Hackers Wreak Havoc on German Steel Mill

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Doing physical damage with virtual attacks

Hackers aren’t only after corporate secrets, customer data, and credit card numbers. Some attackers seek to create real, physical damage via the net as well. Take this report, from a BBC News article:

A blast furnace at a German steel mill suffered “massive damage” following a cyber attack on the plant’s network, says a report.

Details of the incident emerged in the annual report of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

It said attackers used booby-trapped emails to steal logins that gave them access to the mill’s control systems.

This led to parts of the plant failing and meant a blast furnace could not be shut down as normal.

The unscheduled shutdown of the furnace caused the damage, said the report.

The attackers reportedly used targeted “phishing” emails, as well as some smooth talking, to gain access to the steel plant’s systems, after which they were able to cause what appears to be purposeful damage.

Is it corporate espionage, an enemy state, or simply cyber-vandals getting their kicks in a nasty way? At this point there’s no way to tell. What it should be, for all of us, is a giant red warning flag.

Regardless of what type of organization you have, the reality is that you will be hacked at some point. Prepare now, including regular training for all employees on how to avoid and react, and make your crisis management capabilities that much stronger for when the time comes.

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/27/backlash-over-facebooks-year-in-review/#sthash.nRYDWq3r.dpuf

Knee-Jerk Crisis Management Hurts Black Milk Clothing

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An example of a poorly handled social media crisis

Shouting from your soapbox that offended stakeholders are wrong, deleting Facebook comments, banning users, and finally a full 180 and mea culpa – Austrialian org Black Milk Clothing ran the full circle of poorly handled social media crisis management, and it all started with a single post:

Black Milk Clothing Star Wars geeky goddess post

Followers of the page instantly pointed out that the image seems very much to be a violation of one of Black Milk’s self-imposed “Facebook Commandments”, ““You shall not make critical comments about other women’s bodies.”, and a highly volatile discussion about the brand’s seeming misogyny and body shaming leapt into existence.

Instead of stepping back and examining what had upset so many stakeholders, Black Milk’s social media staffers started cranking out posts ranging from defensive to insanely passive-aggressive. Here’s a quote from one:

“If the fan page offends you and you don’t like the way we roll, you probably want to unlike the fan page. If that experience causes you to have negative feelings towards the company itself, then you can always stop shopping with us. We’ll understand.”

You can pick your jaw up from the floor now, but suffice to say it went on like that for some time. With fans flying off the handle following these responses, the company then started swinging the ban stick left and right. The furor began spreading to other social networks, and critics around the web were throwing hate towards Black Milk.

Finally, after nearly 48 hours of constant negative attention, Black Milk published a lengthy apology to Facebook:

I want to start off by saying I am incredibly sorry for everything that has happened over the last couple of days.

We made a mistake and we apologise sincerely.

The intention behind the meme was to share a personal experience, and never meant to offend anyone. We misjudged the line between funny and offensive, and underestimated the true impact it would have. I am so sorry.

The senior management at Black Milk take full responsibility for the post and the way complaints following the post were handled. Any criticism should be directed there, and not to the social media team who were simply acting under the direction of management.

I want you guys to know that this wonderful, diverse community means so much to me personally. Having gone to meet ups and being involved in all the amazing things you guys do for each other is such a humbling experience. I don’t want to think that what has taken years to build could be jeopardised.

We are taking ownership of this situation, from the original post to the way complaints were handled. I will work together with the Black Milk team to ensure we learn from this.

We are a small, passionate team who truly value the friendships we have with you guys. I hope that the past four years are a testament to how proud we are of the diversity and inclusiveness within our communities. In saying that, we are human and unquestionably have made a mistake.

Again, we are truly sorry for everything that has happened. I really hope any damage caused over the last few days can be repaired.

This community is such a special place and we want everyone to fun and share the love.

Considering the amount of attention that’s given to social media crises on a daily basis, it’s incredible to see meltdowns like this still occurring. If you take away one thing from this incident, it’s that you never, ever, let your personal emotions get in the way of issuing a kind, compassionate response to critics. When you feel yourself getting heated or overwhelmed, step back, or hand the reins over to someone with a fresh head. Otherwise, you risk making moves you’ll be paying for a long time after.

