Network Risk - What's Going to Happen to JPMorgan Chase, Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson and More?

 The American ethos is hard work. Do that to get what you want. However, the raw reality is that the tool for getting things done and career success is influence. The chase after becoming part of the powerful networks starts pre-school, at least for offspring of seasoned players. You are your networks. Having gold-plated ones attracts invitations to join others.

Yet, those contacts along the influence continuum can throw shade on a career/personal brand or actually trigger a major reversal of fortune as happened with Leon Black.

Currently scrutiny of those on the Jeffrey Epstein network has extended to present and past bigwigs at JPMorgan Chase and across the ocean in the UK to Alistair Darling, former chancellor, and Peter Mandelson, former business secretary. As with Black, the carnage could be comprehensive. Already at JPMorgan Jes Staley has been forced out. More heads could roll. In the UK could this be the start of another far-reaching Profumo scandal of the 1960s?

When the influence game is proceeding in its traditional and expected manner, the goodies can be outsized. Looping in with Epstein brought access to other movers and shakers, concrete business opportunities, funds and even fun.

Then once the well is poisoned there is no predicting the potential for severe penalties. Recall those on Fox News founder Roger Ailes’ network. After the law firm Paul Weiss conducted an internal investigation of alleged sexual misconduct, Ailes departed. Those who remained loyal such as Greta van Sustern lost professional momentum. Later she made public regret for that support.

So, how do you manage what could be called Network Risk? Others entangled in the Epstein web who landed on their feet had developed powerful professional identities independent of that contact point. They range from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton. They hedged. They didn’t put all the eggs in one influence basket. A one-dimensional association can be a platform for branding suicide. In Shakespeare’s history plays the meme is: The mob is fickle.

2023. It’s the year of AI, along with uncertainty, inflation, war and more. Jane Genova provides you with a complimentary check-in for your organization’s communications and your own career. It’s free. Content-creation and coaching provided on a sliding-scale fee basis. (for appointments text 203-468-8570 or janegenova374@gmail.com)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani's March 2021 Cocaine+ Death - So?

   It had been way back more than a year ago that first-year associate at law firm Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani died from cocaine laced with fentanyl. Yet that story keeps resurfacing.  This week  RollonFriday  revisits it. And  Reddit Big Law  considers the issue if the energy from cocaine is what's making possible those 2,500 hours billed in law firms.  Is what's keeping this on the radar the hunch that use of the illegal substance cocaine is common among those practicing law? After all, in addition to being an energy-booster, it provides a nice reward for such hard-working lawyers. Also, they have the earnings to afford it. Most of the rest of gunners have to stick with boozing. So, why not?  The reality might be setting in that the death could simply have been an aberration. Think about it this way: Ghahramani had bad luck in her alleged choice of dealers. Others might be able to exert more scrutiny in overseeing the content of the illegal drugs they sold. The message c
Read more

Up-or-Out: McKinsey Raises the Pressure, In Contrast Some Law Firms Ease It through Nonequity Partner Tier

" McKinsey & Co.  warned some US consultants last week they are running out of time to win promotion, raising the 'up or out' pressure on staff as the global consulting industry struggles." - Abovethefold Article in Bloomberg , March 27, 2024 This is yet another sign that once-iconic McKinsey is a professional services firm in trouble. One challenge is overcapacity of manpower. It has also warned about 3,000 consultants about "concerns" regarding their performance.  In addition to the overall slowdown in management consulting, McKinsey faces scrutiny from myriad sources about its client list including assignments with China and Saudi Arabia. There also has been that hatchet-job book "When McKinsey Comes to Town." The most damning aspect of the expose is that former employees dump on it. Posts on the professional anonymous network Fishbowl Consulting aren't optimistic about a turnaround at McKinsey or at other players in that sector. In cont
Read more

Down Memory Lane - There Was Actually a Time in When $70k for New JDs Was Big Money

  Let's cut to the chase. The year was 1987.  On a Monday in October the stock market crashed.  Corporate downsizing, made an art at GE by Jack Welch, was purging the system of middle-aged middle managers. Staples caught the wave of accidental entrepreneurs forced out of corporate careers. It created the new category of office supplies for small business. We the purged agonized at Staples about what color business stationary.  It was the worst of economic times, at least since The Great Depression.  Meanwhile, large law firms were getting a lot of attention because they were paying inexperienced law-school graduates starting salaries of up to $70k.  Cravath got the ball rolling on that. The phenomenon was enough to attract a major article by The Washington Post.   The kicker was this: The money wasn't enough for young lawyers to stay with those jobs which they found long in the hours and short on stimulating assignments. Often they were locked into proofreading documents at the
Read more