Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Still no substitute for human interaction when thing go wrong

Be human and be humane: It’s easy to get defensive and hide behind “no comment” or your lawyers. But when tragedy strikes – your audiences (employees, community, customers, etc.) want to see and hear from you. They don’t expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to genuinely care about what happened and how it impacts them. They want to hear from a real person who is being honest and forthright with them.

This quote, from a Business 2 Community article by marketing expert Drew McLellan, has only been made more true over recent years by the rise of the Internet and true mass communication. While more than happy to read press releases or generic news via Twitter and its kin, when people feel threatened or upset the human touch is invaluable.

The actual speaker does not have to be the CEO, but it should be someone fairly high up in the organization who is personable and able to stay on-message during potentially stressful media appearances or interviews, and this speaker should remain as the face of the company throughout the crisis and recovery.

Funny enough, it is technology that has spurred and nurtured a return to this “human touch” thinking by encouraging the mass sharing of video. No longer do you have to wrangle an interview on a major network, or pitch countless local stations in hopes of having your statements aired. Now all it takes is a free YouTube channel to ensure that stakeholders see and hear your spokesman exactly as intended.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Good start, bad finish for TSA’s crisis management

If you haven’t heard about the latest TSA debacle, the basics are that 24-year-old Olajide Oluwaseun was able to penetrate airport security at New York’s JFK International, including federal checkpoints, and board a Virgin America flight to LAX using an expired boarding pass belonging to somebody else. Although he was caught by Virgin staff in the air, he was not detained at his destination, and only days later was caught again attempting to board a Delta flight bound for Atlanta, at which point he was arrested by the FBI.

Obviously, it’s embarrassing for the TSA to have it once again be proven that its much-touted security checkpoints can be breached with little more than expired boarding passes with no ID to match, but the organization actually came a hair’s width from completing a solid crisis management move before committing a major no-no.

Lucien G. Canton did a great job of describing the situation in a post on his “Canton on Emergency Management” blog:

One could blog for several days on all the things that went wrong but I’m always more interested in how organizations respond to mistakes than in the mistake itself. In this case, TSA freely admits that “…TSA did not properly authenticate the passenger’s documentation.” They further promise, “…disciplinary action is being considered for the security officers involved and all appropriate actions will be taken.”

Accepting responsibility for your mistake and promising corrective action is always a good crisis communication move. However, TSA then proceeds to blow it by trying to minimize the problem by saying, “…it’s important to note that this individual received the same thorough physical screening as other passengers, including being screened by advanced imaging technology…” In other words, “we screwed up but it didn’t really matter.”

That’s the last message you want to send to a wary and sensitive public.

Now, think of this situation in terms of your own business. Would you be ready to respond if you woke up to publicly humiliating information about your company printed on the front page of the Los Angeles Times?

The best way to defend is to be prepared, so get that crisis response planning in gear.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Rigid rules lead to viral video crisis

Last month Delta Air Lines took a serious pounding to its already-tattered reputation when a YouTube video which featured shocked home bound soldiers commenting on the $200 fee they were charged for checking extra baggage (which contained government-issue weapons used to fight overseas, by the way) went viral.

Delta’s initial response was to apologize, but by simply giving lip service and refusing to actually make a change in policy, it only added fuel to the fire, creating more negative commentary and drawing harsh criticism from stakeholders. Finally, Delta saw the light and adjusted its policy to allow an additional free bag for troops, but the damage was done.

What should we learn from this? BCM President Jonathan Bernstein answered that question in an interview for the San Francisco Chronicle:

The lesson, said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management Inc., is that companies should let airline workers make decisions in the name of good customer service. In this case, the Delta employee who handled the fee was just following the rules of Delta Air Lines Inc.

“Then those situations never have to escalate into crises,” Bernstein said. “They (Delta) end up with a hit on their reputation that they could have avoided.”

Requiring special authorization for checking one extra bag is just plain over-bureaucratization. Flexibility is a hallmark of smart business models for good reason, and this should extend right down to those working the phones and customer service counters. With training, enabling your front-line representatives to make minor changes could save you from a major crisis.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Three traits identify outstanding leaders

It’s accepted that there are many different effective leadership styles, but are there certain traits that tie top performers together? Executive search consultant Justin Menkes thinks so, and he’s got evidence to support his theory.

