Amos, one of Firestone's rubber tappers in Liberia

Each bucket weighs almost 75lb when full with sticky, white latex sap. But Amos Mulbh was still able to manoeuvre nimbly over fallen trees in Firestone’s Harbel plantation. After all, he had learned how to balance the thin wooden beam across his thin shoulders when he was just 12. I met Amos a in 2006 few months before yet another damning report was published on Firestone’s Liberian plantations. (My story never saw the light of day. Can’t think why…)

I’ve been reading more in Hartley’s Management Mistakes and Successes, and I’m intrigued by the comparison of how Ford and Firestone and Johnson & Johnson handled the biggest crises of their companies’ corporate lives.

On the one hand, you have Johnson & Johnson. In 1982, when it was found that certain batches of Tylenol capsules had been tampered with — someone added cyanide — what did the company do? They sprung into action. They began sharing information with media, using them both to help disperse information about what the company was doing to resolve the problem and what consumers should do as well as tracking newspaper and TV reports of deaths as they came in to focus their investigation. They completely recalled Tylenol capsules, then changed packaging as the world knew it to make the product more tamper resistant. Their leaders hit the airwaves to reassure consumers everything was being done. Then they flooded the marketplace with coupons, some of which essentially gave away Tylenol products, in an attempt to regain consumer confidence. And it worked. The company was honest, reacted quickly and worked tirelessly to keep consumers. It’s the picture perfect corporate crisis response.

Then you have Ford and Firestone. In 1999, reports of tire blowouts on Ford Explorers began popping up in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Ford essentially bought off the families of those hurt and killed in the accidents, but did nothing obvious or wide-ranging to correct the problem. Then, in 2001 a lawsuit in South Texas put U.S. public scrutiny on the Ford/Firestone issues. Ford and Firestone both reacted predictably: They blamed each other. Finally, Firestone was forced to recall the tires, but not before more than 200 Americans, 60 Saudis and a dozen Venezuelans lost their lives.

Both the Tylenol and the Explorer situations are similar. But the reactions by the corporate leadership are remarkably different. As a consumer, I now won’t buy a Ford, largely because of the whole Explorer thing. Because when the time came for Ford to do the right thing — which would have been warning consumers and diagnosing, then correcting, the problem — they bought people’s silence and hushed up the problem. The hubris and foolishness of this course of action was just stunning.

And it isn’t that I don’t necessarily trust Fords’ products. It solely comes down to trust of its corporate leaders, and clearly the company has not earned any. Because when you look back at the debacles in the last decade of corporate America, what do you find?  A long list of companies and names that weren’t honest, and it was because they had something to hide. Bernie Madoff. Ken Lay and Enron. Worldcom. Robert Stanford and Stanford Financial. The list goes on. The corporate chiefs who go out of their way to hide something usually have something to hide. And in my opinion, Ford looks just as bad as any of those known wrong-doers.

We met Becky and Jeff on a Saturday afternoon at their local Starbucks in Los Angeles. During our first meeting we talked about their wedding venue and some of the details of their wedding and specifically what kind of wedding images they were looking for. I asked them if they had any ideas about where they would like to have their engagement session and Becky responded that she loved the idea of taking pictures in a vineyard. While I didn’t know of too many vineyards in the Los Angeles area I knew there were several beautiful ones in the Santa Ynez Valley north of Santa Barbara. And so…off we went to the tiny town of Solvang and Firestone Vineyards for a beautiful Fall engagement session…(You can click on any of the images to see them full size )

Looks like this bakery/cafe knew we were coming .

An unbelievably gorgeous ring (the macaroon doesn’t look bad either ).

Dancing with the locals is always a good way to spend the afternoon!

One of my favorite images of the day.

Thank you Becky and Jeff for being such a fun couple to work with! We are looking forward to a fantastic wedding in June!

Thanks also to Firestone Vineyards for providing a wonderful venue for the engagement shoot.

