It’s a fundamental rule of crisis management: Think with a little less head and a little more heart.
That’s a concept BP’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward should have embraced, some business school professors say. Instead, over the last 99 days, since the oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico, Hayward has been criticized for a growing list of public gaffes in handling one of the worst environmental disasters in history, culminating in his departure as CEO, announced Tuesday.
This quote, from a CNN article, hits the nail on the head. Although the BP disaster would have required extensive crisis management regardless, Hayward’s thoughtless and uncaring behavior has caused an unnecessary and almost immeasurable amount of reputation damage to the oil giant, not to mention the costs now being paid by affected businesses, individuals, and the environment. Meanwhile, the gaps between Hayward’s foot-in-mouth moments were filled by a thundering silence from the organization, leaving plenty of room for rumor and innuendo to fill the gap and worsen the situation. Poorly played across the board, the entire situation will undoubtedly be immortalized as a case study by business and PR professors worldwide.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/