Crisis managers have long known the benefits of saying, "I'm sorry," but many other business circles are just now catching on. In a recent post on his blog, "Crisis Guru", James Lukaszewski, crisis communications expert, broke down exactly how this practice is changing litigation:
Many in the legal profession remain against aggressive apologizing, claiming that it will increase lawsuits and payouts. But years of evidence is accumulating that prompt acknowledgement coupled with clear apologies and sensible offers of settlement can eliminate the litigation phase of legal interaction between victim and perpetrator, in favor of an attitude of settlement.
Although it may mean less business for trial lawyers, a sincere apology will remain a priceless crisis management tool.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Obvious Necessity
Although it may seem an obvious necessity to readers of this blog, believe it or not there are still organizations out there operating without crisis management plans in place. An article recently posted on the AusBusiness Review did an excellent job of summing up the reasons no business should overlook this step:
Although it is not a necessity or a legal obligation and it may take a substantial amount of time to complete, crisis management planning can provide a fantastic resource to refer to should one of the planned crises take place. It is impossible to plan for all specific eventualities, but it is possible to create procedures that can be carried out should the most prominent or likely negatively impacting events happen. Furthermore, for the time that is spent collating the information and creating the plans, it will be only a small percentage of the time that would be spent recovering from a crisis if the plans were not available to refer to or carry out.
A business without a crisis management plan is like a tightrope walker without a net, bound for trouble!
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Although it is not a necessity or a legal obligation and it may take a substantial amount of time to complete, crisis management planning can provide a fantastic resource to refer to should one of the planned crises take place. It is impossible to plan for all specific eventualities, but it is possible to create procedures that can be carried out should the most prominent or likely negatively impacting events happen. Furthermore, for the time that is spent collating the information and creating the plans, it will be only a small percentage of the time that would be spent recovering from a crisis if the plans were not available to refer to or carry out.
A business without a crisis management plan is like a tightrope walker without a net, bound for trouble!
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Spokesperson
As the person responsible for communicating your story to the public, media and your stakeholders, your organization's spokesperson is critical to effective crisis management. An article for Crisis Response Communications, written by Bob Roemer, delves deeper into the role:
Refusing to comment or merely issuing a written statement does not constitute communicating and raises doubts about the credibility and competency of management. It also causes your stakeholders to wonder what the organization is hiding or whether the crisis is worse than was thought.
The first step in preparing your crisis plan is to obtain senior management’s commitment to communicate and be accessible to the media.
The role of the spokesperson is to implement that commitment.
The article also quotes BCM President Jonathan Bernstein on the effectiveness of media training, for which there is no substitute. There is no excuse for not training anyone who could potentially be exposed to the media, and choosing not to do is is choosing to risk highly damaging errors.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Refusing to comment or merely issuing a written statement does not constitute communicating and raises doubts about the credibility and competency of management. It also causes your stakeholders to wonder what the organization is hiding or whether the crisis is worse than was thought.
The first step in preparing your crisis plan is to obtain senior management’s commitment to communicate and be accessible to the media.
The role of the spokesperson is to implement that commitment.
The article also quotes BCM President Jonathan Bernstein on the effectiveness of media training, for which there is no substitute. There is no excuse for not training anyone who could potentially be exposed to the media, and choosing not to do is is choosing to risk highly damaging errors.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Clashing with the Media: Obama vs Fox News
When you are called in to perform crisis management for an organization, chances are the media will be involved. In a recent article, media/crisis management expert Rick Amme, President of Amme & Associates, shed some light on the reporter's side of the issue, as well as what to do when someone gets your story wrong.
First of all, most reporters are trying to get it right. Occasionally they make mistakes out of ignorance, writing too fast, or overlooking a significant point. It’s not personal, they just screw up. Many times I have contacted a reporter on behalf of a client about a story error. Mostly they say, “Thanks for letting me know, I’ll fix it.” If the reporter is part of the problem, a call to an editor or more senior person sometimes reigns in a wayward journalist. In other words, if a story unfairly and mistakenly hurts you, don’t grumble about the !@#$%^&* media and ruminate. Call!
