When you run into a situation that threatens to disrupt operations, reputation, and your bottom line, a brand-new “To Do Now!” list snaps into existence with alarming speed. Over our decades of experience working with clients in nearly every industry, we’ve found a few steps to be most important in getting off to the right start.

Here are the 3 most important things to do when a crisis hits:

1. Breathe. Yes there’s an urgent need for response, yes you have 300 different things to do, but it won’t help to panic. Trust in your plan, take a brief moment to gather yourself, and head into the fray with confidence. You should probably cancel any dinner reservations though…you’ll be here a while. If you don’t have a plan in place it’s likely the cost of your recovery could double. We’ve seen it happen more than once.
2. Gather your team. Every organization should have a crisis team with the authority to make major decisions on short notice. You’ll want key representatives from groups like management, legal, PR, and any specific area experts called for, to give you a well-rounded view. It’s important that you can gather this team quickly, and while technology continues to make this easier every year you will need to account for the possibility of major events rendering even telephones temporarily unusable.
3. Evaluate. What exactly are we looking at, and what level of response is warranted? While you don’t want to under-react, doing something like sending the CEO to appear live in response to a smaller localized issue can lead audiences to believe there’s a bigger problem than truly exists. Gauging this is easier said than done, though some basic crisis preparedness – things like defining what constitutes different levels of crises for your own organization – helps tremendously.

The most important thing to remember is that this knowledge, along with things like crisis planning, training, and prevention efforts need to be incorporated into daily practice. It’s not fun to think “What could go wrong?”, but it’s a lot better than spending time looking at lost profits and customers flocking to the competition.

[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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Don’t create a social media crisis for your own brand!

Before posting anything to social media you need to ask yourself – “What could go wrong here?”. While the specific concerns vary depending on your industry, region, and any number of other factors, they may include items like “Does this mean something different when translated?” or, “Could this be taken the wrong way by those who aren’t insiders?”. The important thing is that you remain aware serious social media trouble is only one tap of the SEND button away. One thing that can help tremendously is knowing what entire categories of posts you should steer clear of, and the web experts at Red did a nice job of sharing “8 Types of Social Media Posts Your Business Should Avoid” in a recent infographic:

[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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Exploring the power of online reputation

Trying to push a case with gut feeling is rarely the most effective. Facts make the best proof, and a solid presentation like that found in this TrustYou infographic helps make it clear why more and more organizations are investing in online reputation 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 vice president for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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When a Crisis Really Isn’t

In Aesop’s famous tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a shepherd boy convinces his neighbors that a ferocious wolf is attacking his flock of sheep. The townsfolk, after a few false alarms, catch-on. Later on, when a wolf actually does appear and the boy cries for help, his neighbors ignore his pleas and the wolf devours his sheep.

In today’s “everything is important, everything is urgent” world, we see this tale played out over and over again in corporate board and Crisis Management Team (CMT) war rooms across the country. At times, it seems as if we have gone from where companies consistently denied that they would ever be confronted with a crisis – let alone have to manage one – to where almost anything and everything is a full-blown crisis that warrants an equally full-on response.

The reality is that what constitutes a true crisis, versus a routine management issue, lies somewhere in between these extremes. At times, a situation really may be a bona fide crisis that requires CMT activation. And others, while perhaps sensitive or delicate, may only require an adept and measured response. The key is to make sure the response is commensurate with the true threat to a company’s reputation or license to operate.

This is not to say that a company should ignore the reality of a crisis and not be prepared to effectively manage situations that could negatively impact the company, its workforce, its community and its customers. On the contrary, it is critical to have everything ready to manage these situations so that they don’t take on a life of their own and, in so doing, become a larger crisis.

Knowing the difference between two different but related communications activities – managing a crisis versus controlling situations that could become a crisis if not managed correctly – is key to having an effective crisis preparedness plan. By understanding this difference, a company will better know how to dedicate its resources to neither over-respond nor under-respond to a situation. Not having to deal with a crisis that really isn’t one frees up corporate resources and reduces interruptions to its daily operations, both of which have a direct and positive impact on the bottom line.

