Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

[I very rarely cross-post, but I couldn’t resist putting this “press release” here as well as on Huffington Post today, where it was titled “Mom Always Wanted Me to Be a Lawyer.” Already, from HuffPost, I had one person think I was serious, which was kinda fun. I hope you enjoy it!]

Bernstein Crisis Management Launches Strategic Litigation Management Group

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LOS ANGELES–(SATIREWIRE)-Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. announced today that it plans to establish a strategic litigation management group to assist national and international businesses and their managements and boards.

“With a number of law firms launching Crisis Management divisions, it made sense to me that we even the playing field a little by adding some quasi-legal clout to our activities,” said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. “And I’m confident that we’ll be as good with legal matters as attorneys are at offering crisis management advice.”

Senior members of the group include former Transportation Security Administration officer Patricia “Pat” Down, bail bond tycoon Guido Ransome, former World Wrestling Federation Commissioner Crater Mess; and Tom Foolery, former senior staff advisor to the House Ethics Committee.

“This team brings decades of experience advising clients on managing high profile governmental, transactional and investigative matters,” said Bernstein. “More importantly for our clients, each of these five professionals has had considerable and sometimes painful experience with legal matters and has successfully helped those they served navigate through those issues.”

A former stock broker, 7-11 clerk and waste hauler, Ms. Down will provide high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government clients on a broad range of matters including risk identification and prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

“With every pat-down I’ve conducted, I’ve been aware of how a crisis could erupt at any moment,” Down said. “I believe in transparency and full compliance with most laws.”

Ransome has established a national network of bail bond businesses in a career spanning more than three decades, following his early years on the other side of the bail bond counter. “Hey, if youse in trouble, I’m your man.”

After 17 years of serving as the commissioner of the WWF, Mr. Mess understands the importance and challenges of building and protecting a global brand.

“Your name is everything. In fact, your name may be the only thing real about you, so it has to be protected, legally and otherwise. Eventually, if you do that right, people won’t even realize what’s real and what’s not!”

Tom Foolery recently retired from his 25 years of service to the House Ethics Committee, and categorically denies that his own behavior was under review at the time of his retirement.

“If there’s a way to lie, cheat or steal, I know about it, and of course will do my utmost to protect our clients from such activity and from themselves.”

In response to concerns that his firm might be accused of practicing law without a license,” Bernstein commented, “I’d love to give you an appropriate crisis management response, but I have to say ‘no comment’ on the advice of my attorney.”

Bernstein Crisis Management, a 17-year-old international consultancy, has less than 500 employees providing the full range of crisis management services. For actual information on the firm, go to http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Just being on this list is a crisis.

Businesses are not expected to be perfect. In fact, the public is fairly forgiving of small mistakes if they are admitted to and corrected quickly, and even big problems can be countered over time. The problem arises, though, when an organization lets things go too far. This is the situation that landed many companies on 24/7 Wall St.’s list of “The Fifteen Most Hated American Companies of 2010.” Without further ado, here it is:

1. American Airlines

2. Nokia

3. Toyota

4. Best Buy

5. Charter Communications

6. Citigroup

7. AT&T

8. Bank of America

9. Dell

10. Dish Network

11. Johnson & Johnson

12. McDonald’s

13. United Airlines

14. British Petroleum

15. DirecTV

While many on the list were there for perpetuating a culture of poor customer service and unethical practices, several of the organizations are formerly respected companies (Toyota and J&J, to name two of the biggest) whose crisis management and communication skills were found lacking when things got hot, allowing their problems to expand into reputation damage.

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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.]

One bad quote can send you scrambling for crisis management

Boy, was last week a tough one for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. With his city stung by a 20-inch blizzard, its sixth-worst on record, and massive delays in cleaning up the mess, “Mayor Mike” managed to put his foot in his mouth for what will likely not be the last time in his political career.

Saying Monday that #snowloko (Editor’s note: the Twitter shorthand for a huge snowstorm) was “inconvenient,” while urging New Yorkers to see a Broadway show (seemingly oblivious to the fact that millions of outer-borough residents were literally trapped in their homes — and would be for several days — because of his administration’s mismanagement and bungling of the cleanup effort) Bloomberg perfectly exemplified a new reality that is starting to emerge in crisis management in the digital age: words, much like images, can make or break you

This quote, taken from a PR Breakfast Club blog post by Keith Trivitt, is a fine example of the reality described – the amazing damage potential of a thoughtless comment. I would argue, though, that this new reality is not just starting to emerge, but has been blossoming for quite some time and is at an all-time high due to the rapid and easy mass communication opportunities provided by social media and mobile devices with unparalleled levels of Internet access.

With masses of E-reporters, both amateur and professional, constantly searching for the next attention-grabbing headline, a poor choice of words by your sleepy CEO on his way out the door could easily be broadcast and re-broadcast, circulated throughout the Web, and end up in eyeshot of a sizable number of your stakeholders before the next morning.

Doesn’t sound fun? The only way to prevent this type of incident is to make sure every member of your organization is aware of the impact that even seemingly insignificant statements can have, and take the time to set up regular media training sessions to hone the skills of your communicators and leadership.

