Category: Organization Development

About fifteen years ago, I noticed that “nonprofit topics” almost always meant topics specific to nonprofits. I believed this was a misnomer and here’s why.

Back then, nonprofit topics usually referred to:

• Public policy
• Boards of Directors
• Strategic planning
• Programs
• Fundraising
• Volunteers

Back then, it struck me — as it does now — that there were a lot of other topics, usually seen as “for-profit” topics, that very relevant to nonprofit organizations. To mention just a few:

• Leadership and supervision
• Stress and time management
• Advertising and promotions
• Performance management
• Compensation
• Communications
• Ethics
• Insurance
• Personal development
• On and on and on …

So back then, I started what I called the “Nonprofit Manager’s Library” to include the nonprofit-specific topics, but the many other “nonprofit” topics, as well. (I remember numerous people asking me why those topics were in a library for nonprofits.) Since then, I’ve renamed the Library to the “Free Management Library” to more readily imply the full scope of topics in the Library.

Many more of us have recognized that nonprofits and for-profits have much in common with each other, as they do with government organizations, as well. I’ve learned that a small nonprofit is a lot more like a small for-profit, than a large nonprofit. Likewise, a large nonprofit is a lot more like a large for-profit.

As we recognize the many other “nonprofit” topics, we’re able to more fully understand nonprofit organizations and how to help them.

What do you think?

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

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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).

How many public relations spokespersons does your company have?

The correct answer is, “as many employees as we have.” Sure, any organization can and should have a policy whereby only certain individuals are “officially” authorized to speak for the record. If a reporter calls and you have a designated spokesperson policy, the call will be probably be routed correctly — but that doesn’t prevent your secretary, an intern or a junior executive from giving their version of the facts to family members, friends, PTA members, golfing buddies and anyone else they know.

Internal audiences are as, if not more, important than external audiences during a crisis, and yet those who aren’t actually on the crisis response team often receive the least consideration when the stuff hits the fan. It is vital, during the crisis communications planning process, to formulate key messages not only for employees, but also for others who are close enough to the organization to be considered “internal” — e.g., regular consultants and major vendors. They’re the ones who are going to be asked first, by external audiences (including reporters, when they try to go around you), “what’s going on?”

Here are some tips for preparing internal audiences to be an asset to crisis response:

Develop one to three key messages about the situation which are simple enough for everyone to understand, remember and use in their day-to-day affairs. In an extremely sensitive situation, messages might be nothing more than reassuring statements and “nice no comments” — e.g., “our day-to-day business is completely unaffected by this,” “we know this is going to come out well for us when all the facts are known,” or “we’re a damn good company and I’m proud to work here.”

Brief all employees in person about what’s happening and keep them informed on a regular basis. In-person briefings say “we care about you” in a manner which no memo or internal newsletter can accomplish, although sometimes written communications are the only option. And you don’t want internal audiences to read facts, or alleged facts, in your local newspaper first!

Identify your best “unofficial spokespersons” and your “loose cannons.” The former are employees who you know are loyal, know when to speak and when to keep their mouths shut, and who are admired by their peers; if they feel that they’re receiving accurate information and are being cared for, they’ll pass that feeling on to others along with the key messages you’ve shared. Loose cannons are those who just don’t know when to shut up, whose feelings — sometimes disloyal/disgruntled, sometimes zealously loyal — lead them to communicate not only facts, but rumors and innuendo. During crises, loose cannons need to receive gentle, but firm extra counseling about appropriate communication and/or be particularly well isolated from sensitive information.

Create a rumor-control system. Provide means by which internal audiences can ask questions and get rapid responses. You can designate certain trusted individuals (white and blue-collar) as “rumor control reps” who will field questions and then obtain answers from someone on the official crisis response team. And it’s important to also have an anonymous means of asking questions, such as a locked drop box combined with a bulletin board on which answers to anonymous questions are posted. All employees can be encouraged to use either communication method without fear of reprisal.

Successful implementation of an internal communications program will carry your key message better, longer and farther than most external communications, while a lack of internal communications can completely undermine even the best external strategy. The two can, and must, go hand-in-hand.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Crises can be divided into three categories:

1. Creeping Crises – foreshadowed by a series of events that decision makers don’t view as part of a pattern.

2. Slow-Burn Crises – some advance warning, before the situation has caused any actual damage.

3. Sudden Crises – damage has already occurred and will get worse the longer it takes to respond.

It is not uncommon for what seems to be a sudden crisis to have actually, first, been a creeping crisis that was not detected. Appropriate measures, early in the process, can often prevent or, at least, minimize the damage from slow-burn and sudden crises.

Below are some examples from the healthcare industry. From this, readers in other industries should be able to develop comparable lists.

1. Creeping Crises

• Lack of a rumor-control system, resulting in damaging rumors.
• Inadequate preparation for partial or complete business interruption.
• Inadequate steps to protect life and property in the event of emergencies.
• Inadequate two-way communication with all audiences, internal and external.

