Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Just how good ARE your crisis prevention and response-related plans?

We were once asked to analyzing the crisis planning done by a large private college. What we found was that they had a half-dozen plans which all fell into the general category of “crisis management.”

▪ A crisis communications plan.
▪ A disaster response plan.
▪ A shooter-on-campus plan.
▪ A facilities emergency plan.
▪ A laboratory accident plan.

All written by different people who didn’t talk to each other. Some of which would be implemented concurrently without coordination between the two. None of which dealt with the most common types of crises, i.e., ones that are primarily a reputation threat. The holes in planning were many – but also quite fixable by bringing the plans together into a unified Campus Crisis Management Plan, supported by training.

At a not-for-profit organization we audited, the plan didn’t provide for a critical component of all crisis response in our Digital Age – social media monitoring and response.

At another, for-profit client, planning failed to account for communicating with stakeholders who had widely differing cultural backgrounds and language preferences.

A Crisis Document Audit is the solution – an independent review of existing plans to determine their flaws and provide recommendations for improvement. Here at Bernstein Crisis Management, we do such audits for a very low flat fee, but whether it’s us or someone else you use for this purpose, be sure that the “auditors” have the depth of experience necessary to accurately evaluate your planning, along with the ethics to be honest with you about their findings.

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/10/10/social-media-crisis-management-advice-and-examples/#sthash.DA9ZLRTH.dpuf

Tips for tackling crises on Twitter

What defines a “crisis” on social media is still murky to many. Is it one furious stakeholder speaking their mind? Is it an offensive post going out from your account? Truth is there are different levels of threat you’ll see on all types of social media, and each calls for a different degree of reaction.

This ActOn infographic does an excellent job of explaining that in a visual way, which is why we though we’d pass it on to you:

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/10/07/a-closer-look-at-car-hacks/#sthash.m8hu0023.dpuf

Educating the public about a rising threat

Car hacks have been making headlines recently, and for good reason. It’s scary to think of the damage a malicious hacker who takes control of one vehicle’s electronic systems can do, let alone many, and considering the vast majority of people aren’t quite sure how these hacks even work there’s a lot of room for those fears to grow.

As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Arxan Technologies has created an infographic educating the average person about how they work and how they can minimize the risk involved:

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/10/02/t-mobile-does-crisis-management-the-un-carrier-way/#sthash.DBc0dr0m.dpuf

Telling stats on the importance of reputation to professional success

No matter what field you’re in, reputation plays a major role in your organization’s success Doubly so for industries with specialty review sites that go beyond the standard options of Yelp and Google reviews. The medical field may be THE prime example, and the stats in this infographic from The Healthcare Marketer blog show just how important reputation has become to physicians in particular:

Best practices for posting to social media platforms

With the multitude of messaging platforms you’re expected to use today it can sometimes to difficult to determine the right approach, or even to keep them all straight. That’s why we knew we had to share this excellent infographic from myclever with you:

Crisis communications in line with stakeholder expectations helps mitigate the early impact of data breach crisis

Oftentimes the crises you’ll encounter are a result of something totally beyond your control. This was the case for T-Mobile when a data breach at Experian, which processes credit applications for the cell provider, exposed the data of some 15 million customers.

Now, T-Mobile has been setting some serious expectations with its position as “the un-carrier”. In this case that meant not coming out with a stuffy statement full of corporate jargon, but something relatable and real. CEO John Legere stepped up to the plate for this one, and absolutely knocked it out of the park:

I’ve always said that part of being the Un-carrier means telling it like it is. Whether it’s good news or bad, I’m going to be direct, transparent and honest.

We have been notified by Experian, a vendor that processes our credit applications, that they have experienced a data breach. The investigation is ongoing, but what we know right now is that the hacker acquired the records of approximately 15 million people, including new applicants requiring a credit check for service or device financing from September 1, 2013 through September 16, 2015. These records include information such as name, address and birthdate as well as encrypted fields with Social Security number and ID number (such as driver’s license or passport number), and additional information used in T-Mobile’s own credit assessment. Experian has determined that this encryption may have been compromised. We are working with Experian to take protective steps for all of these consumers as quickly as possible.

Obviously I am incredibly angry about this data breach and we will institute a thorough review of our relationship with Experian, but right now my top concern and first focus is assisting any and all consumers affected. I take our customer and prospective customer privacy VERY seriously. This is no small issue for us. I do want to assure our customers that neither T-Mobile’s systems nor network were part of this intrusion and this did not involve any payment card numbers or bank account information.

Experian has assured us that they have taken aggressive steps to improve the protection of their system and of our data.

Anyone concerned that they may have been impacted by Experian’s data breach can sign up for two years of FREE credit monitoring and identity resolution services at www.protectmyID.com/securityincident. Additionally, Experian issued a press release that you can read here, and you can view their Q&A at Experian.com/T-MobileFacts.

