Category: Organization Development

This post is a guest contribution by crisis management expert Rick Amme. Containing shocking stats and solid advice, it fits perfectly here on the Crisis Management blog. Without further ado, Rick Amme presents:

Lightning Speed – Your Reputation Life Saver

Here’s something to keep you awake at night. More than ever, you have precious little time to protect the reputation you worked hard to build for your business. Two incidents we all remember drive it home.

When Sully Sullenberger successfully crash-landed his plane in the Hudson in 2009, a single tweet relayed the first news of it within one minute. One minute. The rest of the media followed so quickly, within 15 minutes, that the hair-raising accident was known nationwide while USAirways was still determining whether an aircraft was missing. At the time I thought that was breathtakingly fast information dissemination.

Now that’s slow – compared to the flash communication of the East Coast earthquake last August. When tremors struck at 1:51pm, people near the Virginia epicenter reacted at the rate of 5500 tweets per second. Tweets reached New York City 40 seconds before the shockwaves according to SocialFlow as reported in The Wall Street Journal.

While your reputation might not go south at those speeds, it’s wise to expect dramatically less time than ever to unsnarl a knot tightening around your neck. A PR friend recently told of his crisis team strategizing while they were simultaneously reading attacks arriving on their Facebook page.

Now that I have your attention, I recommend these common sense preparations before your good name appears to be vanishing in the wind:

1. Put a crisis plan in place – First prepare a short, clear plan to mobilize the right people rapidly. Prepare other plans for specific contingencies that are either worst-case and/or reasonably likely. Avoid cumbersome generic plans that tend to bog down and be dust-collectors. Important! Include internal communications as well as external.
2. Designate and train a crisis team – A plan is only as good as the team that implements it. Also, research shows that 8 out of 10 CEO’s rely on teams more than plans. Therefore, select members carefully, crisis/media coach them now, and have them or their backups reachable 24/7. Expect that the accelerating needs of crisis communication could compel you to convene electronically because you won’t have time to meet physically.
3. Drill the team – Regular businesses can do this table-top. Organizations with hazardous materials or are people-intensive (hospitals, schools, universities, large businesses) will want full scale drills.
4. Be ready on social media – Have a presence as well as the ability to quickly convey your messages and actions through the social world (if necessary) as well as the traditional media and your website. Monitor online mentions of your company to get a heads-up on potential trouble.
5. Act fast, not stupid – You must move fast while keeping your wits about you. On the one hand, actions speak louder than words and being “too late” can be a killer. On the other, you want to avoid getting ahead of facts and rushing to judgment. Therefore, speed might be in the form of decision-making, and prudent decisions come from knowledge of crisis management, experience, and good counsel. This can be high-wire stuff and is why the education of crisis/media coaching and drills is crucial.

Ultimately, with less time than ever to make smart decisions in a crisis full of Hobson’s Choices, I believe ’tis better to err toward over-reaction because the consequences of under-reaction might be irrevocable.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Rick Amme is president of Amme & Associates, a media/crisis management company in Winston-Salem. He is also a member of the Business Journal’s Editorial Board of Contributors. Reach him via www.amme.com, rick@amme.com or (336) 631-1855.

Ten years ago today, I married my perfect match. And I don’t mean match in sense that we are exactly alike in every way. In fact in some ways, we are quite different. I like a nice top 40 radio station and good romantic comedy, while he prefers classic rock, Pink Floyd and science fiction thriller. I could care less is the house or my desk is a little messy, while he spends an enormous amount of time organizing and planning and putting things away. I am a last minute planner and he plans everything well in advance and wants to quiz me on the details over and over. And the laundry, well that’s best left without much detail.

You might assume we drive each other crazy; however, our union works for a couple of reasons. First, we both are considerate of the quirkiness of the other. When he works late, I make sure to put the dishes away so he doesn’t have to worry about when he gets home (and he would even if he was exhausted). He leaves me notes in the morning to remind me when it is library day at the kids’ school so I don’t forget to get the books in the backpacks. We work well together and we complement each other in the small ways.

The small ways are important, but the reason we work so well is really the bigger things. Our priorities are very aligned in every aspect of our lives and our foundational beliefs on what is important in life are the same. We both are committed to doing well in our professional lives, but we are even more committed to making sure we are good parents and good spouses. We see eye to eye on how we want to raise our children and where we want to spend our free time. We are working together to accomplish life goals. The important goals.

In this journey we are taking our differences aren’t negatives. They have made us a better team. Understanding that differences make a stronger unit or team is an often missed concept in many organizations. People like to be around the like-minded individuals and people often hire those who are more like them. However, failing to work in a group with members who compliment your areas of opportunity means your team is weaker than it could be. Don’t get me wrong, the foundational stuff has to be the same. If it is, then it will override the little stuff and comprise and compliment will result in a perfect match.

