We used to call them philanthropists or just “generally good people,” but Ronn Torossian said there is another name entering the common lexicon for successful businesspeople who become social activists – the “social entrepreneur.”
360-degree feedback is the leadership-development discipline that measures effectiveness across direct reports, peers, supervisors, and self-assessment. Developed across the 1990s by the Center for Creative Leadership, Lominger (now Korn Ferry), and parallel organizational-psychology researchers, the methodology remains standard Fortune 500 infrastructure in 2026. The frameworks, the providers, and the five principles that determine whether it works.
Negotiation tactics for executives, founders, and communications leaders in 2026 — preparation density (now AI-amplified through Claude), anchor positioning, BATNA development, time pressure asymmetry, public attention discipline. ExxonMobil's 1999 merger, PepsiCo serial acquisition, partnership and JV negotiation, crisis and litigation, compensation, cross-border.
Yes. After more than two decades running a public relations firm, the difference between companies that treat PR as core business strategy and companies that treat it as a line item is the difference between compounding and disappearing. A founder's case for PR as investment.
Starbucks runs more philanthropy than most consumer brands its size. The Starbucks Foundation has distributed over $200M since 1997. Ethos Water has invested $24M+ in clean-water programs. The College Achievement Plan has produced 20,000+ graduates. Here is the current architecture, program by program — and why the model works.
In the quaint and peaceful days of … a couple years ago … Super Bowl advertisers actually waited until the, um, game to reveal their super selections. Not so much, anymore. In the days leading up to the Big Game, revealing early can mean tons of free publicity.
The global marketplace we live in has many inherent advantages, and a few stumbling blocks we ought to be aware of. For the unsuspecting marketer, the mistake of applying a blanket strategy to all cultural marketing initiatives is foolhardy.
The PR trends that actually matter in 2026 — eight structural shifts. AI Communications, Citation Share, founder-led publishing, AI-engine crisis pre-positioning. Named B-tier (Mercury, Ramp, Linear, Magic Spoon, Olipop) and C-tier (Resend, PostHog, Topicals, Vacation Inc.) exemplars throughout.
Harold Burson reported from Nuremberg at 24. Founded Burson-Marsteller in 1953 with Bill Marsteller. Died January 10, 2020, age 98. Built the doctrine that PR is a management function, not a publicity function — sixty years before the rest of the industry caught up.
Greenpeace has run confrontation-as-public-affairs since 1971. The 2026 Energy Transfer final judgment of $345 million is the largest legal test in decades — and the model still works.