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Just a
Thought
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"All
crises,
professional and
personal, benefit
from the ample use
of compassion."
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From
the Editor
As
another year
draws to a
close, we would
like to thank
our readers.
Thank you for
allowing us to
share our
opinions and
experiences and
for sharing your
own in return.
And thank you
for anything you
do to be part of
the solution to
this world's
dramatic lack of
preparedness for
crises.
For
this last issue
of the year
your editorial
team here at
Bernstein Crisis
Management
wanted to gift
our readers with
a look at some
of the blog and
newsletter
articles we've
featured in
December for the
past 12 years.
Then you can
look at crises
in the news
today and say,
"Yup, there are
still a lot of
people who
haven't learned
these lessons!"
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Interested in
reprinting BCM
articles or blog
posts?
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We're
happy to give
permission for
material to be
reprinted in hard copy
or online!
If you find something
you would like to
reprint, simply submit
a request to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.
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The
12 Crisis Articles
of Christmas
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2014
One
year ago we saw
perhaps the most
widely covered
private company
hacks ever to occur.
The combination of
data theft,
entertainment leaks,
and juicy (and
controversial!)
internal
communications
sparked the interest
of just about
everyone and thrust
cyber security into
the limelight. That
another hack will
dethrone Sony's in
terms of sheer
interest levels
seems quite
inevitable, but it
will have to be
against a target
more interesting to
the general public
than those we've
seen over the past
months.
2013
Coming
a bit over a year
after the Cartagena
scandal involving
U.S. Secret Service
officers busted for
bringing as many as
20 prostitutes back
to a hotel housing
members of the
military ahead of an
international
summit, the man
responsible for
investigating the
whole mess found
himself the focus of
a new investigation.
It all
started when Agent
Ignacio Zamora Jr.
left a piece of his
duty gear behind in
a hotel and flexed
his status in order
to retrieve it. This
triggered an
investigation that
uncovered yet more
evidence of a
sexist, "old boys
club" culture in the
Service.
2012
Is my
food grown
in...sewage? That
was the question on
many minds in
December of 2012
after a report
slamming high-end
grocer Whole Foods
for making it
difficult for
customers to
determine whether
their food was grown
using a biosolid
sludge that could
include things like
industrial solvents
and leftover
prescription
medication went
viral. What's
especially
interesting is that
the same issues we
pointed out in Whole
Foods' crisis
management then were
present in their
communications for
the company's widely
panned pricing issue
earlier this year.
Some horses are led
to water but remain
thirsty.
2011
Our
cracked sense of
humor tends to creep
into posting whether
we like it or not,
and sometimes we put
it front and center!
Cue the Jeff
Foxworthy-esque
collection found in,
"You Might Be a
Crisis Manager
if..." Although the
list is
tongue-in-cheek,
it's not far from
reality, so give it
a look and ask
yourself the
questions!
2010
You
may recall that the
start of the 2010
holiday season was
quite turbulent for
Qantas Airlines.
First ugly
accusations of poor
quality control
coming from
employees. Then the
emergency landing of
one of the airline's
new A380 jets. Itt
didn't look good for
the airline during
this busy traveling
time, but Qantas
came through. Smart
communication and a
solid strategy, plus
the leadership of a
confident CEO, led
us to applaud the
public relations
ability of the
airline from down
under.
2009
The
original Tylenol
recall which led to
the introduction of
several bottled
medication safety
features we take for
granted today is
held up by some as
the origin of modern
crisis management,
which of course
means all eyes are
on any time the
words "recall" and
"Tylenol" appear
together.
In late 2009, some
27 years after the
original history
making incident,
Tylenol learned a
strange moldy smell
was causing some
customers to become
nauseous or sick.
Once again the brand
took a proactive
approach and we
covered the story in
the pages of our
blog. And before any
of our readers point
it out to us
(again), yes we know
that the original
Tylenol recall may
not have been QUITE
as well done as
people believe...but
that's another
story.
2008
We've
both praised and
berated airlines
over the course of
the years. The
unfortunate fact is
that they often come
off as uncaring and
emotionless,
something that's
been changed only in
quite recent times
(and still only with
a select few
carriers) as a
result of massive
viral cases like the
infamous "United
Breaks Guitars"
song.
The
seriously lacking
response from
Continental Airlines
after a scare that
saw a 737 slide
right off the runway
at Denver
International just
days before
Christmas would fall
firmly in the
"berated" category,
as the airline
employed not a
caring voice but
something more akin
to what a robot
might produce.
Jonathan Bernstein
is headed to Denver
on United Airlines
on Christmas Day
2015 and hopes for
better luck.
2007
We're
big fans of
wordplay, so in 2007
we held a contest
seeking the best
reader-submitted
analogy for "failing
to plan for crises".
With entries
strange, hilarious,
and frighteningly
accurate from
readers around the
globe we certainly
enjoyed this one!
Comparisons to space
missions, naked
dreams (yes
really!), and a
collection of
interesting compound
words all made the
cut, but you'll have
to read on to see
who took home first
prize!
2006
While
mentions of Adelphia
and Cingular
certainly timestamp
BCM president
Jonathan Bernstein's
Crisis Manager
University piece on
staying connected
even under duress,
the advice within
has stood the test
of time. No matter
what your role may
be when it comes to
crises in your
organization, with
expectations of 24/7
internet
connectivity even
higher today than it
was in 2006 you
really can't afford
to be caught with no
way to plug in.
2005
Nearly
nine months prior to
CNN's 2006 launch of
its iReport citizen
journalism
initiative, Jonathan
Bernstein coined the
phrase "i-Reporter".
Born of the
recognition that the
internet was rapidly
blurring the lines
between amateur and
professional
reporters while
changing what the
world viewed as
"legitimate" media,
we quickly made this
term a part of daily
conversation.
Officially
recognizing that
your average
individual could
deliver news you'd
find nowhere else
was a game changer,
and this is even
more true a decade
down the road.
2004
We
frequently feature
fellow crisis pros
in the pages of our
blogs and
newsletter, and in
December of 2004 we
asked a group of our
colleagues to share
some thoughts on
crisis management.
From improving
credibility to an
interesting
comparison to dead
fish they certainly
delivered, and of
course we passed
them on to you!
2003
At
first glance being
an employee of the
U.S. Census Bureau
seems pretty benign.
As with most
organizations,
however, once you
start to dig you
discover there are
an awful lot of
potential crises
involved in day to
day operations. In a
Crisis Manager
exclusive we shared
the actual
contingency
messaging created by
the communications
team for the Bureau
in the event of a
crisis.
Thank you for
reading! Happy
holidays to you and
yours, and may the
New Year bring you
much prosperity! |
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Business
Announcements
(aka
blatant
self-promotion)
Are
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We're
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Keeping
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Bay, the
widely used
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Bernstein, is now
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Formerly $10,
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Exciting
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Our
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The
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Bernstein
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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:
Erik
Bernstein is vice
president of
Bernstein Crisis
Management. Erik
started with BCM
in 2009 as a
writer and
subsequently
became social
media manager for
the consultancy
itself as well as
for a number of
BCM clients before
moving to the VP
position.
Write
to Erik at:
Bernstein
Crisis
Management,
Inc. is
located at 700
S. Myrtle
Ave., #404,
Monrovia, CA
91016.
Telephone: (626) 825-3838.
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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
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omissions. All
information is
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without warranty
of any kind.
Bernstein Crisis
Management and
Jonathan Bernstein
make no
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and disclaim all
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Unless due to willful
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Jonathan Bernstein
and Bernstein
Crisis Management
shall have no
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Under no circumstance shall
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Crisis Management
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Crisis Management
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