Monday's quick reads: Toyota, Tiger, and evolution of corporate citizenship

1.) Toyota and Tiger Woods: Kindred spirits? (Fortune Magazine) -- The question is being raised more and more: Can Toyota recover its reputation? There is no simple answer. The writer explores Toyota's chances by comparing the automaker's plight with that of Tiger Woods.

2.) How Whole Foods reaches millions with Twitter (Social Media Examiner) -- Have you ever wondered how a business handles more than a million Twitter fans? Want the inside scoop from the largest retailer on Twitter? Whole Foods Market is a leading example of Twitter’s power to build millions of relationships a single customer at a time. Here are key excerpts from the writer's interview with the Whole Foods team.

3.) Survey: Most marketers shifting portion of their budget to social media (Social Media Business Council) -- Alterian’s 2009 Annual Survey Results shows 84% of marketers plan to shift at least a portion of their traditional marketing budgets to digital/interactive/social media channels in 2010. The survey involved more than 1,000 marketers from around the world and was conducted between October 1st through December 3rd of 2009.

4.) Corporate citizenship for the 21st century (Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship) -- Do you know what it takes to lead in the ever-changing field of corporate citizenship? The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship has just released two reports that help answer that question and that create unique competency models for today practitioners and tomorrow’s aspiring leaders.

Whole Foods enters the recall crosshairs

Whole Foods' reputation as a leading provider of healthy foods met a stiff challenge this month when it recalled five weeks' worth of beef that allegedly sickened multiple customers. Compounding the problem, Whole Foods acknowledged that its tracking system failed to detect that the tainted beef originated from a source Whole Foods never approved. The company's response thus far includes three hallmarks of a good crisis communications plan.

1. Transparency: Whole Foods made information prominently available to the public on its website. Customers are able to contact the company for more information or leave comments on the Whole Foods blog.

2. Candor: The company acknowledged in an online message that its tracking system failed to flag the tainted beef. Acknowledging mistakes like this can be the toughest part of communicating in a crisis. Instinct tells us to avoid embarrassment. But the acknowledgement was necessary for three reasons: 1.) Whole Foods had to be honest with the public, 2.) honesty generally builds credibility with the press, and 3.) the public now knows that the weak link is identified and fixable.

3. Accuracy: Whole Foods sought to correct inaccurate statements in the press. Wisely, Whole Foods didn't blame the press for its problems. Doing so would only create the perception that the company had lost sight of what mattered: safe food. Rather, Whole Foods quickly identified the inaccuracies and provided the correct information to the press and the public. Disciplined messaging like this is key.

Granted, the source of the beef - Nebraska Beef Ltd. - has a long history of controversy, and therefore takes some of the flak away from Whole Foods. Nonetheless, Whole Foods commitment to transparency, candor and accuracy has thus far kept a bad news story from spinning beyond the company's control.