Scot Chisholm & Co. 

Every week I tackle management, operations & startup topics that are helping 100,000+ people become better leaders.

Scot’s Newsletter

Highland

Highland is a “school” & community for founders. If you're a founder/CEO, we should talk!

Founder & Chief Professor

Tall Timbers Holding Co.

A family office and holding company with wholly owned businesses, private investments, and property holdings.

Managing Director & Founder

GoFundMe

After the merger of Classy and GoFundMe, I’ve taken on a strategic advisory role to the CEO & executive team, mainly focused on longer-range product strategy and M&A

Strategic Advisor, GoFundMe & Classy

Classy

Founder & Strategic Advisor (Acq. by GoFundMe, 2022)

Founder & Chairman

Classy is a SaaS giving platform that powers the fundraising of over 10,000 nonprofit organizations. Classy is a certified B-Corp, has a team of 300+ people and has raised over $5 billion for social good since 2011.

CEO & Founder

In Classy’s earliest days, we hosted large scale fundraising events with the goal of connecting millennials with local nonprofits in the San Diego area.

CEO & Founder (pre tech company)

Haskill Creek

Haskill Creek is a new type of self-care store. Imagine a healthier & more holistic version of a Walgreens or CVS. Family owned business.

Co-Founder

ALBION SC

Albion Soccer Club is one of the top youth soccer franchises in the United States with over 10,000 players and hundreds of teams across the country.

Co-Owner

Save Farmland

Save Farmland is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect and promote small farms in Flathead Valley, Montana, and beyond.

Abundant Montana

Board Member

AERO Montana

Abundant Montana (a program of Aero), makes it easy for anyone to find and choose local food in Montana.

Advisory Board

CEO, Highland & Haskill Creek • Founder of Classy (acq. by GoFundMe) • Founder of nonprofit, Save Farmland

Multi-time founder but operator at heart. 

Industrial engineer and lean six sigma nerd by training. 

Now I write about management, operations & startup topics that are helping 200,000+ people become better leaders.

scotchisholm.com/newsletter


MY BACKGROUND ————— 

🚀 Founder of Classy, a SaaS platform for 10k+ nonprofits raising billions per year. 

🎗️Acquired by GoFundMe in ‘22 to create the largest giving platform in the world. Together we’ve raised over $30 billion for individual & nonprofit causes. 

🏔️ Founder of Highland, a private community & leadership “school” for high-potential founders. 

🏡 Co-founder of Haskill Creek, a much healthier version of a Walgreens or CVS. 

🧑🏼‍🌾 Founder of Save Farmland, a nonprofit protecting local farmland. 

⚽️ Co-owner of Albion Soccer Club, top youth soccer club in country

❤️ Board experience: Nature Conservancy, Abundant Montana, Team Rubicon, Street Soccer USA, Montana Pediatric Cancer Foundation 


👇 WAYS TO CONNECT —————

→ Podcast / speaking oppty? email: partner@scotchisholm.com

→ Join my free newsletter: https://scotchisholm.com/newsletter-linkedin-profile

→ Check out my private community for founders: www.joinhighland.com

Scot Chisholm

Sh*tty managers ruin lives. 
Great managers change them. 

I’ve managed hundreds of people over the last 20 years. 

One of my biggest takeaways is the massive difference between an average manager and a truly great one. 

But, here’s the truth:

No one starts out as a great manager (literally no one). 

And, becoming a great manager can be learned by anyone. 

Just focus on these 12 habits:

1/ Provide business context
2/ Set high standards
3/ Take full ownership
4/ Focus (then focus again)
5/ Create operating cohesion 
6/ Lead with data
7/ But be decisive 
8/ Let your team make decisions
9/ Don’t give sh*tty feedback
10/ Take feedback like an adult
11/ Listen more than you talk
12/ Always be learning

The gap in quality managers is large, but the right behaviors are simple. 

Focus on these 12 habits daily and you’ll be ahead of 99%. 

What habits resonated most?
Let me know in the comments 👇

⁂

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Operator & Investor • Founder of Classy (acq. by GoFundMe) • Building Highland, Just, Haskill Creek

12 insanely simple habits to become a high performing mana

Leadership is misunderstood.

