Category: Organization Development

You can’t cover up, so just come clean

Crisis management can be like presidential politics: If you don’t set the record straight immediately and honestly, you can be out of the running in a flash. Perception quickly becomes reality and the negative consequences snowball. Case in point: Herman Cain.

By failing to address allegations of sexual harassment in a straightforward manner with integrity, the story dogged him until he finally dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. The list of personal and political situations that morphed from damage control to total disaster because of poor management is long and infamous: from world famous professional golfers to congressmen.

This quote, from a SeaCoast Online article by Stefanie Guzikowski, is a perfect example of why covering up mistakes is never a wise choice.

Let’s face it, when we hear “no comment,” we immediately think, “guilty.”

What’s the reason for this?

Well, it’s mostly true.

With the way that crisis management has evolved, companies or individuals that clam up when facing scrutiny attract even more of that which they are trying to avoid. While the public has been proven more than willing to forget the mistakes of those who accept responsibility for their shortcomings, denial and cover ups are exposed with a ruthless efficiency, with the reputation of anyone caught in that trap taking a serious, sometimes permanently damaging, beating.

So, when crisis comes your way, suck it up, admit you messed up, and tell people how you’re going to fix it. It sounds overly simple, but by sticking to that basic procedure you can navigate even the most difficult of crisis 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 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]

Does the evolution of tech and communication mean our methods must drastically change?

Social media has already changed how we do customer service, and the rise of prominent posters, or powerful groups (who hasn’t heard of the mommy bloggers?) continues to affect the ways we handle issues.

With infamous moves ranging from the sensational, like famed Morton’s Steakhouse having a dinner hand-delivered to a Twitter celeb at the airport after he posted a joking Tweet from in-flight, to the incredibly weak, such as when Pizza Hut ignored one customer’s complaint to the point where he plastered pictures of the bloodied bandage he had allegedly found in his pizza all over the Web.

In a post on his blog, Shatterbox, crisis communications expert Jay Pinkert gave this list of “mildly facetious” questions for companies to consider when handling customer service:

1. Is it now the responsibility of front line customer service reps at large consumer goods companies to escalate every call from someone claiming to have a million Twitter followers? Is that a “red flag,” automatic escalation, or do they have to verify it first? Or is that up to the first line supervisor? Second line?
2. What’s the cutoff for special treatment/escalations? 1 million followers? Ranges (e.g. 250,000-499,999 followers gets a free replacement, 500,000+ gets a freebie plus donation to the charity of their choice)?
3. If customer service reps are now expected to have the skills of online community managers, are they being trained enough? Paid enough?
4. Should IT departments incorporate a social media ranking look-up as a desktop app for customer-facing personnel?
5. Is not responding to/escalating all Twitter complaints now considered poor customer service?

Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see an integrated tool in the near future that searches for and displays a customer’s potential influence level while they’re on the line with customer service.

While every customer has a right to expect timely and helpful service, extending yourself further to improve your reputation where you know it will have an impact is just smart business.

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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 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]

Counter rumors with fact

You can’t assume that everything you read on the internet is true (duh!). If you’re the victim of such disinformation, you need to act quickly to counter it with solid facts. Once the horse has left the barn, it’s difficult to catch!

This quote, from a Canton on Emergency Management blog post, is evidenced in most crises we see today. In much the same way hearsay that came from someone’s uncle’s brother’s friend should be taken with a grain of salt, so should unsourced, unverified posts on the Web.

Unfortunately, the average person is more inclined to not only believe what they read, but there’s a good probability they’ll pass it on to others via social media, who then have the potential to re-Tweet, share, or Like the situation into something bigger than it is.

The best way to get ahead of rumor and innuendo is to quickly release some type of statement, even if it’s simply asking for a bit more time to figure things out before you share the full story. If you’re already behind the curve, then get your best, brightest, and most comprehensively trained communicators out there working with reporters, both amateur and professional, to get the real facts published.

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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 Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Previously we covered part 1 of this post.

Step 4: “Be the Early Bird…”– Plan Evaluation Early

The best time to plan an evaluation is before program implementation has begun. Plan evaluation during the program planning stage. This helps reduce back-tracking and helps to create a culture of evaluation more naturally. This also prevents having to come in with dramatic changes later. People tend to resist change, and late changes can create even more resistance to evaluation. Dealing with such resistance can be likened to trying to turn a huge ship whose course has already been set. It can be a difficult task indeed, but if this where your program is at, it is still worth the effort!

