Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Unfounded complaints reflect poorly on golf pro

One major rule of PR — If you’re going to make public accusations, then you sure as heck better be able to back them up.

Pro golfer Sergio Garcia learned this lesson the hard way when he complained to the media that Tiger Woods had caused him to miss a shot during this past weekend’s Player’s Championship tournament.

Despite Garcia’s claims, replays showed he hadn’t even begun his swing at the time of the “interruption,” and he was quickly labeled a needless whiner and described as such repeatedly across both traditional and social media channels.

In this week’s Monday Morning Media Minute, Jerry Brown offered his take on the situation:

Taking his complaint to the media makes him sound like a whiner — something he has a history of doing.

It was no surprise his complaint became the story of the day. The media buzz would have been deafening if the two golfers had ended up paired together for the final round.

That didn’t happen. But they were tied for the lead with just two holes remaining and a playoff pitting them head-to-head against one another was a real possibility. That would have churned up the buzz machine once again.

Garcia’s collapse on Sunday made his Saturday whine, legitimate or not, all the more embarrassing.

The lesson for the rest of us? Just because you think you’ve been wronged doesn’t mean the story will play out that way if you complain in public.

No matter how much you think you’re in the right, there is no guarantee anyone else will see it that way. If you really must call someone out, be it an individual or organization, you better have done your homework and put together an airtight argument, or you may find yourself doing a bit of crisis management for your own reputation’s sake.

The reality is that, in most cases, it’s best to not complain about the actions of others at all, instead focusing on what you control; your own efforts towards making the situation more favorable.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Were you aware of this sneaky way your system can be infected?

Rarely a week goes by now that we don’t hear of a new cyber attack as hackers’ approaches become more bold and sophisticated.

Early this month, a U.S. Department of Labor page that shares information on toxic substances at facilities around the U.S. was infected by hackers in what is known as a “drive-by download” attack. Here are the details, from a PCWorld article by Jeremy Kirk:

When someone was redirected to an infected page, a script surveyed the computer to figure out what versions of software such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Systems’ Reader, Java or various antivirus programs it is running, wrote Jamie Blasco, director of AlienVault’s Labs.

The attack code then tries to exploit a vulnerability in older versions of Internet Explorer, wrote Anup Ghosh, founder and CEO of Invincea. The vulnerability, CVE-2012-4792, has been patched by Microsoft.

Those running the vulnerable browser didn’t even need to click or accept anything, merely visiting the site would be enough to grant the attackers access to their systems.

Exploits of older versions are just one of the reason regular software updates should be part of your crisis management process for cyber attack prevention. For more tips on protecting yourself, check out our recent post, The Three P’s of Cyber-Survival.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Going risqué can quickly create a need for crisis management

The world of advertising gives us quite a bit of fodder, probably because those in the biz are constantly trying to draw a reaction from the public. The danger there is that it’s quite easy to go too far, putting a company’s reputation at risk.

For example, just after New Zealand’s Parliament approved same-sex marriage, beer brewer Tui put up a billboard reading:

“Dad’s new husband seems nice.”

“Yeah right.”

Now, the “Yeah right” slogan is part of a decades-long campaign of Tui’s, but insulted gay rights activists didn’t think it was funny, and quickly flooded Tui’s Facebook page with negative comments.

Asked for his take on the issue, Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein offered up the following quip to Ragan.com’s Matt Wilson:

Sometimes being clever isn’t clever. This was a totally preventable crisis, because even the tiniest bit of market research would have predicted a negative reaction by a significant number of people.

Regardless of what type of messaging you’re putting out, whether it’s advertising, crisis communications, or anything else, you absolutely must put yourself in the shoes of the recipients, thinking, “how could this upset people?” If the answers come pouring in, it’s time to reconsider.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Cellular phones are pushed as a premiere crisis management tool, but will yours have service when you need it most?

These days, a good portion of the population has no land line at all, and runs their calls (and much of their internet use) entirely through cellular. Problem is, when disasters strike, cell service isn’t nearly as reliable as most would expect. According to an NPR story by Tracy Samuelson, roughly one in four cellphone towers in the path of Hurricane Sandy went out of service, and in Long Beach, N.Y. every single one went down during the course of the storm.

