Too Clothes To Call

Nedra here – one thing I learned in my many years on the presidential campaign trail is the fine art of packing light.

In an election year, the campaign apparatus moves fast. One year I stayed in more than 250 hotel rooms. And in these final couple weeks, the candidates and their entourage can hit three to five states in a single day. Running and gunning like that, you don’t want an extra ounce. 

Old habits die hard. Last week I spent seven days on a trip to California for a mix of business and pleasure and took only a large purse. Photo proof above of just what was packed inside. 

Here are the biggest packing space wasters you can take out of your bag if you also want to lighten your load in the spirit of the Election Season: 

👠 Wearing the same pair of shoes the entire trip will leave you footloose and fancy free.
🧥 Nothing more than the jacket on your back.
🧴 I don’t hate you because you’re beautiful, but your hotel or host can provide all the products you really need.
📚 Books are another hard one to leave behind, I know, but this is why God created e-readers.
😴 Really consider what you need to sleep in–maybe just a t-shirt, or even less!

FGS Global recently moderated a panel discussion at the annual Women, Influence & Power in Law conference in Chicago on managing risk in the era of geopolitical tensions and divisive social issues. Panelists discussed the increasing pressure on businesses to engage in conversations about political, social and cultural issues and how to best mitigate risk. Some key takeaways included:

• Establish an issues framework. Companies should develop a defensible framework or formal process to determine when to engage on external or controversial topics. This framework must be applied consistently to prevent organizations from engaging on hot button issues, or declining to engage, without fully considering the upside and downside potential impacts.

• Know your audience. Evaluating issues is not an exact science – it requires judgment and depends on the nature of the issue and the context of the discussion. Considerations should include how important the issue is to key constituencies, any precedent set, how the position will age, legal risk and whether engaging on an issue aligns with the company’s mission, values and strategy.

• Ensure communications-legal coordination. The uncertainty of the shifting geopolitical landscape can lead to companies making communications missteps early when an issue or tensions flare up, which can be hard to overcome.​ With legal and communications teams working together from the outset, companies will have the best chance of identifying and navigating legal and reputational landmines, both foreseeable and hidden.​

Despite fears of chaos from the business community, the SEC’s new cybersecurity disclosure rule has had minimal Market Impact. A recent analysis by FGS Global’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy team reveals companies have not experienced dramatic stock price fluctuations following cybersecurity incident disclosures. 

With just 43 companies disclosing cyber incidents as of September 30, the anticipated surge in disclosures has failed to materialize – and investors have for the most part shrugged these disclosures off.

Share prices of the vast majority of companies that disclosed these incidents remained virtually unchanged. In the first trading day after disclosure, share prices on average fell 0.7%:

• 17 dropped more than 0.5%

• 18 rose more than 0.5%

• 8 were virtually unchanged

After the first week of trading, share prices on average were down 2.1%:

• 23 dropped more than 0.5%

• 16 rose more than 0.5%

• 4 were virtually unchanged

While these findings suggest that companies may not need to worry about the impact of these disclosures on their stock, many are still struggling to navigate these new requirements – all while facing unprecedented scrutiny over their communications strategies. As reputations hang in the balance, companies should develop detailed communications plans for responding to cyber incidents, then test them and update them as needed.

For more on these findings, please check out the WSJ analysis. The FGS Global Cybersecurity and Data Privacy team can be reached at cybertaskforce@fgsglobal.com.