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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 crisis management means being prepared for the worst

Being well prepared beforehand is probably the number one way to minimize the impact of crises on your organization. While this may seem obvious, most are at a loss as to what steps to take to ensure this preparedness. In a recent post on the Preparis.com blog, Cassie Harman gave a good list of steps that should get anyone started thinking on the right path, including this one:

Who does what?

Decide who is going to be your primary company spokesperson (usually the CEO in a major crisis) as well as two backups, and provide them with crisis media training to help them communicate effectively and deal with the kind of challenging questions that they would be asked in a real crisis situation. Clearly define the role of other key executives, such as the president of the company, in both external and internal communications. Identify subject matter experts within your organization that may need to be called upon to provide specialized information relating to a particular topic, and ensure that your legal and PR departments or agencies are on board with your plan and are prepared to support the spokespeople during a crisis situation.

Especially with the speed at which information is expected to move these days, there is no time to make these decisions mid-crisis. By having every role assigned, you can react smoothly and decisively to the twists and turns that are bound to arise.

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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.]

Engaging in reputation management is not a choice, but a necessity

The availability of easy online publishing tools has given everyone a voice and the power to reach an audience. This can be a very positive thing, what with fans, evangelists and brand ambassadors helping to spread the word. On the other hand it opens the door to greater risk and the need for constant vigilance, as inaccurate information and bad news can spread rapidly online.

Reputation Management has long been a core PR function and now, more than ever, we have to be aware of what is being said about the organization and be able to take effective action to correct any threat to the organization’s image. Listening to the online conversations and having a PR team that is trained to react effectively is no longer an option – it is a necessity. You can’t afford to be caught unawares or react incorrectly.

This quote, from a post by Sally Falkow on The ProActive Report, reinforces one of the primary topics of this blog. Most crises do damage the reputations of the involved parties, but if an organization’s reputation is in good enough standing before trouble strikes, then it can avoid going “into the negative” so to speak. At the same time, smart and responsible handling of a crisis can actually bolster reputations to a point beyond where they previously were. As our methods of communications change, reputation management efforts must adapt. By staying on top of the where your stakeholders meet to talk and, yes, complain, you can stay two steps ahead of coming trouble.

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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.]

Asking a few questions now can prevent crises later

One of the very best ways to prevent crises is to avoid them altogether. While obviously this isn’t always possible, there are steps you can take to shift the odds in your favor. In a recent blog post, Barry Hurd, President of 123 Social Media, gave a list of 15 questions organizations should ask of themselves. Some examples:

Who is responsible for monitoring the web for early signs of a crisis?

If someone doesn’t have an official responsibility to monitor for signs of problems (and opportunities) – you will be doomed to a very jaded moment of finger pointing when the executive team all shrugs and says “I thought you were handling it…”

Is your brand and mission statement integrated into a crisis plan?

In the digital world of reputation management and crisis control, responding quickly and transparently has huge benefits.

The simplest way to enable your team to act is to give them a direct brand and mission statement. By integrating this into the first step of your crisis plan, any employee in your organization should be able to ask a basic YES / NO question of “Do my actions support our brand and mission statement?”

This is critical for allowing an organization to have a consistent message at all levels.

How have you enabled your fans to support you?

Social media has some amazing benefits that extend outside of your immediate employees and business relationships. You have access to several different layers of social networks that can be activated to help you out.

• Friends and Family – do a survey of your immediate relationships and find out what influential connections exist within your friends and family network. These users/decision makers/influencers can radically alter the way your business is viewed online (and in the real world.) While you may be planning a reputation management strategy for a crisis, this list is also a very valuable asset to be leveraged during good times (new product launches, special announcements, brand studies, etc.)
• Happy clients and brand evangelists – these individuals may have no real reason to do something for you… except for the fact that they like your business, what you do, or who you are. This layer of fans has numerous advantages when dealing with the ‘digital mob’ that can arise during an online crisis. Understanding how to communicate correct information to this group quickly and effectively allows them to distribute it.

Barry’s list is a solid start, but don’t be satisfied stopping there. Every business holds its own risks – remember to include specific planning to counter those found in your niche. At my firm, we call that process a vulnerability audit, and if you’d like to see some sample questions from such an audit, email jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

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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.]