A quote, from Fortune.com:

Menkes’ book is based on his work with corporate boards as they evaluate, test and consider who to hire or promote as their next CEO. Menkes, who is a consultant with executive search firm Spencer Stuart, gathered evaluations of 150 CEO candidates to isolate the behaviors that the top-performing quartile exhibited and the bottom quartile lacked. After five years of research, he found three key consistent characteristics that the best leaders display:

1. Realistic optimism. The exceptional leaders demonstrated an ability to understand the actual circumstances of a crisis and see a chance to excel. Managers must “have a passion for confronting reality,” Menkes writes in his book, referring to a pragmatic mindset. “You have to show you’re staring into the sun with them; you’re aware of the risks,” he says.
2. Finding order in chaos. This combines calmness, clarity of thought and a drive to fix the situation. It requires practice to stay clear-eyed and fearless when the world is tipping. It also requires zeal to solve a puzzle by engaging your staff.
3. Subservience to purpose or corporate goals. This commitment to the higher calling or the greater good can make a huge difference. Effective leaders channel staffers’ “intense reactions to recurring setbacks in a way that constructively keeps the organization moving forward,” Menkes writes in his book. By encouraging a team to come together around some important goal, it cultivates tenacity and encourages collaboration.

Because of the fact that an organization’s leaders are, by nature, at the forefront of any crisis management efforts, I very much liked the quote that said managers must “have a passion for confronting reality.” Some of the most damaging corporate incidents in memory (BP is a prime example) have been a direct result of leadership that refused to face up to and admit reality, without which it’s impossible diffuse or resolve difficult situations.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Low marks for Germany in crisis management case

Europe has been struggling with a virulent E.coli outbreak which appears to have originated and is most severe in Germany. With accusations flying back and forth between several countries during the initial stages, crisis management was slow to get started, and less than effective once it did, as the opinions of the populace show. A quote, from a Reuters article:

In a survey of 1,003 people by pollsters Forsa, 58 percent of respondents considered Berlin’s crisis management in what is the deadliest outbreak of the bacteria in modern history as less than satisfactory or poor.

Only 31 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with the government’s information policy during the outbreak, according to the poll, published by Stern magazine.

More than 3,200 people have so far been taken ill with the E.coli strain, about a quarter of them developing a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome, which affects the blood, kidneys and nervous system.

Poll results are always ugly in the midst of crises, but when an outbreak continues to expand after the cause has been discovered, clearly the opinion that the government’s information policy was weak is well-founded. One of government’s primary roles is to disseminate information to the public, so there’s no excuse for not having a crisis management policy in place and ready for action.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

In the midst of a crisis, the spotlight’s on you

Shakespeare penned the famous line, “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” in the year 1600, but it’s managed to remain quite relevant every since then. Major crises today present perhaps the biggest “stage” of all, as millions of people from around the world are not only able to track every happening via traditional media, but also to contribute their thoughts and discuss those of others using the Web and especially social media.

In a guest post for the Mr. Media Training blog, crisis management pro Jane Jordan-Meier, author of “The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management,” took this analogy even deeper as she described the four stages of a crisis.

STAGE ONE: In Stage One, the spotlight is beaming squarely on the incident. This is the “breaking news” stage. “What happened?” is the key question. And the news travels very fast in Stage One to Stage Two – it doesn’t take long for the story to jump the “fire line.”

STAGE TWO: Stage Two is characterized by the focus on the “victims” and the response. The light moves quickly from the incident itself (although new facts will continue to emerge) to the “drama.” How could this have happened? How many people are hurt, missing and/or dead? How is the organization responding? How quickly did the responders get to the scene? The light will shine brightly on the perpetrator – or who we think the perpetrator might be.

This stage is key. This is the make it or break it stage, the reputation forming stage, the stage where the rallying on social media sites, both negative and positive, becomes a focal point.

The spotlight, with widening and growing intensity, points at the organization and persons who appear to be at the center of the storm. It will roam around and catch whoever will talk about what’s just happened. Experts start to appear on CNN, victims start talking in-depth about their experiences, and the organization starts to give its side of the story. And it can last at least 72 hours.

STAGE THREE: Stage Three is the one best avoided, although inevitably we all want to go there – yes, the Blame, Finger Pointing Stage. Think back to the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico when the executives of the three companies at heart of the massive oil spill were severely chastised over attempts to shift the blame to each other.

In this Finger Pointing Stage – everyone has an opinion about you, your product, your organization, your industry, even your country (ask Iran) – lots of “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”

Stage Three is all about blame with the key question focused on “why.” The spotlight is more like a floodlight. Your crisis is beamed everywhere.

STAGE FOUR: The light begins to dim in Stage Four which is the fallout/resolution stage. The spotlight now dims, but can easily be turned to full glare again if you slip up, or something similar happens in your industry. Your crisis is perpetually in print, on Google, in Wikipedia – searchable and discoverable. Your “sin” will be for everyone to see forever – you can’t take it back.

