Day: October 23, 2017

John Besh’s Sexual Misconduct Implosion Absolutely Stunning

It’s nice to see NOLA Media Group breaking big news again:

John Besh restaurants fostered culture of sexual harassment, 25 women say ~ Brett Anderson

I like the way Anderson framed the story with the missing HR Department being front and center. In my day job as a CPA I often see small businesses that think things like HR are luxuries that only “big companies” can afford when the fact is Human Resources and Compliance are as much a part of the business environment as are core operations. While it is true from the article that Besh did not have a problem hiring female managers, he sure did treat them badly by treating some as sex objects. What a complete waste.

From reading the article Saturday it became very clear that Mr. Besh likely needs a good criminal defense lawyer to go with the legions of civil labor lawyers Besh Restaurant Group will need to unravel the mess.

John Besh has taken responsibility for his actions in a statement he released to NOLA Media Group and that is a very important first step. That said I’m not sure even the best crisis managers in PR can salvage the Besh Restaurant Group, even with today’s news that Besh stepped down from day to day operations to focus 100% on salvaging his marriage and family. Harrah’s banned Besh Restaurant this morning and business at his free standing eateries will certainly suffer. In that respect all 1,200 employees of the Besh restaurant Group are paying the price for upper management’s recklessly bad behavior and that is the biggest shame of all.

Finally, a reminder to the guys that the lady working next to you is someone’s daughter, wife etc. Treat them like you’d have others treat your family members and you’ll never go wrong. I imagine this will dominate the local news cycle for a while.

Other Voices | Tom Callaghan: It’s Sheldon Adelson’s Dream and We’re living It

Billionaire Casino owner Sheldon Adelson is not wracked by doubt. In Sheldon’s world there is no such thing as the Palestinian People, there was never anything to negotiate with Iran, and Israel’s Capitol is Jerusalem.

Sheldon has no trouble keeping things simple and no problem getting to the point.

In dealing with the Trump Campaign, Adelson was reluctant to come in big because, like everybody else, he didn’t think Trump could win. By late October, Adelson was sufficiently convinced that there was enough of a chance that Trump could surprise that it was better to be in than out.

So he came in to the tune of $30 Million to Trump with about 10 days to go and another $5 Million for the Trump Inaugural Committee. A total of $35 Million from a man with a net worth of $35 Billion…no strain, plenty of opportunity to gain.

Before that contribution was made I think we can safely assume that Trump and Adelson spent about 30 seconds talking about “good government” in general and a couple of hours talking about the particulars of Adelson’s latter life passion (since his marriage to his second wife, Israeli born Miriam, in 1991)…Israel.

I continue to be amazed at the number of people who know a lot about a lot and know almost nothing about Sheldon Adelson. Born into a relatively poor Jewish family in heavily Irish Catholic Dorchester, MA I’m sure he took his knocks but there is no doubt he came out with a formidable toughness and focus that have made him the most powerful private citizen in two countries…Israel and the United States.

In Israel, he helped defeat an Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, when Sheldon thought he was being too accommodative to the Palestinians and he has sustained and supported Netanyahu through his Newspaper, Israel Hayom, that has the widest circulation in Israel. Continue Reading……..