Hit that send button too soon? Here’s some advice… With the average person firing off dozens, or even hundreds, of emails per day, you can safely assume that someone in your organization is going to slip up eventually. Whether sending to the wrong recipients, sending too soon, or one of …
Nike’s Coordinated Crisis Management
Strong links between departments prevents massive reputation damage In order to best protect reputation, an organization’s different operating units need the ability to coordinate responses, and fast. Last week, Nike gave us a great example of how it works when it raced to pull shirts reading “Boston massacre” from store …
Crisis Management Tactics: Control Your Story
Be the source of information and stop damaging rumor and innuendo in their tracks A huge part of successful crisis management is finding, or creating, the opportunity to tell your own story. Why, you might ask? The main reason is that it’s going to be told either way, and if …
How to Prevent Terrorist Attacks
I know something about terrorists. From 1972-74 I was part of a US Army counterintelligence operation that successfully infiltrated a front group for what became known as the “Red Army Faction,” a terrorist organization in Europe that killed dozens. From 1975-77 I worked out of the US Army Intelligence Command’s …
Crisis Management in the Pac-12
Rumors of impropriety among officials leads to independent investigation The recent reputation crisis in the Pac-12 men’s college basketball conference, sparked by coordinator of officials Ed Rush’s comments that he would give cash or a trip to any official who handed Arizona’s coach a technical foul during the Pac-12 tournament, …
Crisis Management Lesson #1 from the Boston Bombing
Here’s an important message from Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein, available in both text and audio form. Permission to re-use with attribution is freely given. Terrorists overseas have been exploding bombs and conducting armed attacks at public events for decades, but the United States’ experience in this area was …
Crisis Management Ostrich Alert for Colleges & Universities
You Might Be An Ostrich If….. If you haven’t already initiated an independent investigation to determine whether or not you could be the next Penn State or Rutgers…you might be an ostrich. If you know that something which has happened or is happening on your sports programs could seriously harm …
LEGO’s Crisis Management v. Racism Allegations
A Turkish group claims Jabba’s Palace playset creates negative cultural stereotypes, how did Lego respond? Star Wars playsets have long been a part of the Lego brand’s lineup, but one featuring the iconic Jabba the Hutt’s palace recently came under fire from the Turkish Cultural Association of Austria because it …
Social Media Crisis Management in Cairo
A single tweet can create serious consequences We’ve examined many cases of organizations landing themselves in need of crisis management as a result of poorly planned tweets, but the latest Twitter dustup may have larger ramifications than rumblings in the court of public opinion. This past Wednesday, the @USEmbassyCairo account …
Crisis Management: Fix it…but don’t Forget
Fix it and forget it is great when it comes to cooking, not so much for crisis management. Many organizations, once clear of a crisis situation, simply move on with business as usual. While we understand the urgent need to do the things that bring in money on a daily …
Reputation: Your Most Valuable Asset
If your reputation’s at risk, you have a crisis on your hands It’s practically a mantra here at Bernstein Crisis Management – “reputation is your most valuable asset,” but out in the world many organizations just don’t get it. The reality is that no matter how successful you are, if …
Coping with Negative Social Media Comments
Master this aspect of social media crisis management It’s becoming increasingly common for frustrated or upset stakeholders to, instead of picking up a phone, take their complaints straight to social media. Often, these posts are made in the heat of the moment, and can be quite vicious. Sometimes it’s warranted, …
Keep Your Ear to the Ground for Crisis Management
Listen up for clues about incoming crises You’ve established crisis management plans and your people are trained. Good to go, right? Well…kind of. Even with excellent preparation, it still takes time to mold messaging specifically to fit the situation, and, especially if you’re a larger organization, to get the green …
The Three P’s of Cyber-Survival
The cyber war is on, protect yourself now South Korea was hit by a major cyber attack Wednesday as the computer systems of two major banks, three broadcasters and others simultaneously crashed, raising suspicions that North Korea was to blame. On some computer screens, images of skulls with glowing red …
A Hot Slice of Crisis Management
Quick thinking turns crisis into opportunity for Delta Turning lemons into lemonade is an ideal goal of any crisis management effort. The folks at Delta airlines’ Knoxville, Tennessee branch proved they understand that concept perfectly when they satiated a plane full of grumpy, travel-weary customers who had been stranded on …