Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Crisis Prevention”
The following is a very helpful mailing from FEMA, which has dramatically improved its communications since the Katrina debacle. It’s January and Time for Your Business Emergency Check-Up! Hello from the FEMA Private Sector Representative Desk! Before the holidays we sent you a message introducing me as the new FEMA-PSR, …
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS S**T UP Yesterday, for reasons unknown, my Internet broadband speed dropped by roughly 2/3, so I attempted to get Time Warner Cable support via their Live Chat option. That required, first, that I provide my name and contact information, summarize the issue, and indicate what type …
Crisis management 101 pays off for gaming company Crisis management professionals are very much aware of the reputation issues that negative discussions on Twitter, Facebook, and certain forum communities can bring. When gaming company N-Control ran afoul of its stakeholders via a marketing consultant’s short temper (Quote: “We do value …
this one will help your crisis management Communication is the cornerstone not only of crisis management, but also much of business. In order to bring stakeholders the answer, product, or service that they want, you need to understand WHY they want it. This can be difficult to explain, which makes an …
Is your crisis prevention plan ready? There are many analogies that can apply to crisis management, but we particularly liked a recent post by Rachel Hedstrom, APR The Gentry Agency. on the LiveProcess blog that compared the process to a workout plan. WARM UP Getting your ducks in a row before …
Putting a price on complacence Mismanaging your reputation is almost guaranteed to cost big bucks, yet even multi-billion dollar organizations tend to gloss over this crucial part of crisis management. The main reason corporate execs offer is that they believe the results of an investment in reputation management “can’t be …
Last month, we featured Rick Kelly’s article about Jerry Sandusky’s crisis communications, “When Shut the Hell Up is the Best Advice.” Unfortunately for them, it looks like Sandusky’s camp missed this piece, because now his lawyer’s the one offering up quotes that place more than a little cause for doubt …
Don’t forget your front lines When you’re in the midst of the flurry of activity that is crisis management, it’s easy to focus on communication with those outside your organization. Often forgotten, though, are the people still handling day-to-day operations. In a Forbes interview, Thomas Watjen, the CEO that drove …
Safeguard this valuable asset Regardless of what your business is, trust plays a major factor. The problem with this is that by their very nature, crises undermine trust. They prove that you have vulnerabilities, and often demonstrate that you don’t have them protected very well. How then, do you maintain …
It’s not just the pros anymore …the definition of “the media” has changed. Today, anyone with a smartphone and YouTube is a TV journalist. Anyone with a smartphone and Facebook is a photojournalist. Anyone with a laptop and a blog is a newspaper reporter. The citizen journalist is the person …
Word of mouth has very long reach At some point, an individual will have a problem with your organization. In the past they would tell a friend, who would then would tell two friends, and so on. Bad news, yes, but the information rarely got far. Now, instead of merely …
Strong communication means straight talk The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s first nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System took place earlier this month, and although there were some hitches encountered, the agency was a fine example of communication following the test. A quote, from the FEMA blog: So now that …
Convincing doubtful execs is easier than it seems Crises of reputation and operation happen every day, yet for some reason one of the most daunting tasks facing those assigned with crisis management is to get a budget that will actually cover the costs involved. In a recent interview with Ragan’s …
THE biggest scandal in sports history The scandal at Penn State is on the tip of everyone’s tongues, and the series of wrong-way crisis management decisions made by the university’s top brass are only cementing the reputation damage that’s being done. Interviewed this morning by host Bo Bounds on the …
When life hands you lemons… Every business makes mistakes, and at some point or another the media’s going to pounce on one of yours. When this happens, it will be your reaction that determines whether your reputation bounces back or takes a pounding. In every case you should apologize and …