2. Slow-Burn Crises

• Internet activism
• Most lawsuits.
• Most discrimination complaints.
• Company reputation
• Lack of regulatory compliance – safety, immigration, environment, hiring, permits, etc.
• Major operational decisions that may distress any important audience, internal or external.
• Local/state/national governmental actions that negatively impact operations.
• Official/governmental investigations involving your healthcare organization and/or any of its employees.
• Labor unrest.
• Sudden management changes – voluntary or involuntary.
• Marketing misrepresentation.

3. Sudden Crises

• Patient death – Your healthcare organization perceived to be liable in some way.
• Patient condition worsened – Your healthcare organization perceived to be liable in some way.
• Serious on-site accident.
• Insane/dangerous behavior by anyone at a location controlled by your healthcare organization.
• Criminal activity at a company site and/or committed by company employees.
• Lawsuits with no advance notice or clue whatsoever.
• Natural disasters.
• Loss of workplace/business interruption (for any reason).
• Fires.
• Perceptions of significant impropriety that damage reputation and/or result in legal liability, e.g., publicized involvement of company employee in a group or activity perceived to be a threat to the U.S. government or society; inappropriate comments by a “loose cannon;” business activities not officially authorized by management.

Typically, reviewing a list like this triggers thoughts of other situations that need to be addressed during the crisis planning process.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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The best information on this topic comes from a recent discussion at the npEnterprise Forum, the 7000-subscriber official listserv partner of the Social Enterprise Alliance.

From Esther Kim:

“Our basic rule of thumb is that:
* it’s a social cost if it’s incurred to accomplish a social mission;
* it’s a business cost if it’s incurred by a similar for-profit business in the same industry;
* if all social costs are taken out, the remaining cost structure should be comparable to a for-profit business in the same industry.

“Many social enterprises approach this differently, making benchmarking difficult. The third point above is especially helpful in this case – because if you’ve allocated your social costs correctly, you actually DO have a place to benchmark: that is, a comparable for-profit business. Many for-profit businesses publish benchmarks of costs and cost drivers across specific industries/functions (worker efficiency, $/sq ft, etc). Even if they aren’t published per se, consulting an industry expert is a great way to get ballpark estimates.”

And then a response from Don Palmer:

“Very logical, however, it is not always so black and white. Example: We operate a catering social enterprise with a work force composed of disabled workers. Training costs and food wastage is higher than for the majority of the industry (we have a yet not been able to identify the industry standard for either), however we know our costs are higher than our competitors, therefore in our view the difference between our cost and the industry standard would also have to considered a social cost.”

To quote Monty Python: And now, for something completely different…

In a sense, they could be talking about social enterprise. For many folks, this represents a whole new way of looking at the world, requiring new skills and new perspectives.

Experienced nonprofit people are facing the marketplace of competition and risk taking in ways they never imagined would be part of their careers. Funders become fickle, price-sensitive customers, constituents become potential customers, and partners flip their shingles and become unexpected competitors. Meanwhile the forprofit people who are committed to social change are seeking ways to manage and measure social impact as they face the unyielding need to become profitable or disappear. And some of their investors ask them not what the public can do for them, but what they can do for the public.

Sometimes it seem like you have to put on those strange 3-D glasses to see what’s really going on here.

What’s really going on here is a climactic shift in how we do the business of doing good. Government money is drying up, and at the state level, will largely disappear soon. The old boundaries between the sectors are eroding away, leaving only those species (or organizations or causes or entrepreneurs) that can adapt to these new conditions. As for the others, well, evolution is not too kind to those who don’t adapt. They end up in museums.

Here are some suggestions on how to evolve. Learn the business of business, even if your business is to save the world. Learn the lingo, take the tours, wade through the water. Take some business classes, consider getting an MBA. Find a mentor who gets business but also gets social change. Find and work for the most entrepreneurial organization in your field of interest.

Above all, recognize that earning requires learning, and one part of that learning is realizing that for social enterprise, it’s anything but business as usual.

[The following is an excerpt from my newly published Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

I would love to be able to tell you that with regards to media interview skills, ‘practice makes perfect,’ but that would be disingenuous, a fancy way of saying it would be a lie.

No amount of practice will make you a ‘perfect’ interview subject; similarly, one or two days of media training, alone, will not leave you with lasting skills in this area unless you practice them on your own.

Some job descriptions – e.g., politician, celebrity, Fortune 100 CEO – have a lot of real life interview practice built in. Those individuals and subordinate spokespersons are going to get plenty of opportunity to refine their skills via actual interviews. But most of the people I have trained aren’t in that kind of job; instead, they are designated spokespersons who may not have to handle a really hard media interview for years after their initial training. However, just like a police officer who may never have to shoot a suspect for years after going through the police academy, they still have to maintain their skills so that when they’re needed, they are intuitively available.

Methods of Practice

All methods of practice should:

• Simulate a situation/scenario that, realistically, could occur to you/your organization.
• Simulate one or more of the types of interviews described earlier in the Media Logistics section of this manual.
• Include some method of recording and playing back performance for self- or peer-critique.

