“College Admission Scandal’s Other Big Names Are Titans of Finance and Law,” announces a New York Times headline.
The article describes a federal investigation into U.S. college admissions fraud—an investigation of “prominent parents who stand accused of paying bribes to give their children an edge.”
“While two Hollywood actresses were the most recognizable figures to face charges, they were outnumbered by business titans who are not household names.”
Among those charged are high net worth business leaders, including one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors, and a mergers and acquisitions attorney who was co-chairman of a major law firm. Those leaders have been publicly “outed,” in lists often featuring their photographs. They are losing jobs and board positions, are being pilloried on social media and could be the subjects of lawsuits. Their children are also named, and they may be permanently expelled from the colleges their parents arranged their acceptance to (the degree of the children’s involvement is under active debate).
Managing this crisis
What happens in such a spiraling situation is that attorneys and crisis experts are consulted and a reputation management firm like ours is likely engaged. As they discuss options with firms, the parents should first understand that they can’t bury this type of crisis with an online reputation or SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. The scandal is too big. It has become a focus of coverage across the most highly ranked and powerful media platforms. Simply put, SEO will not be able to displace those stories in Google searches.
What you can do, if you are a target of the investigation, is to follow the classic crisis response playbook:
• Acknowledge your role.
• Apologize.
• Make restitution and be transparent about how you are going about that. (Done well, that becomes the story.)
Reputation resets of this nature take about a year, from your initial public statement to completing restitution. There are no shortcuts, but the way you face this crisis may provide an unexpected silver lining. Publicly facing a crisis with sincerity and authenticity can yield surprising results—and finding a means of restitution that aligns with your values will be satisfying. Every crisis, even this, can be an opportunity.