Building Classy taught me that the best leaders aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest titles, or the ones who can charm a room.

Some of the best leaders in our 300+ person company were individual contributors at the very bottom of the org chart. Young managers. First-time team leads.

Over the years I started noticing what made these unlikely leaders so effective. They had traits that, quite honestly, my executives lacked at times. Including me.

Over time I boiled them down to 10 core traits that our best leaders always exhibited. It’s no surprise they rose fast within the company. Many are still there today, 15 years later.  

The very best leaders: 

• Clarify - Never assume everyone understands
• Believe - Push forward when everyone doubts
• Adapt - Evolve rapidly without ego
• Anticipate - Solve problems before they explode
• Persist - Get kicked in the teeth, get up anyway
• Empower - Create leaders, not followers
• Own - Own failures without excuses
• Hold the line - When quality dips and others compromise
• Always Learn - Learn and grow faster than the company
• Lead by Example - Live values when no one's watching

Most leaders start off strong in a few, but not all of these traits. You must intentionally develop them over time. It's a lifelong thing. 

But many executives forget this. Maybe they were great once. But they start slipping. They stop learning. They get cocky. I've seen this too many times. 

I don't care where you’re at in your career. Keep these traits in mind. And never stop developing them. 

⁂

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Top 10 traits of the very best leaders:

Every high performance culture starts with this… 

I recently asked a founder about his culture. And he started talking about free lunches and other perks. 

This is not culture. 

He was a coaching client of mine, so I nicely explained… 

Here's what real culture looks like: 
→ A shared purpose. Everyone understands and resonates with the 'Why'.

→ Excitement about the future. The vision is clear to all and it creates an almost kid-like excitement about the future.

→ Strong empathy and trust. Great orgs know if you neglect empathy, trust evaporates.

→ The correct level of accountability. People know you're building a championship team.

→ Mutual respect and encouragement. High performers have admiration for each other.

→ Hunger to learn and improve. Without being asked. That's the diet of champions.

→ Aligned financial incentives. Compensation that's aligned to the organization's top goals.

→ Career mobility. Lots of opportunity, with clear expectations around advancement.

→ Work-life balance. Clear boundaries that are enforced across the org.

→ Pride in the work. Numbers one through nine create an amazing sense of pride. You'll find yourself bragging about work to complete strangers.


When you get the culture right, people are excited to show up, employees self-manage, and retention is extremely high. 

And great business results naturally follow.

 ⁂

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10 signs of great culture.

Most people waste their leadership meetings. 

Do this instead: 

When I was building Classy I got this meeting wrong for years. We’d talk about everything BUT the important stuff. Too much time wasted on low-level “issues”. Too many tangents and distractions. Everyone left feeling:

• Confused
• Misaligned 
• Unaccountable

I talked to advisors and scoured the internet for help. But it took loads of trial and error to land on a meeting structure that actually worked. We stuck with it for nearly ten years. 

One of the major improvements was focus. Teams spend months setting goals only to let them collect dust. Your leadership meeting should be your #1 checkpoint for progress. 

Once we got “tight at the top” as a leadership team, everything started to change. More results, less talk. It became the tip of the spear of our entire operating rhythm.

To this day, I call it your most important meeting. If I only had one, it’d be the leadership meeting. 

The entire leadership team meeting structure is in the carousel. Copy it for your own company and let me know what you think. 

⁂

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How to nail your  leadership meeting every time:

This is the part of leadership no one prepares you for…

Going from IC to manager is hard.

But becoming a manager of managers is brutal. 

You’re no longer managing the work… you’re managing the people who manage the work.

Vanilla management advice no longer works. Instead, focus on these 7 things:

→ Provide clarity and context. If they don’t have context, they can’t give context. And their teams will be flying blind. Make sure your managers always know: Why are we here? Where are we going? How are we doing? Your job is to arm them with the information they need to lead.

→ Work through, not around. When someone skips your manager and comes to you with a problem, resist the urge to solve it on the spot. This robs your manager of the chance to learn and improve themselves. Listen. Ask questions. Then loop your manager in to address it. Build leverage through them, not around them.