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/31/hackers-wreak-havoc-on-german-steel-mill/#sthash.D7tRzJwd.dpuf

Backlash Over Facebook’s “Year in Review”

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Social network taking heat after failing to consider not every memory of 2014 is a happy one

Facebook’s “Year in Review” was created to help users celebrate the events of 2014 (and of course drive engagement with the social network), but for many who experienced less-than-pleasant times the notifications come as unrelenting reminders of things they’d rather forget. From repeatedly seeing the faces of loved ones who have passed to being reminded of painful breakups, many Facebook users are complaining that Year in Review is inappropriate and intrusive.

One bereaved father became the face of this problem after blogging about the app reminding him of his daughter who had passed, and Facebook did eventually reach out to apologize to him personally, as well as offering this statement to the media:

“[The app] was awesome for a lot of people, but clearly in this case we brought him grief rather than joy. It’s valuable feedback. We can do better — I’m very grateful he took the time in his grief to write the blog post.”

This is a perfect reminder of why every brainstorming session needs that person who’s looking for flaws, who’s constantly asking the question, “how could this go wrong?” The folks at Facebook are certainly intelligent, and it doesn’t take a major stretch of the imagination to see that many wouldn’t want to have the previous year’s events thrust in their face. Then the Year in Review app could still have been released, but as an opt-in feature, and the strife they’ve put a large number of stakeholders through could have been avoided.

Don’t surround yourself with yes-men, take advantage of that doubting tendency to better protect yourself. It may throw a wrench in the works from time to time, but your crisis management capabilities will be enhanced immensely as a result.

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/19/another-angle-on-the-sony-attack/#sthash.S9bZxxIA.dpuf

Communicating Trainng And Documents

a lady shaking hands with a business man

How do we communicate training as a technical writer? Is collaboration a key to good training? Collaboration is how well we work with others, knowing others, and being able to communicate well with others.

The right side of the brain helps us with communicating and training and collaborating. As a trainer, a technical writer has to:

  • have explored and learned all the essentials, information, or data that is to be transferred. By doing so, they will know how to structure the mediums that will be used to transfer the knowledge.
  • have a key understanding of what the audience needs and to tailor it to them through any medium needed to aid in the training, i.e., scripts, presentations, manuals, etc. The medium used has to be engaging, interesting, and relevant.
  • be able to be a good listener, writer, be focused, and be able to adjust their teaching methods and their technical documents accordingly. A good trainer will be sensitive to a changing environment either while interactively training or when writing new policies, procedures, designing the curriculum, etc.
  • be able to manage their time, their audience, and be able to continuously concentrate on the outcome of the lesson and at the same time be able to work collaboratively across all functions for gathering data and to work collaboratively across all audiences to provide them the training needed.

Trainers have to collaborate with the technical resources or any subject matter expert to gather specific (data or design) information. Therefore, know your SME (Subject Matter Experts). Find them and collaborate; create relationships and work with them and use any opportunity to gather information.

Training via slide shows presentations, videos, tutorials, mappings, documented material, etc. make it easy for us to socially communicate, share knowledge, and collaborate on the web or through any popular medium. With the popularity and reliance of mobile devices being a huge part of our industry now, how do we create independent training events for them? The knowledge to answer this question can be gathered from meetings and improving our own knowledge of and keeping up-to-date of all new technical advances in that area.

Teamwork plus collaboration always equals a positive outcome. Use your excellent communication skills to understand your stakeholders, use your interpersonal skills to collaborate with colleagues to gather information, and use your technical and analytical skills to understand complex technical information and organize it into a logical or customized format. Always remain organized and remember to ensure the look and feel of any training session and any associated documents are appealing and useable.

In the end, good training, collaboration, and technical documents always create better performance in individuals because of increased skills.

What are your thoughts on training and collaboration? Is collaboration a key to good training?

We’re A New Organization. Where Do We Find The Donors?

Finding donors for nonprofit

An all too common question … that usually arises far later in an organization’s forming process than it should have been asked.