Happy Anniversary Ron.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Treat the media right

In the world of crisis management and public relations, the media is a double-edged sword. With the right treatment, you can turn the media into your greatest tool and ally. Piss them off, though, and you’ll have a monster on your hands.

In order to help prevent that, here’s a list of “5 bad PR practices that will frustrate journalists,” from a PR Daily article by Gil Rudawsky:

1. No one home. Sending out a media release and then not having a spokesperson prepped and available to talk about it.
2. Spinning the news. A common example of this is how some companies disguise terrible earnings by highlighting one piece of good news, even if it is irrelevant.
3. Flat-out lying. Remember, some reporters will actually make follow-up calls to check out information.
4. No homework. Following up on a story pitch or idea that already ran in the media outlet. It’s an easy rule, and it takes several minutes.
5. Sly pitching. Pitching a story to two reporters at the same outlet and not letting either know about it. Trust me, they will find out about it, and good luck getting them to return your calls afterward.

Reporters, whether professional or amateur, are doing their job just as we’re trying to do ours. Standard professional courtesy goes a long way. Often, responding to requests for interviews or details in a crisis case can lead to favorably placed articles when you’ve got more positive events to announce. Provide solid information to a journalist and you’ve got a lasting connection that benefits both parties.

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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.]

The story’s about you, take control!

We say it all the time, “own your message,” but what does that mean, and how do you take it from concept to reality? In a post on the IMRE BuildIQ blog, McGavok Edwards shared some solid advice:

Own the message – With planning behind you, you have a playbook and you’re able to focus on the situation at hand. Don’t let internal conflict or differences of opinion hold you at bay. But don’t move ahead with knee-jerk reactions like Rupert Murdoch seemed to do last month when faced with the News Corp crisis mentioned here. This can cause more speculation and then rumors, instead of the facts, begin to take control. Armed with the facts and key messages, put your spokespeople to work and own the message – first to key stakeholders and then others. Only you can speak confidently about your organization and your products. So own it. Fast.

So really, owning the message means that you guide stories about yourself. The media and stakeholders get their information from you, and that information is shared with the general public. So long as you share legit information, you should continue to be the primary source.

As the quote says, without facts, rumors creep in to fill the void, and in crisis situations rumors are rarely positive. This extends the crisis, leads to reputation damage and, usually, financial damage as well.

This is already difficult, but doing it on the fly is like walking a trapeze with no net. Make sure your spokespeople are media trained and ready to go, because at some point you will be the focus of media attention, and when you are, you need to own 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.]

Career training is aimed at finding a job, writing the perfect resume, and the interview process is in much demand these days. There’s definitely a need.

It is no doubt more difficult today to get in the employment door–harder than in a very long time. Not much has changed though–except the unemployment pool is larger, more experienced, better educated–and better trained.

When the company has a job opening, it’s a problem for HR, but it is a different problem for the applicants. How HR handles its problem does make a difference to those who apply.

To be eliminated or not, that is the question.

So, now you are trained to get in the door and say all the right things. I’ve never seen this training before: elimination training, but someone must do this at an HR conference. I’m not talking about potty training but eliminating candidates to make the selection process less cumbersome. Even if some good potential employees eliminated there are plenty more equally good ones waiting for an opportunity that made the short list. It’s a reality especially for those looking for a job in the current economy. The career trainer gets you in the door so you can make a respectable impression; however, the rest is up to the employer.

I heard that some people felt that they were being unfairly viewed by others if they were lacking in either education or experience–especially when applying for a job–so I wrote an article, A Look at the Education vs Experience Debate. Here, I’m going to lay out some thoughts on the subject without talking so much about training but rather a perspective of how training, education and experience operate in the job search–including the process of narrowing the candidate pool. Narrowing the field and finding the right candidate is a daunting process for HR and the hiring folks, however, for applicants, it is neither as logical nor as transparent as maybe it should be.

Mostly what we remember about the job search is apply, apply, apply.

And, we think the interview is the good part where we woo them, where we convince them how much experience we have for the job, where we tell them things not on our resume that should clinch it for us. Little do we know it is more a time for the employer to measure of how we fit in with their perception of the company image, and about how they glean from this first meeting with us.

Now comes the elimination part. Someone–in fact, a great many “someones” have to be eliminated. Joe is already with the company; he’s to be interviewed, too. They asked Bob and Brenda from a competitor company; the interviewers know them by reputation. They were asked to come to the interview without having to actually apply, but in order to be fair a job order has to go out to the public. The experience doesn’t seem any more fair, does it?

Our resume and cover letter (head shot) got us in the door.

If you’ve followed any of my blogs you will find various references to theatre. Why? Because it mirrors life in so many ways, but it sometimes can make what’s right in front of us make more sense.

