Category: Professional Development

[There’s a link to our new survey at the end of this post, but if you’re eager to get your copy of “10 Questions To Ask Yourself About Crisis Management in 2021” now, just click here.]

Preparedness is key to surviving the new normal

Over the course of 2020, we have seen a number of developments which indisputably change how organizations need to view crisis prevention and crisis management. Communications methods and tools which worked in the past are falling to the wayside, and many formerly functioning plans may not work “as-written”…but what should take their place? Our Bernstein Crisis Management experts sat down to put together thoughts on how the landscape of crisis management and communications are changing.

The “new normal” is here to stay. The world has been turned upside down and because of this, communicating is no longer an option or luxury for any company or organization, whether private, public or nonprofit. Stakeholders and interested audiences want and demand more interaction and communication during turbulent times.

The new reality is characterized by:

• Decentralized communications taking the place of centralize, hub-and-spoke communication
• Minimal or restricted access to resources, transportation, mobility and on-the-ground data
• More channels, greater message dilution, less control of organizational messages
• Increased distractions, conflicting priorities
• Disinformation and “Fake News”
• Stakeholders wearing multiple hats at the same time
• People primed to believe the worst (if they believe anything at all)

In 2021, more than ever, most organizations will find themselves having to manage a crisis within a crisis (or multiple crisis). While tempting to try to use one crisis as a “shield” for another, the reality is that nested crises increase and make more urgent the need to adequately respond to all the crises.

In addition, we expect basic crisis prevention to become more intensive, and more complete. Virtual training will become the norm for things like media prep, and shareholders will demand that plans are adequate to prevent significant interruption of business or financial loss.

It boils down to one question — “are you and your organization ready for this new reality?”. To help you self-diagnose, our team of expert consultants at Bernstein Crisis Management has put together a new (and free) survey, 10 Questions To Ask Yourself About Crisis Management in 2021. For your copy, click here now.

[Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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

And You Thought 2020 was bad already…

The Crisis Preparedness and Response for almost 40 years of crisis management experience have seen America more prone to erupt in new crises than right now. No one likes to look at hard truths, yet part of our job as crisis management professionals, and that of those in related fields such as risk management, is to look for trouble before it occurs and, if we can, help our employers or clients head it off. If we can’t, take advanced steps to mitigate the damage. In that spirit, the following may make you wince – and it may save you a whole lot of stress and financial woe.

Take a look at this list of the types of crisis that could routinely affect just one of the industries with which we’ve done a lot of work, followed by my comments as to why the chances of each type of crisis have been exacerbated at this time in our nation’s history. Even though this list was created as part of our planning for food industry clients, we’re sure you’ll see how much of the same applies to your own organization – regardless of industry. It’s pretty common sense, and though it may be painful to consider what could go wrong, if you do think ahead you’ll be able to do more to mitigate the threat.

The following are crises that could impact food industry businesses, with the notes in italics highlighting how the risk of such crises increases as a result of stressors ranging from Covid-19 to natural disasters to massive social unrest about various topics to unemployment and, of course, unprecedented political divides:

• Accidents resulting in injury or death — on-site or off-site. Stress is already a factor in workplace accidents, and stress is up exponentially.
• Activism – Internet or on-site. Intense emotions on all sides of current issues are likely to produce a far higher level of activism, with the worst of it spilling over into violence. People are feeling out of control in so many areas of their life that, when they see a chance to make a difference through activism, they’re much more likely to take it now than, say, the same time a year ago. Differences on issues could also spill over into the workplace. Various stakeholders could demand your organization take a stand on issues, leading to very public criticism. Activism groups and tactics are likely to intersect with quite a few areas of potential crises, as you’ll see below.
• Criminal behavior (non-violent) by employees. Under severe enough psychological and financial pressure, previously honest employees get more desperate. If checks and balances aren’t tight enough, crimes will take place.
• Criminal behavior (violent) by employees. Do you have employees whose temperament is already a bit iffy? It’s going to get worse under current stressors. HR needs to monitor particularly closely during these extremely challenging times.
• Disasters – natural or man-made. There’s no stopping Mother Nature, of course, but how well your organization survives a natural disaster is entirely contingent on how well your people are able to execute your disaster plans – and under current stressors, their bandwidth could be stretched far more than previously anticipated. Further, the chances of a man-made disaster (e.g., accidental forest fire) also increases with an increase in human “brain fog.”
• Environmental issues – direct (your products or manufacturing process) or indirect (your industry is criticized). This ties into the increased propensity for activism of all kinds right now. People nationwide are finding their voices.
• Epidemics/Pandemics. What can I say? We weren’t ready for Covid-19 and we’re not ready for the next virus, either. There have been many crisis management best practices, however, that can help you upgrade your planning and prep in this area.
• Interruption in product flow (e.g., due to dock strike, supplier problems, loss of warehouse due to fire). Add to the list of “routine” reasons for interruption the sudden loss of business contacts, customers, clients, suppliers from Covid-related financial hardship. Time to quickly ensure you have backups for people and systems!
• Information security breach (e.g., confidential customer information, proprietary formulas). Hackers globally are already taking full advantage of everyone’s distraction and stress to exploit systems directly and through social engineering. IT is probably feeling pretty darn overwhelmed with intrusion attempts. Do they have the resources they need?
• Investigations by local, state or national authorities. An increase in activism will translate, for some, to an increase in complaints made to various agencies.
• Labor & employment issues – discrimination, harassment, etc. It’s already happening, e.g., employees blaming employers for not protecting them sufficiently from Covid-19, from discriminatory behavior, etc.
• Many of these now-more-likely scenarios can breed lawsuits.
• Legislation unfriendly to your company’s plans (e.g., restrictions by any government in countries where you do business that evolve from longer-term governmental involvement in trying to prevent future occurrences.) We are living in a time when political leaders are exercising control by executive orders and other quick-action mechanisms, with such hasty decisions having significant downstream impact for all stakeholders.
• Loss (partial or complete) of key facility (e.g., due to disaster, internal infrastructure failure). Some of types of situations that can lead to such a loss, as described elsewhere on this list, are now more likely to happen.
• Permit and regulatory violations – Some of types of situations that can lead to violations, as described elsewhere on this list, are now more likely to happen.
• Product contamination. Distracted/stressed workers at every stage of the food chain are more likely to inadvertently make errors leading to product contamination.
• Product sabotage (including terrorism). Simply put: we’ve got some real crazies out there right now. Extreme activists willing to engage in kidnapping a governor wouldn’t hesitate to sabotage a product if in their twisted thinking it sent a message.
• Sudden management changes, voluntary or involuntary. In our current state of economic distress, there seem to be far more businesses folding, merging, acquiring and re-structuring than in any recent period in our history, with attendant management changes that can throw fear and confusion into the workplace if not well handled.

Keeping in mind that these crises – all of which are entirely possible during stable times, are far more likely to occur now, it’s clear this is the time to:

• Review your existing crisis preparedness-related plans and see if they need to be tweaked or quickly upgraded a bit to address the higher level of overall threat.
• Conduct some quick refresher training for members of your crisis management team(s).
• Involve HR perhaps more than you usually would in crisis preparedness due to the higher propensity for an employee-caused crisis.

Winging it is not a crisis management strategy, no matter how appealing it may sound. Know the risks to your industry, and specifically to your own business model, area of operations, and similar details, prepare to react, and create safety, security, and peace of mind for everyone associated with your organization, despite today’s turbulent world.

Questions? Click here to get in touch with a crisis management pro today.

These days, protecting your organization from cybercrime is just as, and possibly even more important than securing your physical facility. Cybersecurity is always evolving and you need to keep up with best practices to help prevent data breaches that could compromise your company’s reputation.

With that said, it’s not possible to prevent every breach attempt. Regardless of your industry or the size of your organization, breaches can happen to every company (and probably will, at some point). Accepting that fact is the first step. Preparing for it is the second.