T-Mobile’s team is also here and ready to help you in any way we can. We have posted our own Q&A here to keep you as informed as possible throughout this issue.

At T-Mobile, privacy and security is of utmost importance, so I will stay very close to this issue and I will do everything possible to continue to earn your trust every day.

Sincerely,
John Legere

This isn’t the right response for everyone, but it was the perfect reinforcement of the image T-Mobile has been trying to present and as a result it came across as 100% genuine. There’s bound to be some negative press in any situation of this kind, but as long as T-Mobile continues on the course it’s set we wouldn’t expect any significant impact.

Too often the entire tone of an organization changes when it comes time for crisis management. Although things do need to become a bit more serious, completely moving away from what your stakeholders have come to expect is not inspiring confidence by any means. Remember the expectations you’ve set, remember the relationships you’ve forged, and respect that in your crisis communications.

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/09/24/infographic-the-impact-of-food-recalls/#sthash.1j9zurV8.dpuf

September 16, 2015 – Monrovia, CA — Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used media-training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., is now being given away in its PDF format. Formerly $10, there will be no charge for the publication as long as demand exists. The hard copy version will no longer be sold.

“To the many buyers of my book – thank you,” said Bernstein. “This is simply the latest extension of my ongoing willingness to share knowledge of the crisis management field, a topic that I’ve been privileged to help develop for over 30 years. I am particularly hopeful that professors of public relations will make Keeping the Wolves at Bay available as something quite rare, a free textbook for their students.”

It is our pleasure to share Keeping the Wolves at Bay with the community, and hope your find the information within as useful as our readers have for many years. To download the manual, click here. We ask only that all material stay unchanged and credited to the original author.

Thank you for reading!

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/09/12/reminder-for-david-cameron-always-assume-the-mic-is-on/#sthash.ZoSRyc4Q.dpuf

Even the savvy can be caught in media mistakes

British Prime Minister David Cameron had an important media skill reminder recently – always assume microphones are on. The PM was miked but off-camera preparing for a speech he was about to deliver when he made cracked a joke, stating, “We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn’t realise they hated each other so much.”

https://vine.co/v/eFZbEh5dVUE

Luckily for Cameron, the British audience is more accepting of a bit of cheeky behavior from their public figures, and he quickly smoothed things over while seated with two Yorkshire cricketing greats to watch a match in the afternoon following the slip-up.

The reminder stands, however. If there’s a mic on your person, or anywhere near you (that includes smartphones and other recording devices you might not necessarily see!) you simply must be guarded in your speech. Many decry this as a loss of freedom, and that may be so, but fact is saying the wrong thing and having it immortalized in a recording can haunt you for years.

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

Patching a security risk and creating more in the process

The major Uconnect hack that left 1.4 million Chrysler vehicles in danger was pursued vigorously by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and to its credit the carmaker acted quickly. Problem is, taking action quickly isn’t always the best route if the crisis management measures you employ are going to draw more criticism.

Instead of asking owners to bring their vehicles to a dealership for an update, Chrysler opted to mass-mail USB sticks that were to be plugged into the onboard system. On the surface this is a great plan. After all, it keeps costs low, avoids clogging up dealerships with service calls, and reaches the largest number of vehicle owners with the greatest ease. One little problem – encouraging end users to plug USB drives they get via a less-than-secure method is a security expert’s worst nightmare. Security groups and end users alike were quick to take to social media to share their concerns, echoing the sentiment in this Tweet from @automotivesecurity:

This is how @Chrysler “solved” their security vulnerability: A USB drive in your mailbox. It’s probably virus-free.. https://t.co/P9tUpdjpJ2

— Automotive Security (@automotivesec) September 3, 2015

It would take significant effort for hackers to dupe vehicle owners into thinking they received a legitimate USB drive, but it’s far from unthinkable. And, if they were able to fool even a small percentage of people, the damage that could be done is immense.

It’s a little reminder that even your crisis management plans need to be evaluated for the potential to create crisis. Is it a bit paranoid? Absolutely. Will it save your rear repeatedly? You bet.

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/09/04/want-to-improve-your-media-interview-skills/#sthash.LjjaHMI0.dpuf

How do food recalls affect your business?

Food recalls are the most common type of recall we see. Just because they’re common doesn’t render their impact any less though. Indeed, food recalls have an affect on many aspects of business you may not have ever considered.

If you haven’t given too much thought to exactly what a food recall might do to your organization, this infographic from CheckIt.net will open your eyes:

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

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/09/22/our-media-training-manual-keeping-the-wolves-at-bay-now-100-free/#sthash.22ANbpGG.dpuf