I always reply, saying, “Before you make commitments for expenses for which you may not have the funds, I suggest you begin with your Board Of Trustees. You should have on your board, at the beginning of your creation process, as many serious givers-and-getters as possible – people who are rated at the best levels for giving of their own money, who are willing and able to get money from others, and who are willing and able to recruit others who they know will do the same.

Chances are that most “new” organizations will be serving constituencies that are unable to pay for their services; and, so, neither would/could they be donors. Those new NPOs, then, must look with their board to other sources.

Most new groups, in order to have time for developing paths to outside funders, should have each board member commit personally to a set amount — which each may contribute from their own pockets, may raise from sources close to them, or may raise the funds from a combination of both. Compliance to this concept, or the lack thereof, would be a good indication of whether you’ve assembled the right board to ensure that your organization will have a future.

[Editor’s Note: If your Board Members can’t/won’t support, won’t give to their own organization, why should anyone else, why would they want to ??]

When I was in that position, before my development career began and as a board member of a new organization, each of us agreed to go out and raise a dollar amount that was calculated by dividing our number of fund-raisers into the amount needed to balance the books for that fiscal year. We each had a fundraising goal of $1,800.

Off we went, giving what we could of our own money, then asking family, friends, our employers, and owners of places we did business. (I received donations from my company, doctor, dentist, florist, dry cleaner, etc.) We all, individually, worked to our own goal to collectively meet the overall goal of the organization for the year.

Along with that productive activity, we were researching local granting foundations and corporations, learning who they were, what they gave to, how much they gave, and seeking to know of any personal or business links our board had with officials of the grantors. You, too, can easily learn who those grantors are from the Foundation Center directory and from references in your local library – and the good old, and very effective, “word-of-mouth.”

As well, your team should work to gather annual reports and other of their publications from organizations similar to yours and review their listings of donors as potential donors to your particular cause.

These are but a few of the ways you must slog along to learn who cares about your organization and who might care. You cannot expect to get funding from distant and uncaring donors.

You find qualified donors only in those ways – working from the inside out.


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We’re Taking a Break for Two Weeks.
Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday and a Happy & Healthy New Year.
See you on January 7

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Have a question or comment about the above posting?
You can Ask Tony.
There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website:
Raise-Funds.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?

They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, click on the title of this posting, then go to the bottom of the on-line version to offer your thoughts.

Another Angle on the Sony Attack

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Good crisis management means being aware of, and preparing for, the possible outcomes of your actions

There’s been a lot of discussion about demands from hackers that Sony not release “The Interview” due to its targeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but in a recent interview with PRWeek Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein brought up a side of the issue that few have mentioned:

“What Sony did was the equivalent of waltzing into a bad neighborhood with a pocketful of cash hanging out when it named [Kim Jong-un] as the target of its new film,” says Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management. “What the people there should be saying is: ‘We take responsibility for this, we used poor judgment, and here’s how we’re going to fix it and cop a better attitude in terms of the two executives steeped in it.’”

It’s clear that Sony discarded even the possibility of action by its target, and was left reeling as a result. Bottom line is, when you know you’re poking a bee’s nest, you need to have a plan to cope with the potential outcomes, from the very mild to the most extreme. It’s just smart crisis management.

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/10/instagrams-300-million-users-and-crisis-management/#sthash.8JpyJXk4.dpuf

Special Events: Why A “Tasting” Is An Essential Part Of Event Planning – Continued From Last Week

Why A “Tasting” Is An Essential Part Of Event Planning

We have had many a tasting with delicious desserts that were not chocolate. So, when selecting one that was not chocolate, we usually added a plate of truffles to the table so people would not feel as though the meal was incomplete.

A good caterer should also be a guide to all of the different foods and presentations. A simple change of plate from round to square or serving salad in a shallow bowl instead of on a salad plate can make a noticeable difference in the presentation. Don’t hesitate to ask the caterer for different approaches to serving a meal.

Also, be open and honest about the food. If something is too salty or two sweet (could that really happen?) say something. Remember to keep your audience in mind. Age and gender are factors to consider when setting the menu.

Also remember that many people have allergies and food issues that you have to deal with. Every meal you plan should have a vegetarian and a vegan option; and, more and more people eat gluten free.

The caterer will usually take care of all of these issues provided you give them the information in advance.