Featuring a look at the recent tussle between the Obama administration and Fox News, as well as several experiences from his own career, Rick's article provides some insight into the complicated relationship between media and crisis manager.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
First of all, most reporters are trying to get it right. Occasionally they make mistakes out of ignorance, writing too fast, or overlooking a significant point. It’s not personal, they just screw up. Many times I have contacted a reporter on behalf of a client about a story error. Mostly they say, “Thanks for letting me know, I’ll fix it.” If the reporter is part of the problem, a call to an editor or more senior person sometimes reigns in a wayward journalist. In other words, if a story unfairly and mistakenly hurts you, don’t grumble about the !@#$%^&* media and ruminate. Call!
Featuring a look at the recent tussle between the Obama administration and Fox News, as well as several experiences from his own career, Rick's article provides some insight into the complicated relationship between media and crisis manager.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Monday, October 26, 2009
Written in Stone
Write this on a rock... In the future, more customers will connect with your business through online communities you build and serve than from any other marketing source.
I couldn't agree more with business expert Jim Blasingame's assessment, taken from an article for Mantra.com. As Blasingame says in his article, social media is not a completely new invention, but simply a new and expanded means of communicating. By understanding this, you make it much easier to convince unbelieving decision makers to include these platforms in their organizations overall crisis management strategies.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
I couldn't agree more with business expert Jim Blasingame's assessment, taken from an article for Mantra.com. As Blasingame says in his article, social media is not a completely new invention, but simply a new and expanded means of communicating. By understanding this, you make it much easier to convince unbelieving decision makers to include these platforms in their organizations overall crisis management strategies.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Golden Rules
Speaking to the media when your organization is in crisis is certainly one of the more daunting tasks in public relations. Although no substitute for experience, Jonathan Hemus, founder of Insignia Communications, has written his "Ten Golden Rules for the Crisis Spokesperson" to help you on your way. One of my favorites:
Know and repeatedly emphasize your key messages. A media interview is an opportunity for you to communicate important information. Plan your messages ahead of the interview and seize every opportunity to introduce them into the interview. Avoid being led by the interviewer.
Getting your message out is critical to crisis management; by taking advantage of every opportunity to communicate it, you can ensure it reaches as many minds as possible.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Know and repeatedly emphasize your key messages. A media interview is an opportunity for you to communicate important information. Plan your messages ahead of the interview and seize every opportunity to introduce them into the interview. Avoid being led by the interviewer.
Getting your message out is critical to crisis management; by taking advantage of every opportunity to communicate it, you can ensure it reaches as many minds as possible.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Social Dominance
Sean Parker, a managing partner at Founder’s Fund, gave an interesting talk today at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. The key to it is simple: Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and eBay will dominate the web going forward. One company of note that won’t? Google.
Why? Parker believes we’re shifting from the first phase of the Internet, which was dominated by what he calls “information services” These are companies like Google and Yahoo. But next up to dominate the web will be the “network services” like Facebook and Twitter, he believes.
Though this bold statement by Sean Parker, taken from a TechCrunch article, is somewhat tainted by the fact that he helped to found Facebook, anyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis can see the rising dominance of social media and networking services. Parker's words reinforce a point we often make here - in order to properly perform crisis management you need to keep a finger on the pulse of your peers, critics and target audience, and in this day and age that means establishing a social media presence.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Why? Parker believes we’re shifting from the first phase of the Internet, which was dominated by what he calls “information services” These are companies like Google and Yahoo. But next up to dominate the web will be the “network services” like Facebook and Twitter, he believes.