-Mark

Firestone Building Products Co. LLC, Indianapolis, is introducing a new business division–Firestone Energy Solutions. This new division is committed to providing products, systems and services that assist in conservation and the production of energy for the commercial building envelope.

“Firestone Building Products is making a positive impact on the environment every day with its wide array of durable, sustainable and recyclable products and processes,” said Mike Vall, president of Firestone Building Products. “Firestone Energy Solutions enables us to expand our footprint, offering renewable energy solutions that meet emerging 21st century needs.”

Through a comprehensive offering of rooftop photovoltaic and daylighting systems, Firestone is positioned to provide either turn-key or custom energy solutions to meet renewable energy demands. Firestone Energy Solutions’ product approach provides access to domed daylighting systems, FM-approved smoke hatch/daylighting systems and crystalline and thin film PV technologies from major manufacturers, as well as ballasted or penetrating racking solutions. In addition, Firestone’s rooftop PV program features trained and licensed installers, thorough analysis capabilities at project onset and completion, system performance monitoring and assistance to fund solar installations.

“It is important that owners have a choice when it comes to solar electric selections to ensure they can meet their power and financial needs,” said Jeff Henegar, general manager of Firestone Energy Solutions. “As a leader in the commercial roofing industry, Firestone brings superior roofing products together with leading-edge solar technologies from trusted manufacturers and top notch support offerings to engineer the right roofing system for both the building and solar installation.”

According to Henegar, one of the critical components when embarking on a solar installation is ensuring a properly designed roof system is in place that can sustain the potential 20-30 year longevity of the PV or daylighting system. Working with Firestone Building Products, Energy Solutions will provide a single source for both roofing and roof-based solar systems that address renewable energy interests. In addition, Energy Solutions is enhancing the technical capabilities of Firestone’s commercial roofing installer network to provide the services necessary to address solar roofing system installations.

For more information: www.firestonebpco.com

Source:  http://www.metalarchitecture.com

Tenders are invited for supply of tyres to high tech automotive company.

Previous inscrutable supplier of past 13 years, exclusive supplier past three, willing to pass on tales of heartaches and drama to successful tenderer at the conclusion of the 2010 season.

Apply – if you’re rich, resourceful, and only slightly demented – to:

Bernie Egglestone PLC -F1 cars Division

(Bridgestone Firestone have announced that they are relinquishing their role as the only tyre supplier to Formula 1 Racing at the end of the 2010 season.)

P.S. The ad is a spoof.

A Liberian government investigation concludes the Firestone Plantation Rubber Company polluted local water sources…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: sea temperatures. The blog is also related to: ocean seas.

Torod B. Neptune

The recent headlines in the media about Toyota’s problematic floor mats and uncontrollable acceleration may have some people wondering if they are seeing déjà vu.

Federal investigations? Failing vehicle parts? Prior knowledge of safety deficiencies?

Is Toyota having a flashback to Firestone’s crisis in the 1990s?

Firestone Tires made headlines after their disastrous handling of reports that Ford SUVs were rolling over because of defective tires. Instead of taking blame for their deficient tires, Firestone chose to deflect criticism to Ford for making unsafe vehicles and even to consumers for not following proper maintenance and tire inflation procedures. Although Firestone eventually ordered a recall and apologized, the brand had already taken enormous damage from Firestone’s inability to choose a consistent crisis strategy. Firestone did not take responsibility for the problem and take reactive measures when it had the chance early in the development of the crisis. Had it acted earlier, Firestone could have escaped much of the criticism and notoriety that later ensued.

