DeVos Steps Up About Formatting Rules

Two weeks ago, Upward Bound applications to help kids get into college were rejected for formatting errors such as line spacing. To protest, 32 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter asking the Department of Education to reconsider the grants that affected approximately 2,700 students; an excerpt is below.

In response, Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, established a "new policy" that prevents program officers from using page limits and formatting as "mandatory requirements":

"Program offices may suggest page limits and formatting standards (such as font size, line spacing, and the like) but may not use ignoring these suggestions as a basis to reject grant applications."

In her letter, however, DeVos does not address the recently rejected applications.

Discussion:

• What do you think DeVos should do at this point? What should she consider in her decision?
• Assess the Representatives' letter. What principles of persuasion are used, and how could the letter be improved?

Facebook Staffs Up

Facebook is taking more action in response to criticism about fake news, offensive posts, and violent videos. The company will hire 3,000 more people to monitor videos, hoping to avoid another situation like the one when a man recorded himself murdering another man.

In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, 

"Over the last few weeks, we've seen people hurting themselves and others on Facebook - either live or in video posted later. It's heartbreaking, and I've been reflecting on how we can do better for our community.

"If we're going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We're working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner - whether that's responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down.

"Over the next year, we'll be adding 3,000 people to our community operations team around the world -- on top of the 4,500 we have today -- to review the millions of reports we get every week, and improve the process for doing it quickly."

COO Sheryl Sandberg commented on the post: "Keeping people safe is our top priority. We won't stop until we get it right."

Some say the move reflects Facebook's disappointment in artificial intelligence (AI). The long-term goal is to develop the technology so it can adequately identify and remove inappropriate content. But that may be a way off.

Discussion:

• Assess Zuckerberg's post. Who is the audience, and what are his communication objectives? What works well, and what could be improved?
• What else, if anything, can Facebook do to address these serious issues?

NYSEG Email and Reality

NYSEG was preparing for the worst and trying to inspire customer confidence and stave off complaints. The NY gas and electric company sent email the day before the snow storm was expected to hit to tell us, "We're Prepared!"

Anticipating outages, NYSEG told us to contact "Outage Central" on its website. The main point of the email seems to be to tell customers how to report an outage-presumably to avoid a flood of phone calls that NYSEG can't handle.

Meanwhile, about 100,000 people are without power, and Twitter is abuzz with calls for NYSEG to do something other than "assess" the situation. Some are calling for an investigation into how NYSEG is handling outages.

@irenapapst tweeted, "... ithaca city schools were declared closed, and NYSEG sent out a pamphlet on storm preparedness. if other organizations were prepared ..."

Discussion:

• What's your view of NYSEG's pre-storm communications? Did this help or hurt the organization's reputation? What, if any, impact do you think the email and website had on  storm outages?
• People are harsh towards NYSEG on Twitter. From what you observe, is it deserved? Could the organization do something different?

Warren Buffett's Annual Letter

It's that time again, when Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and Warren Buffett devotees pore over his annual letter.

Forbes identifies as "The Seven Best Quotes" in the letter, summarized as follows:

• Stock Buybacks Aren't Always Bad
• Vanguard's John Bogle Is A Hero
• Don't Bet Against America
• Fake Profits!
• Fees... Cut It Out!
• Why Berkshire Loves Dividends
• Buy When Others Are Fearful

This year, as The Wall Street Journal reports, Buffett "declared victory in a decade-long, $1 million bet that low-cost index funds would earn more than expensive hedge funds." This conclusion is reflected in at least two of the quotes Forbes selected: the one about Vanguard and the one about fees.

Berkshire Hathaway's website lists Buffett's annual letter every year since 1977. The website design is so simple-some might say boring.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze the letter using business writing principles. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? How it is organized? What are the main points? How would you describe the writing style?
• Check out the website. What's your impression? Why do you think it looks as it does?

Boeing Profits Up

After facing critical tweets from President Trump about its expensive military planes, Boeing reports quarterly profits better than expected. But the uptick is from commercial plans, a market Boeing is leading.

Boeing's fourth-quarter press release included a few cheery statements from Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg:

"With solid fourth quarter operating performance and a sharp strategic focus, we extended our aerospace market leadership in our centennial year and positioned Boeing for continued growth and success in our second century."

"We led the industry in commercial airplane deliveries for the fifth consecutive year, achieved healthy sales in our defense, space and services segments, and produced record operating cash flow, which fueled investment in innovation and our people and generated significant returns to shareholders."

"Looking forward, our team is intent on accelerating productivity and program execution to deliver increasing cash and profitability from our large and diverse order backlog of nearly $500 billion, standing up our new integrated services business, and capturing an even greater share of the the growing global aerospace market to deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders and employees."

