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Just a Thought
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"Good luck is a residue of preparation."
- Jack Youngblood
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From the Editor
Every holiday brings its own risks and opportunities, and while most businesses are focused on making money, it's safe to assume far fewer are thinking of the ways they could run into trouble tonight. Here's a little list for some businesses with obvious risks that just might be scarier than anyone who comes knocking on your door:
Bars/clubs:
- Halloween is the #1 day for underage drinking due to costumes, face paint and the like. Do you have procedures in place for keeping track of your customers' ages, and for how to handle those you bust? How about plans to deal with customers who have been over-served?
Delivery food:
- If you deliver food, you're in high demand on Halloween, and with drivers going through neighborhoods full of excited kids darting in and out of the darkness the risk of incident is significantly increased. Have you coached your team on best practices to avoid incident, and what to do if they do wind up in an accident?
All businesses:
- An unfortunate reality is that Halloween brings a lot of mischief that sometimes turns to something a bit more. If your business is in a heavily trafficked area it's entirely possible to have your storefront vandalized, windows broken, etc. Will you be able to get back to "business as usual" quickly the day after, or will you be left floundering as you search for vendors and people to make repairs?
Of course the risks you encounter will be specific to your business, your location, and many other factors. Stop to consider what can happen, and plan accordingly.
Be safe out there, and remember - prepare for the worst and hope for the best, or you're risking some serious hurt.
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Interested in reprinting BCM articles or blog posts?
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If you find something you would like to reprint, simply submit a request to [email protected].
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Blogs!
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In this section we take look at some of the most popular posts from recent weeks:
Facebook Lends a Hand in Disaster Crisis Management with its latest app, Safety Check, by allowing users to check if friends, family, loved ones or coworkers are alright after a disaster hits their area.
Following revelations of nearly two decades of academic dishonesty, UNC Scrambles for Crisis Management Amid Scandal. Heads have already rolled, but the real test will be how the university moves forward after this mess.
In another example of holiday foolishness from Walmart, Walmart's Crisis Management for "Fat Girl Costumes" looks at the incredibly inappropriate costume category that somehow went live on the retailer's website.
Another entry in our popular series, Crisis Management Quickies: Attacking the Root looks at an often-overlooked aspect of crisis work that's paramount to success.
More Evidence that even highly respected brands can quickly find themselves in trouble - Tesco Financial Scandal Leads to Reputation Crisis looks at the mess the famous UK retailer has landed itself in.
If you want your communications to be as effective as possible, you should be asking, "When is the Best Time to Reach My Audience?"
We see advertising create issues quite often, and Red Light for Edmunds Ad After Dealer Outcry is a great example of how it can happen.
Complying with federal, state, and industry regulations is a must when you're doing business, but did you know there are rules specifically for social media compliance? Learn more about Social Media Compliance and Crisis Management in this enlightening post.
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| Apropos of Nothing | |
Personal reputation management check - how many devices have you left logged into LinkedIn?
Colleague Andy Russell came across some cool advice on how to easily keep tabs on where you're logged into LinkedIn, a must if you don't want to leave your profile open to editing from whoever sits down at that public computer you used for a school project/on vacation/wherever you may have been.
Spot a bunch you didn't know were still signed in? So did we! Below are instructions for how to set things straight:
Hover over your profile photo on the top right of your homepage and select "Privacy & Settings"
Click "See where you've logged in" in the top section under "Your active sessions."
To sign out of a session:
Click "Sign Out" to the right of the session you'd like to end, then click "Sign Out" to confirm.
To sign out of every active session (except your current one):
Click "Sign Out" of all these sessions at the top of your list.
Click "Sign Out" to confirm.
If you don't recognize some of the places you're logged in, it's time to change your password ASAP!
ATTENTION ANYONE FORMALLY ASSOCIATED WITH COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE WESTERN U.S.