→ Set a team rhythm. Establish a recurring cadence with your managers. Weekly or bi-weekly team meetings work best. Create a high-performance environment that focuses on progress against goals. But feels safe for the managers to help each other, unblock projects and always stay aligned.

→ Create additional checkpoints. Checkpoints ensure your managers stay on top of things. Your early warning system. 1x1s for coaching and calibration. Quarterly reviews for deep dives. Occasional skip-levels to stay connected. But don’t overdo your 1 on 1s. Great managers shouldn’t need tons of special attention.

→ Don’t do their job for them. When your manager is struggling, it’s tempting to pick up their slack. Don’t. They need to own the outcome fully. You can coach them, help connect the dots, resource things. But don’t do the work for them. They’ll never develop into a strong manager this way.

→ Create P2P accountability. Peer-to-peer accountability is stronger than top-down. Great managers don’t want to let their peers down. Review each other’s goals. Share progress openly. Set standards together. Your team helps you keep the bar up for everyone.

→ Avoid over trusting. It’s tempting to say: “They’re experienced, they’ll figure it out.” This is blind faith. When a manager is sending off smoke signals through any of the prior steps. Missing goal after goal. Showing up weak at checkpoints. With no correction on the horizon. It’s time to take action. Don’t trust forever. The buck still stops with you.

⁂ 

Putting it all together... 

How to manage managers: 

• Provide context
• Work through manager
• Set team rhythm
• Create checkpoints 
• Don't' do their job
• Create p2p accountability 
• Avoid over-trusting

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How to manage managers (even as a newbie)

Most people think goals fail because the team screwed up. 

They’re wrong. 

99% of goals fail because of poor leadership.

It doesn’t matter what framework you use…

→ OKRs
→ Rocks
→ SMART

If you’re sloppy with your approach, the company won’t hit its goals. 

That’s on you. 

I learned this the hard way, running a company with hundreds of people. 

Now I see it working with nearly 100 CEOs across all industries. 

Here are 7 non-negotiable rules that will make your goal-setting 10x better…

(regardless of your framework) 

⁂

Rule 1 –  
Focus (then focus again):

• Maximum three goals, period
• Goals aren't task lists
• Everything priority = nothing priority

Rule 2 – 
Always be measurable: 

• Three metrics maximum per goal
• Measure outcomes, not tasks
• "$1M ARR" beats "update deck"

Rule 3 – 
Challenging but realistic: 

• Impossible goals kill momentum
• Stretch without delusion
• No sandbagging, mutual accountability

Rule 4 – 
Never forget the ‘why’: 

• No context leaves team guessing
• Each goal deserves a 'why'
• 1-3 sentence rationale

Rule 5 – 
Track consistently:

• Break annual into monthly
• Weekly red/yellow/green updates
• Never leave dashboards stale

Rule 6 – 
Create accountability:

• Use leadership meeting
• Address every yellow or red
• 20% status, 80% solving

Rule 7 – 
Align incentives:

• Pay goals to comp
• Ignore the OKR purists
• Bonus plan is perfect for this

Does this resonate? 
What rules would you add?
Let me know in the comments 👇

 ⁂

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How to actually achieve your company goals in 2026

If there's one thing you do on Linkedin today... 

I'd be forever grateful if you'd consider applying, or sharing this role with someone you really respect. 

Christopher Himes & I started dreaming up this company about a year ago.  Now the dream has turned to reality. 

With a fresh round, a tiny team of insane talent, and a massive opportunity in front of us... 

We. are. ready. to. go!

Who wants to join us? 

p.s. We're not listing this company as "stealth" because that's dumb. But you'll learn way more about the market, opportunity and product when you apply. Trust me its badass. 

🔥

Evan Nierman

Red Banyan

Red Banyan is a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, crisis management and marketing.  Red Banyan Group combines creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to achieving results for its clients.  Red Banyan offers a wide array of services, including: media relations, crisis management, marketing, corporate communications, litigation support, social and digital media, copywriting and editing and media training.