With the debate over who should be in charge of cell carrier regulation still in full swing, it may actually be the court of public opinion that casts the deciding vote. Quotes like this one, from Long Beach, N.Y. City Manager Jack Shnirman in that same NPR article, are the type of catalyst that could push carriers into cleaning up their act:

“There was one woman in particular who passed away, of natural causes, an elderly woman,” he said. “And her daughter had to walk literally a mile and a half from her home to police headquarters just to say, ‘Listen, my mom has passed, and I thought I should tell somebody.’ ”

To prepare for the next disaster, Schnirman wants better access to “Cell on Wheels,” or COWs. They’re cell towers that can be moved from place to place. He wants backup power, like generators, at cell towers. And he wants better access to the cell providers themselves. He said he didn’t even know whom to call during Sandy.

“The city’s IT department flagged a Verizon tech off the street to help us find out who in Verizon could help; we needed to get somebody to come and help us,” Schnirman says.

This actually presents an opportunity for smart cell companies to do some proactive crisis management. The first carriers to acknowledge the problems, and present a plan to better serve their customers, will not only head off potential reputation damage caused by lost service, but also grab the positive PR that comes with showing stakeholders that you’re making a change for the better.

Sandy was also a warning shot to any of us who could be in the path of a disaster, natural or man-made. Have backup systems for critical services – like maintaining one land line even if you mostly rely on cellular service.

Regardless of what industry you’re in, when cries for change sound out you would do well to pay attention. Change before your hand is forced, and you’re a caring, responsible company. Wait until you have no choice, and that most valuable asset, your reputation, is put at risk.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

New, FREE disaster crisis management resource

If the disasters of recent years have taught us anything, it’s that trained volunteers have the power to make a massive difference in the lives of those affected.

To that point, DisasterReady.org has been established by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation to “increase the preparedness and effectiveness of humanitarian aid workers by making training more accessible and affordable.”

Featuring free state of the art e-learning courses in subjects like safety and security, disaster assessment, and how to maintain your own health and well-being in the field, DisasterReady.org is an asset not only to volunteer agencies, but any organization looking to bolster its crisis management capabilities.

In a world where training frequently means big bucks, resources like Disaster Ready are doing an amazing thing in making such in-depth resources available for free. Take advantage, and start getting disaster ready today.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Take these steps and make every employee a crisis management asset

Sure, your employees are hired to fill specific roles, but anyone who’s been in the middle of a crisis situation knows that a whole new set of responsibilities pops up, whether you’re ready or not.

BCM president Jonathan Bernstein was recently interviewed for a Hotel News Now article on terrorism risks for hoteliers, and the insight he shared holds true for any type of organization:

“Every employee is a crisis manager and a (public relations representative) for the organization, if you want them to be or not,” Bernstein said. “If you don’t teach them what they should and shouldn’t do, they’ll wing it,” and that can be dangerous to a hotel’s reputation.

How to you maximize the effectiveness of employees as part of your crisis management strategy, while minimizing the potential risks of having someone share information they shouldn’t, make the wrong call, etc.? As Jonathan explained, training is the key.

Create specific guidelines for employees of all types, from the C-suite to the front desk, in your crisis management plans, and take the time to actually go over them, AT MINIMUM, a couple of times a year. Make sure your plans are easily accessible in hard copy, as well as on devices like cell phones or tablets, so they can be referenced any time, any where.

Take these steps, and when trouble does hit you’ll be glad to find yourself surrounded by a crew of trained crisis managers.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Failure to live up to expectations creates a need for crisis management

Failing to live up to stakeholder expectations is one of the quickest routes to reputation damage. Compounding this is the fact that sensation sells, meaning reporters, reviewers and bloggers are happy to crank up the drama in order to draw more readers.

