Embrace the Media; It really doesn't hurt.

I recently came across a successful CEO who, according to a recent biography, does not like to grant interviews. Apparently it's because he doesn't trust journalists.

This is the CEO of a global business and, frankly, I do not know how anyone in business can take the approach of closing the door to the media at time when every customer, supplier and employee has a mobile phone in their hand and can influence perception of your business at the click of a button. Do you really want to abdicate responsibility for helping influence the external narrative around the business you lead?

The days of going to the media when it suits you, be it once a quarter or at year-end, are over. Or, worst of all, when there is only a crisis to deal with.

The media is under pressure to report 24/7, whether facts are available or not. In addition, you cannot expect the media to report your biggest hits if you never want to explain or discuss the misses.

In Formula 1 it comes with the territory that leadership teams have to learn how to deal with the media on the day to day basis. Get it right, and you will be amazed at how forgiving the media can actually be. Get it wrong and they can help to bury you, and sometimes your business, especially when a crisis strikes.

We have seen an example of this happening already in 2019 with the sudden removal in January of Maurizio Arrivabene as team principal of Scuderia Ferrari. Clearly a talented manager, who enjoyed a successful career at Philip Morris prior to landing the plumb job at Ferrari, his departure in January was greeted with an unrestrained bout of schadenfreude by media keen to underline his shortcomings.

Among the accusations was that he had created a blame culture, failed to deliver at an operational level, failed to support lead driver Sebastian Vettel and, ultimately, simply failed to win the World Championship. Finishing 2nd - not that bad a result in the grand scheme of things - was simply not good enough.

At the heart of much of the criticism for Ferrari as a team, and Mr Arrivabene as an individual, lay the yawning gulf between the organisation and the international media.

As a global sport Formula One generates a huge media following, but as with any business sector there are die-hard specialists and key opinion formers who ultimately determine the narrative the others tend to follow. In addition, as an international sport, Formula One has English as its first language and so, with a few notable exceptions among the Italian and German media, the English language media dominate. When it comes to key opinion formers you don't have to look too far beyond global English language outlets such as the BBC, Sky, Associated Press and Reuters, or specialists such as the Motorsport Network, to see who sets the tone of the coverage.

"Arrivabene's stewardship of Ferrari was characterised by an almost total lack of communication with the outside world." was the summary by BBC Sport's Andrew Benson on the demise of the Ferrari boss. Such views were echoed across other major news outlets.

Ulimately this was the result of a 'closed door' policy which had come to characterise the Ferrari team's media relations under Arrivabene's stewardship. For whatever reason he did not like, or trust, the media, and felt that interaction with them was an unnecessary distraction. If there was one thing guaranteed to amplify every single mistake Arrivabene made, real or perceived, that was the perfect strategy. He was hammered by the media in the latter part of 2017, and then again when the Ferrari championship challenge waned in 2018.

Critics of the media will point out that this is precisely why senior executives try to keep their distance and shun media interaction. It's all about fear. Fear of being found wanting, fear of being found out, fear that a throw away line or comment will be reported, possibly out of context, causing untold embarrassment.

Yet the reality is that the vast majority of media are involved in any industry or sector because they want to be - they actually like it. Added to that their default is simply to be educated, to learn, understand and report what is going on. Very few media, in my long experience, have the knives out. There are always one or two who have some axe to grind, some counter-view that they want to air because it makes them stand out. Even then, however, there are opportunities to be developed by agreeing to that 'difficult' interview, putting your points across and making sure that you are influencing the narrative rather than being a passenger to it.

Arrivabene's successor, Mattia Binotto, has already instigated a new approach to media relations, employing a key communications professional from McLaren - someone for whom the international media already have high regard - and opening up the team to regular press briefings during pre-season testing.

Tweeting a photograph from a press briefing with Vettel two weeks ago, Reuters Formula One correspondent Alan Baldwin wrote, "The new Ferrari approach to media, compared to the last two seasons. Did someone say night and day?"

As a result, whatever happens to Ferrari this season, Binotto will find himself having an easier time of it because the conversation will be two-way. His communications team will not leave gaps for journalists to fill with speculation or criticism.

Mercedes-Benz, for six years the dominant team in Formula 1, have always had a very different philosophy from Ferrari in terms of media relations, and it shows. Their senior leadership teams engage directly with mainstream and social media to help communicate the company's perspective on the good, and bad, things that happen. Admittedly there has not been much bad to deal with, but if and when that does happen, the relationships have been built and the ears to which they talk will be receptive.

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