 

 

 

 

 

Typically, this stage marks the end of the crisis; there is some resolution. There might be a funeral, a government inquiry, or a Senate hearing. Your product goes back on the shelf, workers go back to the plant, victims return to their homes.

Stage Four is perhaps the most dangerous, as many organizations relax too much rather than focusing on the effort to drive reputation higher and regain stakeholder trust. The slip-up can be nothing more than a few errant words spoken by an exec as they leave work late, but make the wrong move and nobody will hesitate to drudge up the recent past and make you pay for it.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Don’t neglect these powerful communications tools

One of the most common questions business owners are asking now is, “how do I get take advantage of social media?”

Thankfully for those who are still worried that the process is difficult or overly stressful, marketer and self-proclaimed social media addict Pam Moore has laid out a simple list of how to get started in a Social Media Today article. A quote:

Step 1: Do your own research on how to best leverage social media to meet business goals and objectives.

Step 2: Develop a business and integrated marketing plan inclusive of goals and objectives. Be sure to focus clearly on your target market segments with a goal of knowing them and getting in their head the best you possibly can.

Step 3: If you don’t have the skills and knowledge of social media internally, hire the agency or consultant to help you integrate social media into your business. Be sure that they understand integrated marketing, the importance of setting goals and objectives and can help you develop and execute a plan to meet yours! Refuse to accept a list of random acts of social media (RAMs). If the plan is not integrated then the RAMs will eat your ROI for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Step 4: Integrate social media into your business plan with a focus on leveraging social media to support biz goals and objectives. Your business plan may need to be adjusted based upon your new findings and research of the social media landscape.

Step 5: Develop an integrated social media strategy, approach and plan that best supports your business goals and objectives.

Step 6: Execute the integrated marketing, social media and business plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 7: Continuously analyze, measure and refine your approach, strategies and tactics based upon achievement to goals and objectives.

I like this list because of the advice to focus on not just creating new pages and profiles all over the Web, but tailoring the focus to the business’ individual marketing or communication wants, needs, and goals. Without this, you will fail to attract stakeholders and especially to create a rapport that will keep them engaged and coming back for more.

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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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

People love a good political scandal, and the saga of what may or may not be Congressman Anthony Weiner’s underpants is currently dominating Twitter and the network news circuit. With his story changing by the day, it’s clear the Congressman isn’t done explaining, and that whoever is giving him crisis management advice is going in the wrong direction, as this guest article from crisis communications pro Mark Macias explains:

Did he or didn’t he?

No one knows yet whether Congressman Anthony Weiner is lying about tweeting a picture of his bulging boxers to a pretty female college student. In fact, even Weiner admitted he “can’t say with certitude” whether the picture is of him.

As a crisis communications consultant, here’s one thing I can say with certitude. Weiner’s handling of this scandal has been a botched case from day one and if he was acting on the advice of PR consultants, they should be fired.

Guys may be oblivious to the obvious, but when it comes to boxers, we know what we wear. This evasive kind of answer only gets reporters salivating because they know when words are minced, raw meat is likely close by.

Originally, Weiner tried to dismiss this scandal, telling reporters it was nothing more than a prank and he was going to focus on his work. Nice try, but it doesn’t work like that with reporters. Hiding the story only makes reporters hungrier and if there is a political scandal brewing with an “up and coming” politician – complete with photo- reporters will pursue it to break news.

Apparently, Weiner got the message a few days later because he decided to go on a 9-hour speaking tour with the media. It’s a good start, but he was willfully unprepared. He couldn’t even answer the most basic question: is that you in the picture?

Lesson number one: If you’re in the middle of a scandal and you fear it will make news, you better prepare yourself for the tough questions. In Weiner’s case, he didn’t even prepare for the easy questions. Don’t mince words when framing your argument because it will only make you look guilty. If you’re innocent, be clear and concise with your denial. Speak with words people will understand. If you’re guilty and you have a lot at stake to lose, then consider hiring a professional crisis consultant to manage your message. It’s always easier to manage the message before the narrative has been written.

Lesson number two: Don’t go after reporters. It is their job to ask the tough questions and if you don’t like it, tough luck. Reporters and producers have strong personalities so don’t try to challenge them as Weiner did when he called a CNN producer a “jackass” for asking a tough question during a press conference. The purpose of a media interview is to court viewers and readers into your corner, not to alienate them. If you come across as haughty or angry, you have already lost the battle over image.

