Differing viewpoints are essential to crisis management success Is there anyone more expert in crisis management than a successful battlefield commander? Not only are they tasked with applying limited information to make life-and-death decisions on a moment’s notice, but they must remain calm and precise, even while taking fire. Today’s Crisis …
Crisis Management Musts: Alternatives to Apologies
Showing compassion without apologizing Apologies are powerful crisis management tools, but more and more often we’re seeing reputation-threatening situations that do not call for the ones taking flak to actually say “I’m sorry”. The most common situations are when organizations or individuals stand falsely accused, but other factors such as …
Harry Reid Inserts Foot in Mouth, Flunks Crisis Management
Insensitive remarks and a flop of an apology Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is no stranger to criticism regarding public comments, especially when it comes to race, and he’s getting another lesson in why you should watch what you say after dropping a couple of doozies at the Asian …
Shock Marketing Often Results in Need for Crisis Management
It’s easy to go too far when trying to grab attention through shock value Shock marketing can grab you some easy attention, but in many cases it’s really not the attention you’d like to receive. Take the case of Australia’s Wicked Campers, who was forced to remove sexist, misogynistic, and ridiculously immature slogans …
Crisis Management Tactics: Updates on Updates
“We’re working on it” can buy more time than you expect When you encounter a crisis, the pressure to immediately make a statement is immense. Not only will your stakeholders be clamoring for you to talk, and angry if you don’t, but you also risk damaging rumor or innuendo taking root …
Senator Walsh Stumbles on Crisis Communication
[Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from Brittany Foster, one of the talented members of the Triad Strategies team. Triad is a preferred Bernstein Crisis Management contractor.] Senator John Walsh (D-Montana) was already running a losing campaign for re-election, but he may have shored up his retirement with …
Chase’s (ineffective) Compassion-Free Crisis Management
Lack of much-needed compassion leaves bank’s communications falling flat Having a debit or credit card charge declined is both frustrating and embarrassing no matter who you are or what you’re buying, something we would expect a bank to be aware of. That’s why, when we spotted the below email from …
Crisis Management Quotables…on Showing Through
150 year-old wisdom that still applies today Ralph Waldo Emerson was a legendary speaker, essayist and poet who, perhaps not surprisingly for a man who published dozens of groundbreaking essays and delivered thousands of lectures, has a long list of quotes that have survived the nearly 150 years since his …
Crises are Also Great Opportunities
[Editor’s note: The following post comes to us from friend and colleague Janine Hills, founder and CEO of Vuma Reputation Management. While it’s normal to feel a crisis is nothing but negative, Janine presents a strong argument for the advantages to be gained by facing difficulty head-on.] Adversity has its …
Crisis Management Quotables…on The Damage One Lie Can Do
17th century wisdom that’s even more true in the 21st This time around, our Crisis Management Quotable comes to us courtesy of a 17th century Spaniard who wore many hats, from scholar and philosopher to army chaplain. A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity. — Baltasar Gracián The meaning …
Reputation Management Lessons from Wall Street
Financial services firms still feeling the pain from sullied reputations The events of the past half-decade (or more) have left the average American utterly untrusting of those in the financial industry, for good reason. Although obviously there are exceptions to the rule, the bad behavior displayed has left a lasting …
Analyzing P.F. Chang’s Crisis Management for Data Breach
Was the popular chain’s crisis management a four-star effort? The data breach at P.F. Chang’s came to light in mid-June of this year, with the organization claiming to have learned of the situation June 10. Crisis management started out in troubled waters when a massive number of news organizations and …
OOPS! White House Accidentally IDs CIA Spy Chief
Double-checking is never a waste of time when it comes to crisis management Late last month the White House made headlines when it accidentally exposed the CIA’s top officer in Kabul, Afghanistan. In case you missed the story, here’s a rundown, from a Washington Post article by Greg Miller: The …
Walmart Takes Control in Tracy Morgan Crash Crisis
Good crisis management means finding a way to take control Sometimes, there is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent negative incidents from happening. That said, just because you couldn’t prevent something doesn’t mean you have no control of the situation. Take the recent crash involving a Walmart company truck …
Crisis Management Quotables…on Maintaining Reputation
Holding onto your good reputation is much simpler than repairing damage Today’s Crisis Management Quotable comes to us from Thomas Paine, who proved his understanding of the public when his famous pro-independence pamphlet Common Sense helped ignite the American Revolution. “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” ― Thomas Paine …