Though this bold statement by Sean Parker, taken from a TechCrunch article, is somewhat tainted by the fact that he helped to found Facebook, anyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis can see the rising dominance of social media and networking services. Parker's words reinforce a point we often make here - in order to properly perform crisis management you need to keep a finger on the pulse of your peers, critics and target audience, and in this day and age that means establishing a social media presence.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Security Breach
As mass communication platforms like Twitter, Facebook and the like become more trusted and commonplace, the possibility of unscrupulous people doing serious damage also rises. Web traffic specialists Click Forensics are finding this out first hand after their corporate Twitter account was compromised and used as part of a massive phishing scheme. A MediaPost article has more details:
The Twittersphere came under a phishing attack Wednesday that sent direct messages to Twitterers. The messages, which appear to be sent by a follower, contained a link that asked the person to type in personal information and password.
ClickForensics (@ClickForensics) sent an apology to its followers after the virus gained access to its password and took over the company's Twitter account. "Twitter DM was attacked today. To all who received DMs from us ... apologies ... we did not DM our followers. We got lots of spam, too," the post read.
The possibility of Web accounts, both personal and business, being compromised is a definite reality. If you fail consider this situation during your crisis management planning you're asking for trouble - a more malicious hacker could have made things much worse for Click Forensics.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
The Twittersphere came under a phishing attack Wednesday that sent direct messages to Twitterers. The messages, which appear to be sent by a follower, contained a link that asked the person to type in personal information and password.
ClickForensics (@ClickForensics) sent an apology to its followers after the virus gained access to its password and took over the company's Twitter account. "Twitter DM was attacked today. To all who received DMs from us ... apologies ... we did not DM our followers. We got lots of spam, too," the post read.
The possibility of Web accounts, both personal and business, being compromised is a definite reality. If you fail consider this situation during your crisis management planning you're asking for trouble - a more malicious hacker could have made things much worse for Click Forensics.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Rapid Fire
I've written before about the power of the I-Reporter - literally anyone who posts news on the Web, especially those who blur the line between amateur and professional. With the age of Twitter upon us, the power I-Reporters wield is greater than ever. An article from Brand Republic provides a recent example:
As has now been widely reported, on Thursday blogger Jonathan MacDonald filmed a London Underground staff member verbally abusing an elderly passenger after he got caught in the doors of a train. By Friday morning it was on Twitter, we were indeed tweeting about it ourselves in our office around 10-ish. By the time I left work in the afternoon the story was staring at me from the front page of the Evening Standard, complete with calls by London Mayor Boris Johnson for an investigation.
One person with a cell phone in the wrong spot can cause complete chaos for your organization. Crisis management plans absolutely must include ways to respond and take control of your story within a matter of hours, if not sooner.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
As has now been widely reported, on Thursday blogger Jonathan MacDonald filmed a London Underground staff member verbally abusing an elderly passenger after he got caught in the doors of a train. By Friday morning it was on Twitter, we were indeed tweeting about it ourselves in our office around 10-ish. By the time I left work in the afternoon the story was staring at me from the front page of the Evening Standard, complete with calls by London Mayor Boris Johnson for an investigation.
One person with a cell phone in the wrong spot can cause complete chaos for your organization. Crisis management plans absolutely must include ways to respond and take control of your story within a matter of hours, if not sooner.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Boston Terror Suspect
In an editorial for the September 1, 2007 edition of Crisis Manager, I predicted that it was only a matter of time before terrorists struck malls, theme parks and other popular public locations in the United States. Information recently released by the federal government shows that this prediction has already come uncomfortably close to coming true. A Boston terror suspect arrested last year is being charged with multiple terrorism-related crimes after federal investigators uncovered evidence of his involvement in several plots, including these, described today in a CNN article:
Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, traveled overseas, sought training from the Taliban, wanted to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq and hoped to kill one or two members of the executive branch of the U.S. government, said Michael K. Loucks, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.
They also planned to attack at least one U.S. shopping mall, Loucks said, but that did not happen because they couldn't obtain the assault weapons they wanted, he said. He didn't name the mall.
Loucks said the men had planned to assault multiple entrances of the mall, and had determined the steps they would take when first responders arrived.
