Anthony Weiner: Can He Save His Job and Rebuild His Brand?
Congressman Anthony Weiner is having a pretty miserable week at work. Will the Twitter scandal ruin his career? Will he heed the calls for his resignation?
I asked branding expert Dan Schawbel just how bad the damage is -- and if Weiner can repair his reputation and keep his job, a la Bill Clinton, or if he's entered into Charlie Sheen territory. Plus, is there anything we can learn from his indiscretions and how he handled them?
From a PR perspective, how would you rate Anthony Weiner's apology?
His apology was forced and contrived by his superiors. Despite his tears and statements about his wife, the public is well aware that he can't be trusted now, and the reason Weiner is in office is because people trusted him.
I sort of felt for the guy -- but you didn't buy it?
No. It wasn't effective because it should have been done upfront and not after he sold the public on a false story.
Who gave the best public apology -- Tiger Woods, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Anthony Weiner?
All three of them have been dishonest because they feel like the rules don't apply to them. All three scripted and practiced [their apologies] many times since they all have publicists analyzing their every move.
What would you recommend Weiner do next to rebuild his brand?
Weiner should relinquish his role as a politician because he sets a bad example for America and makes our country look foolish. Incidents like this distract us from the major issues that are affecting our country such as the economy.
So what can we learn from Weiner's downfall?
Several things: Your professional and personal lives have converged because of the internet. What you do online can impact how you're perceived in the workplace. It's important to understand that everything you publish can come back to haunt you at some point down the road. If you make a mistake, you have to own up to it immediately.
Any other tips for not letting personal indiscretions ruin your career?
1. Own the mistake and apologize to all the parties involved without making any excuses for your actions.
2. If you're a high performing worker, you will be able to keep your job unless you hurt your company's public reputation.
3. Depending on how big of a mistake you made, you might want to resign so that you don't suffer further humiliation.
4. Clean up your digital presence and remove all negative posts, tweets, etc.
5. Start publishing content around your passion and expertise to take the place of negative press coverage.
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