When 140 Characters Won’t Do; Perhaps a Phone Call Instead?

Another week and another communications nightmare emerges from the White House.  Of all the things CEO’s must do the most difficult has to be addressing the loss of a colleague, executive or member of a company.  Multiply that difficulty by 10 if you are the leader of the Free World and that loss is an active duty military member killed in action.  For the past few decades the call from the President of the United States to the Family would be a somber ritual devoid of partisan politics, drama and disdain, but nowadays that’s not the case with the latest Trumpian tantrum.

Regardless of the specifics surrounding Trump’s recent call to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger - it isn’t hard to believe an unartful articulator-in-chief botched a routine Presidential duty.  On many levels he is a cautionary tale, but this latest debacle should hit home for any Communication Manager, PR Executive or Communications Graduate Student. Bereavement is brutal and it is during that time when empathy and understanding is needed most.

Companies and organizations unfortunately go through times of crisis and loss - a workplace shooting, an airline disaster, an industrial accident or the loss of a colleague.   In these times, corporate leadership needs to quietly step and say the stoic, supportive words of solace and not focus on the why and the what-for that may surround a tragic event.

It’s unimaginable to think American Airlines would only “Tweet” the families after a tragic air disaster - but this year we’ve seen that ludicrous crassness purported by Trump and his staff.  Corporate officers and public officials should learn from these events and make sure they choose their words wisely when consoling their constituents and make sure the empathy is genuine and not a grandstanding moment.