Although this type of situation is an unfortunate reality of this day and age, the danger and impact can be minimized by putting crisis management protocols into place long before a situation occurs.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, traveled overseas, sought training from the Taliban, wanted to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq and hoped to kill one or two members of the executive branch of the U.S. government, said Michael K. Loucks, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.
They also planned to attack at least one U.S. shopping mall, Loucks said, but that did not happen because they couldn't obtain the assault weapons they wanted, he said. He didn't name the mall.
Loucks said the men had planned to assault multiple entrances of the mall, and had determined the steps they would take when first responders arrived.
Although this type of situation is an unfortunate reality of this day and age, the danger and impact can be minimized by putting crisis management protocols into place long before a situation occurs.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Malicious Statements
When an organization is in a hard spot, it draws the attention of the media. Unfortunately, sometimes media outlets become overzealous and will publish malicious statements. Because countries interpret the relevant laws differently, having these statements retracted can often cause headaches.
In the second of a three-part series written for our Crisis Manager newsletter, Rene A. Henry explains why it's important to know the laws, wherever you are:
If you can't get a publication or media organization to correct or retract a defamatory or malicious statement, then the only alternative may be litigation. Chances of winning in court depend where you sue and where you live.
Courts in the U.S. require the plaintiff, or party libeled, to prove that the defendant published the statement knowing it to be false, or published it with reckless disregard to its truth. However, under laws in England, Canada, Australia, the British Caribbean, and other countries, the defendant is considered guilty until proved innocent.
Because this subject arises so often in crisis management, those in the field would be wise to become well versed in laws regarding slander, libel and the like.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
In the second of a three-part series written for our Crisis Manager newsletter, Rene A. Henry explains why it's important to know the laws, wherever you are:
If you can't get a publication or media organization to correct or retract a defamatory or malicious statement, then the only alternative may be litigation. Chances of winning in court depend where you sue and where you live.
Courts in the U.S. require the plaintiff, or party libeled, to prove that the defendant published the statement knowing it to be false, or published it with reckless disregard to its truth. However, under laws in England, Canada, Australia, the British Caribbean, and other countries, the defendant is considered guilty until proved innocent.
Because this subject arises so often in crisis management, those in the field would be wise to become well versed in laws regarding slander, libel and the like.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Evolution of Communication
Crisis communications is a constantly changing field. In his article, "The Evolution of Crisis Communication," written for the latest Crisis Manager,Thomas E. Lee uses his experiences, both past and present, to create a list of five principles integral to crisis communications success in 2009. How are the rules different now, as opposed to ten years ago? Lee explains:
Armed with a Smart Phone, every citizen has become a source of news and information. Look no further than Janis Krums, the blogger who happened to be on the first ferry to arrive on the scene a few minutes after US Airways Flight 1549 had plunged into the Hudson River in New York City earlier this year. Within ten minutes of the crash, Krums had used Twitter (and Twitpic) to post a photo of the downed plane with news of the crash and distributed that information to tens of thousands of people. It was roughly 30 minutes before the first news crew was even on the scene.
Controlling "the message" today as a PR professional no longer means controlling the press. Since everyone who has access to a computer is now a viable news source, it is now virtually impossible to completely control the message. It is still possible, however, to mitigate the crisis and influence public opinion.
Although the rules may change, the fact remains the same - without effective communication, crisis management is impossible.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Armed with a Smart Phone, every citizen has become a source of news and information. Look no further than Janis Krums, the blogger who happened to be on the first ferry to arrive on the scene a few minutes after US Airways Flight 1549 had plunged into the Hudson River in New York City earlier this year. Within ten minutes of the crash, Krums had used Twitter (and Twitpic) to post a photo of the downed plane with news of the crash and distributed that information to tens of thousands of people. It was roughly 30 minutes before the first news crew was even on the scene.
Controlling "the message" today as a PR professional no longer means controlling the press. Since everyone who has access to a computer is now a viable news source, it is now virtually impossible to completely control the message. It is still possible, however, to mitigate the crisis and influence public opinion.
