FROM THE EDITOR
  

Happy anniversary to us!  The first issue of Crisis Manager, which remains archived at my main business website, was released on February 1, 2000.  The two main articles were "The Internet as a Catalyst for Crisis," then a fairly new concept, and "My Advice to OJ Simpson."  You know, that guy currently sitting in a Nevada prison?

My friend, frequent contractor and expert PR guy Bruce Bonafede is featured in this issue's first story, an analysis of Taco Bell's recent response to a lawsuit.  Then Tony Jaques, the Aussie crisis management whiz, visits us again, drawing a fascinating analogy between the behavior of Charlie Sheen and some corporations.

Then, if you'd like to get crisis management analysis of breaking news and issues on a more frequent basis, be sure to check out the links to our three blogs, in the right-hand column of this ezine.

As always, if you like what you see, please share it with others by using the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the ezine and tell them to subscribe!  IMPORTANT NOTE: If you just "Forward" using your own email program's "Forward" function and your recipient thinks they're being spammed, they can click on the Opt Out link and opt YOU off the list. So use the "Forward Email" link, please.
 

My best to all,

THANK YOU FOR SUING US...?

By Bruce Bonafede
 

WHEN CORPORATIONS GET A 

TOUCH OF THE "CHARLIE SHEENS"

By Tony Jaques

PR experts emphasise that there are important differences between an issue and a crisis. But those distinctions tend to break down when issues are repeated or start to accumulate.

Tony Jaques

A celebrity example of the impact is Hollywood bad boy Charlie Sheen who is regarded as a "serial offender" when it comes to social and legal transgressions. So when his latest misadventure hits the headlines it is seen not as a standalone failure but as part of a pattern of unacceptable behaviour.

In the same way, corporations can suffer a touch of the 'Charlie Sheens' - when problems accumulate and commentators and analysts begin talking about a pattern of behaviour.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was undoubtedly a major environmental and commercial disaster. What made it virtually indefensible for the company was the fact that it came so soon after the near collapse of the Thunder Horse drilling rig and the Texas City disaster in 2005, the Prudhoe Bay pipeline failure in 2006, followed by more safety violations at the troubled Texas City refinery in 2009, at a refinery in Ohio, and another massive pipeline leak in Alaska in May 2010.

Such serial problems are certainly not confined to the oil industry. For example, product recalls are sadly only too common, but for Johnson and Johnson repeated recalls in 2010 eventually involved about 288 million items, including about 136 million bottles of medicine for infants and children. And 2011 started equally badly in mid-January when J & J recalled 47 million units of Sudafed, Sinutab, Benadryl and other drugs, just one day after their company spokesperson said they would "take whatever steps are needed to ensure our products meet quality standards, including further recalls if warranted."  

Similarly, when Vodafone Australia had a worrying security breach involving personal data for up to 4 million customers, most commentators focussed on the fact that it came close on the heels of sustained customer service problems. Even a fairly well-managed incident like the near-disastrous Qantas A380 engine explosion off Singapore last November was made worse coming amid a string of alleged maintenance problems. And those problems continued with a Los Angeles-bound flight diverted to Fiji on 18 January, 2011 - in itself a relatively minor operational problem, but just four days after yet another Qantas "safety scare" followed by another frightening midair incident a week later.

So what does this mean for executives and communications practitioners? When an issue gets big enough it may become a crisis. But sometimes it is not the size of the issue, rather than how many other issues have recently happened.

Reputation is often described as a bank account you build up in good times to draw on when things go bad. A new paper by risk guru Peter Sandman questions whether this popular metaphor is really as valid as it seems. However it is certain that when problems are repeated, the reputational withdrawals are not just dollar for dollar but multiply with accumulated penalty interest.

To return to Hollywood, Charlie Sheen may be America's highest paid TV star, though his reputation bank account is deeply in overdraft. More importantly, while every excess withdrawal for him might mean a blip in his career, for a corporation it could even spell the end.

Tony Jaques is Director of Issue Outcomes Pty Ltd. This article originally appeared in Tony's new email newsletter, "Managing Outcomes." You can subscribe by sending your name and contact details to [email protected].

BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS
(aka blatant self-promotion)

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training

What has 80+ pages of hard-hitting, entertaining and easy-to-read guidance on how to deal with both traditional and online media during times of crisis?  The answer is
Keeping the Wolves at Bay - Media Training.

The, four-color, perfect-bound, 8x10 manual is currently available both in hardcopy ($25) and PDF form ($10). Volume discounts are available; write to Jonathan Bernstein for that information.

Here's a couple of teaser reviews for you:

Jonathan Bernstein's Keeping the Wolves at Bay is an eminently practical guidance for anyone - business leader, celebrity, politician - who must willingly or unwillingly face the glare of media attention. It appears
at a moment in time when the social media and other digital communications have upped the ante exponentially.
Bernstein's practicum on media relations takes on renewed urgency as news, gossip, and opinion now drive
public perception virally and at the speed of light.
 
Richard Levick, Esq.
President & CEO
Levick Strategic Communications, LLC
 
Even if you think you'll never, ever be interviewed by the media, buy this book and read it cover to cover. It isn't a substitute for media training. But it will give you the tools and confidence to go head to head -- and possibly even defang -- rabid reporters, blood-thirsty bloggers and social networking buffoons who are out to besmirch your good name.

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound

The book and other products can be found at the

Crisis Manager Bookstore

Want To Blog And Tweet About
Your Organization But Don't Have Time?

Missing out on all the promotional and SEO advantages of doing so? Hire someone to be your voice...like Erik Bernstein, aka "Son of Crisis Manager." 

More info:[email protected].

The Art of Celeste Mendelsohn

This has NOTHING to do with crisis management, but I have to brag on the launch of the new website launched

to feature the art of Celeste Mendelsohn -- my wife, partner and Creative Director.  This image is Yin-Yang, painted on a wood round.  Her work also includes plates, masks, yoga asanas, computer art and even needlework.

GUEST AUTHORS

GUEST AUTHORS are very welcome to submit material for "Crisis Manager." There is no fee paid, but most guest authors have reported receiving business inquiries as a result of appearing in this publication. Case histories, experience-based lessons, commentary on current news events and editorial opinion are all eligible for consideration. Submission is not a guarantee of acceptance.

ABOUT THE EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., a national crisis management public relations agency providing 24/7 access to crisis response professionals. The agency engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning & training. He has been in the public relations field since 1982, following five-year stints in both military intelligence and investigative reporting. Write to [email protected].