The Skewering of Skilling

Last week, PR industry pundit Fraser Seitel opined that former Enron CEO Ken Lay made a PR blunder by refusing to testify before Congress. "You should answer every question squarely and straightforwardly. Duck nothing," he advised. This week he thinks that Lay's partner in crime, Jeff Skilling, also blundered by the way he did testify. "The Skilling testimony -- designed to showcase the former Enron executive as a candid, honest and willing witness -- boomeranged like a Mike Tyson social call to Lennox Lewis," Seitel writes. What should other scandal-ridden corporate executives do if called before Congress? Seitel offers advice on the best way to weasel through the ordeal: don't act arrogant, don't pick fights with the media, and don't invoke the "Sergeant Schultz" defense of "I see nothing."