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The Flack

The Flack™ for Friday, September 10, 2021

The Flack highlights changes and trends in the news, examples of communications practices, and content we at BYRNE PR thought you might find useful.

We hope you enjoy, and we always welcome your feedback.

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How U.S. Generals Thrived After Afghanistan — General Stanley McChrystal, like many military leaders before and after him, has thrived since retiring from the military and entering the private sector. McChrystal has made millions by starting a consultancy, sitting on numerous corporate boards and embarking on lucrative public speaking gigs. The Washington Post digs into the debate of whether military leaders are equipped to lead in the corporate world and explores the ethics of profiting from a military career.

Customer Discovers a $350 Lego Set Was Missing Pieces. The Company’s Response Was Brilliant — A customer stumbles upon a hard-to-find Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina Lego set at Target. The set contains more than 3,000 pieces, has a 400-page instruction booklet and retails for $350. But when the customer begins assembling the set, he realizes, in horror, the set is missing pieces. Inc. highlights Lego’s spot-on response.

13 Words And Phrases To Banish From Crisis Communications — Having a solid crisis communications plan won’t prevent crises from happening, but it can prevent them from getting worse. It also can help an organization manage and learn from each situation. And when it comes to writing a crisis communications plan, word choice matters. A lot. Forbes offers 13 words and phrases to avoid during a crisis.

A New Navy Weapon Actually Stops You From Talking — Have you ever dreamt of having a magic power that could instantly stop people from talking? Well, apparently, so has the U.S. Navy. This new, non-lethal weapon is called acoustic hailing and disruption (AHAD), and it acts like an annoying sibling by recording and broadcasting the speaker’s voice back at them within milliseconds, disrupting the speaker’s concentration to the point where they can no longer speak. Interesting Engineering has the story.

Delta CEO Won’t Say, “Delta Variant,” And Hilarity EnsuesDelta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian has refused to utter the words, “Delta variant.” Apparently, Mr. Bastian didn’t want his airline to be associated with such negative language. Instead, he has been referring to it as B.1.617.2, or “the variant.”  Sometimes we make it too easy for late-night hosts.

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What We’re Reading:  Digital Body Language: How To Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance

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flack

noun

: one who provides publicity

flack

verb

: to act as a press agent or promoter for something

The word flack was first used as a noun meaning “publicity agent” during the late 1930s. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack.