Category Archives: Culture

Elon Musk and Twitter: A case study on self-made crisis

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While Elon Musk may joke about Twitter’s potential demise, many of the company’s crises are being caused by its new owner

Mass firings and resignations, the loss of millions in advertising revenues, and arguments between employees and the new owner playing out in public; Elon Musk only bought Twitter less than a month ago, but both have been living in a constant state of crisis since then.

From the beginning the signs were not good. Elon Musk disbanded Tesla’s communications function in 2020. And yet, despite the need to clearly spell out his vision to the workforce, the new CEO canned Twitter’s communications function shortly after taking over.

What was left was a vacuum of information. Employees were left waiting to listen to Elon Musk (introductory town halls were both arranged and cancelled at short notice), and had to turn to Twitter or the media to know what was the vision of their new CEO and learn about what actions he was taking.

Rather than listening to his employees, Musk would often make grand statements on what was or wasn’t working at Twitter via his own Twitter account. Rather than taking in feedback from Twitter’s engineers who would try to correct him, Elon fired those who disagreed with him (both in public and on the company’s internal communication channels).

Elon Musk clearly believes that he can transform Twitter’s famously open culture to one that resembles Tesla or SpaceX. His Twitter employees clearly disagree. For those that remained after the first couple of firing rounds, the last straw seems to have been his Twitter 2.0 message, in which he told the remaining employees they had to work harder and longer hours.

The message has spurred mass resignations, including of key functions such as payroll and product safety. Media reports claim that Twitter’s remaining management are desperate to keep those engineers who are vital to maintaining the site at the company.

In many ways, the damage to morale is arguably irreversible. To quote one Twitter employee who spoke to the BBC, “I didn’t want to work for someone who threatened us over email multiple times about only ‘exceptional tweeps should work here’ when I was already working 60-70 hours weekly.”

For Musk, the question remains. Will he change how he manages Twitter and its people, before the platform collapses? Or will we continue to watch this crisis play out in real time, on the site?

What we have seen over the past couple of weeks is a clash of cultures (and communication styles). Twitter’s employees are passionate about what they do, they are committed to the platform, and they’ve always been open about their views. Take away the company culture, and you have little left. The company’s headcount is down from over seven thousand to about two thousand. We may be reaching a point where there’s not enough people to maintain the platform. And none of this was inevitable (well, at least not in the space of a month).

Whether Musk can turn this around is still up for debate. But the past couple of weeks will become a case study in self-inflicted crises. Elon Musk couldn’t or wouldn’t listen to staff, he didn’t communicate internally, he limited much of his interactions to a small group of people, and he wasn’t able to understand Twitter’s culture. His decisions and communication style grated with employees, meaning he effectively lost their support from the get-go. And the less said about his product decisions, the better. My thoughts are very much with the employees who kept Twitter going. They deserved better than this.

Erasing the UK’s Soft Power – The Closure of BBC Arabic Radio

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According to the BBC, the World Service currently reaches 148m people in an average week

Much of said of soft power, this notion of being able to influence and persuade others through concepts such as culture and entertainment. There is no better example of this than the British Broadcasting Corporation, better known as the BBC. For decades, the BBC has been the go-to place for information throughout much of the world. This was due to the BBC’s range of platforms, most especially its radio service.

This week, the BBC announced the closure of ten different language services on its radio network and the firing of 382 people. These languages include Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. While the BBC argues that many people will be able to listen online (and online numbers have been growing according to data released by the Corporation), BBC’s overall global reach in 2020 was 468 million people a week.

One has to wonder what this decision will mean, not just for the BBC (the service will still be running its Arabic-language television service and website), but for the United Kingdom in general. Many people in the world know the UK through the BBC, and primarily the radio service. Radio is easier and cheaper to obtain (especially on short wave), and it can be harder to block than a website.

The last time the BBC had to scrap an Arabic-language initiative was when it cancelled the planned-for news service at short notice. Qatar came in, snapped up the team and formed AlJazeera, which is arguably the most impactful television and online news service the region has.

Given that the UK government seems to be short-sighted enough to lose one of its most powerful soft power assets abroad (the total cost of radio for those ten languages is just under 30 million pounds a year), you do wonder who will come along and do another AlJazeera by setting up their own radio service with some of the most experience journalists and engineers in the radio industry.

What’s in a word? The difference between Gaming and Gambling…

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While many expats will get the meaning of the word gaming in this context, the meaning may not be so clear in Arabic and to local audiences

What is the importance of a word? As Shakespeare said, a rose is but a rose no matter what it may be called. However, words can have a great deal of meaning, especially when they refer to a subject that can be controversial. Take for example an announcement made yesterday by the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. The statement reads as below:

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has announced the formation of a new division focused on the regulation of integrated resorts. These include hotel operations, convention space, entertainment, restaurants and lounges, spa, retail and gaming facilities.

Following global best practices in the regulation of gaming that operate as part of integrated resorts across various jurisdictions worldwide, the Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation within RAKTDA will consider the social, cultural, and environmental landscape of the Emirate and cover licensing, taxation, operational procedures, and consumer safeguards. The foremost priority of this new division is to create a robust framework that will ensure responsible gaming at all levels.

The regulatory structure will address the entire gaming enterprise within integrated resorts, requiring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations (including financial crime laws) from operators, suppliers and employees. Additionally, the regulations will cover marketing, advertising, and financial transactions, ensuring that these areas comply with the Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation.

The question is what is “gaming”? There’s context here. US casino chain Wynn Resorts filed a regulatory note on Tuesday in the United States to announce plans to enter an agreement with the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah for “the development and subsequent management of an integrated resort.” The phrase, first coined in Singapore, refers to a hotel that includes a casino and other amenities and services.

Now, why does this matter you ask? Gambling is forbidden in Islam. And the issue is particularly sensitive in the peninsula of the Arabian Gulf, which is home to the religion’s two most sacred sites. There is no casino in the Gulf, despite the size of the tourism sector in a country like the UAE. And there are other casino operators in the country too; there is a Caesars Palace off of Dubai’s coastline (this property does not offer gambling and operates solely as a hotel, despite allegedly being designed like a casino). And yet, there are no operating casinos, as gambling is illegal onshore. The wording may also be a nod to Islamic religious sensitivities (the closest casinos to the region are in Lebanon and Egypt).

The gambling industry is massive – the casino and online gambling sector is worth over US$230 billion. And the industry is fast growing, at a double-digit annual compound growth rate over the past decade. Given that gambling markets tie into key geographic markets (think America, Europe, China, India and Israel), it would make economic sense for any hotel operator in the region to look at this area. And yet, the issue is the religious taboo, and the concern of what gambling may mean for the region’s young people especially; there’s little mention of the Arabic word for gambling in the local press (the exception being Arabic translations on international news sites and news wires).

And this is why the word “gaming” was used, rather than gambling. The meaning is understood in English, and the avoidance of the meaning is also clear to see in Arabic. Regardless of the wording being used and its obfuscation, the end result will be the same. Unless, Wynn will be truly opening the world’s first hotel resort fully equipped with PS5s and Xboxes. Now, that would be a sight to behold.

Can we please take corporate governance seriously in the Gulf?

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Ethics underpins so much of what we do, and that’s why it matters (image source: brendalutterodt.com)

It’s been a while since I’ve written here (I blame overwork, events, and myself for being tardy). But I do want to share some pieces I’ve written recently for others. Here’s my first, with a look at ethics in the region, starting with a look at a local public relations association (MEPRA, if you’re asking) in a piece I wrote for Campaign Middle East.

Yes, I know you’re yawning. There’s really no way to make this issue sexy. But, the issue of good corporate governance matters. It’s the basis for trust and transparency. When a company or organization is above board, you feel you don’t need to question what’s going on. There’s accountability too, and questions get answered head-on. There’s no spin. And this leads me to why I’m even writing this. Recently a local industry body for the public relations sector announced two new fellowships. The fellows are very good at what they do. But they’re also very much part of that organization, with one of them serving on the strategy board (which puts forwards names for fellowships, unless I’m mistaken), and the other on the executive board (which makes the decisions on the fellowships).

So, why does this matter? It’s a good question, and I was asked this by one of the two new fellows a couple of years back when I raised similar issues. After all, this is an honorific title. Well, I work in a job that is all about reputation. My job is to build and protect reputations. And I truly believe the best way to do this is by being straightforward and open. And I benefit indirectly when others do the same, as my profession becomes more trusted. That’s why associations over the world work hard on their corporate governance. To give you an example, here’s what the International Association of Business Communicators says for nominee eligibility as part of their own corporate governance.

  • Only members of IABC in good standing are eligible to be nominated to be IABC Fellows.
  • The nominee must have been a member of IABC for at least five years. (The years of membership do not have to be consecutive.)
  • Current members of the executive board, the Fellows Selection Committee, and anyone who has served as IABC Chair in the past three years are not eligible.

Interestingly, they seek out diverse nominations from their members, just like other associations do.

Now, here’s the other reason why we need to get serious about how we do things as an industry here. I hope I don’t shock anyone when I say that the Middle East isn’t generally known for its transparency or accountability. It may be a stereotype, but this is an image that we shouldn’t be reinforcing through our actions.

I remember the last time I wrote a similar piece, a couple of years back, about the same association that was appointing members to its board in violation of its own charter. The response wasn’t exactly a lesson in reputation management. But I hope that this time around, there’ll be a little more thought given to corporate governance. Given that we work in an industry that’s based on ethics, it should matter to every communications professional how the industry bodies that represent us behave.

The Need for Debate in the Gulf’s Media

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There’s nothing people love more than a good debate. But good luck finding this in regional media (image source: Wired)

There was a great article written by Dr Mira Al Hussein where she addresses the duality of the university system in the UAE. She talks about the difference between those who go to public universities, and those who study in private establishments. She shares her insights on how this impacts the country, and what the government can do to address the issue of a future-ready workforce for nationals.

The article hits all the points – it’s to the point, makes great observations, and is designed to spark a debate (which it has done incredibly well online). It’s exactly the type of opinion piece that any editor would be desperate to pick up and publish.

And yet, it’s increasingly difficult to find any type of content published in the Gulf’s media which doesn’t adhere to an official government position. Be it censorship or self-censorship, the outcome is the same. There’s no discussion of ideas, no debate on how to progress. As one friend put it, the media is the last place anyone in the Gulf should go to if they want to debate how the region can make any progress.

Open debate is essential for any society to move forward. It’s not always pretty, but airing thoughts in public helps to drive discussion around different ideas and points of view. Societies which promote this type of openness promote innovation. And yet we’re not benefiting.

Don’t take it from me. Read below the tweet of the UAE’s Dr Abdulkhaleq Abdulla about why this discussion should be had. I hope we’ll be able to do that, not on social media or on a blog from an institution thousands of miles away. But rather here on the ground, where it matters most. Let’s hope a push from more of us will give the region’s editors the bravery to run more pieces like Mira’s.

Communicators (and everyone else) need to embrace uncertainty

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Our lives and work are becoming more confusing. We need to be ok with that. (image source: marketing91)

Who likes to be confused? Who loves to act when so much is uncertain, or unknown? And to quote the infamous Donald Rumsfeld, what do you do when there are so many known unknowns? Not me. But I’m ok with uncertainty. Maybe it’s because of the region I’m in (try getting details on how to travel in the Middle East during Covid, seriously), or maybe it’s because I understand that things evolve, and it’s not always easy to find every single piece of information from the get-go. Things evolve, and we must understand that.

Sometimes, I feel as if I’m in a minority when it comes to being comfortable with uncertainty. I used to work with a firm where everything had to be understood, every fact and detail presented to management. I’d chase and chase and chase, and spend both time and energy to do this. And I’d do this knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get everything asked of me, especially if it was related to government. Either the people I would be asking didn’t have the full picture, they didn’t care (yes, it happens), or they’d be too busy to respond.

In this situation, I’d have to make an educated guess, based on my thoughts and experiences. It’s not perfect, but how many times in our life are we certain of everything? It’s understandable that we crave the safety of certainty. As Author David Rock writes in his book Your Brain at Work, “The brain craves certainty. A sense of uncertainty about the future and feeling out of control both generate strong limbic system responses.”

And that for me is the rub. To paraphrase Eckhart Tolle, “When you become comfortable with uncertainty, Infinite Possibilities open up for communications.”

Those that are uncomfortable with uncertainty are missing out on opportunities to communicate better. And we also become open to trying new things, to experimenting and taking risks. Even though I’ve worked in the industry for two decades, I can never be sure of any outcome. But it doesn’t mean that I won’t try. And that’s because I’m ok with uncertainty, and not knowing all possible factors and outcomes. I’ll collect enough information and look to make a judgement on what I have in front of me.

It’ll do us all good to be ok with uncertainty, and this must be one of the lessons of the past two years (who hasn’t been faced with uncertainty in 2020 and 2021?). Let’s collect and analyze data, and make a judgement. But let’s do it quickly, without excess resources being spent on chasing data or information which we often can’t get or doesn’t exist. The most exciting opportunities often lie beyond the initial uncertainty. Go on, take a risk. It’ll make you a better communicator.

Culture, Empathy and Changing Views – Why Communicators Must Be Aware Of How Global Trends Can Impact Local Populations

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Have global movements such as Black Lives Matter shifted views on Israel and the Palestinians?

The past couple of weeks have been remarkable; we’ve seen many across the world voice their opinion on events in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. What’s been marked is how support for Palestinian rights is growing, especially in the United States. We’ve had voices in Congress stand up and argue that how Palestinian citizens are treated is akin to apartheid. That would have been unthinkable even a decade back.

What’s indisputable is that civil debate and activism around race in the US and Europe, from causes such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) to colonial historical legacies, is pushing many people to rethink how they view conflicts in the Middle East. There’s been lots of good writing on this recently, such as this piece in the Washington Post on BLM and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What’s also been fascinating to see is how local populations in the Gulf, most especially in the UAE and Saudi, have spoken with anger and emotion about what Israel has done, both in Gaza and in Jerusalem. Only last year, the UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords with Israel, formally establishing ties between the three countries (they were followed by Sudan and Morocco).

At the time there was an outpouring of support in the UAE among nationals for the agreement, and little in the way of pushback (there was noticeable pushback in Bahrain). It’s rare for nationals to actively voice their own views online, if those views go against governmental policy. To quote a recent piece by the Associated Press, “No matter what your national priorities are at the moment or regional priorities are at the moment, when stuff like this happens, the Palestinian issue comes back and hits you,” Emirati political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla told the AP’s Aya Batrawy.

So, what can these two points teach us? Firstly, global events have never been more interrelated, thanks to the raw filter of social media. And second, raw emotions can still overcome national considerations, especially when it’s a religious issue.

As communicators, we’ve got to be able to understand the implications of these issues for our audiences. We keep talking about reading the room, and being the link between the outside and the inside. Which is true. But how many brands are proactive on these social issues, rather than reactive?

On that note, I did wonder about the timing of an award by the local public relations association last week. They gave out two fellowships, recognising people for their service to the industry. One is the head of communications for the UAE’s foreign ministry, who’s greatest success to date has been communicating the Abraham Accords.

While this person is a fine communicator, couldn’t the association have delayed giving this award? Would it have been more sensitive to do this, in light of people’s feelings about the conflict?

As always, am happy to hear your views. Let me know via the comments or on social media.

Comms Conversations – A Twitter Space to Talk About Big Issues in MENA

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I’m excited about being able to take the discussion online through audio

It’s about time we talked openly about big issues for communicators in the Middle East, and what better way to do this than having a conversation in a chat room?

That’s the idea for Comms Conversations, which I’m going to start hosting on Twitter Spaces (I’d have loved to have done on Clubhouse but it’s not usable in the UAE or Oman).

Every couple of weeks, we’ll host a new discussion on Twitter Spaces. For up to an hour, we’ll share views and experiences on big issues we all face.