Of course, not every attendee will tell you in advance. On one occasion, we had an attendee walk in 5 minutes before a formal dinner was to be served and then asked one of the staff members about the menu. Upon learning what was to be served, she announced that she was highly allergic and could only eat a plain piece of chicken and some fruit.

Fortunately, the caterer had brought a few plain chicken breasts and was able to take care of the attendee. That rarely happens. A more likely scenario would have been an angry attendee without dinner! It would be the attendee’s fault, but guess where the blame would fall.

It probably wouldn’t hurt to ask that the caterer make provision for such an occurrence.

In terms of the early questions at the start of this article (last week), no matter how well you know a caterer, every event is different and your menu will reflect those differences. You will want to taste the menu to be sure it works,

As to hiring a caterer first and doing a tasting after the contract is signed, that is a good way to get stuck with mediocre food and bad service.

In that context: I recently met with a caterer who we have never used, but about whom the client was very excited. I had done the advance work, but had gotten preliminary menus that were far from what we wanted — I asked for changes, and a tasting.

We were invited for a tasting; but, when we got there, discovered that we were merely there to again discuss what we were looking for and what might be available to us.

We were three people, and they brought out one plate with small portions of some tasteless food for us to share. When I said something about the tasting, I was told, that “once we sign a contract, we will do a real tasting.”

Clearly, we will not be going back for that “real tasting.”

When you leave a tasting, whether it is at a hotel or at an “off-site,” what you’ve just experienced should have you excited and eagerly looking forward to the actual event. Short of that, you clearly need to rethink your vendor/caterer.

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Next Week, Tony Poderis responds to The Age Old Cry:
“We’re A New Organization. Where Do We Find The Donors?”

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Have a comment or a question about
creating or expanding your special event?
Ask Natalie
.
With over 30 years in conference and event planning,
she can help you turn your vision into reality.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for Natalie’s ebook on Special Events.
It’s part of
The Fundraising Series of ebooks

They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, click on the title of this posting, then go to the bottom of the on-line version to offer your thoughts.

10 Quick Tips for Better Messages in Your Next Presentation

a young man presenting to a group of people

19088092Sadly, if your presentation is like most, your audience will remember very little of what you say. This is especially true if it is fact-filled, detailed and linear. You will be more successful if you think about creating and delivering a high-level message, and using facts and detail only to support your message. After all, it is the message itself you want them to remember, right?

Here are some tips to ensure clarity and focus in your next presentation.

  1. Be sure you are clear about what your message really is. Don’t get hung up on the details until you have looked at and clarified the big “so what?” of your presentation.
  2. Your message should provide context and overview, making it easy to listeners to follow your presentation.
  3. Don’t have a series of messages. Just one compelling message simply stated, easily understood & remembered.
  4. Condense your message to one sentence, targeted to the time, place and people in front of you. Talk their language, and focus on their concerns about this issue.
  5. Use this powerful targeted message to begin and end your presentation with impact.
  6. Get to the point in one minute or less. If you have a clear message, start with it, and add backfill as you go.
  7. Use 3 short statements or questions to pique audience interest, then quickly tie them to your message. Presentation launched!
  8. To increase retention and understanding of your presentation, tie all content to your message.
  9. Don’t memorize your entire presentation, but rehearse until you are fully fluent and confident in stating your opening and message.
  10. Use your message for a clear, compelling ending. We tend to remember what we hear last, so leave a positive impression.

Here is great news: once you are crystal clear with your intended message, the presentation almost writes itself. Try it today.

car2go Apology Goes Above and Beyond

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Genuine care delivers crisis management dividends

We see a lot of apologies these days, but more often than not they fail to hit home. Whether they’re lacking critical components like compassion, competence and confidence dragging or they take the route of the ugly “non-apology”, it seems tough for many to say “I’m sorry”.

That’s why, when our colleague Phil Cogan forwarded this spectacular message that went out to customers of car service car2go, we knew we had to share:

Yesterday, at 4:30pm CST, our car2go vehicles experienced a disruption in service that was directly related to our Germany-based mobile provider. At that time, our provider had undergone a malfunction within their network that disabled cell phone roaming, resulting in a break in remote connection with all of our car2go vehicles across North America and their network in Germany. Thus, members were not able begin or end their trips until the issue was resolved at 12:54am CST today.