Although the rules may change, the fact remains the same - without effective communication, crisis management is impossible.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hot off the Presses!
As promised, we're releasing an extra Crisis Manager already for last month's dearth of same. This issue again features articles from two talented authors. In the first, new guest author Thomas E. Lee looks into his own past to examine the ways in which crisis communications have evolved over the past decade. After that, author and columnist Rene Henry delivers the second of a three-part series, this time speaking on the topic of defamation, a subject about which any crisis management practitioner should be an expert.
The Crisis Manager is a bi-weekly newsletter filled with guest articles and editorials about anything related to the field of crisis management. To have every issue delivered straight to your Inbox, just click here and hit SEND!
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
The Crisis Manager is a bi-weekly newsletter filled with guest articles and editorials about anything related to the field of crisis management. To have every issue delivered straight to your Inbox, just click here and hit SEND!
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
The BCM Blogging Team
I have just added text to the bottom of our blog's home page to more accurately describe who has been working on the material here for some months now. I used to have to do this all myself but, I am very grateful and proud that my 25-year-old son, Erik, has been understudying me as a writer and "SEO/Social Media Program Implementer" and has shown great skill in these areas. So going forward, all of the blog posts, with the rare exception of ones I think need to have my signature block, will be signed off on by "The BCM Blogging Team."
Some of my clients have already benefited from Erik's work as well, and I know you'll welcome him to the fold!
JB
Jonathan Bernstein, President
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.
Some of my clients have already benefited from Erik's work as well, and I know you'll welcome him to the fold!
JB
Jonathan Bernstein, President
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
H1N1 Should Get Leadership Heads Out of the Sand
The White House predicts that 20 to 40 percent of all Americans may develop H1N1 flu this season, and that 30,000 to 90,000 could die from it. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a more conservative prognosis, it does expect H1N1 to hit more communities in the coming season than in the spring/summer 2009 outbreak.
This quote, taken from an article on EHSToday.com, will hopefully be a wake-up call for the leadership of any organization. Even if the numbers of infected are less than predicted, and even though most will suffer nothing more or less than "routine" flu symptoms, the pandemic will undoubtedly touch everyone in some way. By taking crisis management steps in the areas of business continuity and crisis communications, you can minimize the negative impact of this situation on your organization.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
This quote, taken from an article on EHSToday.com, will hopefully be a wake-up call for the leadership of any organization. Even if the numbers of infected are less than predicted, and even though most will suffer nothing more or less than "routine" flu symptoms, the pandemic will undoubtedly touch everyone in some way. By taking crisis management steps in the areas of business continuity and crisis communications, you can minimize the negative impact of this situation on your organization.
The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
New CPR Method
Everywhere we look in life, we see forms of crisis management. Nowhere are these more prevalent than in the work of first responders - police, paramedics and firemen. A new CPR method is saving lives and fast establishing itself as the standard nationwide. In an interview for a CNN article detailing a recent situation wherein the method saved a woman's life, which also contains easy instructions on learning CPR yourself at home, Dr. Ben Bobrow explains how and why:
"We said it's hard to do a lot worse than 97 percent of the people dying, and so we revamped everything from how we track cardiac arrest, to how we train the public to do CPR and how we train dispatchers to give CPR instruction," said Dr. Ben Bobrow, who oversees emergency services for the Arizona Department of Health. "What we think right now is at the very early stages of cardiac arrest, when someone initially collapses, the really important thing is to just get blood moving though the body, and that's by doing rapid, forceful, uninterrupted compressions."
CPR is a skill that everyone, not just first responders, should have. It takes minutes to learn and could some day save the life of someone you know.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
"We said it's hard to do a lot worse than 97 percent of the people dying, and so we revamped everything from how we track cardiac arrest, to how we train the public to do CPR and how we train dispatchers to give CPR instruction," said Dr. Ben Bobrow, who oversees emergency services for the Arizona Department of Health. "What we think right now is at the very early stages of cardiac arrest, when someone initially collapses, the really important thing is to just get blood moving though the body, and that's by doing rapid, forceful, uninterrupted compressions."