Step 5: “Get Everyone Involved”—Engage Stakeholders

And now for what is the most critical point: engage all stakeholders throughout the evaluation process. A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in your program—national staff, administrators, board members, partners, program implementers, volunteers, program participants, etc. Begin by asking away for their input. Do your best to learn from them. If they see no agenda being pushed and that everyone is committed to learning from one another other, they may drop defensive mechanisms and openness may gradually follow. Encourage open discussion of concerns. Sometimes enlisting your worst critic, given a certain degree of mutual trust, can benefit your program. Critics of evaluation can provide valuable, candid reality-checks. Due to the variety of interests involved, however, conflict may arise. People-skills such as conflict resolution are vital in your program’s evaluator.

While being careful not to push an agenda, constantly look for teachable moments. A teachable moment, as you may know, is a natural window of opportunity that arises when the person might be more open to what you are trying to communicate. During these teachable moments:

• share with them what others are doing based on your review of the literature
• help them think of evaluation more as a way to improve your program and less as a threat to the program
• help overcome their personal fears of negative evaluation results
• emphasize how they will benefit from the evaluation
• commit ahead of time to sharing evaluation results with all stakeholders in a readable format. Negotiate these agreements ahead of time with administrators. Sharing results can motivate some of your stakeholders to support evaluation efforts.
• Promote trust among evaluation participants by emphasizing ethical treatment of evaluation participants– protecting their rights, confidentiality, doing no harm, etc.

Again, the action steps are:

1) Teach the language of evaluation

2) Mentor and role-model

3) Collaborate with like-minded professionals

4) Plan evaluation early

5) Engage stakeholders

What challenges have you faced with getting others on-board with evaluation efforts?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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Priya Small has extensive experience in collaborative evaluation planning, instrument design, data collection, grant writing and facilitation. Contact her at priyasusansmall@gmail.com. See her profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/priyasmall/

Answer these simple questions to find out

Find yourself stopping blooming Facebook crises in their tracks (with a single bound!) and coming out bearing Likes from everyone involved? Are you the person the C-suite comes to when the proverbial bleep hits the fan in the office? Well then, you just might be a crisis manager!

In his latest article, hosted on the Bernstein Crisis Management blog, Jonathan Bernstein finishes the statement, “You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…”

Feel free to submit your own “You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…,” reader responses will be featured in an upcoming issue of our Crisis Manager newsletter!

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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 Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

The following guest article, by crisis consultant Tony Jacques, puts some hard figures behind the constant warnings us crisis managers give to plan for and protect against reputation damage.

When Share Price Puts a Value on Brand Reputation

Share price might not be everything – but for many organizations there is nothing but daylight way back to whatever is coming second.

Yet new research shows decision makers at many companies don’t seem to be focused on branding issues and threats, and the impact those threats can have on reputation and share value.

Polling conducted with more than 1,100 executives around the USA by Deloitte revealed that a scant 24% of the companies formally measure and report on brand value. Moreover, fewer than 22% thought it was likely that negative information about their brand would show up on social media such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube in the coming year. (Some hope!)

At the same time, a fresh study has reinforced the impact of a crisis on share price and reputation. Statistical analysis of ten corporate crises in South Africa* found that the greater the speed and number of positive steps taken in the two weeks after a crisis, the less the company share price fell. It also found that the more the company share price increased six months after the crisis, the greater the perception of its corporate reputation and brand strength.

Cause and effect is sometimes hard to assess when it comes to the share market, but the cost of mismanagement can be brutal. For example, Google has long been one of the world’s most valuable brands (ranked fourth in the latest Interbrand rankings), and earlier this year new CEO Larry Page was expected to explain to an analyst’s conference why quarterly revenue was well under forecast. Instead the CEO spoke less than 400 words of general optimism, then signed off. Wall Street hammered the stock, wiping $US15 billion off the value of Google in a single day.

Plenty of other high profile company brands have also suffered the awful impact of real world events on the slightly unreal world of stock market value.

• After an adverse review of iPhone 4, Apple shares lost $US5.08 bn in one day
• Following failure to cap its Gulf of Mexico oil well, BP shares lost £12 bn in one day
• When Goldman Sachs was accused of fraud, its shares lost $US12.4 bn in just one afternoon and $US20 bn in a week
• After Toyota announced a major vehicle recall, the carmaker’s shares on Tokyo Exchange fell $US30 bn over four weeks
• UBS disclosed a $2.3 billion rogue trading scandal in September and their shares fell about $4 bn in one day and the Chairman resigned a week later

As the Deloitte report concluded, very few companies proactively manage the link between reputation risk and company strategy, and it’s a role which should be led by senior executive management, not delegated to public relations or marketing. Share price might not be everything, but raw numbers such as shown here are a stark reminder that proactive risk management for crisis prevention and reputation protection isn’t a cost – it’s an investment in the future.

