{"id":28280,"date":"2013-06-08t08:38:22","date_gmt":"2013-06-08t12:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=28280"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:02","slug":"theres-a-leak-in-my-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2013\/06\/08\/theres-a-leak-in-my-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"there’s a leak in my firm"},"content":{"rendered":"
never mind who — why?<\/strong><\/p>\n by bruce w. marcus<\/em> ok, somebody talked to the press, and leaked information that shouldn’t have been leaked. that’s three problems, not one.<\/p>\n primary, of course, is how do we control the damage caused by the leak? then we worry about who did it.<\/p>\n the second problem is that who did it is frequently not as important as why it was done. that may be the more urgent damage to control. the problem caused by the press leak will go away by itself, most often. it has to be treated like any bad story, and we’ve talked a lot about that in the marcus letter. but the reason for the leak can be more stubborn to deal with, as is the mechanics of preventing leaks.<\/p>\n the mechanics of preventing leaks can be tricky, and that’s the third problem. if they’re mishandled, they can cause more damage to the firm than the leaks do.<\/p>\n leak prevention, on the face of it, can be pretty obvious. for example…<\/p>\n why people leak inside information<\/strong><\/p>\n it may be more important to find out why the information leaked. except to punish the individual — which may not always be warranted — the leak is really a symptom. people leak information for several reasons…<\/p>\n it’s this array of reasons for leaking that comprise the dangerous symptoms.<\/p>\n why should there be a ground for malice in a firm? is the management group aware of it?<\/p>\n what’s the cause of it? what must be done to eliminate it — or to eliminate the individual?<\/p>\n the self-important individual is usually easy to recognize. that individual should be identified, and kept from sensitive information, when possible.<\/p>\n politics is almost impossible to deal with in a firm, particularly a large one. the only solution is absolutely wise management. ok, as napoleon said, then give me lucky generals. but this kind of situation is a clue to a serious crisis in management. a poorly managed firm, one in which the callousness to the needs of the firm leads to hurting the firm for an individual or a group’s political advantage, is in serious trouble.<\/p>\n as for the other causes, they are primarily emotional or careless, they can be dealt with only by taking steps to make a point of not just the secrecy, but the reasons for it. if leaks are a problem, then firm management may have to make a point of patiently explaining how the firm is hurt by it, and how that affects every individual, including the person responsible for the leak. thoughtlessness and mindlessness are not tolerated in dealing with clients. why should they be tolerated in dealing with the firm?<\/p>\n on the face of it, leaks are a communications — and therefore a marketing — problem. but clearly, they are more than that, and should be treated accordingly.<\/p>\n the problem is that a leak in a firm is like a thief in the firm. it angers, beclouds, and saddens everybody. and everybody loses.<\/p>\n bruce w. marcus is a pioneer in professional services marketing and coauthor of “client at the core.” this is adapted from his new book, “professional services marketing 3.0,” available for purchase here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n copyright. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" never mind who — why? by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 ok, somebody talked to the press, and leaked information that shouldn’t have been leaked. that’s three problems, not one. primary, of course, is how do we control … continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1340,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-28280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-outlook","tag-marketing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n professional services marketing 3.0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n
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