There are a wide variety of ways to simulate interviews realistically enough for spokespersons to practice and improve their skills. These include:

1. Re-enact Media Training. Recreate the conditions under which you were media trained (e.g., tripod-mounted video camera of at least moderately high quality, someone to operate the camera, someone to play interviewer).
2. Practice ‘Phoner’ Interviews. Let yourself be interviewed by telephone, which is the mostly likely scenario for most interviews, with video becoming increasingly likely when a crisis is particularly newsworthy.
3. Staff Meeting Practices. Take 15-30 minutes at a staff meeting and put one or more spokespersons on the spot, with other staff members playing the role of media at a press conference.
4. Webcam-Based Practice. You don’t have to have a media trainer return for a full training session to just get some ‘brush up’ practice periodically. Instead, hook up with him/her for an hour or two by webcam periodically. That’s not only useful for routine practice, but also for spot practice right before you have to give an important interview.

I have trained countless executives who claimed to have been trained in the past – but who never practiced. Most of the time, their skills were little better than the novice trainee, and sometimes what they did remember was so out of context that they actually did worse than if they had remembered nothing at all about their past training.

No, media training practice doesn’t make perfect, but it sure as heck makes you a better spokesperson.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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7. Don’t Listen to Your Stakeholders

Make sure that all your decisions are based on your best thinking alone. After all, how would your clients/customers, employees, referral sources, investors, industry leaders or other stakeholders’ feedback be at all useful to determining how to communicate with them?

8. Assume That Truth Will Triumph over All

You have the facts on your side, by golly, and you know the American public will eventually come around and realize that. Disregard the proven concept that perception is as damaging as reality — sometimes more so.

9. Address Only Issues and Ignore Feelings

* The green goo which spilled on our property is absolutely harmless to humans.

* Our development plans are all in accordance with appropriate regulations.

* The lawsuit is totally without merit.

So what if people are scared? Angry? You’re not a psychologist…right?

10. Make Only Written Statements

Face it, it’s a lot easier to communicate via written statements only. No fear of looking or sounding foolish. Less chance of being misquoted. Sure, it’s impersonal and some people think it means you’re hiding and afraid, but you know they’re wrong and that’s what’s important.

11. Use “Best Guess” Methods of Assessing Damage

“Oh my God, we’re the front page (negative) story, we’re ruined!” Congratulations — you may have just made a mountain out of a molehill….OK, maybe you only made a small building out of a molehill. See item 7, above, for the best source of information on the real impact of a crisis.

12. Do the Same Thing Over and Over Again Expecting Different Results

The last time you had negative news coverage you just ignored media calls, perhaps at the advice of legal counsel or simply because you felt that no matter what you said, the media would get it wrong. The result was a lot of concern amongst all of your audiences, internal and external, and the aftermath took quite a while to fade away.

So, the next time you have a crisis, you’re going to do the same thing, right? Because “stuff happens” and you can’t improve the situation by attempting to improve communications… can you?

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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DON’T make the media your primary means of communicating on pending or current litigation in progress. Journalists are not a reliable means of ensuring that your key audiences receive your messages, nor is it a reporter’s job to make sure everything you think is important gets to the right people.

DO communicate directly with your important audiences, internally and externally, to ensure they have the information you want them to have about matters being tried in the media.

DO consider the option of informing certain key audiences of the probability of media coverage on a legal matter before it appears in the press.

DO remember that employees are a critical audience — all employees are PR representatives for the organization whether you want them to be or not.

DO integrate legal and PR strategy, because you’ll be educating the jury pool while also minimizing damage that could occur to your organization in the short-term, even if you win the legal case in the long-term.

DO explore the use of publicity about generic or related issues relevant to your particular case or client as a legitimate means of bringing attention to issues that might result in pre-trial settlements, or to develop similar examples to illustrate the issues in your case.

DON’T say “no comment” if you haven’t had a chance to review the case. Say “I’d very much like to comment on this as soon as I’ve read what’s been filed.” If appropriate, add: “I still don’t have a copy of it myself, could you fax or email one over?”

DO tell journalists that you want to respect their deadlines, but would appreciate their respecting your need to have the information you need to make an intelligent response.

DON’T attack the media. Ever. Neither directly, nor in communication with other audiences, because it will get back to them. The media can hurt you more than you can hurt them. Most media outlets LOVE being sued or threatened, it sells more papers or air time.

DON’T judge the impact of media coverage by the sensationalism of headlines or length of news coverage. Ask your important audiences, internal and external, how THEY are reacting to the coverage — in some cases, you’ll find they don’t believe it!

DO consider becoming your own publisher, using the Internet to post your perspective on issues of public concern — IF the general public is, in fact, an important audience for you. Or even on a password-protected website for selected audiences that are important to you.

DON’T assume that you know how to talk to reporters about negative news just because you’re skilled at “good news” interviews — get media trained.

DO establish both internal and external rumor control systems to short-circuit rumors early on, before they do too much damage.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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