Founder and CEO

Entrepreneurs'​ Organization

Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Member 

Green Bullion Financial Services

Director of Public Relations

Saylor Company

Principal

AIPAC

Editorial Director and Executive Editor of Near East Report

Communications Associate and Managing Editor of Near East Report

Communications Assistant

Founder & CEO, Red Banyan PR | Author of Top-Rated Newsletter on Communications Best Practices

My team and I are focusing on STRATEGY and RESULTS. I lead an international PR and crisis management firm that exists to press the truth.  We empower clients to achieve business goals using strategic communications. We specialize in crisis management, high-stakes PR, and complex assignments requiring creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to exceeding expectations.

Red Banyan Group is a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, crisis management and marketing.  Red Banyan Group combines creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to achieving results for its clients.  Red Banyan offers a wide array of services, including: media relations, crisis management, marketing, corporate communications, litigation support, social and digital media, copywriting and editing and media training.

Titles change. Companies reorganize. Projects end.
But your mission is what stays.

I see this every day in crisis PR.

People who attach themselves to roles, personalities, or status lose direction the moment pressure rises.

People who attach themselves to a mission stay steady even when the narrative falls apart.

In high-pressure situations the difference is striking:

a.) Leaders who cling to titles look for protection.
b.) Leaders who cling to purpose create solutions.

When a leader centers their compass on a goal instead of ego, the team immediately knows how to respond under pressure.

This shapes reputation from the inside long before the outside world sees it.

If you want stability in difficult moments, start here:

Anchor yourself to values, not positions.

Positions shift. Integrity remains.

Focus on mission, not personalities.

Preferences crack under pressure. 

Mission keeps direction.

Build a culture where purpose leads and titles follow.

This creates a team that holds together even when the silence gets uncomfortable.

In crisis PR, purpose is the most reliable navigation tool.

Reputation begins at the point where you choose to attach yourself.

Follow Evan Nierman for insights on crisis PR, leadership under pressure, and reputation management.

A reality check for any leader: 
Your crisis plan is only as strong as the person who goes first.

Most teams assume a crisis will activate responsibility automatically.

They think the plan will guide everyone.

They expect people to step in at the right moment.

But crises do not work that way.

The real breakdown happens when every person waits for a signal that never comes.

Hesitation does more damage than the crisis itself.

A crisis-ready team runs on four behaviors:

1. Awareness → People notice early signs instead of assuming “it will pass.”
Awareness stops problems before they spread.

2. Initiative → Someone steps forward even if it is not part of their role.
Initiative prevents escalation.

3. Communication → Information moves quickly and clearly.
No gaps, no guessing, no confusion.

4. Follow-through → What starts gets finished.
No loose ends for the public to fill with their own narrative.

Without these behaviors, plans stay on paper and the crisis gains control.

With them, the team acts with clarity and the situation stabilizes before it spirals.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis leadership and responsible communication.

In every crisis, the same problem appears:
everyone waits for someone else.

Most crises don’t escalate because of external pressure.

They escalate because of internal silence.

In organizations without a clear chain of responsibility, the same pattern emerges: everyone assumes it’s “someone else’s job.”

And while that pause drags on, the internet becomes the spokesperson.

A vacuum in a crisis never stays empty.

If you don’t fill it, the narrative will.

Leadership in a crisis isn’t delegation.

Leadership means the first sentence, the first move, and the first signal come from you not from the chaos around you.

The most dangerous phrase in crisis PR is: “I assumed.”

When a crisis hits, it must be unmistakably clear who speaks, who leads, and who owns the response because while the team hesitates, the reputation burns.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis PR and reputation management.

Most leaders think reputation is built in public.
It’s not.

They believe it comes from visibility, press coverage, or polished messaging.

They focus on what people see.

But perception starts long before that.

Reputation isn’t a performance.

It’s a reflection of what’s practiced in private.

The late-night calls.

The decisions no one tweets about.

The tone you use with your team when stress peaks.

That’s what the public eventually feels.

If you want lasting credibility:

1.) Build habits that align with your values.
2.) Communicate clearly, even when unseen.
3.) Make the same decisions off-camera that you would on-camera.

Without that discipline, every crisis feels like exposure.

With it, crisis becomes confirmation that your integrity is real.