FOOTNOTE: Late in 2010, Business Insider graphed the share impact of 12 PR crises, some contemporary, some classic. The results are very sobering.

*Source: Coldwell and Joosub, African Journal of Business Management. 5(24), 14 October, 2011

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Tony Jacques is Director of Issue Outcomes, a full-service crisis management firm.

Know your plan and play your role

Every company has a organizational chart – a ladder of power, but how this structure functions during a crisis must be clarified with all the stakeholders in the company; particularly the communications department. A crisis can hit at any time, and the company needs to determine secondary command structures in case key decision-makers are unavailable at the time.

Not only is it important for those to know who need to spring to action (and how those people are contacted) – it is equally important that everyone else in the organization knows they can not speak on behalf of the company or to the press.

Not cementing the items discussed in this quote, from the NetResults PR blog, is the prime reason why many crisis management campaigns experience a dangerously sluggish start. With the lightning fast news cycle we now experience, there just isn’t time to review the facts, gather your leadership, and create a plan. In the case of a serious crisis, the conversation will likely have spiraled far out of your control, and even in minor situations you’ll have the peanut gallery gladly filling in the gaps with rumor and innuendo.

With the amateur E-Reporter firmly cemented as a legitimate information source, it’s doubly important to remember the second part of the quote – people need to know who can talk and who can’t, and those who can, MUST know exactly what to say and how to say it.

You can’t “wing it” against a trained reporter any more than you’d “wing it” in a bullfight. In both cases you’ll come out beaten, bloodied, and full of holes.

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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 Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Now that you:

• realize a few of the benefits of program evaluation (see “How to Maximize Funding by Tapping into Hidden Potential: Program Evaluation”) and
• have begun to address any fears you may have about program evaluation (see “How to Address Fears about Program Evaluation”) let us move on to the next step.

In this post we will focus on addressing others’ fears about program evaluation. These “others” may include administrators, partners, program staff and participants. As you know, such fears can be harder to address, and there is no cure-all. But consider using a suggestion or two from this list on ways to create a culture of evaluation. Vince Hyman, former publishing director of Fieldstone Alliance discusses the concept of evaluation culture in his article “Create a Culture of Evaluation.” The following is my commentary which applies this concept to my experiences of culture and program evaluation. I am a product of multiple cultures, having picked up various aspects of cultures at different stages in my life. In my experience, culture was most effortlessly instilled in earlier stages of life but it continues to be a gradual life-long process. Some of the aspects that differentiate cultures are language, practices and ways of thinking. Let us apply this to evaluation by considering the following action steps that can help develop a culture of evaluation.

Step 1: “Talk the Talk”—Teach the Language of Evaluation

Familiarize yourself with or continue learning the language of evaluation by reading evaluation handbooks and blogs from credible sources. If you are too busy, aim for at least 5-10 minutes or a page a day. Then speak and patiently teach the language of evaluation, promoting the benefits of evaluation whenever possible. Take time to consider all those who may be resistant to evaluation: explain and define any unfamiliar evaluation-related terms, building on previous concepts and ideas that are more familiar to them.

Step 2: “Walk the Walk”—Mentor and Role-model

Mentor junior program staff. Role-model sound evaluation practices and explain evaluation logic or evaluation-related ways of thinking. This will help them in turn to adopt and promote the culture of program evaluation which will help foster sustained evaluation efforts. (I will be outlining evaluation models that promote sound evaluation practices soon). Staff and administrators’ nightmarish experiences with evaluation could very likely have been a result of poor evaluation practices.

Step 3: “Birds of a Feather”–Collaborate with Like-minded Individuals and Organizations

Ever notice how in general people of similar sub-cultures (whether based on ethnicity or shared values) tend to gravitate toward each other? An existing community helps to draw newcomers to the group as well. Do your best within reasonable limits to start by working with those who already possess an evaluation-related frame of mind. For health-related programs, an option might to hire graduates of accredited community health education programs. This ensures a background in health program evaluation and increases the likelihood of shared evaluation-related goals and values. Nurture such collaborations, for they can in turn help draw others to participate in the culture of evaluation. Have you experienced any challenges or successes with addressing others’ fears about evaluation?

Stay tuned for an important point in Part 2!

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Priya Small has extensive experience in collaborative evaluation planning, instrument design, data collection, grant writing and facilitation. Contact her at priyasusansmall@gmail.com. See her profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/priyasmall/

High marks for the automaker’s crisis management

Late last month, General Motors sparked comparisons to Toyota’s recent troubles when it announced that small electrical fires had occurred in some Chevy Volts during the course of testing. Unlike Toyota, however, GM quickly got out in front of the story, as described in this quote from an LA Times article by Jerry Hirsch:

As federal safety officials began investigating the cause of fires that followed test crashes of its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles, GM shifted into communications overdrive, trotting out senior executives and engineers to talk about the issue and launching a customer-care initiative.

