing for the financial information company Motley Fool.  Here you can look over my shoulder.

The Bales Family: Extreme situations

What happens when we go from coping in a difficult situation to losing it in one that has become extreme, at least for us?  We got a bit of insight into that when Mary Winkler was tried for the murder of her preacher husband.  Gifted lawyer Steve Farese convinced a conservative Southern jury that human beings can and do snap.  The jurors gave her a mild sentence and she was able to go on with her life, including eventually regaining custody of her children.

From Karilyn Bales's blog, we know that she was coping and the family seemed to be too.  Of course, as in all military families there were severe stresses.  They didn't know where they would be stationed next.  Robert the husband had had multiple tours of duty in war zones.  That seems downright inhumane.   Money was tight and the mortgage hadn't been paid.  Robert didn't get the promotion he had so hoped for.

Tragedy then happened.  Robert is accused of murdering Afghan civilians.  Somehow he crossed that line from having a handle on his emotions to what experts on mental states might call a psychotic break.  Even if he is acquitted by reason of insanity, the Bales family will need such strength to go on with their lives.

Those of us who haven't been in extreme situations are blessed.  We can pray for the Bales.

Edwards + Hunter = Baby # 2?

The NATIONAL ENQUIRER was on the money about John Edwards's affair and love child.  So, we have to take it seriously with its report in the current issue that Edwards and his one-time mistress Rielle Hunter are planning to have another baby.  Edwards is 58 and Hunter is 48. 

According to NE, they want to have the bun in the over before Edwards's trial begins.  That means if he is sent to the slammer he will become an absentee father to 4 minor children, 2 from his marriage, 2 from his stolen moments. 

Why celebrity gossip, like this, is so in demand is that it makes our transgressions seem small potatoes.  Those with brandnames screw up so much bigger and in more disastrous ways.

Citibank's Incentives & the Bottom-Ups

Baby Boomers and those still around from the Silent Generation might remember when gas stations gave out drinking glasses when we did a fill up.  Well, now that Citibank is lending again, it needs depositors.  As an incentive it's handing out frequent flyer miles.   Hell broke loose, thanks to the bottom-up movement, when the bank sent out 1099s stating that the fair market value of each of those miles is 2.5 cents.  A tax expert says no, the value is more like a penny.

Now that issue, like the Susan G. Komen funding one, is in the court of public opinion.  Going to the court of law to make something right might be so 5 minutes ago.

I look at this matter for the financial information company Motley Fool.  Here you can read my analysis.

 

Same-sex Marriage: Gays can have fun creating high noon for presidential candidates

The meme seems to be: gay rights are human rights.  And in an era which is hard on relationships, any attempt to be committed should be supported - and celebrated.  Therefore, shrewd, seasoned politicos, ranging from Andrew Cuomo to Hillary Clinton, who endorsed these rights are prospering.

Given how risk-averse presidential campaigns are, it's no surprise that the front-runners are ducking gay marriage.  As Azriel James Relph reports in NEW YORK Magazine, Ron Paul remains alone in supporting gay marriage.  President Obama is taking a professorial stance toward it, as in let's continue to analyze the matter.

Gays would have fun in creating a kind of high noon for candidates.  That's easy to do in this era of social media.  When cornered, even practiced public officials are not at their best.  Therefore this issue could mutate into the issue.