Actions are quickly being taken to mitigate this occurrence from happening again, but in complete transparency, since we are only 24 hours fresh, we are at the beginning stages of analysis to understand the root causes with our provider. Stability of our network has always and is still a core focus, but last night’s disruption strengthened our resolve to get a solution more quickly.

We all here at car2go feel the disappointment and the distress that we put many of you through. We heard it through phone calls, tweets, posts, and emails since the disruption started. For those members who have shared, “That’s it…I am done with car2go.” I totally understand why. But I hope that you know that each of us here are members as well, and that with each heartfelt apology we wrote – we sincerely meant it. We didn’t shy away from this event – we owned up to it as quickly as we found out, and worked throughout the night to communicate to all of you via the channels we have in the toolbox. Are there things we need to improve with the communications? There’s always room for improvement, but please know that it was my call to utilize the resources we had to its maximum impact.

For those who were directly impacted, our teams will be in contact with you shortly, if they haven’t already. For many of our members who were indirectly impacted, I can tell you that it is on us to restore your faith in our service in the days, months, and years to come.

After this week’s announcement of car2go being the largest carsharing company in the world, I could look at this as a huge embarrassment. But to be honest with you, last night’s disruption was a defining moment for us. It showed me – and all of our team members across North America – that even though we are the largest carsharing company in the world, we remained true to you, our members – that during a sensitive time, we demonstrated the responsibility and the compassion as a leading brand should. I saw and heard the grace our car2go team exhibited into the early morning hours working on this issue, and I also saw and heard the many of you say “Thanks, car2go – we still love ya.” And that, that means the world to us.

On behalf of car2go, I truly apologize for the inconvenience and trouble that the disruption caused you, and I want to promise each of you that, as a company, we will continue to improve and innovate our service to help you get from Point A to B with complete ease. And for those who have expressed their disdain for our apologies, I ask that you don’t put that on our team – the team who will be working hard the next several days on this, put that anger on ME.

Personally committed,

Paul DeLong
Chief Marketing Officer
car2go NA, LLC

Above & beyond, ladies and gentlemen. This apology came across as genuine because it was, with CMO Paul DeLong’s concern for his customers showing through and through. Communication like this is the kind that saves stakeholders on their way out the door, as well as snagging new ones intrigued by your handling of a trying situation. Kudos car2go, for providing this excellent example of crisis management done right.

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/10/instagrams-300-million-users-and-crisis-management/#sthash.wM6AF8ct.dpuf

 

Instagram’s 300 Million Users and Crisis Management

Women-holding-an-instagram-icon-and-a-snapchat-icon

What are the implications for crisis management as the social networks beats out Twitter for most active users?

Photo-sharing service Instagram announced this week that it had officially bypassed Twitter to take the title of “most active users”. Boasting more than 300 million monthly active users who share more than 70 million photos and videos each day, the network has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2010.

Staying on top of the most popular networks being used by stakeholder groups is a must for crisis management, and after seeing this announcement we asked ourselves a question organizations all around the world should be asking themselves as well – what are the implications of Instagram’s popularity as far as coping with crises goes?

What we believe is that, in its current form, Instagram is best used for rebuilding after crises. Messaging hubs like blogs and websites are more effective for delivering multiple types of content, as well as for redirecting stakeholders who are seeking information from various social networks to a place you control, where you can share your story in a complete manner. Once the communication is out there, though, you still have to actually FIX the issue, and that’s where Instagram comes in. Imagine if BP had immediately sent out cleaning crews to affected areas after its massive oil spill, and every crew had a dedicated Instagrammer posting pictures of the cleanup in action. Suddenly, pictures are being shared, positive sentiment is generated, and the organization responsible for an incident that left many upset and angry is shown to walking their talk with undeniable images.

Of course, this is just one possibility, and we’d like to challenge to our readers to come up with their own ways to use Instagram for crisis management. Leave a comment here or email erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com and we’ll feature your ideas in a future post!

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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]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2014/12/04/customer-service-a-prime-crisis-management-concern/#sthash.YNhfrA6T.dpuf