Three plans in 22 months: Nike's problem isn't the language

Nike's comms team ran a textbook restructuring announcement on a 13-year stock low. The gap is above them: Win Now, Sport Offense, and now Pace, and comms that has to insist the newest one isn't a strategy.

When Your CEO's Exit Announcement Belongs to Someone Else

Mattel's CEO succession announcement was done well under brutal timing. Here's why it still read like a rupture, and the two sentences that might have changed that

Nidec is losing its CEO and writing off billions

Nidec confirmed its CEO is going and a very large loss is coming, then let media fill the vacuum. After a year of estimates that only went up, here's what I'd tell any CCO or board heading into the same week.

Buffett's last letter puts culture above a trillion dollars in assets

Reputation just got a job title above the CEO's at a trillion-dollar company. Here's what the letter says, where the role gets tested, and the follow-up that should come next.

How Apple’s new CEO claimed the future without rejecting the past

Apple's new CEO echoed Steve Jobs in his first product keynote and the iPhone's biggest promise now has a deadline. Plus, Nike's out of the S&P 100.

VW and Managing Change with a Long Middle

VW's factory closure deadline is 10 months away. When the outcome is still being negotiated, here's what's left to communicate. Plus, why do apologies keep going up with comments turned off?

Apple vs Lululemon: the CEO handoff

Same CEO succession calendar, opposite outcomes at Apple and Lululemon. Plus, the full comms teardown of how Apple choreographed Tim Cook's departure.

The Good Good Golf fallout continues

Good Good's CEO sent a very bad bad 3 am post. Plus, Gap's CEO says Old Navy's problem is pricing, so why was his answer about ad views?

Meta's settlement comms made it a competitor's problem

Meta is paying $5 billion to get TikTok and YouTube regulated. Plus, inflation is hot again and a rate hike is back on the table. Here's what this means for your internal/external messaging.

Neutrogena broke its silence and leaves more to answer for

Neutrogena issued a statement that admits a feeling and blames the wait on a grieving family. Plus Goldman counted who's talking about AI on earnings calls

What Corporate America says when $100 billion comes back

Every company is getting the same refund question this earnings cycle. Plus Target's CEO is six months into the most-watched turnaround in retail without once saying the word 'turnaround.'

Where are you, Neutrogena?

Neutrogena declines comment through a second Panettiere news cycle, so I wrote a statement for them. Plus NIPSCO's words are fine amid its weeklong outage but the substance isn't backing it up.

A tale of two apologies: Flock and Equinox

Flock's fine print, Equinox's two statements, and the betting line on your next earnings call that IR should be investigating.

Saber's comms team wrote a good statement and the CEO destroyed it

The Tata chairman's honest resignation letter cost $4.6 billion and a Saber statement that survived less than a day once the CEO started talking.

Retailers are racing to prove they're cheaper while paychecks shrink

The American consumer got poorer, retailers are naming prices down to the penny while DC tries to claim them, and Wendy's announced a turnaround it hasn't finished writing.

The oil industry's record quarter in the flattest possible voice

Starbucks Korea now under criminal investigation for their Tank Day promotion, and the oil industry just posted its best quarter ever without a word of celebration.

In-N-Out communicates through the unimaginable

The statement In-N-Out's owner wrote herself, and the startup apology that turned one bad day into many.

Sony got the decision right but it's running out of time on the delivery

The math backs Sony's call but the August 23 boycott is a different test than an earnings call. Plus: the settlement that closed X's lawsuit against its own advertisers.

Starbucks built a strategic narrative the market trusts

Niccol's two-year message finally cashes out — and now comes the hard part. Plus: OpenAI's models broke into Hugging Face on their own; how each company talked about it depends entirely on where they were standing

The memos behind this week's layoffs and lawsuits

Porsche, Visa, Paramount and BuzzFeed all delivered hard news this week. Each memo tells you exactly who the writer was working for.

Cracker Barrel fixed the business but it couldn't fix the CEO

Cracker Barrel's fine print, GMMTV's queue problem, and the slide mistake probably already waiting in your next deck.

Taylor Farms' founder tries to change the subject

Four companies preparing for earnings this week needing to explain what their AI money bought, and a lettuce baron would rather discuss how little salad America is eating.

The tariff clock resets just in time for earnings season

A new tariff clock resets with next August's deadline already circled on the calendar, and BYD prices the same mistake twice before its customers do the math for them

Meta's threat about leakers leaks

The leak Meta can't stop causing, and the letter IBM should've sent in February.

Games Done Quick's 3-hour apology