Outstanding examples of good crisis management

The primary goal of Merrie Spaeth’s “Bimbo Awards” is to give a humorous look at crisis communications gone wrong. Occasionally, though, Spaeth picks out a few examples that stand in stark contrast to her usual fare – those who got things right. Here’s a sample, from her “Bimbo of the Year” list:

A passenger on a Virgin Air flight wrote a humorous and illustrated letter of complaint regarding food he was served on a flight. It generated a personal response from CEO Sir Richard Branson who invited him to help select meals for the airline in the future. Another example of how important it is to respond quickly, to have a conversational and humane tone, and to use humor. If communication is to be a strategic tool for business, this is a good example of how to handle complaints. Telegraph, “Virgin complaint letter: Author of Virgin letter offered chance as airline’s food tester,” Jan. 28, 2010

Another good example is how Walmart reacted when an announcement over their loud speaker in a New Jersey store ordered all black people to leave. Predictably, shoppers were horrified, angry, and word spread quickly. Rather than wait to find out what had happened, Walmart immediately apologized saying it was unacceptable, and pledged to find out what had happened and share whatever they found with the public. A 16-year-old boy was discovered to have commandeered one of the courtesy phones. This is how a company has to react in this day of instant news, even before it knows all the facts. The county prosecutor “praised the company for their strong cooperation in the investigation,” and the NAACP, which has been critical of Walmart in the past, weighed in to say that the company has worked hard to show it cares about diversity. (The moral: even bad news can be a platform for positive news). MSNBC, “Police: Boy, 16, made racial comment at NJ Walmart,” March 20, 2010

While these two cases took different approaches to these negative incidents, the constant was direct, honest and public communication. As a result, both came out with improved reputations and a bundle of free publicity.

Want to see the winners and more honorable mentions from this year’s BIMBOs? Check out my HuffPost blog!

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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.]

Communication is important in a crisis, but say the wrong thing and it can quickly backfire

Foxconn, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of devices for Dell, Apple, and several other high-end electronics companies, has been facing criticism and protests following the ninth worker suicide at its southern Chinese factory. The company has been failing spectacularly at crisis management efforts, choosing primarily to dodge critics rather than engage and respond, and issuing canned statements that do more harm than good. Here’s one example of a particularly damaging quote, from a Communicate Magazine article:

In the case of Foxconn, crisis communications failed spectacularly. In a now much-criticised rearguard action, Foxconn quickly tried to paint itself in a positive light, pointing out it is overwhelmed by applicants when it announces vacancies. “We are certainly not running a sweatshop,” Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said.

A common mistake organizations make during crisis communications is to use the very labels they seek to avoid in defending themselves. Of course, the first thing reporters seeking a good headline will see is the word “sweatshop” in the chairman’s reply, which they will proceed to gleefully misquote in the quest for increased readership. Don’t place a negative connotation upon yourself, avoid these trouble terms and you can dodge the pitfall that Foxconn has fallen into.

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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.]

Strong customer service creates valuable crisis management opportunities

In an article from my most recent Crisis Manager newsletter, friend and reputation management consultant Jeff Chatterton wrote about the significance of customer service in crisis management and the negative results that quickly come from ignoring said customers. On the heels of that came a posting by my colleague in the UK, Jonathan Hemus, on his Insignia Talks blog, that provided even more proof of this principle. First, the Tweet that inspired his post:

Earlier today BBC presenter Clare Balding posted the following tweet:

Sat next to nice woman who’d been on Qantas flight when engine blew up. She said pilot was amazing. He spent 2 hours talking to passengers afterwards and gave them his mobile number if they had questions or problems. She said Qantas were amazing.

Unless you make the effort to be there for your customers, such helpful word of mouth would never be generated. How do you do it, you ask? Jonathan knows, and goes on to share his insight with readers:

If you want your employees to help protect your reputation in the event of a crisis, the starting point is instilling a customer service culture. Next, you need to empower staff to make decisions and do the right thing in the event of a problem.

Finally, when the crisis breaks you need to brief the frontline – receptionists, call centres, security guards, salespeople – on what’s happened, how they should respond and what to say. This should be an essential part of your crisis communication plan.

Take this approach and your own people can play a big part in protecting your reputation. More than that, supportive words from those directly affected by the incident provide a real opportunity to enhance your reputation. That’s certainly true for Qantas given that Clare Balding’s tweet has now reached 35,000 followers: now that’s positive word of mouth on a huge scale.

While many organizations seek some sort of “secret formula” that will magically produce buckets of goodwill and a torrent of happy Tweets and Facebook postings, the reality is that no such thing exists. These results come from enabling every member of your frontline staff to serve as brand ambassadors and crisis communicators and, obviously, the hard work that these people put into creating and nurturing customer connections.

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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.]

Crisis management doesn’t stop when the fires die down

When the immediate threat of a crisis passes, it’s seductively comforting to breathe a huge sigh of relief and return to business as usual. However, the fallout and subsequent consequences are likely just beginning.

Trust will need to be repaired and confidence restored. Uninformed second-guessing will surely challenge your decisions and actions. Recovery is as critical as early response when the smoke begins to clear.

Be sure to reach out to all your publics to ensure that no lingering doubts remain or misinformation goes uncorrected.

How you conduct yourself and the actions of your company during this recovery period will long be remembered by the people whose opinions and trust you value most.

This quote, from the MCS Healthcare Public Relations series, “25 Years, 25 Lessons” discusses the work that must take place after the initial phases of crises have passed. Even after righting whatever the initial issue may have been, it is critical that the process continue, or a backslide of stakeholder opinion may extend the crisis indefinitely. The most successful crisis management campaigns go beyond the problem and into the future, not only assuring people that the root of the issue has been eliminated, but also that the individual or organization has learned from any mistakes and is actually stronger 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, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]