Think about this: an actor goes to an audition after being told in his source that the director is looking for an actor, 40-50 years of age, medium build, to play a father. He must provide a headshot and resume beforehand and he will be called if he is deemed suitable for an audition.

The director is weighing the same factors against his or her vision for the play. (Let’s say her for simplicity sake.) All the actors she has selected from the headshots and resumes are qualified, but the audition and interview will give her more information. Those who did not submit a headshot, but submitted a resume she eliminated (except for Tom who she knows personally), and the same goes for those without a resume; they received no call.

At the audition, she asks everyone to do a monologue that they have prepared. Those without a prepared monologue are eliminated. She didn’t tell them before, but she wants experienced actors who know what’s expected in an audition. One actor speaks up and says, I don’t have one prepared but I can read one here on the spot if you. “Okay,” she says reluctantly, knowing she may eliminate him, too. However, when he has finished, she’s not sure she wants to eliminate him now.

Audition over. It is between Tom and the one who improvised. So, despite her requirements for the part, she has chosen the leaders for reasons not a part of the qualifications she herself developed.

The process is exactly the same.

With addition the head shots, there’s another variable but actor are used to it. For them, it is not about the physical attractiveness but a stereotypical look, which other situations would be insulting. It’s a part of acting. Just as the actors needed the headshot and resume to get in the door, the regular job applicant needs what the employer has specified to get in the door. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes you need both the education certificate and the experience just to get in door. The elimination of candidates has already begun. You need both to get the call unless they know you.

Granted, it’s frustrating seeing others without your work experience, walk in and take the same job you may even have to train them for. On the other side of the issue, even being trained specifically for the job is no guarantee you’ll get in the door–because getting a job is not all about qualifications. Are you shocked?

The posted qualifications narrow the field of applicants, and not as much as you think.

Everyone has their reasons for who they pick, and it’s not always about qualifications. In fact, more jobs are to be found by networking and through someone else than applying to a posted entry. Today, we can’t afford to wait for all our networking to amount to something; however, we do have more networking options than ever. We can’t assume that it is either the education or experience qualification that disqualified us from the job; it could be anything. Maybe they just didn’t like us; there was no chemistry. It’s all about fitting in. We all want to fit in, but we don’t always. Personally I’d rather have that job where I fit in and the hiring folks agree.

In some cases, to just to go beyond a certain level in your job you have to have a degree. I have a super smart sister who made straight “A”s and could have named her ticket to any major university. She chose instead to work. She enjoyed her work, but she become stuck at one level and watched several people, not nearly as smart or as good at their job progress when she couldn’t because she didn’t have a degree. At the time she began working, the degree didn’t seem important. For some people, advanced education just doesn’t fit in the plans for a variety of reasons, including financial.

HR does put a value on education.

An education is more than specific training for a job or it wouldn’t be called education. But education is general and has to be applied. What it does show is the ability of someone to start something and see it through to the end. Certification is a little different since it is more a validation of specific knowledge to a specific end, and does tend to be short term compared to education.

We don’t realize, especially when it affects us personally, just how many people out there are looking for work. Some are very qualified either in experience or education. Want someone younger, you go with education. Want maturity find the experienced person. With both–you win. At least sometimes. However, it is never that obvious.

It’s not a perfect system.

I have degrees that by themselves are rather worthless, but combine them with practical experience and use the knowledge (not in a book way) but in a way that makes sense, and you suddenly seem very qualified. Still you don’t fit the mold exactly–especially if the requirement is specific. Not an architect, an engineer, an MBA. The degree doesn’t match the job.

Another example, colleges and universities love PhDs and would rather have one over a Masters degree–even if the Masters degree had tons of teaching and research experience. Colleges and universities are competing for credibility and the more PhDs, the more respect. Logical. Not at all. Well, to them. Choosing kids who can play a sport to play a game makes sense. Choosing friends who can’t play so well doesn’t make sense to anyone but those in on the reason. It’s all a matter of perspective.

The years of experience we earn can help, but they can also hurt. The number automatically tells someone how old we are and there are other clues to that as well. While they aren’t supposed to discriminate at all (and this would be age discrimination), it is all about getting the employee they want–not necessarily the best qualified. You don’t have to be a different race to be discriminated against. It’s just elimination now. How about not getting it because you didn’t go to a particular school or because you were a blond, or short, or fat. Or not handsome or pretty. Image plays a part, like it or not. And when people need to eliminate people from the pool, anything is game unofficially.

However, getting the interview is important, but attitude makes a difference.

I don’t care how good you are at your job, a bad attitude will make someone want to sacrifice your experience and know how to train someone who’s enthusiastic and wants to do it the way they want them to do it.