I enjoyed my recent participation in the University of Oregon's "Guest Executive" program so much that I would love to do more of the same at other schools that aren't TOO far a trip from my Los Angeles-area base. Over a two-day period, UO had me guest lecture/teach at four PR-related classes and make an "open to the public" speech. They covered all travel costs and a modest honorarium.
Bernsteins Available to Deliver Free Guest Lectures, Q&A Sessions
Jonathan alone, or the team of Jonathan and Erik Bernstein, are available at no charge to deliver guest lectures and host Q&A sessions with college classes via Skype or Google Hangout. Our latest presentation was to Karen Freberg's social media class at the University of Louisville (shout out to any readers from the #Freberg14 crew!).
The lectures are fun for us and students, and we're more than happy to allow recording for your future use. All you need at your end is a single computer with webcam and a strong broadband connection for us to appear in your classroom in real-time.
Contact us for more info!
Attention Corporate Boards of Directors (and those who serve them).
If you're connected with a corporate board of directors in some way and think that board would benefit from having a veteran crisis management pro amongst its membership, please contact me. -- Jonathan
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Business Announcements
(aka blatant self-promotion)
Preparing Candidates for C-Suite Interviews
In 2014, a client familiar with Jonathan Bernstein's media training techniques suggested that the same methods would help her husband, a candidate for a C-Suite position at several companies, be better focused and prepared for his interviews. She was right and, as he moved through the interview process, the candidate received a number of one-hour trianing sessions by Jonathan, via webcam. That candidate is now the CFO of a $23 billion company and is available as a confidential reference.
Jonathan Bernstein is available to provide the same training to others, write [email protected]
Are Your Social Media Managers Crisis Trained?
A solid social media manager has quickly become a must-have for organizations of any size, and can make an immense difference by driving in customers and building your positive reputation online.
The problem is, the vast majority are simply not equipped to even identify building crises, much less take the steps necessary to cope with and mitigate the damage that can result.
That's where we come in.
Bernstein Crisis Management is now offering crisis management training for social media managers, both independent and in-house, as well as social media firms.
For an overview of our services, estimates, or more information, contact [email protected]
Traditional Social Media Training
Want to get your feet wet with social media but don't know where to start? Maybe you have accounts, but aren't sure what to post, or how to reply?
Being active on social media is a must these days, but you have to do it right. Erik Bernstein, Bernstein Crisis Management's Social Media Manager, now offers social media training sessions in person or via Skype for groups and individuals.
Expanded Crisis Manager Bookstore
We've recently expanded the Crisis Manager Bookstore to include offerings from esteemed colleagues like Melissa Agnes, Gerald Baron, Chris Syme and Jim Lukaszewski that cover topics from crisis communication and traditional PR to social media and cutting-edge crisis management. We'll be adding other authors we admire in the weeks ahead.
Visit the new Crisis Manager Bookstore to see all of the material available now!
Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training
Learn how to deal with traditional or social media during a crisis in this educational and entertaining guide from
Crisis Manager publisher Jonathan Bernstein.
$25 for hard copy, $10 for PDF.
Head to the Crisis Manager Bookstore for more information and/or to purchase.
Whether you're a seasoned manager, aspiring up-and-comer, or student of crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein's textbook,Manager's Guide to Crisis Management will put you in control of any situation.
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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 Us   Jonathan Bernstein is both publisher of Crisis Manager and 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 Jonathan at: [email protected]. Erik Bernstein is editor of Crisis Manager and Social Media Manager/Lead Social Media Trainer for Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. Write to Erik at: [email protected]. |
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Legal Disclaimer (aka the small print)
All information contained herein is obtained by Jonathan Bernstein from sources believed by Jonathan Bernstein to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither Jonathan Bernstein nor Bernstein Crisis Management is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Bernstein Crisis Management and Jonathan Bernstein make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Jonathan Bernstein and Bernstein Crisis Management shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party. Under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. A service of this newsletter is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to readers. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point readers to it, under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead readers to a full article on a news service's website, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case-by-case basis. |
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