Crisis Management
In this horrific anti-corporate environment, gut and guesswork won’t cut it. In times of crisis, you have one shot to get it right. There are no second-chances in real life.
You’d better find the team that will tell you the ugly truth – and you’d better be prepared to listen. And you’d better arm yourself with the best possible research if you want to survive.
Don’t hire someone unless you want to be in the foxhole with them.
Obviously the speed and skill with which you react can make the difference between a manageable challenge and a major disaster. But what really matters is the specifics, the details, those little things that trip up people and companies and take what could have been a problem and turn them into a disaster.
Think about it:
Shouldn’t some crisis management guru have told the CEOs of the major auto companies NOT to fly on three separate private jets to testify before America? Well, they didn’t.
Shouldn’t some public relations expert have told the former CEOs of Merrill Lynch, Home Depot, AT&T, and Pfizer NOT to take a huge bonus the same year that their companies' stock, profits and employment all suffered? Well, they didn’t.
Because our roots are in politics, we’re well-versed in operating and thriving on a crisis level. We do everything fast – and we get it right every time. We have designed a communications plan for a company under legal fire, counseled a foreign leader in his effort to fortify wavering diplomatic relations in a tumultuous time, and tackled numerous crises in-between.
Remember, what matters is not what you say. It’s what people hear.
