THE DALY DOSE
JPM IS HANDLING THEIR PUBLIC RELATIONS ISSUES THE RIGHT WAY
It’s obvious that JPMorgan is dealing with a PR nightmare right now. In these situations, it’s very easy to criticize their handling of a $2 billion trading loss. But JPM is doing a great job of owning up to its problems, communicating what went wrong and the steps that they are taking to address them. Lifting their veil to show vulnerability and humanity is gutsy and will pay off in the long run. The public and government officials do not want to see arrogance or a lack of accountability.
The easiest thing to do right now would be to hunker down, keep journalists at arm’s length and decline to comment. It’s commendable that the executives at JPM appear to want to set the record straight, admit to faults, show their pain and demonstrate that they are not infallible.
JPM is telling their story before others can tell it for them. It would appear that they are actively engaging with journalists to help them understand the problems and potential solutions. If the execs at JPM decided to bury their heads, journalists would be left with no alternative other than to speak with outsiders. Those outsiders can only guess about what is going on in the JPM war room and they have little to lose by criticizing JPM either as a named source or industry insider.
No business is perfect and every organization has the potential to have something or someone derail which could jeopardize a brand. It’s the handling of a crisis that shows the true strength and grit of a firm and its people.