So Youre Employing a Serial Predator

Since the Weinstein scandal broke a long-simmering open secret in Hollywood going back at least as far as Courtney Loves infamous, televised 2005 warning , and probably a lot further theres been a spate of other abuses coming to light. Mark Halperin . James Toback . George HW Bush . Just yesterday, Kevin Spacey was added to the list for an alleged 1986 incident with actor Anthony Rapp. Today? Andy Dick , after a decades-long string of arrests for sexual assault. All of this on top of the Bill OReilly scandal earlier this year.

While women have been keenly aware of this (and have tried telling everyone over and over again), its rapidly becoming clear that this problem is massive and systemic, starting from the White House and moving on down. Power, in the most patently obvious yet still somehow surprising statement that has perhaps ever been made, breeds abuse; where the victim is a woman, doubly so. Which means that there is possibly lurking, at many companies out there, someone or someones who are themselves guilty of this sort of disgusting serial predation. Which also means that its very possible this is an issue every company will have to deal with. And if youre in any position of leadership, the question as to how to deal with it may fall squarely on you.

Its not an easy question to answer, and while circumstances are going to differ from case to case, person to person, and company to company the Weinstein Company, for example, is going to have a hard time bouncing back when its literally named after a prolific accused abuser there are nonetheless constructive steps that almost any company can take. With that in mind, in the event serial predation is discovered or uncovered at the top of the ranks in your company, here is a handy guide to appropriately approach the situation as well as help maintain the companys good name and protect the lives and jobs of its rank-and-file .

Failure could put the entire company at risk.

Remove the predator

First and foremost, this needs to happen, and it needs to happen almost immediately. It needs to be clear, clean, and punishing; no golden parachutes, no stock options, no farewell party. Key to any organization dealing with this kind of sexual abuse is making a very bold statement that this kind of conduct is not only at odds with the companys values, but with living in society. That means a swift, bold, uncompromising response that matches public revulsion and mirrors it back to onlookers. In short, you need to say we are as disgusted as you are, and we are doing exactly what you would do.

Its hard. I know. Were talking about powerful people with lots of allies, but loyalty isnt going to do anyone any favors; behavior so abhorrent and opposed to public norms of decency and respect requires strong, unequivocal condemnation with real consequences; even if no laws have been broken, it is vital for a company to be seen as strongly distancing itself from any wrongdoing so as to minimize potential fallout.

Transparency over self-preservation

As the scandal continues to unfold, its becoming clear that the Weinstein Company was, unfortunately, apparently aware of allegations well in advance of anything breaking, and apparently countenanced payouts to silence Weinsteins victims. Questions are being asked as to who knew what and when , whether Disney was aware during its period of ownership over Miramax, and whether the board has any criminal liability. Internally, one must imagine that the Weinstein Companys leadership is in a state of panicky, helpless dread; what else will come to light? Who else is going to fall as a result of this? What should they do?

If true that the company was indeed aware of Weinsteins behavior and oversaw paying hush money to preserve its reputation, the only way forward isnt denial, which nobody will believe anyway; its for heads to roll. That means transparency; a company caught up in this mess cannot go into siege mode. It not only makes you look guilty, it prevents you from addressing the scandal in a way thats constructive and helps ensure survival; battening down the hatches and denying everything or hoping a sacrificial lamb will be enough simply does not work. Nor is it good enough. Especially these days, where the animus and emotion are, rightfully, so heightened, and where the questions will dog you unto digital eternity.

The best response, to avoid charges of collusion or conspiracy to conceal the truth, would be to find a neutral third party to investigate the situation and provide a full accounting of the behavior of all relevant parties. This is a move that works to restore public confidence that the company is honestly invested in something approaching justice, and isnt solely out for their own necks.

Of course, for any of this to work, the commitment must be real. Which brings us to

Sincerity

Its 2017, and the last ten months of the Trump administration has everyones truth meters pretty finely tuned. Kevin Spaceys response to the allegations hes facing, which attempted to deflect responsibility by coming out of the closet, was immediately met with incredulous gaping ; was Spacey really doing this? Was he using his homosexuality to avoid blame for attempted sexual assault on a minor? The Twitterati, who drive so much of our national conversation, cried foul, and Spaceys apology makes him look even worse than he already did.

The issue were dealing with is fundamentally a moral one during a time when our culture is rent by moral divides; you cant hashtag this and hope it goes away. The people angriest at Weinstein, at Spacey, at Bush, at Toback they arent going to be satisfied with pantomimed contrition, and theyre the ones who must be satisfied.

In other words, even from a PR perspective, right now theres no way to avoid squarely facing the problem, taking responsibility, and putting that responsibility into action. The issue is too large, too broad, too profound; nobody is going to think lip service or PR campaigns constitute a substantive response, and with the scandal continuing to spiral out of control, the organization that comes out of this intact will be the one that takes it honestly, legitimately seriously.

Its the only way forward.