Month: October 2018

By Jonathan Bernstein06
As Written for Arizona Attorney

Crisis: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs whose outcome will make a decisive difference for better or worse (Webster’s New Collegiate).

Employees thought to be performing impeccably are suddenly charged with a felony. A major lawsuit is filed against Company X and the Arizona Republic prints all the allegations verbatim. A client informs you that a federal agency is investigating its activities. The Attorney General announces plans to take action against a particular company, or industry. All of these are very common crises to which Arizona attorneys have to respond. And, sometimes, legal counsel is on the instigating end of what becomes a crisis for another entity – a subject to be addressed separately in the future.

This is the first in a series of columns written to help Arizona’s legal professionals better understand the public relations component of crises, a PR specialty commonly called “crisis management” or “crisis communications.”

The reality of today’s sensationalist media and public environment is that, regardless of the legal merits of any crisis situation, perceptions generated from case onset through resolution can dramatically impact the reputation and economic welfare of your clients. Perceptions, which can be as helpful or damaging as “the provable facts,” can also impact the attitude of prosecutors, regulators and other audiences important to the legal process. The role of public relations, therefore, is to help stabilize that environment by developing messages and public relations strategy which results in prompt, honest, informative and concerned communication with all important audiences – internal and external. Strategy which must always defer to legal considerations without causing a client to play ostrich – because when one’s head is in the sand, other parts remain exposed.

In a criminal case, says Ed Novak, a partner at the law firm of Streich Lang whose practice includes white collar criminal defense matters, “PR is particularly important during the investigatory phase because you have a greater opportunity to influence how your client is viewed by the media. You want journalists to receive a positive first impression which hopefully will carry through the investigation. If you look like you’re covering up or stonewalling, the negative impression created will be difficult to erase.” But, Novak went on, PR also has distinct roles to play at time of charging, pre-trial and during a trial, to include an often-ignored component of working with a public relations professional.

“A crisis management expert can give me an objective layperson’s view of what I plan to show to a jury or prosecutor, often providing valuable criticisms or suggestions,” he said. Novak also noted that having a spokesperson other than legal counsel, one trained by a crisis PR professional, can prevent sometimes-overwhelmed attorneys from reacting inappropriately to eager reporters. For example, said Novak, “some people may view John Dowd’s confrontations with the press as having reflected poorly on both Dowd and his client, former governor Symington. This is bad for business.”

[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 vice president for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Is There a Loose Cannon on Your Deck?

By Jonathan Bernstein & Anthony Moore

Loose cannon referred to an actual weapon before it entered the language as a metaphor. In the days before ships were equipped with fixed-turret guns, muzzle-loading cannons were mounted on wheels and rolled back and forth between gunports. A gun not properly secured could break loose either from the force of recoil or from the jostling of the vessel in choppy waters, presenting a hazard to sailors. (Merriam Webster)

One of the questions we ask any client during a vulnerability audit is:

Are there any loose cannons associated with your organization, people who – even if they are strong supporters – tend to say the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong time, causing damage?”

The answer, within most organizations, is “yes.” But then the question is:

“How are you identifying and mitigating potential loose cannons?

“It is important to realize that the identification of ‘loose cannons’ is critical, as their unstructured and off-the-cuff comment or behavior can expose the organization to millions of dollars in legal fees and negative actions that are incalculable,” said organizational management expert Anthony Moore, principal & CEO of Paradigm Group Consultants.

“Most often in organizations an inadvertent comment or unintended action can create a flurry of internal and sometimes external issues that are almost impossible to resolve,” said Moore. “Comments that are degrading to employees based on race, gender, ethnicity and other diversity background traits are made every day in the workplace, without regard to who is in the room. The ‘loose cannon’ often assumes that the comment, or email or Tweet is ‘harmless’ or ‘no one will care’ before it creates a fire-storm that is hard to put out.”

Crisis managers and HR pros need to work together to prevent, or at least mitigate, future damage. The first step is the development and communication of organizational messages, i.e., Mission Statements, Core Values and Codes of Conduct that clearly identify which behaviors are preferred within the organization and which ones are not appreciated. Encourage everyone to practice restraint in all written communication, in particular. Management and human resources policies must also support the organization’s beliefs and practices related to fair treatment and equality. The clear articulation of these behavioral messages and policies should ensure potential loose cannons are compliant and supportive of the organization’s culture. Further, organizational leadership must “walk their talk” in terms of behavior if their codes and policies are to be respected.

We also see a best practice in the utilization of the performance feedback process, in setting goals related to individual actions and performance. The appraisal and feedback communication should be a manager’s key tool to ensure that an employee understands the critical importance of their comments and actions and how they may put the organization at risk. On-going observation and feedback will normally ensure that these actions /comments are dealt with before they become toxic.

At the same time, the organizations crisis management team should have contingency plans and messages in place in the event a loose cannon really makes the stuff hit the fan. While executive leadership considers not merely the quality of an employee’s work, but the risk of any specific employee causing real damage to the organization, however inadvertently.

Secure those loose cannons, folks, before someone gets hurt!

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[Anthony Moore, is the Principal and CEO of Paradigm Group Consultants, an Organizational Development, Diversity and Inclusion and Crisis Management Consultancy. The firm’s clients cover a full range of Fortune 1000, Higher Education and many Non Profit organizations. Their crisis management interventions include a wide array of very high profile situations and even more that were not public, however just as critical. He is part of the Bernstein Crisis Management network of expert contractors.]

[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management.]

 

What should you watch out for when it comes to preventing data-related crises?

Cybercrime against organizations around the world is big business, and can cost big money for those impacted. Beyond the immediate financial damage, having to announce you’ve exposed valuable data shakes trust in your organization and can lead to long-term damage if you’re not careful. In a helpful infographic, UK tech experts Core explain the six most common external threats and data leaks that result in data being breached today, which are:

1. Weak Credentials – aka simple and reused passwords.
2. Stolen/Lost Devices – particularly misplaced laptops and mobile phones.
3. Unsecure Access – often logging in from personal devices.
4. Outdated Antivirus – simply not updating often enough to stay ahead of hackers.
5. Ransomware/Phishing – being duped into allowing malware onto a device.
6. Leaked Data – a direct leak, whether accidental or on purpose.

[Click to enlarge]

[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 vice president for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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How does social media’s effect on the human brain impact crisis management?

When discussing social media outrage we often refer to the quick “hit” users get from posting anything that draws attention online. Well, it turns out that for many humans a “hit” of social media action releases an awful lot of the reward chemical dopamine into their brains (yes, the same dopamine which is released in heavy doses by many forms of drug use), which leads to a pattern of repeating a potentially negative behavior far more often than is healthy. An infographic published by Digital Information World exposed some concerning stats about social media use, including:

• Tweeting may be harder for people to resist than cigarettes and alcohol.
• 60% of females described themselves as addicted to social media.
• 50% of users surveyed said using social networks actually made their lives worse.

Knowing social media users are actively encouraged by their own brain chemistry to have a reason to post helps to frame the patterns of online negativity that often grow wildly out of proportion to the issue at hand in a crisis. Unfortunately the conclusion is not a happy one for those caught in the crosshairs of a social media crisis. If humans feel good when they post, and even better when those posts get attention, then they have plenty of motivation to amplify any minor situation in order to receive more of those dopamine hits.

You can catch the rest of the Digital Information World infographic below.

Infographic courtesy of: Digitalinformationworld.com.

[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 vice president for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Jonathan | Connect with Erik