The first Comms Conversation will happen on Wednesday the 26th May at 11.30am Dubai time. We will be joined by the editor-in-chief of PRovoke Media, Arun Sudhaman.

Join us then, and follow @alex_malouf on Twitter as we speak openly about comms in the region – the good, the bad and everything in between!

Why Acknowledging Other’s Views Makes for Powerful Engagement

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More leaders need to listen to and understand the views of others before speaking

I’ve been reading a fair amount of media of late. In one interview, the executive spoke about how she’d simply walked into an organisation’s reception and asked for a job. In another, the author spoke about how her country is leading the way in gender equality. And in the third piece, an opinion editorial, the author spoke about how much more hope there is now than twelve months back.

All of these views reflect their authors’ experiences and beliefs. What struck me as a reader was how their perspectives were different from my own. For example, I’d never be in a position to walk into any office and say I want to work here, at least not in the region I’m in (it very much felt like a statement made from a perspective of privilege). And for billions of people living in countries which have yet to receive any vaccines, the future is far from hopeful.

The point I’m very much trying to make here is that we all see and understand communications from our own experiences and beliefs. And executives who want to make a specific point need to think about what they’re trying to say through the lens of others.

By acknowledging differences in your argument and talking points, you strengthen your ability to persuade and convince others. Empathy is a powerful means to build partnerships and advocates, and the best way to do this is to listen to and understand what others are saying, especially those who are different than you (that’s why diversity and inclusion are fundamental to effective communications, and why all communication teams should be diverse).

Dr Kevin Ruck, Howard Krais and Mike Pounsford have done extensive research into listening and communications. Have a listen yourself into what they’re saying here. And let’s do more to acknowledge the other(s) in proper dialogues.

#MeToo and the Middle East’s media sector – what changed?

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We’re a couple of days out from International Women’s Day, the time of year when we all look to gender equality. But I want to get the conversation started now, and on a different issue. A couple of events have gotten me thinking about the issue how women are treated in the media and marketing sectors in our region.

The first was a very brave article by former journalist Reem Abdellatif. Reem is no longer based in the Gulf (and I’ll get to why this is important in a minute) and she penned an op-ed on sexual harassment and assault for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper (if you’re not subscribed to Haaretz, you should be – often the reporting on the Gulf is better than what you’ll see from newspapers in the Gulf).

Reem’s piece is both general and personal, and Reem details her own stories of abuse. Chillingly, she describes one experience of an uninvited sexual proposition by a journalist in Dubai. It’s a story I feel many women here will be able to relate to. I’m sharing a specific piece from that story below.

Some of you may have noticed that I referred to Reem as having been based in the Gulf. She wouldn’t have been able to publish this account if she were still based here. And no media outlet would carry it, even if she weren’t based here. This is due to the region’s defamation laws, which are criminal offenses. And that brings me to my second reminder. Which I can’t even talk about, despite the seriousness of the sexual harassment allegations being made and the fact that everyone would know the organization.

And that for me is the core of the issue. In the Gulf, we can’t talk about sexual harassment, except in broad brushstrokes which have less meaning. The perpetrators get off, scot free, with little impact on their careers or their reputations. While the victims have to live with the abuse for the remainder of their lives.

If the media and marketing industry is serious about tackling gender equality, they’ve got to start with this. And that doesn’t mean making a statement about the issue of gender equality in the company, talking about the need for purpose in communications or bringing in a female head for a couple of years. Rather, it means rooting out the issue of abuse and harassment. What we have to do must include:

  • Trainings on sexual harassment and gender bias at the workplace, for all staff (most especially management);
  • Proper investigations into sexual harassment allegations, including with the authorities – these are criminal offenses, and should be treated as such, and
  • Anyone found guilty of sexual harassment should be blacklisted from agency groups, and future employers should specifically ask about this question when asking for references.

These are the basic steps the industry must take to address the issue. For all the talk about equality and opportunity, if women don’t feel safe in our industry then we’re not going to make any progress on these other issues. Who’s with me?