Bloomberg reports Boeing shares at record high and that the "787 Dreamliner emerged from a decade of losses." The article quotes an analyst: "We think this release is pretty boring -- and boring is good."

But Fortune warns, "Its overall outlook for 2017, however, is not likely to inspire confidence. Boeing is calling for adjusted earnings between $9.10 and $9.30 this year, which is below the $9.31 that Wall Street analysts were projecting. The company expects revenue will fall to somewhere between $90.5 billion and $92.5 billion, compared to $94.6 billion in 2016."

Image source.

Discussion:

• We see a lot of jargon in the press release. Is it appropriate or off-putting?
• What does the analyst mean by the "release is pretty boring." Should it be more exciting? It is, after all, good news.
• What are the dangers of the Boeing CEO quotations being overly optimistic, as the Fortune article warns. What's the best approach here?

Hyatt Regency Apologizes for Comments About a Name

When Karim Abouelnaga, CEO, Practice Makes Perfect, checked into a Hyatt Regency, the woman at the front desk laughed at his last name. He tweeted to the hotel about the situation and received a message in return, a call from the hotel manager, and an apology note with a few gifts, shown here. Abouelnaga's LinkedIn post received almost 66,000 likes as of today, and more may come.

The apology note is a good example of a handwritten note, discussed in the introduction of Chapter 6. They are so rare that one can differentiate you and your business from others, as this example shows.

Discussion:

• What do you think about the initial interaction with the front desk? Should the agent have known better? How can this be avoided in the future?
• How well did Hyatt Regency respond? Some might think they went over the top. What's your view?

Starbucks Gets a New CEO

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will become chairman of the company and leave the CEO job to Kevin Johnson, who has served as chief operating officer for the past two years. This is a big move for the company that Schultz bought in 1987 and led through tremendous growth since.

With the change, Schultz announced plans to open at least 20 Roastery premium coffee stories, which have been successful in Seattle. Schultz says the concept "has become widely recognized as the world's most immersive, coffee-forward retail experience."
In a news release and on a media conference call, Schultz says he'll shift his focus to retail innovation. Some speculate an interest in politics, but we'll see about that.

Johnson complimented Schultz on his leadership-to be expected during this type of transition:

I do want to acknowledge the obvious: Howard Schultz is among the world's most iconic leaders and entrepreneurs. I know Howard doesn't personally think of himself that way, but as his business partner and friend, I know this to be true. It is a privilege to work side-by-side with Howard. I have great confidence in our strategy, the partnership that we have developed, and the world-class talent we have assembled.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the decision is not based on data:

But the big bet is based solely on Mr. Schultz's instinct that it is the right thing to do. "There was no research," he said. Convincing his board and senior management team to create another brand wasn't easy.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Read the news release and media conference call script. What key messages do you take away?
  
• What's your view of the decision? Should Schultz have more data to justify the move, or are his instincts enough?
• The photo is a Starbucks Roastery store. What do you think of the design? Consider the target market.

Some Carrier Jobs Will Be Saved

Some Carrier employees in Indiana will keep their jobs, while other positions, as planned, will move to Mexico.

President-elect Donald Trump has met with Carrier executives to keep the plant open for manufacturing gas furnaces. This is good news: more than 1,000 U.S. positions will be saved, but communication with employees has been lacking. Understandably, employees are skeptical about the decision and want more details. 

Here are a few quotes from those affected:

• "There's excitement with most people, but there's a lot of skepticism and worry because we don't know the details."
• "There's a few that are worried. And there's still a few that don't even believe this is real. They think it's a play, a set-up or a scam."
• "Who is going to be retained? What is the structure there will be for the retention? What is going to be put in place?" "Are these the same jobs at the same wage? I would sure like to know as soon as I can."
• "I'm optimistic, but I don't know what the situation is. I guess it's a good sign. ... You would think they would keep us in the loop. But we know nothing."

The last quotation is from the president of a local United Steelworkers union. The plant closure was announced in February and video recorded by an employee. During the meeting, the speaker said that they would involve union representatives, but they may be a missing link in this recent news.

Carrier released a statement about the decision, claiming, "The incentives offered by the state were an important consideration." Vice President-elect Mike Pence is currently the governor of Indiana.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What advice would you give to Carrier executives about how the plan is communicated? Consider how the initial announcement took place as well.
• The company has a practical challenge: although they may have accepted incentives to keep the plant open, details about staffing have yet to be worked out. How can they communicate with employees in the meantime?

Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo's Statement Surprises Fans

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had a compression fracture and was replaced by a rookie player, Dak Prescott. During this time, the team did well, and it was painful for Romo to see. He made an emotional statement to express his feelings. He talks about the "dark place" and finding out "who you really are and what you're really about."

Romo compliments Prescott and says he has earned the right to be the Cowboys' quarterback. The Washington Post explains:

There will be no going back, not after this game. The Dallas Cowboys belong to Prescott, and Romo's future will have to be figured out later. Prescott led the Cowboys to another road victory Sunday, a bewildering, 35-30 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field that gave Dallas an 8-1 record, a chokehold on the NFC East and eight consecutive victories.

Romo watched in a hooded sweatshirt, still inactive. But he will be healthy soon, maybe by next week. Prescott put to rest - for now, if not for good - any questions about who will play quarterback for the best team in the NFC.

Discussion Starters:

• Romo's statement is unusual. How do you interpret what he's saying? Who is his audience, and what are his objectives?
• One commentator said it's painful to see your team lose without you, and it's painful to see them win. How do you see that factoring into Romo's statement?
• How do you feel about Romo after watching the video? How do you think his teammates may have reacted?
• How would you rate Romo's emotional intelligence?

Amazon Cancels Incentivized Reviews

In a blog post, Amazon announced the end of incentivized reviews.

Although the incentives were limited to customers who disclosed that they received a free or discounted product, the reviews were sponsored by companies, and Amazon will change that. Putting the reviews in perspective, Amazon wrote, "These so-called ‘incentivized reviews' make up only a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of reviews on Amazon, and when done carefully, they can be helpful to customers by providing a foundation of reviews for new or less well-known products."

The move is part of Amazon's goal of increasing trust in reviews. In the past, incentivized reviews meant better reviews: 4.74 stars out of 5 compared to 4.36.

Amazon will continue its Vine program, which encourages reviews but doesn't have the same reward system:

"Amazon – not the vendor or seller – identifies and invites trusted and helpful reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and pre-release products; we do not incentivise positive star ratings, attempt to influence the content of reviews, or even require a review to be written; and we limit the total number of Vine reviews that we display for each product."

Discussion Starters:

• Analyze Chee Chew's blog post. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the communications objectives, and how well does Chew achieve them? 
• How would you describe the distinctions between the incentivized reviews and the Vine program? Are you convinced that Vine reviews will be objective?

New Leadership at HomeAway

HomeAway, a property rental site similar to Airbnb, has announced a new CEO. A message from the co-founder and chairman, Brian Sharples, explained the change:

Hello Owners and Property Managers.

I wanted to reach out to you directly to let you know about some big news for both HomeAway and me personally. After 12 years at the helm at HomeAway, I have made the very difficult decision to step down as CEO and have chosen John Kim, our current Chief E-Commerce Officer, to lead the company as President. We will gradually move through this transition and I will remain on board as Chairman until mid-January to advise John and the leadership team for the remainder of the year.

While it's never easy to hand over the reins of something you built, I believe now is the right time to empower the next generation of leadership to take HomeAway to new heights. John is already an incredible driving force for the growth of our company. I'm very comforted in knowing we have someone of his caliber with rich experience in product development and innovation to lead our mission and strategy.

As the vacation market grows, so does the expectation of customers to have a superior online experience. John's proven ability to transform web and mobile sites will help HomeAway build the right customer experience to attract even more travelers to your properties. John looks forward to sharing his vision with you and will be hosting a Q&A session on October 19th at 10:00am CT. Please click here to sign up. You may also submit questions in advance for John to address during this webcast.

I want to thank you for trusting HomeAway with your business and for the feedback and support you have provided me personally over the last several years. You have helped us break ground in this industry, and as a frequent HomeAway traveler, I look forward to seeing many of you at your amazing properties in the coming years!

Best regards and heartfelt appreciations,
Brian Sharples
Co-Founder and Chairman of HomeAway, Inc.

Sharples emphasizes Kim's technology experience and sells the decision to property owners as helping to provide "the right customer experience to attract even more travelers to your properties."

An article in the Austin Business Journal describes HomeAway as a successful business in Austin, TX, founded in 2005 and sold to Expedia last year. In a statement, President and CEO of Expedia Dara Khosrowshahi said that Sharples "leaves behind an incredible foundation and legacy that we plan to build on as part of the Expedia Inc. family." Today, the company has 1,540 employees and lists homes for rent in more than 190 countries.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess Sharples' message. Who is the audience, and what are his objectives? How well does he achieve the objectives?
• The message seems to leave out some information. What is Sharples not saying, and why isn't he clearer?