Just take a look at this quote, from the viciously titled TechCrunch article by Josh Constine, “Vine, The App That Eats Your Precious Memories”:

No app has ever broken my heart quite like Vine, Twitter’s six-second animation maker. You capture a scene, then pocket your phone while you think of a witty way to describe it. But when you open it a few minutes later or the app randomly crashes, it’s gone. That moment, that memory, deleted. I still love Vine, but I’ll never forgive it for the visions it stole from me.

Consumers are demanding satisfaction like never before, and it’s your job to give it to them. If you’re advertising yourself, as Vine does, with the tagline, “the best way to see and share life in motion,” then your users better be able to multitask while they’re using your app.

Same goes for any industry, grocery shoppers expect their food to be safe to eat, car buyers presume their vehicle will perform as advertised, the list could go on forever.

Bottom line is that failing to meet expectations WILL result in a backlash, and it’s more and more likely that this backlash is going to be blasted across social media and the ‘net when it comes, drawing hundreds, thousands, even millions of eyes.

Now, even if you’re doing your best, at some point this is going to happen. What does Crisis Management 101 dictate you do in response?

Simple, fix it! Make the changes your stakeholders are demanding, and invite the same people who were feeling negative to give you another try. If there are things you just can’t change, explain why! Who knows, you may even be able to crowdsource a solution (for free, no less) from one of your stakeholders.

What you don’t want to do is bury your head in the sand and avoid the issue, because it’s not going away on its own.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Proving you’ve changed is a key goal of crisis management for reputation damage

When your brand’s been in hot water repeatedly, simply talking about the changes you’re making isn’t enough. For instance, is anyone out there rushing to hop on a Carnival cruise right now? We sure aren’t! The company hasn’t been able to get out of the news for the past few months as it continues to have problem after problem.

Now Carnival is throwing some much-needed money at its issues, announcing a massive budget to implement safety recommendations and upgrade various areas, like ship generators and fire prevention, which have proven to be trouble spots. Asked if this would solve the company’s woes, BCM’s Jonathan Bernstein shared the following with Ragan reporter Matt Wilson:

“I’m going to paraphrase The Beatles here: ‘I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me trust,'” he says. “Nothing short of reliable performance over an extended period of time will help Carnival overcome its recent series of mishaps.”

Did Carnival need to spend this money in order to secure its ships? Yes. Are customers to come rushing back simply because Carnival’s telling them all the issues are fixed? Nope.

To use another famous phrase, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” When you’ve had nothing but problems, it doesn’t matter what you say you’re going to do, or even what it looks like you’re doing. What matters is that you prove to enough people that you really have made changes, and that should be the goal of your crisis management plans.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]

Editor’s note: This guest post from Jeff Chatterton, a crisis management expert we’re proud to have as a Bernstein Crisis Management contractor, examines what the next steps should be for organizations of all types following the events of last week.

I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief when police officers converged on a bloody, tired and overwhelmed terror suspect Friday evening. The nation has had the weekend to celebrate. But today, the hangovers begin.

It may not seem like it at first, but life as you know it just got dramatically different. The rules we operate under our different. The expectations from the public are different. Smart companies will recognize that and adjust – lazy companies are going to keep trying to do things the way they did last week. They’ll pay the consequences.

I’ve put together a quick list now of four industries which are going to be dramatically affected by events of the past week – but there are many, many more. I’m curious to know who else should be added to the list?

If you run a large public gathering:

Whether it’s a marathon, an art-walk, or you’re an arena manager – things are dramatically different now. Accept it. People don’t need to know simply that they are safe. Who is the best spokesperson to help explain WHY your attendees are safe?

What changes can you clearly point to between this week and last? Do you know how to answer highly emotional questions YOURSELF, without deferring to the local Police Department? What question is simply lying out there that you are horrified to confront – better get it figured out now.

Having a good repartee with your police liaison is important, but it’s NOT the same thing as being prepared to answer tough questions. Your local police Chief is probably great at providing yes or no answers, but not so great at defending your good name, especially when, in his or her mind – they haven’t done anything wrong yet!

