CRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management

"For Those Who Are Crisis Managers,
Whether They Want to be or Not"

ISSN:1528-3836
� 2017 Jonathan Bernstein

Do You Feel What I Do?

Volume XVIII, Number 3

March 31, 2017

Just a Thought

"We don't have to walk in someone else's shoes to know that they must hurt terribly."

- Faiz Shakir
ACLU National Political Director

From the Editor

The ability to understand different points of view, and the emotions that accompany them, is a critical skill for crisis management consultants. More than that, it's a sorely under-used tool for understanding the people in our personal and professional lives.

Unfortunately, what we see far more often is a sort of false understanding. It typically comes in the form of a critic sarcastically voicing a villainized version of whatever the other side believes. Notice how this cranks up to 11 when we hit times of political conflict?

Falling into this trap is common for those facing crises of all kinds. The normal human reaction to heavy criticism is to become defensive, to dismiss the opinions of your critics.

This is what you must avoid.

The second you dismiss opinions without giving them thought, the moment you throw away the feelings of others without trying to understand their truth, you disarm yourself. Without knowing how others feel about you, and why they feel that way, you cannot resolve the issues that created conflict in the first place.

Be self aware. Be aware of others. And be open to the fact that, regardless of how strong your convictions may be, or how hard you tried to do right, you just may actually be the one in the wrong sometimes.

- EB

Interested in reprinting BCM articles or blog posts?

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.

Blogs

The Bernstein Crisis Management blog, along with our blog at the Free Management Library, are frequently updated and filled with case studies, advice, and the latest news on techniques, threats, and more.

Here, we share a look at some of the most popular posts from recent weeks:

CitizenAID: Free App Saves Lives in the UK but Not Yet in the US asks the question - why don't we yet have an app to help the average person deal with a mass attack here in the States?

We've been pushing for social media platforms to strengthen anti-cyberbully protections for some time now. In Twitter Moves to Stop Cyberbullying we look at some positive first steps and discuss what's still to come.

A guest post, 7 Cybersecurity Lessons the Healthcare Industry had to Learn the Hard Way examines a set of painful realizations about the damage that comes from not protecting private information.

Following the less-than-sensational reveal of the much-hyped Trump tax returns, BCM president Jonathan Bernstein had some thoughts about ethical journalism. To sum them up, Rachel Maddow Just Made Walter Cronkite Roll Over in His Grave.

Weasel Words Scream Insincerity came to us from Beacon Advisors' David Kalson. In it, he examines how overly tricky use of language can put a serious hurt on otherwise strong crisis communications.

Do you have a topic you'd like to see featured in our blogs? Send an email to erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com and there's a good chance you'll be seeing it right here in the next issue!

Business Announcements

(aka blatant self-promotion)

What if you could quickly find out how your stakeholders perceive you during a breaking crisis?

Bernstein Crisis Management now uses online surveys and other tools to get immediate stakeholder perception feedback, during a breaking crisis, with the option of continuing to monitor perception post-crisis.

More info from jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Are There Any Holes in Your Crisis Planning?

Your organization may well have crisis prevention and response-related plans in place - but are you sure they're going to cover all the bases? Bernstein Crisis Management's Crisis Document Audit is a low-cost, flat-rate service which will quickly provide you with a comprehensive analysis of your existing plans and recommendations for improvement.

Contact jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com for more information.

We're Giving Away Keeping the Wolves at Bay and other crisis publications!

Several new items have been added to our FREE crisis management library, including Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used media-training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein.

To visit the download page, click here.

Social Media Crisis Training

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 erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

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:

jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Erik Bernstein is vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, and editor of this newsletter. Working in crisis management since 2009, Erik has watched the internet and social media change the field. Today, he brings that experience to bear assisting clients to protect and grow their reputations using tactics based on real-world knowledge and experience.

Write to Erik at:

erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. is located at 700 S. Myrtle Ave., #404, Monrovia, CA 91016. Telephone: (626) 825-3838.

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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