I have quite a few good years left. I doubt it is my positive attitude, lack of education and experience holding me back…

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

That’s it from me on this job hunting excursion. Check out my website for more from me on training, communication and theatre as I try to apply what I think I know in one place. Happy training.

In August 2010, ShoreBank, the nation’s first, largest, and leading community bank, was shut down by regulators. It was a major blow to the social enterprise sector.

For almost forty years, ShoreBank made more than $4 billion in mission investments and financed more than 59,000 units of affordable housing. It spearheaded the national movement of community development financial institutions, played a significant role in federal policy around community investment, and was the role model f or dozens of smaller progressive banks in the US and abroad.

And yet it failed. Why? And what can we learn from that failure?

Continue reading “ShoreBank Demise Dissected: “Too Good To Fail””

They weren’t multi-tasking; they had time to reflect. It’s a luxury leaders don’t have today, and that’s a real loss. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin*

During the past twenty years, the landscape of communication has changed. It seems that everyone has a cell phone and a portable internet-enabled device. These devices have been great business tools that have allowed us to get answers quicker and keep informed of important events and news. They have also facilitated the globalization of business and helped us keep track of kids. There are many positive things that have resulted in development of these products.

However, It also seems that it is difficult for many people to go one minute disconnected from their network of friends and colleagues. I witness this in every place from the board room to the church pew. And in this world where we can be reached anywhere via phone, or text, or email we can actually work longer hours and spend more time attending to the needs of our business. But in doing so, are we actually doing what is best for the business?

Before cell phones and mobile devices, decisions sometimes had to be made at a moment’s notice by someone other than the boss, or the leader, or the person in charge. As a result, I think we spent more time developing the people who might have to make those decisions. And people were learning from having to make those decisions. And succession planning was occurring very naturally. And leaders had time to think and to reflect.

In order to grow and develop, adults need experience and time to reflect. Add it to your calendar and put it on your to-do list. Take the time for reflection and give other experience. In that way, we can all grow.

*As quoted from “Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln: A Conversation with Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin” by Diane Coutu.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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This is a companion piece to Board Recruitment –Don’t Expect the “Fully Loaded Potato” at First at my blog at marionconway.com.

Having a board recruitment event gives Boards and Executive Directors a chance to work together on this important responsibility. Every Board needs to be active in bringing in new members. It is an essential part of their leadership.There are whole books written on recruitment. The focus for this article is a sample process for planning and hosting a successful board recruitment event.

Governance Committee Chair’s Presentation

The presentation should include:
-Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
-Expectations of Individual Board Members
-Qualities of Board Members

Interactive Activity
Pass out large sheets of construction paper. Ask each person to draw a picture that represents their associationwith the mission of the organization or what they could envision it being if they are a guest. Have everyone share their picture with people at their table. The facilitator can ask volunteers at each table to share with the whole group. This activity helps wind the evening down on a positive tone still focused on the mission of your organization.

Wrap Up and Next Steps
Ask each guest to fill out an “Interest Form” or an application. If you are seeking committee members who may not also be Board members then you need to talor your form that that you give to attendees. Explain that the ED and a Board Member will follow-up with a tour of your facilities or invitation to one of the organization’s events.

Closing the Deal
Once you have completed the post recruitment visit, it is time for the close. Either the ED or Governance Committee member should now ask the invitee to join the Board and feel comfortable about making a sales pitch. If the person has stayed with you up to this point you should be able to close the deal.

Summary
This is only one suggestion for a recruitment plan. There really is no one size fits all that works for all organizations. Each organization has a different set of parameters to deal with when recruiting board members. It is worth it to make the investment of upfront analysis and planned recruiting to attract the type of board members you need.

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

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Be in position to help your community

Regardless of whether your organization is a hospital, school, police station, church, or something entirely different, if you serve your community then you can expect them to turn to you for information and guidance in the event of a disaster.

A bit of preparation can make you one of the greatest resources they have, and, quite literally, save lives. In a recent post on his iamreedsmith blog, social media expert Reed Smith offered this advice that, while aimed at hospitals, applies to nearly every community pillar:

1. Make sure someone is designated to monitor social as part of your disaster plan. In these cases the most up to date and credible information is coming from those on the ground. Think CNN iReport. People are tweeting, taking pictures/video, and posting on Facebook in realtime. Ask on your social channels for people to submit content to you though an email address or social platform.
2. Make sure someone at your disaster control post is providing information though the social channels. Many follow your organization online. Make sure you don’t go dark during this time.
3. Identify and follow official social accounts of news, disaster, and local agencies. This will allow you to repost relevant resources to your online community.

Assisting your community during difficult times is not only a good thing to do, but a smart business move. The more helpful you are, the more reputation brownie points you gather, but in order to be an effective aid during a crisis you’ve got to have your networking done and the communication channels already established, so get to 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.]