Entropy, dangerous ideas and asshole lawyers
- Common sense PR writes about sucking it up when getting hammered by the press. It’s not always the best strategy but it is sometimes the only viable approach. Brands often remain intact, if not stronger, after severe PR crises. Allow time to diffuse the difficult.
- They’re what what make America great and distinguish the country from many others. They are also what many Americans fear and loathe: dangerous ideas. Richard Dawkins presents Steven Pinker’s “In Defense of Dangerous Ideas.”
- Courtesy of Bob Sutton, the Village Voice writes about New York’s “Most Obnoxious Lawyer,” who was recently disbarred, in an unprecedented move, for being a total asshole. This suggests that, as individuals, we send our own brand messages. This is not to suggest we abide by strict societal standards of behavior; quite the contrary, as many proudly build their image on shedding norms. Rather, as the Voice sums up:
“Go too far in the other direction, though, and you wind up as someone who won’t let go of anything. And (lawyer Kenny) Heller has paid for that. After 50 years of unleashing his wrath verbally or by filing misconduct complaints or lawsuits against anyone who got in his way—judges, attorneys, expert witnesses, district attorneys, and even the governor—Heller was left pleading for mercy from those to whom he had never shown any. After claiming that people were out to get him, they finally did.”
