PR missteps accelerated the downfall of Elizabeth Holmes

In analyzing the final chapter of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ career, it’s tempting to attribute the entrepreneur’s dramatic downfall to greed and hubris. But a series of fatal errors in Holmes’ approach to corporate communications is also to blame.

From implementing a management style based on secrecy and ignoring employees who voiced concerns, to antagonizing credible journalists along the way, Holmes’ undoing was a clinic in what not to do when faced with scrutiny.

To be sure, Holmes demonstrated an uncanny ability to dupe sophisticated investors, accomplished board members, savvy clients in the retail and medical sectors, and intrepid journalists as she marketed her firm’s flawed lab testing technology under false pretenses.

And while Theranos employees drank the Kool-Aid for years, internal discontent that prompted team members to go public with their grievances is what ultimately took down the company and sealed Holmes’ fate as a disgraced “former” CEO.

The sheer audacity of the Theranos fraud may qualify it a once-in-a-generation scheme, but the Holmes saga offers a cautionary tale for PR professionals and business leaders alike.