Often when I write an article on Social Media, I am discussing a faux pas on Facebook or a trip-up on Twitter.  This past week however, as all eyes were on Louisiana and Mississippi, Hurricane Isaac, and protecting people and property in harm's way, I came across a company that "gets" it; not a slick marketing company, not a cool start-up, but a company that uses the phrase "Hard Stuff Done Right" on its products page.  And what they do is hard - they build ships. Not boats, not yachts. Ships. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. I noticed Huntington Ingalls Industries while monitoring various news sources, Facebook, and Twitter crisis hashtags such as #SMEM (Social Media Emergency Management) as Hurricane Isaac approached the Southern Gulf. What I saw was a company putting emplo...

My Business Paints an Overly Optimistic Financial Picture (to Our Customers, Vendors or Finance Sources) This article is the fifth and final in this series by Firestorm Expert Council member Gary W. Patterson exploring the Five Key Areas where Risk may be lurking in your company, an excerpt from his book Stick Out Your Balance Sheet and Cough Review Part 1 and take the Internal Exam Survey: The Internal Exam – Five Areas Where Risk Can Lurk Review Part 2: Question Today the Ongoing Value of Capitalized Items – Part 2 of 5 Review Part 3: When Your #1 Customer Loses Profitability – Risk Management – Part 3 of 5 Review Part 4: The Company Would Be Better Off Selling the Asset How many companies have painted an overly optimistic financial picture to a customer, vendor, or financing source? According to ADP Screening and Selection Services “44% of Americans lie about their work hi...