If you have ANYTHING to do with immigration:

First – let’s be frank. We all know the input and contributions of immigrants not only made our culture great, but those contributions are what continues to make our culture great. That being said – don’t for a second think you can rely on those sentiments.

How do you convince people you, your employees and/or your clients are great, hard-working people who wish you no harm? In a move that’s both sad and funny, the American Ambassador from the Czech Republic felt forced to issue a news release clarifying that the Czech Republic was not, in fact, the same region as Chechnya.

Think about this – the Czechs are a NATO ally on the war on terrorism! If even they feel obligated to differentiate on an issue of 1,700 miles difference, don’t take the lazy way out and assume the general public will assume your immigrants are the ‘non-scary ones.’

If you handle chemicals:

Reports are coming that the fertilizer plant in West, Texas may have had up to 1,500 times the allowable limit of stored chemicals on site. If you don’t know what RTK legislation is, research it. Called “Right to Know” legislation, it has different forms and variations across the country.

Imagine going to every neighbor in your region and explaining what you have on-site, and what the possible risks are. Imagine the different ways notification could be made… but dream up the worst possible scenario. After the West, Texas fiasco, chances are good a lawmaker in your own State is already ahead of you, and already has something in mind that’s far, far more restrictive and damaging.

You can either play the cards you’ve been dealt, or you can stack the deck for yourself. Figure out what the tough questions are and come up with effective ways of disclosing that information to the community around you.

WHAT! Blow the whistle on yourself without being asked! Oh please – It’s a lot like getting a vaccination – don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little pinch, when that pinch can bring a world of good?

If you’re in Law Enforcement:

Enjoy the moment in the sun. (As an aside, as I was watching the crowd in Watertown, MA cheer the law enforcement community as they left the scene on Friday night, I realized “Isn’t it great where we live in a culture where we CHEER the police, rather than live in fear of them?”)

That honeymoon, unfortunately, is going to dry up quick. As people wake up this morning, questions are going to start coming in soon. “Are you prepared for something like this?” “What are you doing to prevent it?” “Do you track known terror suspects in our community?” “How many are there?” “What other programs do you have in place?”

Spend a few days NOW, while you have the luxury of good will, and draw up every damaging or awkward question you can think of. Now start coming up with good answers, NOW, rather than on-the-fly. You’ll thank me later.

One last point:

Yes, I know you’re busy. Yes I know you have competing priorities. Preparing for these questions is the most effective way of ENSURING your priorities remain on track – and don’t get completely derailed by two months of public confusion and hysteria.

Jeff Chatterton is owner and operator of Checkmate Public Affairs. This post was originally published on the Checkmate Public Affairs blog.

When signs of impending crisis appear, it’s no time for patchwork fixes

Often, long before a major crisis strikes, there is some sort of indication that trouble’s brewing. In the case of the Texas fertilizer facility that exploded this week, a report from USAToday’s Chuck Raasch and Sharon Jayson indicates that the company may have been lax regarding safety and maintenance procedures as far back as 2006. Here’s a quote:

The fertilizer plant that exploded in West, Texas, killing more than 30 people and causing widespread damage was cited and fined in 2006 for federal environmental violations, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

West Chemical and Fertilizer was fined $2,300 in March 2006 for failing to update a risk management plan and for having poor employee-training records and no formal written maintenance program, according to the EPA. The company later certified it had corrected the deficiencies, the EPA said.

Thing is, sometimes, even when you’re making your best effort to do the right thing, smoldering crises can go unnoticed until events send a little red flag up. Whatever your business, it’s critical to keep an eye out for indicators, whether in the form of regulatory violations, stakeholder unrest, negative media coverage or internal reports that show something just isn’t quite as it should be.

Once you’ve had a mounting issue pointed out, Crisis Management 101 dictates that you should not only patch it to the satisfaction of regulators (the public, employees, media, whoever), but actually dig to the root of the issue and fix it there.

Will it take some extra effort? Yes. Will it save your organization’s reputation, and, depending on the crisis, huge sums of money, or even human lives? Absolutely.

Put that way, do you have any good excuse not to make that effort?

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[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]