Having a solid crisis management plan for future cyber breaches can prevent a bad situation from turning into a nightmare. You can protect your assets and your trust with customers by responding appropriately if and when a breach occurs. Here are some tips for creating an effective breach response plan.

Prepare By Analyzing Breaches That Have Occurred in the Past

Obviously, it’s better to avoid data breaches whenever possible. But the ones that have already occurred can at least teach us something. It’s useful to study the aftermath of different data breaches within your own organization and in other companies to determine what works and what doesn’t.

If your organization hasn’t yet been the victim of a data breach, then you’re lucky! You can still learn from the most high-profile data breaches of the last few years, though, and learn what to do—and what not to do.

For instance, many large breaches affecting billions of accounts and records go undisclosed for years, leading to massive financial losses and damage to companies’ reputations. These stories show how important it is to act quickly and to be transparent during the mitigation phase.

Are You Well Prepared to Scale if Needed?

Cybersecurity teams need grow alongside a business. It’s important to include a plan for scaling, whether you’re in a massive growth phase or not. How will you hire more security experts and get them up to speed? What training will you offer employees?

Many organizations fail to update their cybersecurity response plans as they grow. This is a mistake, as it can be challenging to find qualified security experts to help protect and mitigate data loss. Adding strategic plans for growing your security team and enhancing training protocols for scaling is key.

Be Sure to Have a Clear Monitoring System in Place

Many data breaches, even at the largest companies, go undetected for months or even years. Without proper monitoring protocols, it’s impossible to respond immediately to a breach or threat. Anticipating breaches allows you to set up automation solutions that will identify a security issue right away.

In addition to setting up a security system to monitor threats, the security team and upper management should have notification systems in place that will ensure the problem is addressed as quickly as possible. Emergency notifications can be sent by email, text messages, or other mediums to reach the right person or people immediately, ideally using multiple methods.

Craft a Detailed Action and Response Plan

Anticipating breaches is the first step, but being prepared to respond to them requires detailed planning and team buy-in. Your plan of action should be tailored to the needs of your business, but there are a few standard guidelines for breach response plans to follow.

First, it’s important to define what qualifies as a serious breach or threat. Not all security issues are major enough to warrant immediate action. Your plan should define different threat levels with steps and a timeline for management.

You should also define a chain of command and include contact information for everyone who will be involved with managing the breach response. Lay out specific steps that should be taken in response to the cyberattack so that no one is making decisions in the moment when they’re under a lot of stress. You should assign ownership of these tasks to specific people and update them as needed.

Finally, your plan should include how your customers, shareholders, and/or clients should be informed of the breach. Create pre-approved messaging that can be adapted to the individual breach or crisis so that you can inform people in a timely and consistent manner.

After Planning, Time to Train Your Team!

A plan is important, but your team needs to be prepared and ready to use it should a breach occur. Training is absolutely key in any cybersecurity breach response plan. Everyone in the organization should understand their responsibilities, know where to find the tools and resources they need, and who will be providing leadership in the event of a breach.

Creating a plan can be time-consuming and challenging, but it’s a crucial step in today’s world. An investment in time and energy today can make a big difference in the event of a security event—and could mean the difference between weathering the storm or sinking your organization completely.

[This article was contributed by business consultant Ryan Ayers. If you have an article you think might be a fit for our blogs, please write to erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.]

Steer clear of this increasingly common marketing fail

Before we get into it here, I want you to take a look at the image above, -which features a young girl snacking on a banana and leaning against a car – and consider the fact that it just resulted in Audi needing to tweet a lengthy apology.

Always get outside input before your ads go live. This is the lesson. But why?

Shortly after the ad came out, tweets like the below started pouring in:

Let me be very clear – I do not believe anyone on Audi’s team had anything but the most innocent of intentions. However, that’s not enough today. Perception is reality, and it’s easier than ever for the reality those perceptions create to result in serious harm to your reputation.