Reputation is what people discover when the spotlight hits.

Integrity is what you do before it does.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis PR & reputation management.

Reputation is what people believe about you. 
Character is who you are when no one is watching.

You can shape reputation.

You choose your message, control the narrative, and manage how you appear in public.

Character is different.

It is built in the unseen moments.

In choices that cost you something.

In how you treat people who cannot offer you anything in return.

Here is the truth many leaders learn late:

Reputation without character looks strong until pressure hits. 

Then it collapses.

Reputation is external. 

Character is internal.

When they do not align, that gap becomes the crisis.

You can polish reputation.

You cannot fake character.

People may believe the image for a while.

But character shows itself over time in patterns and consistency.

Character is what survives the crisis.

If it is real, you rebuild.

If it is not, everything falls apart.

Leaders who last are not the ones with the best PR.

They are the ones whose private behavior matches their public words.

Reputation may open the door.

Character is what keeps you in the room.

Follow Evan Nierman for weekly insights on leadership, integrity and what endures.

The way you treat people when no one’s watching
says more about your leadership than any title ever could.

I’ve seen this in boardrooms, startups, and crisis situations.

The leaders who earn trust under pressure are the ones who lead with respect, not authority.

Reputation doesn’t begin with public perception.

It begins in private moments how you speak to assistants, interns, or colleagues when stress peaks.

Those quiet interactions shape culture. 

And culture shapes how your organization responds when challenges appear.

If you want lasting trust, start here:

1.) Respect without hierarchy.
People notice how you treat those who can’t advance your career. Respect creates loyalty that outlasts titles.

2.) Listen before reacting.
When pressure rises, the instinct is to speak first. Listening shows discipline — and builds confidence in your judgment.

3.)Treat every role as essential.
No crisis is solved alone. When people feel valued, they take ownership — and that’s where real resilience begins.

Leading with title earns compliance.

Leading with respect earns commitment.

Reputation is built on how people feel in your presence, not on your résumé.

Follow for weekly insights on leadership, crisis PR, and reputation management.

A client once told me: "I don't want to apologize. I want to win."
That's when I knew we had a problem.

He was furious.

The media was running a story he believed was unfair.

The facts, in his view, were being twisted.

And his instinct was to fight back. Publicly. Loudly.

To "set the record straight."

To win.

I understood the impulse.

When you're being criticized—fairly or not—the natural reaction is to defend yourself.

To prove you're right.

To make everyone see your side.

But here's what I told him:
"You can win the argument and lose everything else."

Because in a crisis, winning isn't about being right.

It's about being trusted.

And trust doesn't come from fighting.

It comes from how you show up when things go wrong.

Here's what happens when ego drives crisis response:

You focus on being right instead of being heard. 

People don't care about your ten-point rebuttal. 

They care whether you understand their concern.

You turn critics into enemies. 

When you fight back, you escalate. 

And escalation rarely ends in your favor.

You lose the people in the middle. 

The ones who were willing to listen? 

They stop listening when you start swinging.

The conversation I had with that client wasn't easy.

But eventually, he understood:

The goal isn't to win.
It's to resolve.

To move through the crisis with your reputation intact.

To show humility when humility is called for—and strength when strength is needed.

We didn't issue a combative statement.

We acknowledged the concern. 

Clarified the facts calmly. 

Focused on what we were doing moving forward.

No victory lap. No "gotcha" moment.

Just accountability and action.

The story faded.

The relationship with his stakeholders held.

And he learned something more valuable than winning an argument:
In crisis, ego is a liability.

Strategy is what saves you.

Follow for weekly insights on strategy and leadership under pressure.

The verdict doesn't matter if you've already lost in the court of public opinion. Litigation PR has changed.

It used to be simple: Don't comment on pending litigation. 

Let the lawyers handle it. 

Stay quiet until the judge rules.

That strategy doesn't work anymore.

Because while your legal team is preparing motions, the other side is shaping the narrative on social media, cable news, and in the press.

And by the time the case settles or goes to trial, public perception is already locked in.

Here's what's different now:

The court of public opinion moves faster than the courtroom.

A lawsuit gets filed. 

