In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll serve up their second annual Thanksgiving roundup of the year’s biggest corporate comms stories. They revisit three defining moments: the tariff turmoil that forced CEOs into strategic silence, Mark Benioff’s abrupt and confusing political pivot, and the astronomer CEO’s viral kiss-cam crisis. Across each case, they examine why timing, intent, and internal preparedness shape whether silence protects or exposes a company. For PR and corporate reputation professionals, this episode highlights how leaders can manage vacuum moments, avoid improvisation disasters, and maintain credibility when stakes are high.
Takeaways- Silence only works when it is managed, signaled, and backed by a clear internal stance.
- Trade groups can offer insulation, but individual CEO voices still carry more narrative impact.
- CEO improvisation creates reputational risk when personal commentary blurs with corporate messaging.
Topics Mentionedstrategic silence, tariff communications, political alignment, CEO freelancing, corporate values, crisis governance, resignation sequencing, reputational recovery, timing strategy, stakeholder expectations, brand signaling
Companies MentionedS&P, American Eagle, Salesforce, Tesla, ICE, Astronomer
Episode Hashtags#SP500 #AmericanEagle #Salesforce #Tesla #ICE #Astronomer #CorporateCommunications #CrisisManagement #ReputationStrategy #LeadershipCommunication #StakeholderEngagement #PublicAffairs #CrisisPlaybook #StrategicSilence #NarrativeControl #PRStrategy #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #OCRNetwork
Communication Breakdown is a production of the
Observatory on Corporate Reputation.
Hosted by Craig Carroll and Steve Dowling.
Produced by
Shawn P Neal and the team at
AdvoCast.
For questions, feedback, or episode suggestions, reach out at podcast@ocrnetwork.com
