Crisis Management 101 for XBox One

How Microsoft handled heavy backlash over XBox One announcement

When Microsoft announced that its upcoming Xbox One game console would require a once-daily “check-in” online, as well as severely restrict the ability to play, trade and sell used games, it set off an explosion of outrage among the gaming community, a community which consists of some of the most heavy-spending, brand-loyal and vocal consumers out there.

Immediately, lists like this one, found in Reddit’s popular /r/gaming forum, began to propagate, along with other, far more vicious material and countless memes slamming Microsoft. Microsoft’s main competitor in the gaming market, Sony, even got in on the act, publishing a video that mockingly shows how to share games on its just-announced Playstation 4:

Well, Microsoft hasn’t become the leviathan it is today by making stupid decisions, and after taking a week to sift through the conversations online, as well as conduct what we’re sure were some rather frantic XBox dev team meetings, the company announced that it was reversing its policies on sharing and required connectivity. Here’s a quote, from the official statement:

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

Microsoft went back to the most basic of Crisis Management 101 tenets with this one; if your stakeholders are ticked about something, and you’re able to change it, do so! Sure, the always-fickle internet gaming community is going to rumble, grumble, and trash talk Microsoft a bit more, but the reality is that the reason many said they would refuse to buy the XBox one has been nullified, putting Microsoft firmly back in the competition for top next-gen console.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

July 2, 2013March 22, 2022

“I Can’t Tell People What They Should Give!”

No one would argue the fact that every fundraising campaign needs a goal and that everyone connected with the campaign, including prospective donors, needs to be aware of that goal.

Why, then, do people so often fight the setting of a goal for each prospective donor and the sharing of that goal with the prospect?

Trustees often blanch at the idea, and it is the rare solicitor who for the first time he or she is told that there will be a suggested giving amount for each of his prospects does not respond with, “I can’t tell people what to give!”

They’re right! Solicitors shouldn’t try to tell prospects what to give, as that will likely engender a great deal of resistance.

Yet, setting a personal goal for all prospective individual donors, letting prospects know what their goal is, and helping them see where and how it fits under the umbrella of the campaign goal, are probably the most important elements of any campaign.

No matter what prospective donors you are approaching, you need to be ready with a suggested giving amount in line with what each prospective donor is capable of giving. Dealing with foundations, corporations, and government funders in this manner is easy. In fact, it us usually required. Grant application forms have a blank space where you fill in the amount requested. But when it comes to individual donors, we seem to think it is a different kettle of fish. It isn’t.

If a fundraising campaign is to have a realistic chance at succeeding, we must, in the case of every prospective individual donor:
   1. Rate and evaluate the person’s ability to give.
   2. Seek a realistically large—hopefully the maximum—potential gift.
   3. Provide the donor with a suggested gift amount.

This rating and evaluating process applied to as many of our key potential donors as possible will allow us to suggest what we would like them to give. It does not tell them what to give.

Most prospects will welcome a suggestion of what would be appropriate. People nearly always want to know what the “price” of something is. It is rare that anyone decides to purchase an item without first looking at its price tag. The same is true when it comes to making a philanthropic donation.

People want to know how much the soliciting organization needs, and those responsible for fundraising should always have a ready answer. That answer should be a specific dollar amount determined by a rating and evaluating process, but far too often it is:

1. “Give what you can:” Requesting that multimillionaires give what they can is capricious.
   You seldom are likely to be asking any one person for resources of that magnitude.
2. “Give what you are comfortable with.” People can be comfortable with giving $10 when
   you need $100 and they could give that and more.
3. “We would appreciate a gift in the range of $ ________ to $ ______.” Asking for a gift,
   for example, in the range of $100 to $1,000 tells the prospect you haven’t determined
   what your real needs are and you certainly do not know the prospect’s potential to give.

You should always suggest a specific number, and that number must be presented in a way that is neither annoying nor demanding. There is only one person who can and will decide the size of the gift – the individual making that gift, and most prospects will welcome and consider a request made that way.

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Have a question or comment for Tony? He can be reached at Tony@raise-funds.com. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap 🙂
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We’re going to take a break, now, for the July 4th Holiday,
then we’ll begin our once-a-week (Thursdays) Summer Schedule.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

July 1, 2013May 1, 2022

Keeping Employees Motivated & Slick as Ice in the Summer

Aiming high for productivity during the summer can be difficult when everyone is making plans for vacation and time to visit with family and loved ones. Beyond maintaining productivity in the workplace, it’s hard to keep employees in the office in the summer.

In many ways, it takes a team player who is also a leader to round up the office during the summer. Make sure employees stay on track, even when they have vacations on the brain:

Plan Ahead

Ask employees to give you their summer schedules as soon as possible so you can plan accordingly for times people in key roles are gone, and make summer vacation availability and procedures clear to employees when they’re hired. Alert them if certain times will be limited, or if employees are restricted to requesting off a certain number of days, and encourage them to make requests early. Once requests are in, project managers can use resource management software to effectively organize tasks and projects and allocate the appropriate resources to complete the job, as well as alerts companies to when they should hire temporary employees to fill voids. Consider making the summer schedule transparent to everyone on your team, so team members are kept in the loop for project needs, as well. And make sure communication during the summer season is strong, writes Peg Cummings of Return Customer, so all team members are on the same page as to who will step into roles and take over tasks.

Tie Up Loose Ends

Tell employees to try not to leave any strings hanging before their vacations. Before they leave, make sure employees set up voicemail and email forwarding to other colleagues if they are unable to address the needs of clients. Encourage employees to finish whatever projects they are able to before they leave. Make sure employees communicate vacation plans to clients who might need to reach them. And have employees coordinate with each other on what tasks may be delegated in their absences.

Give Employees Specific Goals

Use productivity benchmarks from earlier months to set goals for employees to attain during summer months. If there are specific guidelines in place with expectations, employees will be able to work towards those goals instead of slacking off. If possible, offer incentives for employees to complete additional projects before they leave to help alleviate the work burden while they are gone.

Use Positive Reinforcement

If you sense employees are having a harder time staying focused this time of year, make examples out of the ones who go above and beyond by publicly reinforcing positive behavior. Consider implementing a rewards system for exemplary work. The more employees are praised for a job well done, the more likely they will repeat their great work, according to Monika Jansen of GROUPON Works.

Bring the Vacation Inside

Allow and encourage employees to bring summery touches into the work environment; they don’t need to leave the office to have fun. Allow employees to dress more casually than normal one day a week, conduct weekly team-building activities or allow more flexible schedules to accommodate for those employees who have visitors in town. Make the work environment more conducive to your employees, writes Spark Hire CEO Josh Tolan on huffingtonpost.com, and they’ll be more likely to turn in great work for you.

How has your business motivated employees to do great work during the summer season? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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David is a devoted father from Boston with a penchant for writing about anything that strikes his interest. His main interest is writing about business management on business blogs.