Allies Make a Big Difference In Weathering Reputational Storms
4/28/25 – – A crisis is a terrible time to be alone. Support from friends in hard times does a lot more than lift spirits. Allies willing to speak up and stand by you under fire can make the difference between failure and success.
We’re seeing that play out as educational and legal institutions are being targeted by the Trump administration. The pugnacious President is picking on the big guys first – – Columbia, Harvard and Princeton in academe, Paul Weiss, Covington & Burling, and Perkins Coie on the legal front.
While this “start at the top” strategy has sent a powerful “stay out of this or you’ll be next” message to other schools and law firms, some coordinated defense is emerging, especially among colleges and universities.
Strength In Numbers
Recognizing the dangers of Columbia’s capitulation to Trump’s demands, more than 400 academic leaders have signed a protest letter expressing solidarity with Harvard’s aggressive pushback. Along with the signatures of the presidents of Yale and Princeton are those of the heads of Framingham State College and Hudson Valley Community College. There really is strength in numbers.
And today The Wall Street Journal reported that, “Leaders of some of the nation’s most prestigious universities have assembled a private collective,” discussing, “how to respond to different demands presented by the Trump administration.” According to the Journal, “the group’s aim is to avoid the fate of some top law firms,” who have been less successful in mounting a unified response.
Trump’s challenges to schools and law firms are not the same. But the contrast in friend-gathering illustrates the importance to any organization of having allies, one of the seven strengths the Crisis Preparedness Quotient (CPQ) measures to predict readiness to weather a crisis. Assessing a company’s crisis preparedness we ask:
Have you nurtured alliances and earned the friendship of influential organizations and individuals who could help you in a pinch?
For Harvard, the answer appears to be yes. For Paul Weiss, not so much. At least for now.
How To Nurture Alliances
Beyond the shared interests and common needs that bring people together in trade associations, chambers of commerce and professional societies, there is a more human element to making friends. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with saying, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
Companies that can count on employees, communities and even competitors to join in their defense during a crisis have demonstrated the sincerity of their purpose and friendship over time.
And it’s important to remember that friendship, even in business, is reciprocal. Don’t expect others to stand with you if you stood on the sidelines the last time they needed your support.
Regardless of your politics, keep a close watch on the collective response to Trump’s battles with academic and legal institutions. Going it alone is unlikely to be a winning strategy. In the meantime, have your management team make a list of your friends. Rank them by the odds they would take a risk and come to your defense in a crisis.
Then make an enemies list.
Hopefully, the former is longer than the latter.
Crisis Quotient Blog 