Marriott + Starwood: Completion Announcement to Staff

The deal is finally done: Marriott and Starwood are one company. Starwood associates received this message from Marriott Communications under the subject line, "A Historic Moment: Marriott + Starwood Merger Complete." The message continues, highlighting the combined company's impressive portfolio of brands and properties. Associates are also invited to find out more on a "new integration site" called "The Platform."

The message comes almost a year after the acquisition was announced and confirms the largest hotel company in the world, with 5,809 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms. Executive Chairman Bill Marriott expressed his enthusiasm for the deal, focusing on people and culture:

"We hope to continue the trend of promoting, developing and working with people. We have the strongest culture, I think, of any lodging company, and of most companies in America. And we'll continue to promote and really strengthen that culture."

Starwood will cease to exist. The HOT symbol will be removed from the New York Stock Exchange.

Discussion Starters:

• In the message, identify all types of sentences: simple, complex, and compound. How varied are the sentences? 
• How would you characterize the tone of the message? Do you find it appropriate for the primary audience (Starwood employees?)

Does American Airlines' New Ad Blame the Customer?

American Airlines has a new ad campaign and video: "World's Greatest Flyers."

Critics say the ad blames the customer: If you want a better travel experience, pack better, bring headphones, and change your attitude. Not everyone appreciated the advice. 

The company's VP of global marketing told AdAge, "The demographic of the type of customers we have is changing. The pervasive use of social tools, for example, digital and video -- these are things that are becoming more important for us to connect to and for us to start a dialogue with our customers." Fernand Fernandez also said, "The bigger goal here is to create, celebrate and acknowledge these types of behaviors and hopefully, amplify them on social media."

Encouraging customers to use #GreatestFlyers, the airline will see about as many positive comments as negative ones.

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of the campaign? The reaction may reflect the typical cynicism of people, particularly those on Twitter. Or could the negativity have been avoided?
• Could American have done something different to change the social media conversation?

Yahoo CEO Takes Sale in Stride

News of a potential Yahoo sale has circulated for years, and now it's a reality. CEO Marissa Mayer discusses Verizon's acquisition in a blog post, concluding, "Yahoo is a company that changed the world. Now, we will continue to, with even greater scale, in combination with Verizon and AOL."

In a press release, Mayer spoke positively about the sale:

"Yahoo and AOL popularized the Internet, email, search and real-time media. It's poetic to be joining forces with AOL and Verizon as we enter our next chapter focused on achieving scale on mobile. We have a terrific, loyal, experienced and quality team, and I couldn't be prouder of our achievements to date, including building our new lines of business to $1.6 billion in GAAP revenue in 2015. I'm excited to extend our momentum through this transaction."

Although Mayer writes that she'll stay with Yahoo, PR Daily notes conflicting reports, including a New York Times article that said she'll get $57 million in severance pay, or $218 million total for her reign at Yahoo.

The New York Times also posted a few impressive graphics showing Yahoo's considerable US visitors, yet declining search traffic and ad revenue.

Discussion Starters: 

• Assess Mayer's blog post. Who are the audiences, and what are her key messages? How well does she convey enthusiasm for the sale?
• What principles of visual communication does The New York Times use in these graphics? How can they be improved?

Sample HR Posting

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a draft notice to help employees to understand their rights. Employers that offer wellness programs are expected to communicate a new law that requires them to collect certain information about employees; however, they must still comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The notice is long and, in my opinion, confusing. The EEOC could use principles of business communication, such as including "you" to make it more readable and conversational. Also, this is an opportunity for employers to promote their wellness programs, and this notice does little. Although it says the program is voluntary, it doesn't include how employees will benefit. Yes, the focus is on the information collection, but most employees will care more about the program itself. 

The EEOC includes an FAQ for employers that explains how the notice could be distributed.

Image source. 

Discussion Starters: 

• What business writing principles are used in the notice? What other principles would improve the message? 
• Would another format work better for the notice? How about an FAQ for employees? What are the advantages and downsides of this type of message? 

Email to LinkedIn's Staff

In addition to the news announcements about Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner wrote an email to staff. His tone is excited and a bit bewildered: 

"No matter what you're feeling now, give yourself some time to process the news. You might feel a sense of excitement, fear, sadness, or some combination of all of those emotions. Every member of the exec team has experienced the same, but we've had months to process. Regardless of the ups and downs, we've come out the other side knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is the best thing for our company."

Weiner described several benefits of the acquisition, including increasing LinkedIn's reach, expanding into other human capital solutions for companies, and integrating Lynda.com courses. Employees are probably happy to read about LinkedIn's ability to stay independent, which may mean less change and fewer layoffs.