CPR is a skill that everyone, not just first responders, should have. It takes minutes to learn and could some day save the life of someone you know.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sorry!
To anyone involved in crisis management on a regular basis, the idea that a sincere apology can mitigate damages is a no brainer. In other sectors, however, this idea is only just beginning to catch on. The success of legislation which has been adopted in 34 states, based on the theory that health care providers acknowledging and apologizing for mistakes would reduce the likelihood of patient lawsuits, has led the business community to take notice.
In an article for the National Law Journal, Marc E. Williams shares one of his own experiences with the success of this method:
Anecdotally, I have seen this work in my own practice. A small chemical spill caused local neighborhoods around an industrial facility in my home state of West Virginia to be sheltered in place for the better part of a day. As part of the company's emergency response plan, company representatives and their lawyers went door-to-door in the affected neighborhoods to see if there was anything that the residents needed from the company. The gratitude of the people was palpable. And not a single one made a claim for damages or inconvenience.
As health care providers have discovered, accepting responsibility is one of the most important moves an organization can make in attempting to move past a crisis and rebuild their reputation.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
In an article for the National Law Journal, Marc E. Williams shares one of his own experiences with the success of this method:
Anecdotally, I have seen this work in my own practice. A small chemical spill caused local neighborhoods around an industrial facility in my home state of West Virginia to be sheltered in place for the better part of a day. As part of the company's emergency response plan, company representatives and their lawyers went door-to-door in the affected neighborhoods to see if there was anything that the residents needed from the company. The gratitude of the people was palpable. And not a single one made a claim for damages or inconvenience.
As health care providers have discovered, accepting responsibility is one of the most important moves an organization can make in attempting to move past a crisis and rebuild their reputation.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Cleaning Up
We frequently discuss crisis prevention and response, but a topic that's not touched upon as often is the clean-up phase. In an article penned for the latest Crisis Manager, Jonathan Hemus, founder of Insignia Communications, explains his way of thinking:
Getting through a crisis successfully can suck every bit of energy from individuals as well as a company: it seems to occupy every thought, decision, and action of executives, and to some extent all employees. So when the heat of the crisis subsides, it's tempting to move on as quickly as possible and return to "business as usual". Big mistake.
Even when the crisis appears to be over and life starts to return to a state of normality there are still a number of items to be addressed, and they must not be ignored.
Crisis management is not a process that simply ends; if measures are not taken after a situation is resolved to both protect against and/or eliminate the causes of a crisis, it is bound to happen again.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Getting through a crisis successfully can suck every bit of energy from individuals as well as a company: it seems to occupy every thought, decision, and action of executives, and to some extent all employees. So when the heat of the crisis subsides, it's tempting to move on as quickly as possible and return to "business as usual". Big mistake.
Even when the crisis appears to be over and life starts to return to a state of normality there are still a number of items to be addressed, and they must not be ignored.
Crisis management is not a process that simply ends; if measures are not taken after a situation is resolved to both protect against and/or eliminate the causes of a crisis, it is bound to happen again.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Friday, October 9, 2009
Planning to Respond
One of the most critical parts of crisis management is having a plan in place before crises hit. Featured in the most recent edition of the Crisis Manager is an excerpt from PR expert Bob Roemer's book, "When the Balloon Goes Up: The Communicator's Guide to Crisis Response," in which he explains his unique planning strategy, drawn from his experience with military war gaming. A quote:
War gaming is a methodical process military planners use to identify the multitude of decisions, actions and resources required for a particular operation. It's also an excellent process to use when creating a communication plan. One step at a time, beginning with how you might be notified of a situation, identify the decisions and actions necessary to initiate and sustain your response the way you desire it to be implemented.