Within hours, it's trending.

You can't wait 18 months for discovery to tell your side of the story.

The damage is happening now.

Silence reads as guilt.

"No comment" used to be safe.

Now it looks like evasion.

If you're not telling your story, someone else will and their version will stick.

Juries Google.

Even when judges instruct them not to, jurors search for information.

What they find online influences how they interpret the evidence in court.
Settlements don't erase headlines.

You can settle the case. 

You can't settle the reputation damage.

If the narrative is "they did something wrong and paid to make it go away," that story lives forever.

What effective litigation PR looks like today:

1. Legal and PR working together from day one. Not as adversaries. As partners with a shared goal: protect the client.

2. Proactive messaging that tells your side without compromising the case. You can communicate strategically while respecting legal boundaries.

3. Stakeholder management beyond the courtroom. Employees. Investors. Customers. They're making decisions now based on what they see—not waiting for a verdict.

4. Digital reputation management. Ensuring your narrative isn't buried by the opposition's spin.

The goal isn't to win the PR battle and lose the legal one.

It's to protect your reputation while you fight the case—so when it's over, you still have a business to run.

Litigation PR isn't optional anymore.

It's essential.

Because even if you win in court, losing in public can cost you everything.

Follow for weekly insights on litigation communications and reputation protection.

If you're delivering bad news over email, you've already lost the relationship.
I see it all the time.

The termination notice sent at 5 PM on a Friday.

The policy change buried in a mass email.

The apology that reads like it was drafted by legal and approved by no one with a pulse.

Leaders hide behind screens when things get hard.

And it always backfires.

Because bad news delivered without presence feels like cowardice.

And cowardice destroys trust faster than the bad news itself.

Here's why email fails in crisis:

1.) It removes accountability. You can't see the person's reaction. 

You can't answer their questions. 

You can't adjust based on how they're receiving it.

You just send it—and hope it lands okay.

2.) It feels transactional. Email says: "This is a task I needed to complete."

A conversation says: "This matters enough for me to show up."

3.) Tone gets lost. What you meant as direct reads as cold. 

What you meant as professional reads as detached.

And in a crisis, tone is everything.

4.) It invites misinterpretation. People fill in the gaps. 

They read between the lines. They assume the worst.

Because when you're not there to clarify, they're left to imagine your intent.

The hard conversations—the ones that matter most—deserve your presence.

Not your inbox.

That means:

→ A phone call when you can't be there in person.
→ A video meeting when you need to see their face.
→ A real conversation—not a one-way broadcast.

Yes, it's uncomfortable.

Yes, it takes more time.

Yes, it's harder than hitting "send."

But leadership isn't about efficiency.

It's about integrity.

And integrity shows up.

Even when—especially when—the news is bad.

Follow for weekly insights on communication, presence, and leadership.

Five words that never work in a crisis:
"It was just a joke."

I’ve heard this defense after an offensive tweet, a tone-deaf comment, or a video that “wasn’t meant seriously.”

Every time, it makes things worse.

Intent doesn't matter. Impact does.

You may have meant it as humor, but if it landed as hurtful or dismissive, that is what counts.

Explaining your intent doesn't erase the impact. 

It only sounds like avoiding accountability.

Humor doesn't land the same for everyone.

What is funny to you may be insulting to someone else.

Sarcasm gets lost. Tone gets misread.

And you do not get to control how people receive it.

"Just joking" sounds like minimizing.

People hear:

"You're overreacting."
"You're too sensitive."
"I'm not responsible."

That never ends well.

The internet doesn't care about your intentions.

A joke that fails in a room is awkward.

A joke that fails online is permanent.

Screenshots keep the words, not the tone.

What to do instead:

Own the impact.

"I meant it as humor, but I see how it landed, and I'm sorry."

Skip the justification.

Don't explain why they shouldn't be offended. 

Acknowledge that they are.

Know your audience.

Not every joke fits every context.

The best communicators understand this:

You don’t decide how your words are received.

You only decide whether you'll stand by them or own the mistake.

Follow for weekly insights on communication, accountability, and reputation.

