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How to Tell When an Organization Doesn't Pass the Smell Test May 2003 Employees often know what's really going on with the business by partaking in watercooler gossip. A crisis manager newsletter produced by Jonathan Bernstein takes employee knowledge of internal affairs one step further by asking them to share when they know a company isn't passing the "smell test" -- defined by Wordspy.com as a "metaphorical test used to determine the legitimacy or authenticity of a situation." You know that a situation doesn't pass the smell test when your quarterly earnings report spontaneously combusts...or when the Dilbert cartoons in your cubicle don't seem so funny anymore...or when the company firewall blocks access to Monster.com!
Crisis Manager is an email newsletter published twice monthly "for those who are crisis managers, whether they want to be or not." Bernstein invited readers to participate in a "smell test" contest, the full results of which are reported at www.crisisnewsletter.com .
"Some of these may seem tongue-in-cheek, but I know of many organizations that have had near-identical situations!" said Bernstein, who is also president of crisis management consultancy Bernstein Communications. Here are some of his favorites, along with the names of those who submitted them.
You know a situation doesn't pass the smell test when:
There is, Bernstein noted, a serious side to this news. "Despite the humor that may be implicit in some of these smell test tips, there's a practical lesson to be learned from each of them," said Bernstein. "There's no substitute for professional public relations analysis, common sense and gut checks."
2003 SmartPros Ltd. All rights reserved.
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