Today, Toyota has the benefit of being able to learn from Firestone and Ford’s crisis communication strategies and blunders. From the early going, Toyota has done well to control the message of the developing story by acknowledging the problem, not denying or deflecting it. Last week, Toyota announced it was working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to correct the issue and that it would spend nearly $440 million in recalling 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

By reacting to the crisis in the early stages of the news cycle, Toyota has been able to control the media coverage of the issue on its own terms. So far, Toyota has been able to emphasize its massive recall and the work it’s doing with the government and Toyota engineers to address the problem. If Toyota can keep the media, government, its employees, and Toyota owners informed of the steps it’s taking to correct the situation, Toyota will surely emerge from this pending media storm unscathed.

The window of opportunity to react to a media crisis can be short, but taking advantage of this moment is vital to protecting an individual or organizations reputation or brand. Without a contingency plan in place, reacting to a story before it spirals out of control becomes exponentially more difficult. We might learn from the mistakes and misfortunes of others, but the fact remains that clear, early, and direct communication is essential in any crisis communications plan.

I’ve commented several times in this blog that the people who interface with your customers own your brand. To recap: Your brand is a combination of the customers’ expectations, nurtured and shaped by your marketing, and the customers’ actual experience. The sales reps, tech support, billing, and customer service people create your customers’ experience, so they own your brand – not the executives, not the board of directors, not a brand manager – in fact, not you marketing team at all. I’ve pointed out that this is the genius behind Apple Stores, and the reason why Microsoft should open its own stores.

Today I want to tell you about another brand – Firestone. Years ago, I got a flat tire and took it to Firestone. The other option was Les Schwab, but I’d had a bad experience with that company and wanted to try someplace new. Firestone fixed my flat for nothing. When I got another, I went back. The people there talked with me about construction sites and my options for dealing with debris-strewn roads. In fact, I went back to our Facilities Manager and reported my two flats. He let me know that many co-workers had similar complaints, and the company was taking action on our behalf against the construction contractors across the street. Problem solved.

Firestone earned my gratitude with the free repairs, but they earned my loyalty by treating me with courtesy, compassion, and respect. Every Firestone shop I’ve walked in has treated me with those same values. Granted, you can get some of that by hiring the right people, but you have to support it with training and corporate culture. As long as Firestone treats us this way, we’re happy to give them our money – for tires, fluids & filters, tune-ups, emissions service, and whatever else they can handle.

Think about services you trust. How did they earn that trust? How can your organization create those experiences for your customer?

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Orlando, Florida.  Vacation destination. Disney controlled and infiltrated with some of today’s most questionable members of society.  Not this night.  Downtown Orlando became the epicenter for American progressive and alternative rock band, “Dredg” to unleash the music from their latest album “The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion.”  This is the band’s fourth full album release and the first to be released completely independent from a label’s backing.  Dredg, like many bands today, is seeing the value of being independent from the labels in order to properly express their message as they see fit and to keep better control over their creative expression and what a message this album has is nothing less than intense and truly brilliant.  “The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion” is an aspiring anecdotal album aroused by the brilliance of author Salman Rushdie, whose book “The Satanic Verses” brought on controversy that sent the author into hiding for a decade.  The author also wrote and essay titled “Imagine There’s No Heaven: A Letter to the 6 Billionth Citizen” which became the backdrop to this latest Dredg album.

Dredg has been through a four album transmogrification in which has adapted a spectrum of sound and reclamation of artistry through music expression.  The detail of the production in this album is very conscientious and Dredg executed the recordings straightforward with their heart and soul.  The band has come a long way, but the effects of the economy and downfall to the music industry has put the band in a position to fend for itself.  Gavin Hayes (Lead Vocalist & Guitarist) and I sat off to the side stage and discussed his view of the bands approach to recording music in the state that our economy has fallen onto and the current pattern to music sales because with eighteen tracks to absorb off the latest album tracks need to be carefully written in order to attract dedicated fans and new fans to make their purchase online rather then in store like the “old days.”