By implementing this methodical approach to creating crisis response plans, organizations can ensure that there are no holes in their defense and thwart crises before they do any lasting damage.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
War gaming is a methodical process military planners use to identify the multitude of decisions, actions and resources required for a particular operation. It's also an excellent process to use when creating a communication plan. One step at a time, beginning with how you might be notified of a situation, identify the decisions and actions necessary to initiate and sustain your response the way you desire it to be implemented.
By implementing this methodical approach to creating crisis response plans, organizations can ensure that there are no holes in their defense and thwart crises before they do any lasting damage.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Online Reputation Crises
With the public nowadays looking to the Web for the vast majority of their news and information, having a poor online reputation is a major no-no. In an article written for our latest Crisis Manager newsletter, Rose Jensen offers up some advice for online crisis management.
Whether you're an individual or a business, managing your online reputation can have a big impact on your ability to work successfully. Discovering that it's gone south, despite your best efforts to protect it, can be a unnerving event. If you're facing this kind of crisis, or just want to be prepared, don't panic. Instead, use these tips and your own plan to handle the crisis effectively and productively.
Although there are some actions specific to online crises, the crisis management standards of appropriate planning and careful response still show themselves to be effective wherever applied.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Whether you're an individual or a business, managing your online reputation can have a big impact on your ability to work successfully. Discovering that it's gone south, despite your best efforts to protect it, can be a unnerving event. If you're facing this kind of crisis, or just want to be prepared, don't panic. Instead, use these tips and your own plan to handle the crisis effectively and productively.
Although there are some actions specific to online crises, the crisis management standards of appropriate planning and careful response still show themselves to be effective wherever applied.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
New Crisis Manager Newsletter!
After a long delay due to extensive work travel, we've finally got a new issue of our Crisis Manager newsletter up on the BCM website. In return for your patience, this edition features three enlightening guest articles representing different aspects of crisis management, all drawn from the real-life experiences of PR experts.
To have all of this crisis management goodness delivered straight to your Inbox every week, including special subscriber-only contests and offers, just click here and hit "Send," no typing required!
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
To have all of this crisis management goodness delivered straight to your Inbox every week, including special subscriber-only contests and offers, just click here and hit "Send," no typing required!
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Other Side
Almost every public relations professional has, or will, manage a client’s communications in a crisis situation. We all know the drills. But, how many of us have been on the other side, crisis management for the plaintiff’s side; working for the organization that wanted the publicity to continue.
In a recent blog post, PR vet Spencer Maus expands on these words by using a real-life crisis management case study to demonstrate the difference between trying to turn the tide of a crisis and making effort effort to build it further. As the article illustrates, although the strategies for both offense and defense may seem similar, minute differences in approach can shift the balance between between success and failure.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
In a recent blog post, PR vet Spencer Maus expands on these words by using a real-life crisis management case study to demonstrate the difference between trying to turn the tide of a crisis and making effort effort to build it further. As the article illustrates, although the strategies for both offense and defense may seem similar, minute differences in approach can shift the balance between between success and failure.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Extreme Measures
Those in the medical field face some of the most extreme crisis management situations one could imagine, including this one, described in an article from ProPublica.org:
With scant public input, state and federal officials are pushing ahead with plans that -- during a severe flu outbreak -- would deny use of scarce ventilators by some patients to assure they would be available for patients judged to benefit the most from them.
The plans have been drawn up to give doctors specific guidelines for extreme circumstances, and they include procedures under which patients who weren’t improving would be removed from life support with or without permission of their families.
Government representatives would be very wise to have credible key messages on this subject very soon, if they don't want it to escalate into a full-fledged crisis
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
With scant public input, state and federal officials are pushing ahead with plans that -- during a severe flu outbreak -- would deny use of scarce ventilators by some patients to assure they would be available for patients judged to benefit the most from them.
The plans have been drawn up to give doctors specific guidelines for extreme circumstances, and they include procedures under which patients who weren’t improving would be removed from life support with or without permission of their families.
Government representatives would be very wise to have credible key messages on this subject very soon, if they don't want it to escalate into a full-fledged crisis
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
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