Articles

Tom Clancy’s best known fictional hero has resurfaced – this time in the new movie, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – about a young Jack Ryan who uncovers a terrorist plot targeting the financial sector. Clancy, who died last year, wrote seventeen best-selling novels, including The Hunt for Red October, where Jack Ryan first appeared.

Twenty-first Century crisis management involves several elements – a comprehensive (written) crisis management plan, a crisis management team, crisis drills, and a crisis management center. That last element has undergone some changes as crisis management has evolved.

As a consulting firm that helps publicly traded companies prepare for their quarterly earnings conference calls, we’re always on the lookout for new trends in investor relations communications.

What do you project when you present yourself in the workplace? Research led by the Harvard Business School says that when people make judgments about us in a business setting, they look first at two characteristics: How likeable or trustworthy (warm) are we? And how competent (strong) are we? Most people try to emphasize their strength or competence on the job. But sociology and psychology research shows that people who project strength before establishing trust run the risk of generating fear and apprehension. In other words, warmth is judged before competence. Or put another way, before people decide what they think of your message, they decide what they think of you.

Mary Ammerman, who co-founded The Ammerman Experience with her late husband Dan Ammerman, was honored by the Fort Bend Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ammerman Experience is headquartered in Fort Bend County, Texas. The award is based on years of membership and involvement in the chapter (Mary joined in 1987), personal and professional accomplishments, and community service.

Pilot Flying J, the nation’s biggest diesel fuel retailer, is under investigation for claims that it cheated customers out of rebates on bulk fuel purchases. This April, FBI and IRS agents showed up at the company’s headquarters looking for evidence of rebate fraud that allegedly took place for more than five years.

Within an hour after two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, the Boston Police Department set up a command post in the ballroom of the Westin Copley Place Hotel. During that first hour, the number of people stationed in that center expanded from 12 to 100. Ultimately, some 1,000 local, state and federal authorities, including the mayor and governor, were based there.

…Not the kind you do with a painting or photograph. Or when building a house. And certainly not the kind that’s a criminal activity. No, the kind of framing we’d like to discuss has to do with communicating.

On May 20, a tornado tore through the Moore, Oklahoma area killing 24 people, including ten children. The tornado generated winds in excess of 200 mph, making it a top-rated storm. Scores of people instantly became homeless. A week later, another tornado hit the state, killing 14, three of whom were noted storm chasers.

The Ammerman Experience recently introduced a new workshop. Executive Presentations Training is six, two-hour sessions that provide executives with an assessment of their presentation skills, along with suggestions for improvement. The sessions are conducted at our facility in Houston.