Companies come in all shapes and sizes, and smaller ones may have less experience dealing with a crisis when one arises. However, when it's time to "throw down the gauntlet," so to speak, the CEO needs to place crisis management abilities high among their CEO responsibilities.
Now, in the case of the dispute between the app company FiftyThree and Facebook, the reaction doesn't seem to have escalated into full-out legal action just yet. But the previous company is still said to have been shocked upon finding out that the social media giant had created an app that uses the name "Paper"—because FiftyThree already created an established app of the same name, as Fast Company notes.
The original "virtual sketchpad" application has reportedly been downloaded by more than 100 million users. Although Facebook's version looks to focus more on presenting data from social media, the fact remains that the name similarity might cause confusion among browsers.
In response, no less a source than the CEO of FiftyThree, Georg Petschnigg, took to the blog to pen a firm but still level-headed post directing Facebook to make a "simple fix."
"We think Facebook can apply the same degree of thought they put into the app into building a brand name of their own," Petschnigg wrote. "Will they be the corporate giant who bullies their developers? Or be agile, recognize a mistake, and fix it?"
Many CEOs will probably admit that they aren't the right ones to be in charge of the corporate blog, but the ability to issue clear and engaging statements that don't drive the user away is a valuable one that an executive recruiter can keep an eye out for.
