The Bad News Eradicator, a continuing Executive Action feature will show you how to avoid non-communication, debates, arguments, anger and contention in your speaking and writing. One of the most powerful strategies I teach is the eradication of negative language, phrases and statements.

Over the years, I’ve developed, taught, coached and advocated a powerful and helpful communication philosophy that reinforces the value an independent adviser can bring. At the same time, this approach defines my ethical approach to life, to work and to trouble. I call these “intentions” because this is how I seek to operate my life every day, and to teach others to do the same.

Where were you on 9/11, 2001? I had an appointment at the March of Dimes headquarters in White Plains New York to discuss, I really don’t remember. As I cleared security I noticed there were lots of televisions running loudly and just about everybody was clustered around one of them. I arrived just when the first building collapsed. This was all happening just 28 miles south of us in Manhattan.

Working in ethics and giving ethical advice is among the most challenging tasks we have as practitioners and advisers. Developing a personal core value approach, which you can talk about and teach to others, is an essential part of having the access, impact and influence required of a trusted strategic ethics advisor.

When the subject is ethics, I’m always drawn to a simple statement made by Will Durant, who with his wife, Ariel, spent several decades writing an amazing series of books called The Story of Philosophy. His definition (a philosopher’s I grant you) of ethics is “the search for perfect behavior.” Some translations say “the search for ideal behavior.” You get the idea.

There are a lot of places to get crisis experience and experience in the real world of crisis is essential to have the credibility to speed up access to the practice of crisis management. Crisis Management is currently the most sought-after area of public relations practice; and even though colleges are offering degrees in crisis management, real life experience is a prerequisite to practice.

Management, especially American managements, have an ongoing struggle and sense of disappointment about their ability to engage employees effectively, in the organization’s business, culture, issues, and progress. What triggered my commenting on this essentially dead-end idea was a review of a PWC study, “Evolving An Engaging Work Experience, Building Foundations And Creating Distinction.” It’s about employee engagement, and it is a prime example of why this idea goes and is going nowhere. Management wants to go there, but employees don’t and don’t get it.

Events of the week of August 10, 2017 in Charlottesville, North Carolina may go down in the history of American business as the moment that triggered something of a visible epiphany in the behaviors and beliefs of many US business leaders.  Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple was inspired to begin a national conversation about the moral responsibilities of tech businesses.

The Agony of Decision author Fred Garcia is one of those amazing, extraordinary people we so rarely meet in our lives. Luckily, we met more than thirty years ago, in New York as he recruited me to teach in his Public Relations program at NYU.  It was the beginning of a career long relationship where we collaborate, associate, learn from each other, and shared or refereed clients to each other.

The only school for presidents to learn how to be president is living and working at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as president. Ironically this is also true for most CEO positions. It’s a job that, however smart you think you are, you learn on the job every single day.