Lesson number three: Don’t crack jokes to downplay the story, like Weiner did. He did several interviews and seemed to come up with every kind of sexual innuendo that suggested where his mind was. In one interview, Weiner said this Twitter scandal wasn’t a national security threat: “I’m not sure it rises — no pun intended — to that level.” For those who suspected Weiner had a dirty mind, he just reinforced it with his words.

Lesson number four: Don’t delay a response. Weiner made the mistake of believing if he ignored the problem it would go away. If the story is salacious, the media will pursue it at all costs. If you go into hiding, reporters will find you and ask questions when you are least prepared to answer them. In Weiner’s case, a reporter for a local TV station arrived unannounced at his office on Capitol Hill, trying to get answers. But rather than answering questions, his staff called the Capitol Hill police. This is why you need to always get in front of the story. If a crisis situation is beginning to brew, consider releasing it before the story breaks. Or in Weiner’s case, answer the calls on the first day, not several days later.

Lesson number five: Don’t lie. Originally, Weiner said his account was hacked but he didn’t want to go to police. That’s possible, but here’s another take. If he lied to police about his account being hacked, this would have turned into a criminal act for filing a false report. In 2010, I was the Communications Director for a Congressional challenger when my personal email account was hacked. It quickly became a criminal investigation that involved the NYPD crimes division with detectives quizzing me on lots of personal information. I had nothing to hide, so I answered the questions without fear of reprisal. What did Weiner do? He hired an attorney and clammed up, which reinforces the image that he doesn’t want to answer the tough questions.

I can’t predict the future, but I am willing to make a wager on this scandal. I’m going on the record now, predicting that more pictures will soon surface with Weiner in uncompromising photos. Why? Weiner admitted he couldn’t say “with certitude” whether that was him in the picture. I think he is leaving himself some wiggle room just in case more pictures of himself –complete with his Weiner smile- surface on the Internet.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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ABOUT MARK MACIAS — Crisis Communications Expert

Mark Macias is a crisis communications consultant and author of Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media. You can reach him at www.KilltheStory.com

(Editor’s Note: As this guest story was being posted, Congressman Anthony Weiner admitted he was guilty of Tweeting a lewd photo.)

House Majority leader Eric Cantor has taken the unpopular position of denying federal aid for tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri, even making the rounds of TV press shows in attempt to defend his choice. It doesn’t appear to be helping convince the average American though, as the ever-creative denizens of the Web fire back with gems like this, from The Borowitz Report:

FEMA Declares Eric Cantor a Disaster Area

Congressman Denies Funds to Self

 

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – One day after Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) stirred controversy by withholding funds for tornado relief, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took the extraordinary step of declaring Rep. Cantor a disaster area.

Within hours of the declaration, FEMA officials were dispatched to assess the damage to Mr. Cantor’s status as a human being capable of empathy.

“I’ve seen a lot of hurricanes and tornados, but this is something new,” said FEMA spokesman Tracy Klugian. “Rep. Cantor appears to have been caught up in a moral vacuum.”

While concerned FEMA officials looked on, the morally ravaged House Majority Leader took to the floor of the House to make the case for denying funds to repair himself.

The FEMA spokesman said that the agency was currently trying to estimate the cost of rebuilding Mr. Cantor’s soul.

“Quite frankly, I’ve never seen devastation like this,” Mr. Klugian said. “It’s like there’s nothing there.” More Borowitz here.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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CDC spreads message with unique announcement

The Center for Disease Control’s “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse” campaign has been a major success, with its creatively designed badge (seen below) popping up on sites across the Web.

Perhaps motivated by the fact that many members of the public pay little heed to standard preparedness advice involving crises like floods, tornadoes, or earthquakes, the CDC launched the attention-grabbing zombie campaign, which attracted a flood of visitors to its Emergency Preparedness and Response website.

It’s the more mundane crises that truly pose a threat though, and for those, as with the zombie apocalypse, it’s crisis prevention planning that will ensure your business survives.

If you choose to ignore it you could get lucky…but it only takes one look at the headlines of this past year to see what the cost is for being wrong. Besides, in most cases, the cost of the entire crisis prevention process is a minute fraction of the losses that could be incurred as a result of facing crises with inadequate preparation.

Nearly as bad as not having one at all, a common mistake is to overlook the plan in the heat of the moment. For example, it’s a frequent cause of crisis to have the wrong person make what become public statements simply because that’s who the press chose to brace in the company parking lot.

Crisis simulations help greatly to expose weakness and find solutions as well, and can be scaled from a pen and paper exercise to full-on walkthroughs complete with local officials and business associates.

Whatever your business, create a crisis prevention plan will allow you to keep working while you resolve the crisis, test it, and follow through 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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]