“We haven’t really changed our approach so much from a writing stand point.  We are still focused when we are creating a record.  Our goal is still from the packaging to the songs to having a complete record under lined with theme and identity.  That’s always going to be important to us no matter which way the business turns.  We never think of the records as a song by song compilation.  We try to create something that is cohesive.  The only difference on this record is that we are independent now and partnered with ILG (Independent Label Group) which is mainly promotion and distribution.  I felt like a little weight was lifted and I feel we went more back to our roots on this record.”

The third release “Catch Without Arms” was viewed by Gavin as an album that was created on a song to song manner.  It was a record based on opposites and conflicting opinions.  The rebellious take on the record was emphasized instrumentally and felt a little more cohesive.  Dredg didn’t want to regurgitate the same record this time and it was a direct reaction to the touring of that album that brought them to dig deeper within their recordings.  They toured with a lot of rock bands over the years and at that time felt like their shows were coming off a little passive.  “We didn’t really write that record with touring live in mind.  Our last record was kind of how we wanted to write songs that better translated in our lives and I think this new record is a combination of the first two.  There are a lot of elements that could be on LCO and even on our first record with instrumental pieces.”

Leaving Interscope to become an independent music group wasn’t a surprise to anyone.  The business has completely changed over these last nine years and it were at the tail end of people buying CDs.  From there the business flipped itself upside down and Dredg really didn’t fit the label’s model anymore because the label had to adjust their business model so they could make money.  There were bands around Dredg who were selling more albums then they were at the time and those bands were getting dropped.  To go independent made sense

“Our manager approached us about working with ILG after ILG approached him.  It just felt like the right step to take because to distribute an album takes a lot of capital and we needed the backing to release our new album.  It was important to us to see the records on the shelves and to build a small budget to promote that record is now available.   Technically we are part owner of DCI on that level and we can be viewed as running our own label even though it’s just us on that label.  It’s not like we are going to be out there signing bands but it feels good and I feel more in charge.  It’s kind of similar to a distribution deal where we are running our label with them.  It just felt right and together we are going to increase our fan base.  If this was ten years ago it wouldn’t have been the right decision for us, but for where we are at in our career it’s like a perfect marriage.”

Once Dredg is about to recoup expenses from this last album they will be able to see gain unlike what they saw with Interscope.  As an true independent band they are supporting themselves on costs and anyway to save a dollar is money they need to invest back into the group.  This is what it means to be a struggling artist.  Their tours are increasing and it has taken them around the world.  It allows them to network with other bands and to create new tours with bands they have co-headlined with in the past.  Dredg submits the bands they have worked with to their booking agent and management and create the tour around what they want and not what a label wants.  One of those creative controls the band has as an independent is artistic control.  If you are a fan you understand what I mean just by viewing their album covers and colorful lyrics.  Gavin painted me a picture between the art and the music as it is created for Dredg.

“The arts are a big influence for the group.  Drew (bassist) and I met in art class where we were drawing and painting long before we were playing music and the other members add to our appreciation for art through cinema and even books.  This last album Drew and I painted a picture for each song and we created them to connect with our fans by adding images that evolved into a treasure hunt which allowed us to connect with our fans on a much deeper level.  Fans end up purchasing the paintings as well as the albums.  The clues to the treasure hunt go up on our website and the fans get really involved with the hunt.  Cinema became an avenue for me as well as Mark in which we separately scored different movies.  Film scoring is something we want to get into even on an Independent Film level.  There something behind that format that is cool because it’s behind the scenes.  I think aspects of our music blend in well and can transition over well to cinema.  The one movie that really stood out to me as the score of scores was Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey.  It’s visually stimulating and with minimal dialog supported by incredible music.  Overall it just works flawlessly.  I have read something that the creators were using some of the music just for screening and it worked out really well so I don’t know if it was a mistake that the music became the emphasis of the movie but what a great mistake if it was.”

