A Salute to the PGA Foundation

I was thrilled to spend the closing day of the PGA tournament at Oakland Hills Sunday in toasty PGA Foundation chalet #35, right on the chilly and windy 18th fairway. I owe my cushy and oh-so-comfortable surroundings to client and friend Cynthia Kidder (www.bandofangels.com).

The PGA folks know a winner when they see one, both on and off the course. That's why they have generously supported Cynthia Kidders' efforts with Band of Angels since she first met the acquaintace of Earnie Ellison, the PGA Foundation's business development guru (not PR guru, but he's pretty good at that, too) at the 2004 Ryder Cup.

I had the privilege of meeting and chatting at length with Earnie yesterday and was incredibly impressed with this warm, elegant man who loves golf but, even more important, loves what golf can do for underprivileged kids, kids with special needs, at-risk kids and charities that support kids - and adults. For Earnie, it's all about measuring the economic impact of golf and leveraging some of that economic impact to support worthwhile charities. That's what the PGA Foundation does and they do it sincerely and consistently, giving approximately 10% of PGA tournament earnings to important local causes, large and small. Of course, they hope to expand the game of golf and interest in the sport through their charitable giving, but that's fine. Corporate charity has a substantial, legitimate business component.

Professional golf does so many things right, steering clear of scandal, bad manners and negativity. After meeting with Earnie yesterday, I have a better idea of how they maintain their sterling reputation.

Mark Spitz Should be at the Olympics, But He Should Take the High Road There

I haven't been able to watch nearly as much of the Olympics as I would like to but I have been following them in print and on-line. One of the big stories on Yahoo today is that Mark Spitz, 1972 seven-time gold medal swimmer, is not attending the Olympics because he wasn't invited. Click the link below to read about it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news;_ylt=Alurya8b6HpuEP9IKMFqBtwazJV4?slug=afp-oly2008swimusaspitz&prov=afp&type=lgns

Unequivocally, Mark Spitz should have been invited to the Olympics. He should even have a premium, reserved seat in the natatorium as he and the rest of the world watch to see if U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps will usurp Spitz's seven medal record. I think Mr. Spitz deserves accolades, attention and respect, especially by the Olympic Committee. His lack of an invitation must have been a mistake, an oversight on the part of an overworked Olmpic staffer.

However, Spitz likely would have garnered an immediate apology and offered a ride to Beijing ASAP on a private jet if his disappointment was less petulant and minus the appearance of sour grapes. I would suggest something along the lines of: "I'm deeply disappointed not to be attending the Olympics but the truth is, I was not invited to attend. If I were invited, I'd be in the stands cheering for Michael Phelps and the rest of those devoted swimmers. I'd be thrilled to be there recalling my own Olympic victories and sharing in new ones with my compatriots."

You get the picture. Of course, I could be wrong. Mr. Spitz may already be enroute to Beijing, with the Olympic Committee apologizing all over themselves. I'm certain there will be some type of response. I can't wait to read about it.

(DON'T) Save Tiger Stadium!

I have a hard time getting excited about the protracted efforts to save Tiger Stadium. Even as the wrecking ball swings, small factions are struggling to raise money to save portions of the Tigers' former home. Which portions? The upper deck women's restroom? The 38th row in the bleacher section? Detroit needs to move forward, not hang on to an empty relic of the past. (Boy, does that statement have implications far beyond Tiger Stadium!)

It's not that I don't have fond memories of the old ballpark. Growing up on the west side of Detroit, I enjoyed many a Saturday afternoon and summer night there. It was close to home and inexpensive, especially with bleacher tickets or obstructed view seats. My first date with with my husband, Eric, was also at Tiger Stadium. Despite 21 years of wedded bliss, that doesn't seem like a good reason to keep the ballpark alive, though.

I also have wonderful memories of grocery shopping with my mom at Great Scott at Michigan and Schaefer in Dearborn, but there was no hue and cry when that closed. The small Catholic high school I attended is also closed. How dare they? The Whole Foods near my house is relocating to a larger location. They can't do that! I used to be able to walk there to get my fill of Vegan-friendly fare. Okay, so I hardly ever went there, but so what? Many of my favorite professors at Wayne State have now retired. That shouldn't be allowed, because they were my teachers once I and I liked knowing they were still there. Okay, you get the picture. Life moves on, with or without us. The future is far too exciting to dwell on the past, especially when fond memories will suffice.

AND WHAT WILL BECOME OF FANCHON?

