If anyone in the crisis management industry needs a reminder that the line between ordinary citizens and card-carrying member of the press has been blurred beyond recognition, then look no further. Straight from this month’s Bimbo Awards, this is not the kind of sound bite you want circling the airwaves. …
Tell The Truth!
Some of the rules of crisis management never change. It almost always benefits you to come clean, immediately, when a crisis breaks. For some reason, people in the “C Suite” often seem to forget this. A good example is Dell’s (mis)handling of their recent layoffs being confounded even further by …
Voice Your Opinion
It’s time to get interactive, folks! I’ve created a poll on LinkedIn.com to gather you, the reader’s, opinion on a hotly debated topic in the crisis management world…what exactly is the primary cause of crises? I’ve provided a few of the most widely held views, it’s up to you to …
Communications Breakdown
“Why after the AIG spa scandal, the car manufacturers’ jet debacle and the bonus blow-up do corporate executives continue to make obvious missteps in the public arena that have led to growing anger among employees and the public? The answer is partially due to poor public relations and a deaf …
Preparedness Pays
Officials at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, ND, were recently rewarded for their crisis prevention efforts when they successfully evacuated 180 of their most delicate patients in the face of a raging blizzard. With a flood predicted, executive vice president Bruce Pitts was forced to make a move and, kept tight …
Moving Sale!
The Bernstein Crisis Management bookstore is now a part of our main site! Full of in-depth information created by me and others whose work I consider to be a superb investment for anyone wanting to improve their crisis management skills; everything in the store is currently 30% off! This deal’s …
Good Medicine
Successful reputation management strategies include ways to bolster image and increase exposure during times of economic upheaval. Drug giant Pfizer’s got the right idea, announcing Thursday they will be raising the income levels of uninsured people who qualify for discounted or free drugs by over $15,000. If a well-timed act …
Rapid Crisis Response
In today’s digital age crisis response needs to be nearly instantaneous, especially in a tight political race. A recent article from the Tech Daily Dose explains: “As news breaks, people go online to find more information. Savvy political advertisers take advantage of that spike in interest to get their message …
Focus on Reputation
According to an article from Property & Casualty Magazine, the numbers of companies throughout the world actively utilizing reputation management as an integral part of their crisis management strategies are steadily rising. Conference Board’s Research Working Group made the following recommendations for companies to safeguard reputations: – Actively involve boards …
The Spy Who Doesn’t Love You
Recently featured in Media Bullseye magazine, my article, The Spy Who Doesn’t Love You, takes a look at the dangers of information leaks from a reputation and crisis management standpoint. Did you know that every employee, every vendor, in fact – everyone with whom you have contact – is, potentially: …
This Microphone ISN’T Off???
One of the first things I teach people when conducting media training is that you can NEVER assume a microphone is off, especially when you’ve been on or are about to go on the air. Luckily for my readers, Sue Simmons of NBC News 4 has demonstrated exactly what can …
Weathering the Storm
The primary goal of crisis management is to provide an organization strong moorings from which to weather the storm that is a breaking crisis through training, crisis prevention and response plans, etc. In this article from CNNMoney.com, management guru Jim Collins explains the ways in which great companies take advantage …
Come to the Dark Site
Dark sites are an invaluable tool in crisis management. Those of you not in the business may ask, what is a dark site? Ed Lee, managing director at online media marketing consultancy com.motion, defines it as “a pre-developed, non-public Web site that can be published to the live Web in …
Missing the Point
In keeping with the theme of corporations with a complete disregard for reputation management, disgraced insurance group AIG’s appearance before the House Financial Services Subcommitee yesterday did nothing to change public sentiment towards them. “We understand that since our relationship with the Government and taxpayers had changed, our behavior as …
Not the Best Buy
If there’s ever been a company in need some serious reputation management it’s Best Buy. They’re in the news again for mistreating customers, this time busted by HDguru.com for lying about price matching and delivery, among other policies. The article also includes a list of excuses managers allegedly supplied to …