“It’s the economy, Stupid.”   I was 15 (ah-hem) when that phrase became the soundbite of the Clinton-Gore ‘96 presidential campaign.   Today, the line still resonates.  Simplicity rules. Aka the “KISS” Rule.  In our post-Clinton, post-MTV, post-long-form world, we now daily battle the ongoing onslaught of information offered up by a 24/7 news media and a

Practice makes perfect. Yes, we all know that’s the rule, but when you’re the CEO or C-suite executive dealing with so many competing interests, how do you justify the time required to go into preparing for media interviews?   From my experience advising senior leaders in the private sector and the political arena, you can learn

It’s the quiet times that worry me the most — when things are humming along, operations are working fine, teams are collaborating as they should. Just business as normal.   To me, this is the time to think ahead: What happens when the unthinkable happens? Are you ready for that moment?  If your organization is ready

The terms “issues management” and “crisis management” may seem like they’re interchangeable, but nothing could be further from the truth. They’re actually quite different and require different approaches depending on a client’s circumstances.   My business partner Dennis Culloton likes to explain that a crisis is an issue that wasn’t managed. A metaphor I’ve heard compares

Celebrities. Mega-consumer brands. Fortune 500 companies. And of course, former presidents.  No one is immune from a crisis, even your average Joes can fall victim to a crisis by going viral for the wrong reason.   As we like to say, it’s not a matter of it but when a crisis will strike.  When in crisis,

You would have to be living under a rock to have missed the cryptocurrency scandal surrounding FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. As his world began to crumble, we watched him turn to all public avenues from media interviews to social media channels to clear his name. This surely made all crisis communications experts like myself

By Eleni Demertzis “The best competition I have is against myself, to become better.” That’s a quote by the legendary basketball coach John Wooden that my dad instilled in me at a young age. It’s a mantra that has followed me through my career (and life) that motivates me to always be better, learn

In 2021, Courtney joined CBL as a Senior Consultant, focusing on her specialty, healthcare issues advocacy and crisis management. She works with our range of healthcare industry clients, from hospital systems to long-term care organizations, advising them on how to navigate the regulatory arenas in Springfield and Chicago. To celebrate her 1-year anniversary with

By Natalie Bauer Luce I first met Dennis Culloton at a fundraiser in Bucktown for Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.   After a brief chat and a few big laughs at his prime one-liners, we exchanged business cards, and I thought that was that.   How wrong I was.  Little did I know in the