Analysts say the Detroit automaker wants to be sure it is not seen as sitting on its hands and downplaying a safety issue — a trap Toyota fell into after a deadly 2009 car crash killed four people and set off fears of sudden uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Although the fires were found only in test vehicles that had been partially destroyed, GM’s crisis management strategy included not only a comprehensive communications plan that gave members of the media access to company insiders, but also extended an offer to Volt owners that entitled them to a free GM loaner vehicle until the problem was located and resolved.

Given the almost-nonexistent negative impact, combined with the good PR gained from a solid response, this is one crisis I would label a success.

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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 Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

For the last three years I have published a wish list of books for people in the nonprofit community at my blog – MarionConway.com. These lists have been developed by my requests for recommendations to members of my nonprofit network. They are always among my most read posts and even the old ones continue to be read frequently. We have a policy here at managementhelp.org to not just republish articles published elsewhere. I often write companion pieces at both blogs and some of you read the articles on a particular subject that I post in both places. Thank you.

This post is a Best of the Best. It has my favorite recommendations from lists of recommended books for “Nonprofit Folk” over the last three years. A thoughtful book can be the perfect holiday gift so ….. Enjoy – and at the end I’ll provide links to all of the prior lists.

Leadership, Management, Philosophy

The Future of Nonprofits: Innovate and Thrive in the Digital Age by David J. Neff and Randal C. Moss was recommended by Amy Sample Ward. This book is sure to give you a whole new outlook about how your organization can be successful in in a today’s environment where communication and community engagement rule.

Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability
by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka, and Steve Zimmerman. Linda Czipo gives it a rave review with these comments: “It helps guide organization managers through crucial analyses (fund raising profiles, program and organizational viability, etc.) in a very accessible manner. Great blend of user-friendly prose, matrices, and diagrams to help organizations sift through the “tough questions.” Very useful.”

Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) by Leslie Crutchfield was recommended by Holly Ross, William Hull and Paul Cwynar. Paul said, “It is an innovative guide to how great nonprofits achieve extraordinary social impact.”

You and Your Nonprofit: Practical Advice and Tips from the Charity Channel Professional Community
I am proud to be a contributor to this book featuring over 40 contributors with articles on a wide range of topics important to nonprofit professionals. It features practical advice and tips from the Charity Channel Nonprofit Professional Community. This is an excellent on the shelf resource for new and experienced nonprofit leaders alike.

Fundraising

50 Asks in 50 Weeks
by Amy Eisenstein – I had the privilege of hearing Amy deliver a workshop on this subject at the Charity Channel Summit in Saint Petersburg last year. Amy gives great guidance for even a one person shop in choosing priorities and effectively completing 50 Asks in 50 Weeks. I walked away with a feeling that any development office could become more effective and focused by simply following Amy’s straightforward, no nonsense advice. Recommended by me.

Ask Without Fear!: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors With What Matters to Them Most
by Marc A. Pitman. There are lots of books about fundraising but this one should top any list:

Nonprofit Technology, Social Media, Marketing

The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change
by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine – This book will for sure be on many wish lists. Nobody addresses this topic with such passion, knowledge and down to earth good advice as Beth and Allison. I had the pleasure of hearing Beth and Allison together at the NTC conference discuss this book. My review – WOW!.

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause
by Kivi Leroux Miller – This is the definitive resource for nonprofit marketing. It is a must have resource if you are interested in this topic. No one covers this topic better than Kivi.

Favorites for Children

One Hen – How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes This beautifully illustrated book inspired by true events tells the story of Kojo a small boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm for many and is able to return to school. I learned about this book when Steve Jennings, @zyOzyfounder tweeted the link to his reading list of poverty books

Three Cups by Mark St. Germain and illustrated by April Willy tells of life lessons that come from learning how to save, spend and give our money. This inexpensive but richly illustrated book is an excellent place to start developing philanthropy values in children. My thanks to Tony Townsley for this recommendation.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama
I reviewed this book featuring stories about American heroes and beautiful illustrations at my other blog – The Grandma Chronicles. This book is one of those that should be on every child’s bookshelf.

Read the full lists of reviews:

Need a Holiday Gift for Someone in the Nonprofit Community – A Curated List of Books

Nonprofit Books That Make Great Holiday Gifts

Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2010 – The Well Known and a Few Discoveries

You and Your Nonprofit – Just Published!

Of Thee I Sing – A Letter to my Daughters by Barack Obama

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.