In his Crisis Guru Commentaries, Jim Lukaszewski provides real answers to real questions about your most critical communications problems and issues.

To submit a question, please direct it by e-mail to crisisguru@e911.com.  Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, address, and telephone number.  All published questions will be identified by title and industry only.  Your confidentiality will be protected.

Question:
 
Dear Crisis Guru:

I enjoyed reading your article “After the Plea” in [PRSA’s] The Public Relations Strategist’s Summer 2003 issue.*

In the article’s last paragraph, you said, “Go for ethics and corporate compliance.” My high-tech clients rarely venture into the real “guts” of public relations; they would rather spend their monies promoting the newest, best, and brightest widget.

How would you recommend leading a charge into this very sensitive area of public relations?

Thank you,

Account Executive
Texas Public Relations Firm

* Note: To read this article, please go to the navigation toolbar, click on “Articles, Monographs, Books & Speeches,” open “Articles,” and click on “After the Plea.”

Answer:
 
Dear Account Executive:

Glad you enjoyed the piece . . . Some thoughts:

• If your clients are subject to Sarbanes Oxley, they have to be thinking about compliance and conduct. The principals can be punished or prosecuted if they screw it up. Things are just going to get tougher. It’s time to get started on learning and applying compliance and integrity processes. Start at the Ethics Resource Center Web site, www.ethics.org.
• If your clients are planning IPOs or acquisitions or mergers, remember that your accountants and attorneys are now affirmatively obligated to report adverse or suspicious circumstances to the authorities, and to other affected parties.
  
• Find a company - whose CEO your CEO admires - that is into compliance, codes of conduct, and integrity. Get them together. A CEO who is already into it can generally sell a peer who isn’t. Oftentimes a leader who resists integrity programs will listen only to a peer who has had to implement a program. Once someone is a convert (usually because they got caught or dodged a serious personal bullet), they remain a person or leader who is super-committed to getting it right.
  
• Start a “War Stories” file on the boss’ desk with brief synopses or clippings from news stories about peer companies in trouble because they didn’t take compliance, integrity, or Sarbanes Oxley seriously, or were just plain stupid. Review these and analyze them with the boss. Think of it as a “There but for the grace of God and luck, go we” file.
  
• For samples and lists of resources go to Google.com and search on:
  
  • Chief Ethics Officer
  • Ethics organizations
  • Codes of Conduct
• Some of the best Web sites are:
  • www.eoa.org , Ethics Officers Association
  • www.ethics.org , Ethics Resource Center
  • www.eyeonintegrity.com , global training and certification provider
  • www.integrity-interactive , global training and certification provider
  • www.josephsoninstitute.org , West coast organization
  • www.singerpubs.com/ethikos/ , Ethikos and Compliance Conduct Quarterly
  • www.ethics.com , some good stuff
  • www.compliance.org.au , excellent information from Australia
• Get your own act together now. Otherwise, when something goes in the ditch, the response will be driven solely by attorneys . . . until it gets really embarrassing or there are lots of victims. Then, of course, when it’s leaking, foaming, stinking, smoking, flaming, or burning, they will call you in and tell you what to say.
  

Cordially,

Jim Lukaszewski