Crisis manager who inspired ‘Scandal’: My No. 1 tip for gaining respect after making a mistake

February 26, 2025

Read it all on cnbc

Crisis manager Judy Smith, the real-life inspiration for Scandal, shares her top advice for earning respect after a mistake: admit it early instead of hoping it stays hidden. Drawing on decades counseling presidents, Fortune 500 leaders, and high-profile figures, she explains why prompt ownership, a clear apology, and a solutions mindset tend to preserve credibility. The article also spotlights a well-known corporate example that illustrates how sustained accountability can outperform “say sorry once and move on.” Read the full CNBC Make It article for the complete guidance, quotes, and case details.

Judy Smith — inspiration for ‘Scandal’ TV series — on her path to the White House

January 3, 2026

From riding past in her father’s taxicab to working inside the Oval Office, crisis management expert Judy Smith tells the little-known story of her path to becoming the first Black woman to brief the White House press corps. Smith, CEO of Smith & Company and the inspiration for Shonda Rhimes’s hit series “Scandal,” tells Yahoo

How the real Olivia Pope would have handled the CrowdStrike outage

December 26, 2025

Fast Company sought out crisis manager Judy Smith ( the real-world inspiration behind Scandal’s Olivia Pope ) to unpack what the CrowdStrike outage reveals about high-stakes leadership when the world is watching; drawing on decades advising world leaders and Fortune 500 CEOs, Smith highlights the pivotal decisions that shape trust in the first hours, the

The Board’s Role in Navigating Political Risk

February 26, 2025

Erin Essenmacher argues that political risk has become a defining boardroom challenge, and she spotlights Judy Smith as one of the most credible voices on how leaders should navigate it. Smith’s perspective centers on disciplined situational awareness and a clear-eyed read of culture and stakeholders, the kind of judgment that helps organizations move decisively without

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.