Microsoft just bought a 27% stake in OpenAI.
On paper, it's a business deal. In reality,

it's a power shift that changes everything about who controls the future of AI.

And most people aren't paying attention.

Here's what just happened:

OpenAI—the company that gave us ChatGPT—was structured as a nonprofit with a mission: develop AI that benefits humanity, not shareholders.

Now it's becoming a public benefit corporation.

With Microsoft holding significant equity.

Translation: the guardrails just got weaker.

And the profit motive just got stronger.

This isn't just a tech story.

It's a reputation and accountability story.

Because when innovation moves faster than regulation, trust becomes the only thing holding the system together.

And trust is fragile.

Here's what this deal reveals:

Power and accountability are diverging.

Microsoft gains influence. OpenAI gains capital.

But who's accountable when something goes wrong?

When AI makes a harmful decision, who answers for it—the nonprofit mission or the corporate investor?

The structure just got more complicated. And complexity is where accountability dies.

The narrative is shifting before the public realizes it.

Most people still think of OpenAI as the "good guys" in AI development.

Independent. Mission-driven. Different from Big Tech.

But this deal quietly erodes that distinction.

And once the public catches on, the backlash will be swift.

Innovation is outpacing oversight.

AI development is moving at a pace regulators can't match.

New models. New capabilities. New risks.

And the companies building it are writing their own rules—because no one else can keep up.

That's a reputation time bomb.

Three lessons for communicators navigating the AI era:

1.) Transparency isn't optional anymore.
The days of "move fast and explain later" are over.

If your company is pushing boundaries in AI, you need to communicate what you're doing, why, and who's accountable—before someone else defines it for you.

2.) Mission statements won't protect you.

Saying you're committed to safety and ethics doesn't mean anything if your structure prioritizes profit.

The public is learning to look past the messaging and examine the incentives.

3.) One misstep reshapes trust overnight.

AI mistakes don't just hurt your brand. They reshape public perception of the entire industry.

When trust is the only thing preventing regulation or backlash, you can't afford to get it wrong.

This deal is a signal.

The AI race is accelerating.

And the companies that win won't just be the most innovative.

They'll be the ones who figured out how to build trust while everyone else was just building technology.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis management in the age of rapid innovation.

The video went viral within hours.



Erratic driving. Swerving across lanes. 

Tailgating. Confused explanations.

Britney Spears is struggling and the people who should be protecting her brand either can't reach her, or aren't there.

This is what happens when crisis management fails before the cameras start rolling.

Her family, once accused of micromanaging under conservatorship, is now reportedly uninvolved. She's entirely on her own.

That absence is a brand liability playing out in real time.

For public figures, a functioning support system is essential reputation management. Without close advisors and a competent crisis team, minor incidents escalate into viral PR disasters.

What every crisis team should learn:

1. Act before the cameras roll.

Warning signs were there—erratic posts, fractured relationships, behavioral shifts insiders likely noticed months ago.

Waiting until damage goes viral is a fatal mistake.

2. Build a network, not an audience.

Fans aren't advisors. Real stability comes from legal, emotional, and strategic professionals who can say "no."

If no one in the inner circle has that role, the inner circle is the problem.

3. Control the narrative—or be controlled by it.

Her Instagram follow-up was confusing, rambling, unsupervised. It made things worse.

Messaging needs to be intentional. Not every thought belongs online.

4. Understand the cost of visibility.

Britney Spears is a brand with cultural equity, legacy value, and commercial interest.

When celebrities become unstable in public, they jeopardize the long-term viability of their brand.

5. Have a comeback plan before the crisis hits.

Image rehabilitation must begin in calm moments, not after public collapse.

The Reality:

Once the video goes viral, you're not managing a crisis.

You're managing the aftermath of one that's been building for months.

When public figures lack a clear PR strategy, one misstep becomes an irreversible spiral.

Public life offers rewards, but also risk.

When the spotlight turns toxic, survival depends on having the right people, the right plan, and the ability to act fast.

Because if you don't manage your reputation, someone else will.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis intervention and reputation protection.

The House passing the Epstein files bill 427 to 1 is not the headline.
The real headline is what happens next.

Many people assume the release will simply reveal names and fuel public outrage.

