Although it’s always entertaining to bash poor crisis management, especially when it results in loads of negative media coverage, there is quite a lot of quality work being done every day. One such example is RadioShack’s handling of the mounting negative buzz on Twitter and various blogs after they unveiled …
Preventing Identity Theft – Tips from the IRS
In an identity theft scam, a fraudster, often posing as a trusted government, financial or business institution or official, tries to trick a victim into revealing personal and financial information, such as credit card numbers and passwords, bank account numbers and passwords, Social Security numbers and more. Generally, identity thieves …
Twisting the Truth
When it was revealed that Tennessee Senator Paul Stanley was having an affair with his 22-year-old intern, it started a chain of events that ended with his reputation and career being destroyed. The fact that he was known for vocally citing his belief in abstinence outside marriage, as well as …
Poor Choices
Considering every player on the 2003 MLB steroid investigation list was informed of their positive test results, it’s obvious that David “Big Papi” Ortiz, of the Boston Red Sox, was well aware of the skeletons in his closet. Knowing this, it would have been a smart crisis prevention move for …
Employees Abroad
The corporation has significant duty-of-care responsibilities to ensure all their international travelers are prepared and have adequate support if they have an incident while abroad. Issues multiply when an international health incident occurs — from coordinating an evacuation of a critically-injured engineer from a work site in Angola to helping …
Super Speed
The advent of blazing-fast social media communication has forced crisis management to speed up tremendously just to keep pace. In a recent blog post, Nick Vehr, founder of Vehr Communications, makes this when commenting on an article about US Airway’s crisis response to Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River …
Horizon Management Group Hoisted on Own Petard
Twitter has been a fantastic crisis management tool for businesses, allowing them to provide one-on-one communication and service to more customers than ever before. For some reason, when Chicago-based Horizon Group Management LLC aka Horizon Realty Group came across the following complaint in a tweet (casually made in response to …
Summer Storms
Summer is thunderstorm season, and thunderstorms bring lightning, heavy rainfall, hail, and tornadoes. Resulting fatalities, property damage, and losses from business interruption are significant. Natural hazards can’t be prevented, but emergency management can protect life, mitigation can reduce property damage, and business continuity planning can speed recovery and reduce operational …
Easy H1N1 Fever Screening
Answering the needs of officials and organizations around the world for early detection of H1N1 cases, Extech Instruments has recently released their IR200 Non-contact Infrared Forehead Thermometer. Designed for fast, simple and accurate fever screenings, those being screened do not have to remove glasses or safety masks and need only …
Soy Bean Sprouts Recalled
Chang Farm, River Road, Whatley, MA is issuing a voluntary recall of Soy Bean Sprouts produced by Chang Farms, with the specific sell-by date of July 17, 2009 because of the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. Monocytogenes) contamination. Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal …
United Breaks Guitars — Wrong Way Crisis Management
This video is a response by Sons of Maxwell singer Dave Carroll to some incredibly poor customer service by United Airlines. After he and his band members witnessed his $3500 guitar being mishandled and broken by baggage handlers, United sent him on a nine-month wild goose chase to find the …
Not-So Protective Service
In this post-911 world, one would expect our federal buildings to be some of the best protected in the world . In a report that has suddenly thrown the agency charged with this task, the Federal Protective Service, into crisis management mode, the Government Accountability Office has accused the service …
Tracking Public Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today the launch of the Web-based Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, a surveillance tool that scientists, health professionals, and – for the first time – members of the public can use to track environmental exposures and chronic health conditions. This announcement on …
Crisis Communication
Governor Carcieri blew it. In his press conference, he often referred to the individuals who had been killed as “bodies,” rather than “victims.” Rather than starting the news conference by assuring the public that his prayers and thoughts were with the victims and their families, he rambled for more than …
Crisis Management Guidance
Every crisis management expert has their own guiding tenets – principles and ideas they use to shape their strategies and responses. Leadership coach Dan Greer today shared some advice gleaned from legendary GE PR man Jack Welch’s book “Winning,” on his top five guiding assumptions. One of my favorites: There …