Weiner, by the way, will walk away with almost $30 million from the sale.

In a video with Weiner, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks about his interest in LinkedIn and says he had been thinking about an acquisition for a long time. 

Discussion Starters: 

• How would you summarize the benefits of the acquisition? Are you convinced by these communications that the move is positive for LinkedIn? 
• How would you feel if you were a LinkedIn employee? What concerns would you have? What is the best way for the CEOs to address them? 

Will Anyone Miss the Time Warner Cable Brand?

The Time Warner Cable brand, which Bloomberg calls "beleaguered," will cease to exist. Synonymous with poor customer service and frequent outages, the company is merging with Charter Communications, which will expire the name.  

David VanAmburg, managing director of American Customer Satisfaction Index, said, "Nobody in the cable industry performs particularly well. One merger isn't going to change structural issues with pricing, infrastructure and battles with content providers. When there's not a great deal of competition in an industry, you're not going to get great satisfaction scores."

Charter will introduce "Spectrum," new products and offerings from Time Warner and Bright House Networks, which Charter also recently purchased.

In a statement obviously written for Wall Street analysts, Charter Communications announced the merger deal.

Discussion Starters: 

• The company has a lot more work to do than simply changing the name. What are your experiences with Time Warner, and how do you think they can improve service? 
• This is a critical time for Charter. What should the company communicate now about its plans?

Higher Restaurant Reviews with More Time and Distance

An article in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that guests give higher online ratings to restaurants that are farther from their home and if they waited two or three months to write the review after visiting. If both criteria were met, the effect was even better for a positive review. According to the lead author, "If someone visited a Red Lobster restaurant in their home town and then in another state, he or she gave a better star rating when the restaurant was out of town."

Researchers at Temple University studied more than 166,000 TripAdvisor reviews for their paper, "Effects of Multiple Psychological Distances on Construal Level: A Field Study of Online Reviews." To understand why people gave higher reviews, they analyzed word choice. When people wrote about restaurants closer to home, they described details about the food and service, but when they wrote after a couple of months about their time away from home, they used more general language about their "pleasant" experience.  

The image here encourages guests to write a review when they get home. Perhaps that's not the best strategy. 

Discussion Starters: 

• Why do you think people give better reviews when waiting to write and when writing about restaurants farther away?
• What are the implications of this research for restaurants wanting to boost online reviews? What strategies can they use? 
• What are the implications for people who rely on reviews to make restaurant choices?

Marriott + Starwood Announcements

After some flirting with Anbang Insurance, Starwood has accepted Marriott's revised acquisition bid. Several major communications were published this week: 

• Press release to announce the merger
• Shareholder update on a new Starwood landing page
• "4 Things to Know" article by Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson
• Email to Starwood associates from Arne Sorenson (shown here)
• Email to Starwood associates from Starwood CEO Tom Mangas
• Email to Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members
• Email to Marriott Rewards members

The internal messages link to additional content: a video message on the Starwood intranet and a poll for employees to name the new, combined program for discounted hotel rates. For Starwood associates, "HOT Rates" current offers good deals on stays around the world; employees may be excited about more possibilities, yet worried that the benefit won't be as generous. 

Bill Marriott hasn't updated his blog as of this writing. I'm sure it's coming soon.  

Discussion Starters: 

• Identify the primary and secondary audiences for each communication. Next, analyze the primary audience using principles from Chapter 4 in the book. 
• Assess all of the communications here. What's written, and what's left unsaid? 
• What are the key messages you take from these communications? 

More Marriott + Starwood Communications

Marriott and Starwood clearly have coordinated communications to loyalty program members and employees. Three days after the news that Marriott is buying Starwood, Marriott Rewards Members received an email. A similar message was posted on Starwood's homepage for Starwood Preferred Guests (SPG members) on the day of the announcement. At the end of the Marriott message, which you can see here, is a LOT of boilerplate.

Messages to employees are also similar. Starwood sent an email to employees from Sorenson to express his enthusiasm, welcome-and some empathy:

 "I know it's strange that we will go from competitors to teammates.  I believe strongly that we share similar goals and our partnership will be a natural one.

"You may already know a fair amount about our company, but I want to be sure that you know that the well-being of associates has been and will always be our first priority."

Both emails included a video of Sorenson and Bill Marriott. From what I hear from employees in the United States and Europe, they heard the news before it became public, which of course, is best.

Discussion Starters:

• Why would SPG members receive information three days earlier than Marriott Rewards members?
• One Chinese employee says she didn't receive an email about the news, only the rewards email. How do you think this disconnect happened?
• How do you explain all of the boilerplate at the bottom of the Marriott Rewards email?