They think the narrative will unfold on its own, driven by the documents alone.

It won’t.

The truth is that the decisive moments will unfold in the first 24 to 48 hours.
 
That is when teams move, stories shift and reputations are either protected or permanently damaged.

Here is the pattern that crisis professionals recognize immediately:

• rapid distancing from implicated networks
• controlled statements designed to anchor early perception
• coordinated messaging to shape how the public interprets new information
• quiet legal positioning before narratives harden

With preparation, reputations can be stabilized.
 
Without it, the public forms conclusions that become nearly impossible to reverse.

For a fuller breakdown of what the next phase will look like, see my crisis communications analysis on CBS LA:

https://lnkd.in/eNcjD88i

Excited to be a guest speaker at Broward College today. Sponsored by Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, this event highlights the importance of kindness in our lives and the impact each of us can make. #guestspeaker #browardcollege #education #kindnessmatters #leadership

Red Banyan has once again been named an Inc. Magazine Power Partner—recognized back-to-back as one of the top B2B firms in public relations. PROUD of the work we do, the IMPACT we create, and the TEAM that makes it happen. Grateful to the leaders who count on us when the stakes are highest. Recognition like this is earned by showing up, staying sharp, and delivering when it matters most.
#IncPowerPartners #RedBanyan #Leadership #CrisisPR #ReputationMatters

Open article: Red Banyan Named 2025 Inc. Power Partner | Red Banyan by redbanyan.com

Red Banyan Named 2025 Inc. Power Partner | Red Banyan

Even the most successful entrepreneurs have blind spots. 
I wrote this piece for Entrepreneurs'​ Organization's Inc. Magazine channel after seeing how often leaders overlook issues that quietly grow beneath the surface—especially when things are going well. Big takeaway? Success doesn’t erase your weaknesses. It often hides them. Staying aware is what separates leaders who grow from leaders who stall. 
Read the full article here:
https://lnkd.in/ei3ysW-x
#Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Growth #ReputationMatters

Open article: 5 Blind Spots That Sneak Up on Successful Entrepreneurs by inc.com

5 Blind Spots That Sneak Up on Successful Entrepreneurs

It’s not every day your work helps put a client in the dictionary. 
But that’s exactly what Red Banyan did.

Through focused media relations and strategic advocacy, our client’s insights were quoted by Merriam-Webster and cemented into the official definition of “radicalism.” A defining voice on a defining issue—with national impact.
This kind of influence doesn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of precision, consistency, and the right message delivered at the right time.

This is the power of strategic communications.
This is the power of Red Banyan.

See the dictionary citation: https://lnkd.in/eFzcmDE7
#StrategicComms #MediaRelations #ThoughtLeadership #CrisisPR #ReputationMatters #Authority

Glen Powell understands that reputation is the most valuable asset. He is smart and strategic about his every move, and it's paving the way to new levels of superstardom. My take in the Us Weekly cover story.#celebrity #publicrelatons #strategy

Open article: How Glen Powell Balances His Career, Dating and Life in Texas (Excl) by usmagazine.com

How Glen Powell Balances His Career, Dating and Life in Texas (Excl)

When a crisis occurs, customers shouldn’t be left to solve it themselves. 
As I shared with Business Insider, hospitality companies earn goodwill by removing the burden, not adding to it. Relocation, refunds, and clear guidance aren’t perks. They’re the basics. Read the full story:

Open article: Hilton's CEO says problem-solving keeps guests coming back by businessinsider.com

Hilton's CEO says problem-solving keeps guests coming back

Leadership means staying grounded when everything around you is uncertain.

I recently contributed this piece to EO on how today’s leaders can build resilience that actually lasts. Especially when times are turbulent, the habits you form before the crisis often define how you lead through it.
Grateful for the chance to share these ideas with the EO community—and would love to hear what’s worked for you. Read the full article here:
https://lnkd.in/eU_n8UCG
#Leadership #Resilience #Entrepreneurs #CrisisPR #StrategicComms

Open article: Developing Resilient Leadership Habits for Uncertain Times by eonetwork.org

Developing Resilient Leadership Habits for Uncertain Times

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