Audi’s reasoning for the ad came from a series of tweets which also featured an apology, and read in part:

The Audi RS 4 is a family car with more than thirty driver assistance systems including an emergency break system. That’s why we showcased it with various family members for the campaign. We hoped we could convey these messages, showing that even for the weakest traffic participants it is possible to relaxingly lean on the RS technology.

Again, the logic is fine and Audi’s team was clearly caught by surprise. But, again, that doesn’t matter! Before you publish any new ad, before you unveil a new slogan, before you sign a spokeperson, consider how the move could be perceived in a negative light. It’s not fun to think of the bad ways people could react to or interpret your art, but when your brand’s reputation (and continued existence, if things get bad enough! are on the line you can’t afford to skip the icky parts.

[Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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

 

 

[Editor’s note: Especially as the world looks towards recovery from the impact of coronavirus, we felt readers would find this guest post from UK crisis communications consultant Amanda Coleman particularly useful.]

Communicating through crisis to recovery

Moving from crisis to recovery is not as simple as it may sound if it is to be done effectively. It requires a lot of careful thought, consideration, and assessment of the current position. Taking the step forward can feel overwhelming particularly when every move is being watched by customers, employees, and the media.

So, are you ready to move into recovery and start that phase of the communication? The business needs to be clear what has been achieved and how it is going to move forward before deciding if the time may be right. It is why completing a recovery communication readiness assessment is important as it will gauge what gaps may exist and whether you should move away from a crisis communication strategy.

In my Recovery Communication Readiness Assessment Guide, I have outlined five areas that need to be considered: organisational capacity, employee capability, leadership, resourcing, and business planning. Within each of these areas there are a whole range of questions that need a positive answer to indicate that you are ready. Completing a readiness assessment will also identify those gaps where the preparations and developments need to take place.

When an organisation is in a crisis response mode it is challenging to be able to look clearly at what has been achieved. Moving away from this position may feel uncomfortable with concern that it will be too soon for the business, employees, or the public.
The assessment process covers five stages: data collection, data analysis, plan review, roadmap development and implementation. When people are facing the considerable pressure of dealing with a crisis having a process will help them keep focused on what needs to be done. Keep calm and logically work through the stages.

Too often businesses want to rush ahead into a recovery phase even if the time is not right either for the business or the public. Moving at the wrong time will be ineffective and potentially damaging to the organisation which is seen to be out of step with the public view or is unable to rebuild the operational business. Take the time now to stop, assess and then decide what the next step should be.

Download the Recovery Communication Readiness Assessment Guide here.

Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication consultant and director of Amanda Coleman Communications Ltd and the author of Crisis Communication Strategies published on 26 May 2020.

It’s not too late to get serious about coronavirus crisis management

So you didn’t have a pandemic plan, or what you thought was a pandemic plan turned out to be more of a ‘serious-but-quick outbreak’ plan rather than something addressing the lengthy battle that the fight against COVID-19 has turned out to be. And of course now that the pandemic is in full swing it’s too late to do put together a plan that will prevent additional impact and see you work through the stages that will lead back to business as usual…right?

If this sounds like your thought process right now, it’s time to change things up.

Whether you were prepared in advance or not (and let’s face it, VERY few were truly prepared for this type of crisis), it’s not too late to make moves that will help save your business, protect your employees, and ensure you can deliver whatever your product may be while science works to defeat the virus itself. If you don’t have a crisis management plan that addresses what you’re doing now, that includes a list of predictable upcoming events and what you’ll do to handle them, and which includes specifics of when and how you’ll stay in communication with important audiences both internal and external, it needs to be a top priority. There’s no sugarcoating that advice. If you do not plan then you are preparing to fail, period.

Information is power, and the good news is that we have significantly more data on what COVID-19 is, how it spreads, what the impact is on our bodies, and even expert models on timelines for future big steps like safely lifting stay at home orders. We also have the benefit of living in an age where technology makes it possible to collaborate at a distance, communicate from the comfort of our homes, and in many cases help customers or clients with minimal or no physical interaction. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at a time like this, but believe me when I say that putting together a plan – even an informal one – will help give you a real sense of control you may otherwise be lacking, motivate yourself, encourage your employees, and most importantly help ensure your organization is still around when we come out on the other side of this pandemic.

[Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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

Let’s face it, we’re all a little worried. While pandemics aren’t new, the rapid spread and global impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus has already changed the way we live and work before it’s even peaked. Adding to the worry in this type of situation are the many, many factors that are out of our control, and while it’s okay, or even healthy, to have a bit of worry, becoming so overwhelmed you decide it’s time to bury your head in the sand isn’t going to help you or your business get through tough times.

In situations like this I’m reminded of a famous phrase that seems to have an application in every area of life…

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Yes, many factors are out of our control right now. Yes, your workforce will be impacted. So will your customers, investors, business partners, and local communities. But it’s not all out of your control.

What CAN you control here?

• How about being prepared with operational plans? Things will get hairy, but sun will also rise tomorrow. Planning to deal with coronavirus-related hurdles now will help ensure your doors stay open after the fact. If you don’t have a crisis plan that includes considerations for pandemics you need one, now.
• How about knowing what you’ll say during the predictable next stages of the crisis? You know everyone is spooked, you know everyone is hesitant to engage, so help them feel more confident. Educate stakeholders as to how you’re protecting their safety, how you’re going to continue to deliver goods or services, and how your employees can keep doing their jobs.
• How about reinforcing your own credibility? We’re seeing many big brands releasing statements that reinforce the sense of them having what we call the 3 C’s of Credibility – compassion, confidence, and competence. That’s a good thing, and you should do it too. With confidence shaken among all audiences, including your own staff, it’s critical that every message, and every action, reminds people that you care about them, you’re certain you’re doing the right thing, and you’re doing it well.

You know what the number one way to reduce that feeling of helplessness, of being overwhelmed, is? Being ready. After all, winging it has never been a valid crisis management plan, and it certainly isn’t here.

Erik Bernstein
erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Anticipating fears while demonstrating compassion, confidence, and competence is key for coronavirus concerns

Right now our Bernstein Crisis Management team is working with clients across the country to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 concerns impacting both operations and customer trust. One of the most widespread fears is that of using public transportation, particularly air travel, which is why we thought Southwest Airlines engaging in a crisis communications campaign to highlight improved measures meant to keep surfaces sanitary was a great example for others to follow. First, Southwest sent the below email to its entire customer mailing list:

This is a great start, but there’s only so much you can say or show in an email, right? The Southwest crisis management team was no doubt aware of this, and by clicking on the link in the email you arrived at the official Southwest blog, where anyone with fears could see an in-depth explanation of the 6+ hour cleaning process, high def images, and even video of the enhanced cleaning measures at work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwd4J3sfK6E&feature=emb_title

With a brand as big as Southwest and the media hungry for any news related to COVID-19, the story was quickly picked up by mainstream news outlets, giving the brand’s communication even greater reach. This is smart, modern crisis management at work.

What should we be doing?

While there’s not much any one business can do to make the virus go away (unless you’re in biotech perhaps!) it’s important to consider how you’ll need to alter operations, and how you’ll communicate with your own customers and employees, if concerns about this coronavirus continue to climb. Think to yourself – or better yet have a group exercise with your executive team – and consider questions like these:

• How will concerns over things like public spaces impact us?
• Will customers feel comfortable walking in to do business?
• How do we let staff, customers, and business partners know we’re safe?
• What policies need to change ASAP to adapt to the situation?
• Are we doing what we can do prevent customer-staff or staff-staff transmission?
• How do we continue operations if a large portion of our workforce can’t physically come to work?
• What is our criteria for more serious measures like travel bans or even temporarily closing storefronts?

The bottom line is this – if you haven’t given serious discussion time to these types of questions you’re behind the curve already. Now is not the time to engage in, “It won’t happen to us” thinking. Get proactive, engage in the crisis management process, and prepare your business for impact.

[Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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

With coronavirus news disrupting business across the globe, we’ve been asked by quite a few clients, colleagues and friends what exactly they should be doing about a couple common areas of concern. Due to this interest, we felt it would be a good topic to cover here in our next edition of Crisis Manager On The Spot.

What are you telling clients who have employees in China or elsewhere who may have been exposed to the virus?

Unfortunately we have several clients in exactly this situation. We have advised them to follow the specific guidelines offered by WHO, CDC, the US State Department and other health authorities. That way even if people fall ill, company spokespersons can say they have met or exceeded any requirement for prevention and response.

Most importantly, we have advised clients to communicate with compassion for all those impacted and to do what they can to soften the blow of any necessary restrictions.

How does a company tell an employee they may need to be in quarantine, possibly for 14 days or more?

While nobody wants to command someone to be quarantined, a company doesn’t actually tell an employee what to do in that situation. That direction would come from a health authority and hence the onus would be on that authority, not on the company.

What else should we be doing on a day-to-day basis to reduce risk from coronavirus?

The best thing you can be doing right now is staying on top of the latest news and things like travel recommendations. If a trip can be postponed, it might be a good idea. Business needs to continue, but in the end it’s good crisis prevention to protect your most important assets, which of course includes valued employees and staff.

[Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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

Strong crisis communications salvages a sticky situation for the brand as the holidays get into full swing

It’s no secret that the holiday season is incredibly important to retailers, and that means big brands are trying to tread carefully to avoid becoming the next subject of an outrage outbreak. Hallmark stepped right into one, however, when it pulled its ad celebrating same-sex marriage from wedding site Zola.com after pressure from a conservative group…and that was only the beginning. As you might have expected here at the end of 2019 – a year that’s seen its fair share of marginalized groups striving for recognition – yanking the ad quickly drew even more upset stakeholders. Before you knew it hordes of internet and social media users, a hefty sprinkling of influencers and celebs among them, were chiming in to tell Hallmark, along with parent company Crown Media Family Networks, that the ad needs to stay.

The pressure poured in, and it didn’t take long for the powers-that-be to get the message. Indulge me in this terrible wordplay as I invite you to read the apology below, which has all of the Hallmarks (okay, sorry, it’s out of my system now) of great crisis management communications.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (December 15, 2019) – Earlier this week, a decision was made at Crown Media Family Networks to remove commercials featuring a same-sex couple.

“The Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused. Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision. Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions, and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives. Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.” said Mike Perry, President and CEO, Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Hallmark is, and always has been, committed to diversity and inclusion – both in our workplace as well as the products and experiences we create. It is never Hallmark’s intention to be divisive or generate controversy. We are an inclusive company and have a track record to prove it. We have LGBTQ greeting cards and feature LGBTQ couples in commercials. We have been recognized as one of the Human Rights Campaigns Best Places to Work, and as one of Forbes America’s Best Employers for Diversity. We have been a progressive pioneer on television for decades – telling wide ranging stories that elevate the human spirit such as August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Colm Tóibín’s The Blackwater Lightship, both of which highlight the importance of tolerance and understanding.

Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands. The Hallmark Channel will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.

“Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences.” Perry said.

What really caught my eye with this piece of crisis communications is the complete and utterly open apology at the top. While you can’t always do this, for example when litigation is involved, falling on your sword fully right at the top of a message is one of the fastest ways to get folks who are on the fence about whether you’re a decent organization at your core to understand that you recognize you made a mistake, you truly do regret it, and you’re working to set things right.

Joining the ranks of Peleton with a holiday crisis management scare, the folks making up Hallmark’s C-Suite and crisis team probably had a rough couple days. That said, everyone makes mistakes and people are willing to forgive – IF the apology is right and IF you walk your talk after the fact. Hallmark is off to a good start and, especially considering that we’ve not seen the last of the holiday time reputation threats, I’d guess it’s on track to escape the naughty list fairly quickly here.

[Erik Bernstein is vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy.]

We love to connect with readers on LinkedIn! Connect with Erik | Connect with Jonathan

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