As news headlines show us on an almost daily basis, many companies still neglect to prepare detailed and workable crisis plans, hindering their ability to react when disaster rears its ugly head. If your organization believes itself ready to actively engage in crisis management, go through this list of questions …
Social Solutions
In recent years social media has played a huge role in disaster crisis management. From Katrina and Haiti to the BP spill, social media platforms are being put to work facilitating communication and tracking all kinds of information. Why are these platforms so attractive? This quote from a Computer World …
Twitter Delivers the News
The Twitter stream alerted the news media to yesterday’s unfolding crisis at the Discovery building, reports Paul Farhi in today Washington Post. In a piece that notes that “Tweet stream alerts news media to the unfolding crisis,” Farhi reports that “for the raw speed and real-time eyewitness accounts, it’s now …
Preparing for Disaster
Donald Schmidt has 30 years of experience preparing for crises, and with Hurricane Earl still creating storms along the East coast we thought it was good timing to run an article by him regarding disaster preparedness in the latest Crisis Manager newsletter. A sampling: Hazard mitigation can substantially reduce the …
You Need Social Media
Social media has become a “must have” in today’s business world, but fears about opening the floodgates for negative viral buzz still hold some back from participating. In an article for this week’s Crisis Manager newsletter, online marketing and branding expert Cindy Ratzlaff explains why staying out of the conversation …
New Crisis Manager
This week’s Crisis Manager features articles from two authors new to the pages of our newsletter. First up is an article by online branding and marketing expert Cindy Ratzlaff, named one of the top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter by Forbes, that explains how to defuse the fear …
Philippine Police Problems
The Philippine police force is facing international criticism after their bungling of the recent hostage situation in Manila cost eight Hong Kong tourists their lives. Broadcast on nearly every major television network, the incident has destroyed any last remaining shreds of good reputation the force held on to and exposed …
Pirates Sink Their Own Ship
Sports teams are vulnerable to crises just like any other business, sometimes even more so because of the large sums of money and public interest involved. Fans of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates have become accustomed to their team bringing up the rear, but careless handling of questions regarding team …
The Ostrich Syndrome
There are many steps to be taken in a crisis, and while there are differing opinions as to which is most important, Davia Temin made a convincing case for one in a recent Forbes.com article. A quote: Most important of all–in any crisis–is to short-circuit denial! It’s a human trait …
Crisis Management Through the Customer’s Eyes
I’m probably the last person you want to hear from now. I’m what you call a customer. Chances are, you don’t know me. You’re fast asleep when you fly over me on red-eyes. You profess undying love for me in company lore—and ignore me in practice. You’ve built a Byzantine …
Semi-Transparent
A Washington State fire department is learning crisis management on the fly as it copes with an underage drinking incident involving several of its high-ranking members with a major funding vote approaching. While the response from the department’s Chief shows that he is aware of some of the tenets of …
Nobody is Immune
Large or small, even the best managed businesses may be hit by an unexpected public relations crisis. These can be recalls of dangerous or contaminated products, a civil product liability law suit, or some other unforeseen disaster that may hurt sales, the bottom line, and reflect badly on a company’s …
Crisis and Reputation Management
Your reputation is your most valuable asset. While crisis management can begin with very few reputation management practices in place, failing to bank the good will that it can create before a crisis hits is a dangerous choice. In a recent article Bret Giles, President of agencyside, gave a couple …
Hurd Hurts HP
Hewlett-Packard’s crisis management team has been hard at work this week following the sudden resignation of CEO Mark Hurd. Leaving after revelations of an inappropriate relationship and improper use of company funds, the formerly revered Hurd will float out on a $12 million dollar golden parachute loaded with hundreds of …
Target Facing National Boycott
Target is in big trouble. The retail giant’s recent decision to donate $150,000 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer has drawn the ire of the public for more than one reason. Sam Stein reports in The Huffington Post: Target has already come under intense scrutiny for the $150,000 it has …