Ready for Crying Wolf Pt. 2 – The Elements of a Crisis? Click here.

Dominating search results for your organization’s name and key industry terms should be a core part of any crisis management strategy. It helps to prevent concessional bad news dominating those search results, as well as ensuring you’re able to get messaging in front of key audiences if and when the need arises. While there are some aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) that are quite technical, if you truly want to remain competitive and protect your reputation it’s important to have at least a basic understanding of the process. To help, here’s an infographic from WebCEO that runs down some of the most important aspects of SEO to keep an eye on for 2019:

[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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3 Tips on Public Speaking from the Experts

It’s not always fun to be “that guy” pointing out how safety can be improved, what could go wrong, and how people could get hurt. Fact is,this type of awareness saves lives, along with minimizing lost productivity and chance of harmful litigation. Emergency communications expert Doug Levy recently shared his article, “Five things you can do right now to boost safety for you and others”, a small excerpt of which you’ll find below.

1. Every time you start a meeting, point out the exits. If there was an emergency right now, do you know where to go? What if that route is blocked by an armed shooter or fire? Knowing how to get out helped save lives in Pittsburgh last month and in countless other emergencies. Whether you are giving a speech, kicking off any kind of meeting, or hosting a party, just point out the exits at the start — the same way you probably point out bathrooms and refreshments.

Making safety a part of your daily conversations will raise awareness and improve response, both of which are critical to surviving major incidents. To see the rest of Doug’s potentially life-saving tips visit his article by clicking here.

[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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Lessons on how to stay out of trouble in the social media jungle

Social media crisis management has been a part of 99% of the damaging situations we’ve seen this year. In fact, more often than not, social media is a driving factor behind any given crisis. The bottom line here is that you simply can’t afford to not understand how social media crisis management works.

There are a few things every single organization should be doing when it comes to social media crisis management.

SOCIAL MEDIA DO’S:

1. Monitor closely. Knowledge is power, and having even a few minutes lead time on a breaking situation feels like an eternity during a crisis. Combine monitoring tools and human effort to catch mentions, sentiment, and brutally honest feedback from important audiences.
2. Create a network in advance. We frequently hear from clients that they don’t want to be on social media at all. Too bad! You don’t have to be a social media darling but if you don’t create the platforms that will allow you to do crisis communications right you’re asking for trouble.
3. Plan and practice. A stressful situation is not the place to assemble a working plan. Knowing in advance what you should do in predictable situations and having enough practice reps to allow you to execute the plan is a step that’s overlooked frighteningly often.

On the flip side, there are some items that should be avoided at all costs. Let’s just say that the outcome is never pretty.

SOCIAL MEDIA DON’TS:

1. Come off as “fake”. The internet in particular LOVES to call people out as being fake. If you’re pushing too far from your true personality or established brand tone you’re likely flirting with disaster. The biggest way to stop this Don’t in its tracks is to make certain you’re getting honest feedback from a variety of critics before anything goes live. Yes-men are not your friends if you want to avoid this pitfall.
2. Engage on someone else’s turf. Never go looking for a fight in an area someone else controls. If a particular blogger is causing negative reactions from your audience the place to respond is not the comments section. Utilize platforms you control and where you can help keep the conversation civil while moderating to knock out harmful rumors before they can take hold.
3. Take nights or weekends off. Social media doesn’t sleep, it doesn’t take weekends off, and it doesn’t care whether it’s a holiday. While everyone wants to check out for a couple days after a stressful week, when you’re in the midst of crisis any significant gap in communications makes the situation exponentially worse.

Winging it is not an acceptable approach when sparking public outrage once can create permanent, sometimes insurmountable damage. Know your Do’s and avoid the Don’ts to stay out of trouble!

[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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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.]