Feature Articles
Crisis
Management—Don’t Forget the People
by David Perl
In the past, business continuity and crisis management
focused on tangible assets, especially post-crisis recovery
of systems and data and reestablishment of facilities
and services. This all changed in the aftermath of 9/11,
when it became obvious that the human factor was as
critical as the technology and the buildings. Watching
the suffering of the people affected by the Madrid bombings
has reinforced the need to ensure your contingency plans
address the people involved.
Talking
to the Media—When It’s the Last Thing
You Want To Do
by Gerald L. Rockower
During difficult times, reporters are about as welcome
as a root canal. Of course, you don’t have to
talk to them. Instead, you can employ what I call “Option
Two—Freedom from the Press.” I
coined the term when I observed a beet-red CEO of a
large corporation (after a particularly difficult press
conference) mumble, “In this country there is
freedom of the press, and it’s too bad we don’t
have freedom from the press.” If you choose to
employ Option Two, however, you should be prepared to
deal with the consequences.
Making
a Crisis Worse: The Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communication
by Jonathan Bernstein
All businesses are vulnerable to crises. You can't serve
any population without being subjected to situations involving
lawsuits, accusations of impropriety, sudden changes in
company ownership or management and other volatile situations
on which your audiences—and the media that serves
them—often focus. The cheapest way to turn experience
into future profits is to learn from others' mistakes.
With that in mind, the following examples of inappropriate
crisis communication policies, culled from real-life situations,
will provide a tongue-in-cheek guide about what not to
do when your organization faces a crisis.
Corporate
Culture as a Source of Crisis in Companies
by Roman Zuzak
Corporate culture involves certain values and rules
of behaviour within and outside the company, which are
shared by the company employees. The cause and effect
relationship between the company crisis and corporate
culture is reciprocal. If the corporate culture is not
strong enough when a crisis occurs, its value system
can break down or the crisis can unveil inconsistencies
between its stated values and relations and its actual
ones. On the other hand, the corporate culture can directly
launch a crisis causal chain, which means that the original
cause of the crisis initiates other imbalances, or deepens
the imbalances occurring in another department, speeding
up the development of the crisis and making it more
difficult or even impossible to pull the company out.
Columns Visually
Speaking
by Suzanne Salvo
Communicate at the Speed of Sight
Company in crisis? That’s not a pretty picture.
But maybe a picture is just what you need. We live in
a visual world. Unlike language, pictures are understood
instantly by virtually every person on the planet. No
translation is needed. Neither is a spokesperson. Think
about it—have you ever heard a photo complain
that it was misquoted? Using images to communicate your
message, particularly to a multicultural audience, will
insure the correct message is delivered.
Communication
in the News What
the Public Sector Can Learn from the Private Sector
by Mel Harkrader Pine, ABC
Not all corporate executives are willing to admit to
a mistake or to own up to a weakness, of course. We’ve
seen plenty of how-not-to examples in recent years.
But experts in corporate crisis communication will invariably
give the same advice: If the news is bad and it’s
bound to get out anyway, put it out yourself and show
that you care. So why is it so hard for politicians?
Despite years of digging themselves deeper into a hole
when faced with bad news, politicians have not learned
their lesson. The best course is always to release bad
news yourself and to take responsibility and apologize
as appropriate.
Related
Links
The ability to effectively manage a crisis situation
is an essential leadership skill in any business. The
more information you have, the more prepared you’ll
be to handle any aspect of crisis management, from emergency
checklists to media relations. The following links provide
additional tips and resources to supplement this month’s
feature articles.
Case
Studies Industry
News
- From Disaster Recovery to Business Continuity
- More Companies Have Crisis Management Plans
- Survey of Media Finds Corporate Credibility Crisis
Having Effects on Business
- Crisis Planning Boosts Scots Companies' Chances
of Survival
- Communication Is the Key to Keeping Your Customers
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