GMO Internet Group chief Masatoshi Kumagai held a press conference on November 2 over unauthorized access and a data leak at a group company. The session ran about three and a half hours, with several senior executives on stage taking reporters' questions.
That openness is worth crediting. Companies hit by cyberattacks and leaks often skip a briefing altogether and post a notice on their website instead. GMO kept disclosing information after the problem came to light, and Kumagai opened by apologizing without excuses — for the breach and for his own inappropriate posts on social media.
From a crisis communications standpoint, though, the briefing gave up a lot. Kumagai aired his personal views at length, and his manner drew attention away from the breach. By the middle of the session it was hard to see what the conference was for.
A briefing that made its own news
An apology conference exists to do five things quietly: apologize to those affected, explain the facts, set out the response and the measures to prevent a repeat, and address management responsibility. The chief executive does not need to stand out while doing it.
Kumagai instead spoke at length about his management philosophy and his feelings about the internet industry, and at times wept. He used unusual turns of phrase to show his resolve, scolded an employee during the session, and picked reporters himself to steer the questions.
The result was a second story running alongside the leak: the chief executive's own behavior. He repeatedly used the phrase "sandglass of life" while describing a career given to the internet industry, and said at one point that he could not die leaving a internet polluted by malice. Such lines can be interesting as a statement of a manager's sense of mission. In an apology conference, they competed with the explanation.
The lines that outlive the briefing
Chief executives who handle apology conferences badly tend to share one habit: they hand reporters a phrase that begs to be a headline. The review cites Tetsuro Ishikawa of Snow Brand Milk Products ("I haven't slept"), Hiroyuki Kaneshige of Big Motor ("a desecration of people who love golf") and Noriyuki Higashiyama, installed as president of the former Johnny & Associates ("the most foolish incident in human history"). The intent behind each differs, but each came to stand for its briefing.
Once loose, such a phrase travels on its own. It becomes a headline and gets shared on social media, and criticism builds around it rather than around the breach. For TV and online news the memorable moment is exactly what they want. For the company holding the briefing it adds fuel to a fire it was trying to put out.
The lesson is unglamorous. An apology conference calls for specific, plain and calm explanation, not lines people will remember.