Art has been a heavy influence to people on all levels and it is no surprise to see how a man’s essay such as Salman Rushdie’s “Imagine There’s No Heaven: A Letter to the 6 Billionth Citizen” would influence a band receptive to artistic expression to write an album influenced by another man’s written imagery.  Gavin views progress as an event that has always relied on strong efforts and courageous acts by individuals who are willing to chance themselves by drawing outside the lines so to speak.  To get away for the old traditions and to break away from old beliefs in order to make a better tomorrow.  Salman Rushdie is a beautiful representation of such courage and a major reason why the band chose to use his essay as the foundation of “The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion.”

This Thursday Dredg will be sharing the stage with the renowned author and believe me it’s not very often that an internationally acclaimed author will share a spotlight with a band from San Francisco, but the rockers have shown their sincerity and their dedication to writing music for the love of music.  Together Salman Rushdie and Dredg will come together at New York City’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe for SPIN Magazine’s third installment of Liner Notes.  The event brings together musicians and authors as part of a continuous event to raise funds for the Housing Works non-profit group which was created to provide homeless and low-income people living with HIV/AIDS and their families with adequate housing, food, social support, drug treatment, health care, and employment.  Liner Notes has been a success thus far and I am truly excited to see what comes from the uniting of Salman Rushdie and Dredg.  The band is extremely excited and flattered to share an evening with such a talent.

According to the latest unconfirmed news, the HTC Leo could be launching as the HTC HD2, which could make it the true successor to the almighty HTC Touch HD. This could potentially be crushing my dreams of the HTC Touch HD2 running Android. The picture above also shows us that the large 4.3-inch multi-touchscreen capacitive display will be attracting your oily fingerprints.

[Engadget Mobile]

Yesterday morning, Ai.rs got the scoop on new pictures and a new video preview of the HTC Leo. Now they are saying that the HTC Leo will have a built-in digital compass, which is a great addition. This phone is definitely the WinMo handset to get – if you’re into WinMo at least a little bit.

[WMPowerUser]

There’s not much left to say here, but the HTC Leo really does make the HTC Touch Diamond 2 look puny to say the least. The Leo has a simplistic design on the front since the 4.3-inch multi-touchscreen capacitive WVGA display takes up almost all of the room on the front – it’s almost borderless. Anyways, check out the Ai.rs blog here, because they have the phone in their possession right now. Looks like WinMo 6.5 will really have multitouch support built-in which is amazing.

Update: Make sure to scroll down just a bit more because there’s now a video preview of the HTC Leo – thanks to Ai.rs blog and WMPowerUser.

[WMPowerUSer]

According to this video below, the HTC Leo / Firestone will have a multi-touchscreen display. Now, this is obviously unconfirmed since I’m pretty sure we were unaware that Windows Mobile 6.5 will have multi-touchscreen capabilities, but hey, it’ll be great if it does. Take a look at the ever-so-exciting video below.

[Gizmodo, WMPowerUser]

We know that the HTC Whitestone (right side) is coming to Verizon and it will reportedly hit the US carrier in Q4 (September / October) of this year. The Whitestone is similar to the HTC Touch Diamond 2, but it does have some different features. The Whitestone will have: a 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen display, a 5MP AF camera, aGPS support, 512MB of ROM, 256MB of RAM, a 528MHz Qualcomm CPU, and WinMo 6.1 on-board – possibly WinMo 6.5 when it gets released though.

Telstra Australia will be launching the HTC Leo / Firestone. We don’t know the price or when it will launch, so just wait for it.

HTC Whitestone To Verizon: WMPowerUser
HTC Leo To Telstra Australia: WMPowerUser

 In a special election on September 30^th, Firestone citizens overwhelmingly approved the annexation of the LifeBridge Church’s 350-acre Union project into the town. While the Church now intends to move as quickly as possible to begin development, Longmont and Firestone are still engaged in a legal dispute over land along the Highway 119 corridor. In any case, the real loser in this election is Longmont. The development sits at the City’s eastern edge and thus will impact Longmont but the City will not receive any revenues from the project.