Detroit is not a city that moves on well. Fox 2's Fanchon Stinger is this week's personal case in point. I eagerly read her response to reports of her involvement in the Synagro sludge debacle. My first thought after reading her statement was neither an impression of innocence or guilt; rather, it was whether she used Roget's Thesaurus to amass the number of superlatives used to describe her outrage at reports that she was involved with Synagro. Here's a sample: "scandalous allegations", "blatant misrepresentations", "tawdry allegations", "excruciatingly difficult", "systemic, strategic and malicious dismantling of my reputation..." Whew! I was emotionally exhausted just reading it. Of course my second thought was of innocence or guilt. Thou thinks she doth protesteth too much? (I'm probably not quoting that exactly, but because my WSU Shakespeare professor is likely retired too, it doesn't matter.)

Compuware 1.0 + Compuware 2.0 =Compuware I Don't Know

It's official. Even Compuware officials have no idea what the company does. Read my blog post from February 13th and then read the excerpted Q&A from today's Detroit News interview with Compuware COO Bob Paul.

Q : So how does Compuware 2.0 differ from Compuware 1.0?

A : We'd been focused on many, many different products which span a wide variety of information technology services. We do a lot of things in a lot of places around the world and Compuware 1.0 has been built around being a master of many different things, rather than a master of a few. So that's part of the difference between Compuware 1.0 and Compuware 2.0. Compuware 2.0 is much more about those things that can bring the maximum value to our customers, and that allows for breakout growth.

This less than succinct reply compels Detroit PR Guru to respond in kind and ask, "Huh?"

Remove the reference to information technology services and Mr. Paul has just described approximately 100,000 U.S. based companies. I don't blame Mr. Paul, though. He's been affiliated with Compuware since 2004 but has only been COO since April. It appears to take decades to actually describe, in non-consultantese English, what Compuware does. Meetings must be rather interesting there. No one knows what the company does, but they are all trying to package and sell its mystery services and products to global corporations, Wall Street and even colleagues. (I think Dilbert works there.)

It'd hard to resist tying all this gibberish into a neat little bow when considering the recent paraphrased words of Compuware founder and CEO Peter Karmanos. He supports Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick because, "He's the best that we've got." Apparently, nonsense begets nonsense when it comes to Compuware wordsmithing.

When Crisis PR Professionals Face A Crisis

This week's issue of Crain's Detroit Business profiles national PR expert (note: not PR guru) Judy Smith of Washington, D.C.-based Impact Strategies. It's interesting to note that Ms. Smith cites seven bullet points that serve as the ABC's of Crisis PR. Well, okay, that's not interesting. What is interesting is that her client, Kwame Kilpatrick, is not following any of them. He was almost laughed off the stage when he said at a public forum a few weeks back that he couldn't resign because the city would be plunged into chaos. Methinks the Mayor has spent too long looking at that visual representation of the word "Chaos" that morphs into the word "Order" when stared at intensely. Well to be fair, Mr. Mayor has tried to divert attention away from the crisis (Refocus Attention - bullet point #6) by highlighting other city crises, er, I mean successes, but that requires about a column inch of news. Hence, the media heads back to the main crisis.

Bullet point #5 presents a conundrum for the Mayor. It requires having a "truth squad" to monitor what's being said against what is true. Regrettably, his truth squad lies about published media reports that are, alas, true.

For crisis communications strategies that actually have meaning, I refer my readers to my blog post of April 15. In the meantime, I'd strongly advise Ms. Smith to resign this account. It's bad for her business.

Crisis Communications 101

Tell the truth. Tell it immediately. Tell it often. Go back to work.

Detroit's Mayor has Nowhere to Go

The New York Time's Nick Bunkley notes today there is increasing pressure on Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/14detroit.html?th&emc=th).

With Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace and near immediate resignation earlier this week, many Detroit media folks have suggested Kilpatrick should follow Spitzer's example. What I haven't seen written is the reality that the Mayor has nowhere to go. He's burned almost all of his business connection bridges in Detroit; he never worked as an attorney, and even if he had, his law license is in jeopardy; he doesn't come from a wealthy family; his wife doesn't currently bring in a second income; his lovely home (the Manoogian Mansion), expensive cars and an immense security detail are paid for by the City; and his social and business calendar are filled with exciting, star-studded local, national and international travel and events also paid for by the City.

I think the Mayor should resign. But would I resign if I were him? He's already given up his dignity and credibility, but I don't think anything shy of a legal order can pry him away from his current life of luxury.